2009 IS THE OX YEAR!



Wishing you all a very happy OX-picious, prosperous year ahead filled with health, wealth and fortune! We know it will be an extremely challenging year ahead! The previous four ox years were in the economic recession period (1973, 1985 and 1997) and it seems like 2009 will be the same and probably far worse. Still, let's do our best and ride through the storm!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2009!

THE CHINESE DRAGON & DISCO BALLS

The Chinese dragon is traditionally portrayed as chasing a fireball, which represents the power and energy of the universe. In the university canteen however, a new age dragon has emerged. It basically chase reflective shiny disco balls, not the hot fury fire balls anymore!

FOOTBALL: MALAYSIA BOLEH!

Some local football news to enjoy! I never know we are called The Tigers. Is it because the jersey colour is yellow? Well, it looks like Toothless Tigers to me. Man, all this while I thought we have the most greatest quality league in this planet. How wrong and disillusioned I have been!

Malaysian Coach Blames League For National Failures

After another disaster on the pitch, Malaysian coach B Sathianathan has named the poor standard of the domestic league as the reason for national team failures.

The Tigers crashed to a 5-0 home defeat against UAE in a qualifier for the 2011 Asian Cup on Wednesday.

Malaysia also failed dismally in December's ASEAN championships.

"I have to be honest about it but the M-League is not football and if I have to go because of it (being honest), then I have to go," Sathianathan told local media.

"It is obvious that five or six days preparation is not enough when you can see that the players were not fully fit and they struggled in the second half.

"I have no problem with the players' commitment but fitness is an issue.

"When only three players passed the fitness test we conducted before the match against the UAE, what does it say about the standard of the M-League?"

SOME LOCAL NEWS

Here are my comments on some news which you can only find in Malaysia.
News No.1 - Right.....not me.
News No.2 - Incredible.....
News No.3 - I see potholes everywhere in JB no matter how 'hardworking' they are trying to cover them. Driving in JB is like the Burnout game but with potholes everywhere. At least in Burnout, you still have a good quality road to race on.
News No.4 - Let's move on please, settle this thing already! Unemployment and economic recession are more serious issues.

From personal experience, I came across the biggest pothole I ever seen, measuring at approximately 1metre in diameter! It is at least 5cm deep! Sometimes there are so many potholes in front of you that the only thing you can do is to find the most shallow ones to aim your tyres to drive through. You can't avoid them all and you really need to memorize their positions everywhere! I hope somebody invents a pothole scanner or a GPS device which can track deep potholes! They are in great need in Malaysia!

Inform cops before going on CNY break

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 – Selangor residents planning to be away for the long Chinese New Year break are advised to inform the police to help prevent break-ins.

Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said they can do so by filling up special forms that will be made available at police stations.

"This will help police effectively patrol their housing neighbourhoods or business premises as the case may be," he told reporters after launching a crime-prevention campaign in conjunction with the festival in One Utama, Petaling Jaya near here today

Also present was Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) vice chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

In conjunction with the festive period, Lee said, the foundation was distributing leaflets on crime prevention across the nation to help people take preventive steps to ensure their property remained safe during the long break.

The first day of Chinese New Year this year is on Jan 26. – Bernama


Man dies during police interrogation

SHAH ALAM, Jan 20 - A man who was being detained to help investigation into cases of car thefts died suddenly when he was being interrogated at the Taipan Police Station, Subang Jaya, near here today.

Selangor Police Chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the incident occurred at about 11 am when the man was being questioned about robberies and thefts involving luxury cars by a gang operating in the Klang Valley.

"During interrogation, the man asked for a glass of water and upon drinking the water, he collapsed and lost consciousness.

"A doctor from a clinic nearby who was summoned to examine the man later confirmed that he had died," he said.

Khalid disclosed this to reporters after receiving a mobile police station donated by the Selangor government, which was handed over by State Secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud at the Shah Alam District Police Headquarters, here.

He said the 22-year-old man from Puchong was detained on Jan 15 on suspicion of being involved in robbing and stealing luxury cars such as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in Sungai Chua, Kajang near here.

The suspect's remains had been sent to the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for a post-mortem and the case had been classified as sudden death for the time being.

Khalid said family members of the suspect had informed police that he was suffering from asthma. "We don't want any party to speculate as cases of custodial deaths were a sensitive issue.

The man had also given his cooperation throughout the interrogation. "No matter what the case may be, I give my assurance that a thorough investigation will be carried out and we are waiting for the outcome of the post-mortem," he said.

Earlier, Khalid received a van which had been refurbished to become a mobile police station costing RM140,000 contributed by the Selangor government which is equipped with a communication network connecting it to the Section 15 Police Station in Shah Alam to monitor the industrial areas in Section 22, Section 26 and Section 27, here.

Meanwhile, Ramli said he would propose that more mobile police stations be donated to the police to control crime especially in high-risk areas such as in Shah Alam and Petaling Jaya. - Bernama

Johor Baru council sued by parents of dead son
By BEH YUEN HUI

JOHOR BARU: Parents of a man, who died after the motorcycle he was riding pillion hit a pothole, have filed a suit against Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) claiming the council’s negligence cost their son’s life.

Retiree Tan Nguang Chiang, 52, and Kok Yoke Hing, 53, also named MBJB Mayor as the second defendant when they filed the suit at the Sessions court registrar office on Wednesday.

In the negligence suit, they said their son Tan Cheng Ming fell from the motorcycle after it hit a pothole at Jalan Daya, Taman Daya here about 3am on Aug 17, 2007.

They said Cheng Ming died at Sultan Ismail Hospital some six hours later of severe head injuries.

Tan and Kok claimed that the accident was due to the negligence of the defendants who failed to cover or patch up the pothole.

They claimed the defendants also failed to put up relevant signage to warn motorists of the danger.

In their statement of claim, the couple said Cheng Ming was a chef earning RM1,400 per month and had given them half his wages.

They were seeking RM134,400 in compensation for the loss of income for 16 years.

They also sought RM5,680 in special damages and other damages.

The couple were represented by counsel Norman Fernandez.

Home Ministry to probe Catholic paper’s action

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 21 – The Home Ministry will investigate claims that the “Herald – The Catholic Weekly” was still using the word “Allah” despite the government’s decision prohibiting the publication from doing so.

Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the decision to disallow the weekly from using the word “Allah” was a government’s decision and not that of the ministry.

“The case is not yet disposed of by the court. They should have waited for the court’s decision and not think as if they have all the rights and others don’t,” he told reporters after attending the ministry’s monthly gathering today.

“We have been tolerant towards other religions; If we decide to ban the publication, they will get angry and accuse us of stifling freedom.”

In May, the High Court granted leave to the Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur to apply for a judicial review against the Home Ministry’s decision to prohibit the weekly from using the world “Allah”. – Bernama

BARACK OBAMA, THE 44TH USA PRESIDENT

He became the first black president of the United States of America. For Malaysia to have such a matter to happen, it may not be realized in my lifetime or never ever will happen. Congratulations to him and hopefully he will be the hope of the anticipated miserable year ahead! There will be many challenges he will face apart from the economic turmoil. There are many political turmoils from Africa to Middle East to Asia, be it dictators to extremists to terrorists. Number 4 is not a good number for the Chinese because it resembles death. He has a double 4, which is worse. I hope it is just superstition. I hope he can improve the United States of America's image, which is not very good at this side of the world.

GERMAN CALENDAR



Thanks to my Serbian friend, Vesna, for sending over a New Year card. It has a 2009 German calendar on its main cover. The month that caught my attention instantaneously is Oktober because of Oktoberfest festival! The calendar looks lovely!

FOOTBALL: CALDERON & KAKA

Yes, I have remained too silent on these two hot issues heating up the football world for the past one week. I just wish to wait until at least there is official news out before giving my comments. The Kaka to whatever club rumour has been around for some time, perhaps even longer than the C.Ronaldo to whatever club rumour so perhaps I have grown not to believe too much into the reports.

Now that Calderon officially steps down as Real Madrid's president, I hope there will be less politics dominating them in the future. The real reason Real Madrid have been suffering since Perez took over is the politics which really killed the whole club. I hope the curse ends soon. If not for Capello and his superiority to demand whatever players he wants and not to listen to the higher authorities, Real Madrid may still be winning nothing till today since the Perez era. Mijatovic should also be the next person to leave because I see nothing wise or valuable from his input that will enhance the club's strength and performance on the field. I just hope the next president or elected president will stay away from the sporting matters of the club. Let the manager do his job with full power just like the invincible Wenger and Fergie in Arsenal and Manchester United. Of course, I still believe in a bit of control so arrogance will not dominate the manager in power. What they always say, absolute power corrupts.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, first Baron Acton (1834–1902).

As for Kaka, well, he is a great player by all means. If you are to ask me to rate the best players of this generation now, I would rate him side by side with Messi at the very top. He probably has the edge now since he is more experienced. There is no guarantee Messi will become an even more complete player when he reaches Kaka's age. Whether or not he will go to Manchester City and with that huge mega deal that will break Zidane's record, I don't really mind. I don't mind him or Messi breaking that record than diver and cry baby Cristiano Ronaldo. Whether Kaka stays in Milan or goes to Manchester City, I believe there is not much difference.

THE CARBONARA CRAVE!

Sometimes when you don't eat something you like for some time, you will crave for it. The Carbonara Crave came to us so we decided to get ourselves two cans of Prego by Campbell, the makers of the famous mushroom soup to cook carbonara. As the economy crisis is hitting 2009, we try to save some money from going to an authentic Italian restaurant in town.





Other ingredients include some broccoli, bacon which I deep fry myself, white mushrooms which you can cut into slices and cheese powder (we use the parmesan cheese powder). I also like the flat pasta, which is fettuccine (or was it linguine / linguini?) so we cooked the dish with it. This is probably because I like kueh tiaw very much. Alright, probably a totally none related issue.....

PETROL PRICE IN MALAYSIA

I guess the to float or fix ceiling price decision miraculously disappear suddenly as commonly as any other issues in Malaysia. This new report more or less 'confirms' that there is a 'ceiling price'. Rob us in broad daylight, we love it!

Petrol Price To Remain, Says Shahrir

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The price of petrol will remain at current levels although there has been a drop in the price of crude oil in the world market, Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said today.

"This is because the average price as of yesterday was still above the US$43.2 per barrel level," he told reporters after announcing the maximum retail and wholesale price control scheme for the Chinese New Year, here today.

Should the price of oil continue to drop in the world market to below the US$30 or US$35 per barrel level in the next two or three days, then a price cut of two to five sen might be considered, he said.

Effective December 15, the price of RON97 petrol was brought down to RM1.80 per litre while RON92 and diesel prices were reduced to RM1.70 per litre.

BERNAMA

FOOTBALL: MU TO PLAY IN MALAYSIA IN JULY

MACAU, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- Despite a bad experience in 2007 when Manchester United's friendly match against Malaysia was cancelled due to a clash of dates with an Asian Football Confederation (AFC)-organised tournament, the English club will be back in Malaysia to play the national team during their Asian Tour in July.

According to Manchester United chief executive officer David Gill, the team would play four matches during their Far East tour, namely in China, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia.

"Our tour to Asia is always special. The atmosphere generated by the supporters is amazing. Asia is also a vital part of our commercial growth and close to half of the club's over 300 million fans are in Asia and the figure continues to grow," said Gill, announcing details of the Asian Tour, here, today.

"This year, we have added a new destination, Jakarta in Indonesia where we have an estimated 12 million fans. These matches will give fans an opportunity to see their heroes in action in their own countries," he said, adding that all the team's players, including FIFA Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, would be on the Tour.

"We are not going to leave any player behind and we want every player to be in top physical condition as the tour will be our final preparation before the English Premier League kicks off," he said.

Meanwhile, ProEvents chairman Paul J. Kam said the tentative dates for the tour are July 16 (China), July 20 (South Korea), July 24 (Jakarta) and July 26 (Kuala Lumpur).

"In 2007, we had to cancel the match since it clashed with the Asian Cup tournament organised by the AFC but this time around we have ensured such things will not recur," said Kam.

"We are very pleased and excited to welcome Manchester United to Asia and fans will be able to see the newly crowned World Club champions play here."

Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson who spoke through tele-conferencing said: "The players are really looking forward to our Asian Tour. For some, the Club World Cup in Japan was the first time they had experienced the passion generated by the club in Asia and they enjoyed it immensely.

"We know we will get terrific support at all the locations identified for the matches. Indonesia will be a new experience for us and one I'm especially looking forward to as it is also my first trip there."

BERNAMA

HOAX / DUPE / DECEIVE / TRICK / CHEAT / CON / SWINDLE

This is the most popular way to 'earn' money these days so be extremely careful and alert. The economy is going to get worse and so we expect more conmen / conwomen to appear with all kinds of strategies known on earth to steal your money. I have heard enough cheating of other people's money, especially the old folks. These cheaters will normally imitate as some powerful authorities like court officers, police, bank officers, insurance agents, salesmen or some higher authorities in the government who said you need to pay a certain amount of money to get you out of some trouble or court case or offering you some dodgy deals, prizes, free gifts or passwords for your Internet Banking accounts because of faulty errors / updating accounts / virus attacks (all kinds of excuses). They will give you your full name and identification card number to make it clear that they are 'real'. Please be more alert especially in protecting the old folks of your family so they won't be conned. In Singapore, another famous syndicate deals with calling you to get ransom for kidnapping your family members or relatives. Do double check before doing bank transfers, not to believe everything they say.

These people normally use phone calls, emails and SMS to con the potential victims. The SMSes can claim themselves to be from some very big company to assure you that sending personal information to them is fine. The emails from these companies look so real that they even have the same logo or even sites with believable URLs or the ability to automatically link you to their fake sites which look identical to your bank sites. I am sure you are also increasingly getting tonnes of rubbish phone calls and short messages that either say you need to bank in money or pay money to get yourself the attractive prices you won, the attractive products or services (some healing power stones for example) they offer or get yourself out of some trouble with the higher authorities (they probably claimed you did something bad and was caught in the act). Please double check before you do any stupid things like transferring money to their bank accounts. There is even a syndicate I heard which recruits these young men to go out and cheat your money. Even if they are caught, they don't mind sitting in the jail for 7 years. They are paid to do the job and they are willing to spend 7 years behind bars while you get nothing back.

I know a 56 years old lady friend in Johor Bahru who got conned RM350,000 here by the youngsters who imitate as court officers who assured her with her full name and identification number that they can 'solve' her court case but she needs to bank in some money to settle the matter. The terrified lady did the bank transfer hastily without second thoughts because of fear as they are good at playing with your emotions. Now, the poor lady has tremendous depression, can not sleep well, always in nervous mode and does not believe in anyone. Eventhough two of the three conmen are caught, the big possibility is she will not get a single cent back and they will mostly just need to sit in jail to settle it. They are in their 20s so it will just be 30s when they come out of jail which is fine with them.

Stay vigilant, especially for your loved ones!

NAZAR BONCUGU

The Blue Evil Eye Bead

My German friend who works in Turkey had given me this eye amulet. He told me this thing is everywhere in Turkey and heavily used to protect the people from bad luck and evil spirits. You can hang it on your door, car, computer, key chain and body as jewellery.







He told me it is so common there that almost anyone has one. Reminds me of the Chinese (I think mostly Buddhist) and Japanese who always have amulets to protect them from bad luck and evil spirits too. I guess people are still very much believing in them even in this era. Therefore, where should I tie this thing? To my brother?



This thing look so familiar. Yeah, it looks like the ESET Smart Security logo I have on my computer. The blue eye icon lookalike from the Slovakian company.

THE KUALA TERRENGANU BY-ELECTION

This by-election may not be as hot as the previous one in Permatang Pauh but it is creating as much noise as it was then because of the reputation of BN and PR which is at stake here. The date is set on 17th January 2009.

The current crude oil price is around US$40 per barrel but the price of petrol has stuck at RM1.80 per litre (the cheaper grade I use) for ages. Many are speculating that there will be an incredible announcement the day before (16th January 2009) of a fuel price reduction, at least 20 cents. Anybody want to bet? The buy-election, I mean by-election will affect fuel prices positively to consumers so consumers should be happy whenever there are more buy-elections, I mean by-elections to come.

FOOTBALL: WEEKEND HUGE CLASHES

Manchester United VS. Chelsea

AS Roma VS. AC Milan

I haven't been following football since watching the Manchester United match in the final of the World Club Cup. Well, let's get some sporting actions here after the Cristino Ronaldo crashing his Ferrari and the Beckhamania hitting Milan incidents dominating the headlines this week.

MY FAVOURITE ALLEY IN SIBU

This is my favourite alley in Sibu.



She is the reason I like to come to this alley.



This is what she prepares that I like so much. The fried kueh tiaw (flatten rice noodle) with oysters and eggs. However, hers is special because she adds red wine, giving it an extra fragrant smell and taste. I cannot find this anywhere else. I will never want to miss it when I return to Sibu.



Here is a closer look! Oh mamamia!



Apart from that, she makes great fried dry hung ngan (Foochow noodle normally used to cook with soup) with red wine. Lee Ling likes her Char Zi noodles, which she adds red wine too. 'cha zhi', 'char zi ', 'cha zi ', 'char cze', 'char tze'; in Mandarin, 炒煮 (pinyin: chao3 zhu2) which literally means 'fry & cook'. The cooking method will first do the frying (almost always with woks) in preparing most dishes and later cooking it.



I have been eating here for I don't know how many years and I am always the most faithful customer. I never grow bored of her char kuew tiaw!

塔菜 (PAGODA / TOWER VEGETABLE)

Alright, you can call me someone who originates from the deepest jungle or village or extremely ignorant but I really have never seen this vegetable before. I will soon be able to try the taste of it. It costs RM12 per kilogram here and the seller told us that this vegetable is only available once a year. It is called pagoda / tower vegetable because it grows in layers after layers getting higher and higher. I will report about how it tastes like once I manage to figure out how to cook this thing. Haha!

THE GIGANTIC WHITE ELEPHANT





I will explain more after experiencing the gigantic building over a month. It will be a more fair analysis than just a few days of experiencing it. One thing to share regarding the walk ban is that it is going to give a lot of problems to the real users of the immigration checkpoint everyday than those people who sit at the top and just give out bans to their hearts' content. They build the building so huge that you need to walk an extra 100 times the distance than the original one. I really pity those pregnant ladies and the old folks. They will be extremely tired before even crossing the border.

The old immigration was not able to take the huge volume of traffic and that's why many people chose to walk back then. Nobody enjoys walking unless you are a health / sports freak but with the smelly dead water, really bad air loaded with vehicle smoke and super hot sun, you only do it if the traffic is really bad. The new immigration only has two lanes exiting and entering it no matter how much money they pour into it to build it bigger than the Singapore immigration. It is slowing down the traffic even more because of the curving tight roads into and out of the building.

The buses take more time to enter and exit it. The human traffic which are forced to take the bus overloads the waiting area massively. I can easily take a photo or two to show you the real state of sorry situation inside that huge building. Everyone wants to get over on time so the fight over the very limited places in the public buses and the Bas Kilang is causing a lot of problem to the users. You have to fight for a place in the bus and only the toughest will survive. I had rugby training so I can still manage so far but I really pity those who are pregnant, the ladies and the old folks. The experience of exiting the new immigration building is like THE SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST! The Survivor / Amazing Race series should consider having the task of exiting this immigration building during the peak hours as one of the tests.

AsiaOne Forum

Confusion over Causeway walk ban

SINGAPORE, Jan 7 — People are no longer allowed to walk between the Singapore and Malaysia checkpoints at the Causeway, but there seems to be some confusion about the new rule.

The ban was implemented by Malaysia after the opening of the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex, which is about 500m further up the road from the old complex.

Johor state immigration director Mohd Nasri Ishak told The Straits Times yesterday that walking on the Causeway — from both directions — was not permitted.

But Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said it was not aware of the rule and its officers do not stop people who opt to walk.

Mohd Nasri said that although the law is already in place, it has yet to be enforced but it will be soon.

He did not give a specific date when enforcement will begin.

Security, police and immigration officers at the Malaysian checkpoint verbally inform those who pass through the complex about the new ruling, he added.

Mohd Nasri explained that as the new complex was built for security reasons, people are not allowed to walk in unless they arrived in a vehicle.

“The government doesn't want just anyone to walk into the building,” he said.

Mohd Nasri also pointed out that the roads at the checkpoint were not designed for walking as they have no walkways. “The public should realise that walking to the new complex is very dangerous,” he said.

Malaysia's ban on walking on the Causeway has resulted in many Malaysians being stranded at the Singapore checkpoint during massive jams along the Causeway, The Star newspaper reported earlier this week.

Prior to the ban, people were able to walk across to the old Malaysian checkpoint when there was a lack of buses during the peak periods. It took about 15 minutes to walk between the two sides.

However when the new checkpoint opened, people on the Malaysian side found that they could not walk across, and this resulted in ugly scenes as people fought their way to board buses at the new CIQ complex.

When contacted, SBS Transit's vice-president of corporate communications Tammy Tan said ridership in general has remained fairly constant.

But an SMRT spokesman said that the company has observed a general increase in passengers using its bus service 950, but did not give exact figures.

Malaysian Ng Wee Chin, a 22-year-old deliveryman who works in Singapore, said: “I'm not walking over to Singapore from the new checkpoint because it's too far and dangerous.”

His sentiments were echoed by Singapore Institute of Management student Hau Siow Hoon.

The 22-year-old Malaysian has not taken the walk from the new checkpoint to Singapore and she does not intend to try.

“Even the distance between the old checkpoint and the Singapore checkpoint is too far for me,” said Hau.

She added that the narrow roads and the lack of a walkway made it dangerous for pedestrians. — The Straits Times

______________________________________

CIQ teething woes to go up before the cabinet

JOHOR BARU: The problems pla­guing the new Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex will be brought to the attention of the Cabinet this week.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad said that after the discussion at Cabinet level he hoped to visit the site this month to see how the problems could be tackled.

“I have been receiving complaints, and I am aware of the unhappiness,” he said yesterday.

Among the grouses raised by the public are narrow roads, long queues at the complex, poor signage, traffic congestion, and dirty toilets.

The people have also complained about not being allowed to walk across the Causeway, while business owners have said the new complex had taken their customers away as travellers now bypass the city centre where they are located.

Vandals have also struck at the complex less than a month after its opening, cutting holes in a perimeter fence and posing a possible security breach.

One of those who are unhappy with the complex, Malaysian Indian Business Council president P. Sivakumar, described the new complex as a nightmare for travellers.

“Last week, five businesses including two moneychangers and a restaurant had to close down. We expect the situation to worsen,” he said, adding that the complex was badly designed.

Sivakumar suggested that the old complex be reopened for motorcyclists and pedestrians. This would bring 5,000 to 10,000 travellers into the city again, he said.

Johor Immigration Director Mohd Nasri Ishak said the problems raised were similar to glitches experienced at the old complex located near the Causeway, and he was confident the problems would be overcome soon.

“Everyone must adjust to the new complex. The situation will eventually stabilise,” he said.

Meanwhile, Johor Baru (South) OCPD Asst Comm Zainuddin Yaakob said the police had not received any reports about the complex.

He added that he was not aware that the perimeter fencing around the complex had been vandalised.

BASSET HOUND AND LABRADOR RETRIEVER

Edit: Thanks to my friend, Donny Ginola for pointing out the mistake. I mistakenly wrote Labrador Retriever as Doberman Pinscher.





The basset hound, which is commonly known as the dog of the Hush Puppies logo has a slight nasty smell that common dogs do not have and always drooling more saliva, especially while you feed it. The labrador retriever is a smart breed of dog which is commonly use as a guide for the blind, deaf, military and police dog. While we were back to Sibu last December 2008, we were introduced to the three dogs my arts teacher are having now of both breeds.



My teacher told me the reason his children wanted the basset hound as their dog was because they find it interesting that it can easily trip and fall when it steps on its own long ears when it was young....... funny reason indeed. He said as it grows older now, the short-legged dog is no longer so clumsy but still always give you the pitiful look.



The most expensive cost of breeding the dogs is of course the injections required and the food consumptions. He said maintaining them is more expensive than maintaining a normal human being. Haha! The labradors indeed look smart, unlike those stupid dogs that bark till kingdom come no matter who they see. He said he got a very expensive breed with historical good lineage of ancestors with a birth certificate to prove as well! Sigh! I guess the dog's ancestors are probably the best military and police dogs of their lifetimes and managed to solve hundreds of cases.

MALAYSIAN WIRELESS 'BROADBAND' OR IS IT NARROWBAND?

I have seen the advertisement everywhere in Johor Bahru lately. The P1 WiMax (free modem worth RM999***, no phone line needed so you save up to RM49). *** Terms and conditions apply. There is no such thing as FREE MEAL in this world. The speed looks good at 1.2Mbps and 2.4Mbps in two different plan packages to choose from. I know Celcom has the up to 3.6Mbps plan but I never like the word 'UP TO'. They should just give us the bottom range too. Up to 3.6Mbps and 'down to' 1.2Mbps, then at least we know it is not 'down to' 0.1Mbps or 0.1Kbps.

I hate the words 'UP TO' so much that I can track them even a kilometre away whenever you see small wordings beside the gigantic 70% or 75% sales tag. There is always these two nasty words beside it, normally located at the upper left. You know it is a sales gimmick to lure you to the shop. Same principle applies. You end up disappointed with just a few clothes actually at 75% discount, the rest at 0% discount. Like the deal above, they don't reveal the bottom range to you.

When I was deciding to subscribe to the Celcom wireless broadband, I ask them the same question. What is the lowest guaranteed bandwidth? They don't dare to assure me on that. They give tonnes of excuses on weather conditions and number of users in the area of connection. Well, I know all that and that's why I ask because I don't want to subscribe to a Up to 3.6Mbps line but always running at 0.1Mbps or 0.1Kbps. It will be pointless.

Anyway, back to the P1, it is not everywhere yet so you need to check the map in the website to find out the coverage. They have two plans (1.2Mbps 12-Month Contract RM99, 24-Month Contract RM89 and 2.4Mbps 12-Month Contract RM229, 24-Month Contract RM199). As for Celcom, they have two packages too. Up to 384Kbps at RM68 per month and up to 3.6Mbps at RM98 per month. You decide which one you can trust.

As for me, I still believe in wired connection in Malaysia at least for now. Heck, even my wired connection can be as slow as 0.1Kbps too sometimes or no connections at times. Therefore, why would I believe the wireless versions will be any better? There is no guaranteed bottom range and there is most likely to be no stability. These two things are the most crucial things because you never know when you need the Internet connection most and they give you a crazy 0.1Kbps connection. I am sure you will swear like mad then. Who dares to sign a 1 year or even 2 years contract before knowing how bad the connection is? I don't! I never believe in after sales service given in Malaysia. Unless it is an overseas reputed brand, forget about it man!

P1

Celcom

JAGUAR SHOES



I thought it is a Puma because of the similar designs. I never know Jaguar also produces shoes until I see this one. It looks like a pair of football boots if you have a quick look. This pair will be my alternative casual pair of shoes to wear since my Timberland died on me.



It has this fabric which can absorb alot of water when it rains. It is the biggest reason I have to take time considering before purchasing it. However, since the portion accounts to just perhaps 20-30% of the whole shoe, I finally bought it.



The pair of shoes is very light and the shape and design is exactly like a pair of football boots. It reminds me of my first pair of boots which is a Puma. I used them for my rugby matches back then in my secondary school.



I like how the shoes is half football boots and half casual walking shoes. The salesperson told me the world is changing and so are shoes when I questioned him what exactly is the function of this pair of shoes. I guess it is probably very suitable for playing futsal. It does not give as much cushioning below like the Obermain shoes but it is extremely light so I guess I will need to wear it often to see if it is comfortable.



Well, if you look at the side profile of the shoes, it looks exactly like Puma. I don't know how they are related in the shoes business and I have never heard of any relationship whatsoever. It is very different and it feels like wearing a pair of football boots. I hope it will be comfortable for normal walks on concrete and cement as it supposes to be on grass.

OBERMAIN SHOES



After my Timberland shoes finally gave way few months back, I had been surviving with my Asics running shoes to go to work. It is not nice to wear sport shoes to work which is hard to match with normal clothing. I did buy a nice pair of Bata shoes (in Singapore because the choices in Malaysia are the most ugliest ever in the world) but the pair of shoes is causing a lot of pain to my feet.



I finally found myself a pair of Obermain casual shoes. This pair of shoes has a very flexible soft finishing which feels like expandable rubber. The feet feels comfortable inside it so I decided to purchase a pair. I hope this will last me long for work and casual outdoor walking.



It is dark green in colour and quite wide and spacious, giving my feet enough room to breath inside it. The sole is thick enough too so it should give me enough protection for long walks. The layer at the bottom of the feet is soft and thick which should give me enough cushioning from the extremely bad and minimal maintenance Malaysian roads and terrains - same kind of suffering your car tires need to go through.



The stitching feels strong too so I guess it is tough enough for me. The shoes come with additional laces which is the round type we commonly use. The one on it is the flat version.



I always heard about how good Obermain shoes are and that they are hand sewn. Therefore, this pair will be a stern test for its toughness. I do have another pair of Obermain but that pair is for formal wear which is not an everyday thing.

REAR SEAT BELT ISSUE

I read on the new rear seat belt buckling up rule in Malaysia with great confusion. It seems like the rule's objective is not really to protect the passengers but to create another avenue for more road blocks and fining opportunities. The many exceptions listed below from this rule shows that there is no real serious intention to implement the rule. If you are really serious in protecting passengers sitting at the rear of the vehicle, implement it at all cost for all types of vehicles. There is no logic not implementing it for specific types of vehicles. Are you trying to say that you will never be involved in an accident because of your vehicle type? Why the half-hearted effort? There is no fairness at all.

The above and below the 17 years old rule is also weird because if you are 17 years old, you are not under any category. Therefore, I guess those who are 17 years old in 2009 will be luckiest and all those turning 17 years old soon! They will also need to check you birth date too before deciding to fine the driver or the person himself/herself which I forsee more long and tiring roadblocks to come. I don't see any benefits from this rule to the passengers since it is not implemented well. Finally, the maximum RM2000 fine or one year's jail is the most craziest punishment on earth for not fasting your seat belts!

Malaysia Boleh!

Crackdown on rear seat belt offenders

Arman Ahmad

KUALA LUMPUR: Back-seat passengers must from now buckle up or will be issued with a compound fine of RM300.

A spokesman of the Road Transport Department said enforcement officers would start a nationwide crackdown on those who violated the rear seat belt ruling, which took effect from 12.01am today.

Under the latest ruling, offenders above the age of 17 will be individually fined.

On the other hand, if rear-seat passengers under the age of 17 are not buckled up, the car driver will be fined for the offence.

Rear-seat passengers who do not wear seat belts will be fined except for:
- vehicles registered before Jan 1, 1995;

- vehicles registered after Jan 1, 1995 but without anchorage points;

- commercial vehicles, including taxis and rental cars;

- vehicles with more than eight passengers (not including the driver);

- goods vehicles with a maximum load limit of 3.5 tonnes; and,

- the fourth rear-seat passenger in a car with three seat belts at the rear.

From July, the RM300 compound fine will be increased to a maximum fine of RM2,000, or up to a year's jail.

The new rules are contained in the amendments to the Motor Vehicles (Safety Seat Belt) Rules 1977, under the Road Transport Act 1987.