Here is something written by Marina Mahathir, daughter of Dr. M over the controversy of using the term "Allah" in Malaysia:
Confident People Do Not Get Confused
In Malaysia, we declare ourselves as a modern and moderate Muslim nation. I've been to some Middle East countries and much to my surprise, we are far behind some of them when it comes to religious tolerance. Malaysia has much to learn from countries like Syria and UAE, at least that's what I sincerely observe. And that's really a shame considering what we have been proclaiming for years....
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Blackout in Masai
A blackout hit my neighborhood on Christmas night. The lights dimmed for half a minute and then it was all black. Fortunately the lights are back in my apartment in an hour or so. But it seems that till afternoon the next day, some parts of Megah Ria, Kota Putri etc. were still not having any power supply.
Apparently, the Kota Putri substation caught fire causing the blackout which affected Masai, Seri Alam and Permas too. I could still see TNB workers working hard to repair the damages. There were several trucks of diesel generators providing supply. Today morning, I could see a few badly burnt switchgear panels lying outside the substation - must have been quite a bad fire. And for the first time, I saw a mobile GIS substation. Something interesting for electrical people like me!
Well... unlike the moronic Namewee, I would not be cursing at TNB just because of a power outage. I'm sure they have been working hard to restore power as soon as they were informed. But I wonder whether anyone is gonna get into trouble for poor maintenance or defective protection in the first place???
Apparently, the Kota Putri substation caught fire causing the blackout which affected Masai, Seri Alam and Permas too. I could still see TNB workers working hard to repair the damages. There were several trucks of diesel generators providing supply. Today morning, I could see a few badly burnt switchgear panels lying outside the substation - must have been quite a bad fire. And for the first time, I saw a mobile GIS substation. Something interesting for electrical people like me!
Well... unlike the moronic Namewee, I would not be cursing at TNB just because of a power outage. I'm sure they have been working hard to restore power as soon as they were informed. But I wonder whether anyone is gonna get into trouble for poor maintenance or defective protection in the first place???
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Red Ocean vs Blue Ocean
Am thinking of getting a new laptop as mine is becoming quite slow lately. Anyway, I'll perhaps only do it next year as I need to make good use of the relief in income tax.
Anyway, I went to the PC Fair at Persada Johor today to scout around. I almost thought I walked into the wrong venue when I was swarmed by broadband promoters. It could have been a Broadband Fair rather. The sea of green, blue, orange and black was incredibly overhelming. Promoters packed the entire entrance into the hall until the fair organizers had to draw a line where these guys can go or the fair itself would be jam-packed with broadband promoters (it is anyway already packed with visitors). I thought it was a bit too intimidating and annoying. Hey, stop pushing into my face (provider after provider) the latest best deals in town.
The aggressive fight for market share by Streamyx, Celcom, Maxis and P1 is indeed intensified. It really gives a new dimension to the red ocean theory. These guys are really pitting against each other, swimming in the red ocean. Blood may flow soon! And the damn thing is broadband in Malaysia is plain shit and if these guys don't get serious in providing quality service, they might as well all drown in the red ocean.
As for me, I am waiting for YTL's Wimax which is claimed to be distinct from the rest in Malaysia (read: blue ocean). Let's see what they will have in-store for us when it is launched mid-2010.
Anyway, I went to the PC Fair at Persada Johor today to scout around. I almost thought I walked into the wrong venue when I was swarmed by broadband promoters. It could have been a Broadband Fair rather. The sea of green, blue, orange and black was incredibly overhelming. Promoters packed the entire entrance into the hall until the fair organizers had to draw a line where these guys can go or the fair itself would be jam-packed with broadband promoters (it is anyway already packed with visitors). I thought it was a bit too intimidating and annoying. Hey, stop pushing into my face (provider after provider) the latest best deals in town.
The aggressive fight for market share by Streamyx, Celcom, Maxis and P1 is indeed intensified. It really gives a new dimension to the red ocean theory. These guys are really pitting against each other, swimming in the red ocean. Blood may flow soon! And the damn thing is broadband in Malaysia is plain shit and if these guys don't get serious in providing quality service, they might as well all drown in the red ocean.
As for me, I am waiting for YTL's Wimax which is claimed to be distinct from the rest in Malaysia (read: blue ocean). Let's see what they will have in-store for us when it is launched mid-2010.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Flowery Cantonese
Profanities are quite common in all cultures. Being in a multi-cultural and multi-linguistic society that is Malaysia, we are blessed with the knowledge of multi-profanities as well! Most Malaysians will have some knowledge of swearing in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil! This can be pretty useful when frustrations overseas make it necessary to swear without offending.
As much as it is offensive, profanity is a form of culture as well. And some learned people have devoted some time studying it. Found a pretty interesting website on Cantonese profanity which some may like to check out (after all don't most of you swear in Cantonese now and then??)... Have fun (but you need to be able to read Chinese)
廣州話粗口研究網
As much as it is offensive, profanity is a form of culture as well. And some learned people have devoted some time studying it. Found a pretty interesting website on Cantonese profanity which some may like to check out (after all don't most of you swear in Cantonese now and then??)... Have fun (but you need to be able to read Chinese)
廣州話粗口研究網
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
宮心計 插曲 《風車》佘詩曼主唱
A soothing song... good for the kids. Maybe it's time to update the children music in schools. Rather than the horrific tales of London Bridge falling down, Georgie Porgie breaking his crown and Humpty Dumpty falling off the wall.
紅風車、轉一轉吧，福來我家
求豐收，雨點降下，花兒別怕
紅花開，笑一笑吧，福來我家
雲飄飄，聽風說話，娃兒別怕
月缺月滿順時
下雨下雪聽天
念卦像風箏不見面，有着綫牵
紅風車，轉一轉吧，福來我家
如分開，雨點降下，娃兒別怕
路近路遠未明，念挂着我看星
愿帶着你路，風似靜，變幻看清
紅風車、轉一轉吧，福來我家
如分開，雨點降下，娃兒別怕
爹娘念挂
紅風車、轉一轉吧，福來我家
如分開，雨點降下，娃兒別怕
Saturday, November 7, 2009
1Malaysia 1Flip 1Flop
A search on wikipedia reveals several definitions of flip flop.
The second definition gained popularity in Malaysia ever since Pak Lah's infamous indecision over his tenure as PM. But just as everyone thought the era of flip-flop has given way to 1Malaysia, things had it otherwise. The first major flip-flop decision has just been declared. The recently announced compulsory fitness tests for vehicles above 15-year old age is now cancelled. That is yet another high flip and resounding thud of flop, that is typical of Bolehland. Looks like things haven't really changed much.
The third definition on sexual encounter is the first I've ever come across.
- In digital circuits, a flip-flop is a term referring to an electronic circuit (a bistable multivibrator) that has two stable states and thereby is capable of serving as one bit of memory.
- A "flip-flop" (used mostly in the United States) or a U-turn (used in the United Kingdom) is a sudden real or apparent change of policy or opinion by a public official, sometimes while trying to claim that both positions are consistent with each other. Often it will occur during the period prior to or following an election in order to maximize the candidate's popularity.
- Flip-flop, a role reversal between two men during a single sexual encounter.
The second definition gained popularity in Malaysia ever since Pak Lah's infamous indecision over his tenure as PM. But just as everyone thought the era of flip-flop has given way to 1Malaysia, things had it otherwise. The first major flip-flop decision has just been declared. The recently announced compulsory fitness tests for vehicles above 15-year old age is now cancelled. That is yet another high flip and resounding thud of flop, that is typical of Bolehland. Looks like things haven't really changed much.
The third definition on sexual encounter is the first I've ever come across.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
1Stream?
Talks on a "single-stream" education system is making its rounds again in Malaysia. It's the "1" phenomena now, 1Malaysia, 1Toilet, 1MH, 1Stream... I for one have always been a supporter of the "single-stream" system over vernacular education systems. I've always dreamed a day when Malaysians will attend a common school where children are not segregated by religion or ethnicity. But the day when 1Stream becomes reality will probably not happen any time soon. Face it lah... we have way too many poliTIKUS who will prefer to divide everyone for their own gain.
There are too much politics involved not to mention the deep distrust between the ethnic groups when it comes to education. The Chinese and Indians have a point - they want the ensure their cultural end ethnic identities are preserved through vernacular schools. The fact that national schools are too slanted towards a particular race and religion remains a valid concern. Furthermore, we are still worried that "unity in diversity" may give way to "assimilation" through 1Stream.
I was a product of the national school, during times when it was still quite favored by the general population especially in big cities like KL, Ipoh and Penang. I have Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Punjabi friends. Malay was our medium of instruction in school while English was widely spoken. I cannot deny that I've less attachment to the Chinese language, particularly Mandarin though i've picked up on it over the years. We had teachers of different ethnic groups who are color-blind (do not discriminate race-wise). As far as I was concerned during my time, I did not feel my ethnic identity was threatened simply because I enrolled in a national school. I felt I understood better our compatriots of different race/ religion.
But times have indeed changed. Since "remove" classes were removed, non-Malay enrollment in national schools have declined. Vernacular schools have become the order of the day. As a result national schools are no longer "national", they are indeed Malay schools. Maybe due to practicality or overzealous school administrators, our "national" schools have become increasingly Malay- and Islam-centric in outlook and practice. Drive past any such schools and you would see Jawi scripts splashed across the walls. Which non-Malay parent would send a child to a school like that? Activities in these schools are also increasingly drawn on racial/ religious lines. It is the "murid-murid Islam dan bukan Islam". Kudos for segregating our kids. Things like you can't wear short pants for sports are common. I'm sure most have read in the papers about the gradual hijack of our national schools. If they are going to introduce 1Stream, they have to remove such unproductive practices in schools and build a truly 1Malaysia outlook.
Having said that, while I do not dare say that 1Stream is the best solution (maybe I have my distrust in government policies), but I am still a supporter of a single-stream education system. There is bound to be opposition to it. When LKY decided to go 1Stream in Singapore many decades ago, there was stiff opposition from the Chinese educationists. Nevertheless he pushed ahead and forced all schools to adopt a common stream of education. At the same time, he reinforced mother tongue language classes. Schools in Singapore are truly 1Singapore and Malaysia has lots to learn from them when it comes to implementing a truly single stream nationals school in a multi-racial society. (Ironically, Chinese educationists have been a headache when it comes to single-stream school in both Malay-majority Malaysia and Chinese-majority Singapore)
Implementation of 1Stream would have to be an eventuality. I am really not sure whether we are ready for it although I still believe it is the best policy versus our present divide-and-teach system. The problem is definitely "implementation". Malaysia is 1st class when it comes to horrible implementation. The policy fears being hijacked by overzealous administrators. Meanwhile, we just sit back and watch everyone debating something which I'm pretty sure will be forgotten soon. Malaysians are forgetful.
While we are in the subject of 1Stream, I've always wondered what on earth is the relevance of independent Chinese schools in Malaysia. I'm a supporter of 1Stream, I tolerate vernacular system as a practical reality but I could never ever understand why we still have an independent Chinese education system. Are these people still having allegiance to China/ Taiwan? Why are they exempted from the national curricula in favor of a China-centric education system? I was told these schools are emphasizing Chinese history over our Malaysian history! And when graduates of these schools were given the pass in university entrance (remember Namewee), they complain like hell though they know that's the fact from the start.
There are too much politics involved not to mention the deep distrust between the ethnic groups when it comes to education. The Chinese and Indians have a point - they want the ensure their cultural end ethnic identities are preserved through vernacular schools. The fact that national schools are too slanted towards a particular race and religion remains a valid concern. Furthermore, we are still worried that "unity in diversity" may give way to "assimilation" through 1Stream.
I was a product of the national school, during times when it was still quite favored by the general population especially in big cities like KL, Ipoh and Penang. I have Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Punjabi friends. Malay was our medium of instruction in school while English was widely spoken. I cannot deny that I've less attachment to the Chinese language, particularly Mandarin though i've picked up on it over the years. We had teachers of different ethnic groups who are color-blind (do not discriminate race-wise). As far as I was concerned during my time, I did not feel my ethnic identity was threatened simply because I enrolled in a national school. I felt I understood better our compatriots of different race/ religion.
But times have indeed changed. Since "remove" classes were removed, non-Malay enrollment in national schools have declined. Vernacular schools have become the order of the day. As a result national schools are no longer "national", they are indeed Malay schools. Maybe due to practicality or overzealous school administrators, our "national" schools have become increasingly Malay- and Islam-centric in outlook and practice. Drive past any such schools and you would see Jawi scripts splashed across the walls. Which non-Malay parent would send a child to a school like that? Activities in these schools are also increasingly drawn on racial/ religious lines. It is the "murid-murid Islam dan bukan Islam". Kudos for segregating our kids. Things like you can't wear short pants for sports are common. I'm sure most have read in the papers about the gradual hijack of our national schools. If they are going to introduce 1Stream, they have to remove such unproductive practices in schools and build a truly 1Malaysia outlook.
Having said that, while I do not dare say that 1Stream is the best solution (maybe I have my distrust in government policies), but I am still a supporter of a single-stream education system. There is bound to be opposition to it. When LKY decided to go 1Stream in Singapore many decades ago, there was stiff opposition from the Chinese educationists. Nevertheless he pushed ahead and forced all schools to adopt a common stream of education. At the same time, he reinforced mother tongue language classes. Schools in Singapore are truly 1Singapore and Malaysia has lots to learn from them when it comes to implementing a truly single stream nationals school in a multi-racial society. (Ironically, Chinese educationists have been a headache when it comes to single-stream school in both Malay-majority Malaysia and Chinese-majority Singapore)
Implementation of 1Stream would have to be an eventuality. I am really not sure whether we are ready for it although I still believe it is the best policy versus our present divide-and-teach system. The problem is definitely "implementation". Malaysia is 1st class when it comes to horrible implementation. The policy fears being hijacked by overzealous administrators. Meanwhile, we just sit back and watch everyone debating something which I'm pretty sure will be forgotten soon. Malaysians are forgetful.
While we are in the subject of 1Stream, I've always wondered what on earth is the relevance of independent Chinese schools in Malaysia. I'm a supporter of 1Stream, I tolerate vernacular system as a practical reality but I could never ever understand why we still have an independent Chinese education system. Are these people still having allegiance to China/ Taiwan? Why are they exempted from the national curricula in favor of a China-centric education system? I was told these schools are emphasizing Chinese history over our Malaysian history! And when graduates of these schools were given the pass in university entrance (remember Namewee), they complain like hell though they know that's the fact from the start.
Marina Barrage
Visited Singapore's Marina Barrage today. To the uninitiated, the Marina Barrage is a project to dam-up Marina Bay to become a reservoir right smack in the middle of the city. Marina Bay used to be the point where Kallang River and Singapore River enter the sea. But after it is dammed up, the entire bay becomes a reservoir as the bay is now separated from the sea by 9 huge gates.
The project is in fact a flood-control measure which helps to alleviate flooding in the low-lying parts of the city due to tidal effects. Meanwhile, the desalting process is still ongoing, i.e. they are trying to remove salt from the bay in order to get fresh water which can then be used also be used for supplying water.
This is a picture of the gates. On the left is the reservoir (would-be fresh water) and on the right is the open sea.
The Marina Barrage area is also fast becoming a recreational area with water sports and picnic facilities. It is after all smack in the middle of the city and they can't just waste it all to store water!
The project is in fact a flood-control measure which helps to alleviate flooding in the low-lying parts of the city due to tidal effects. Meanwhile, the desalting process is still ongoing, i.e. they are trying to remove salt from the bay in order to get fresh water which can then be used also be used for supplying water.
This is a picture of the gates. On the left is the reservoir (would-be fresh water) and on the right is the open sea.
The Marina Barrage area is also fast becoming a recreational area with water sports and picnic facilities. It is after all smack in the middle of the city and they can't just waste it all to store water!This picture shows the surrounding view of the barrage. In the background, you could see ongoing construction works at Marina Sands Integrated Resort aka Casino.
