Earth at Night

The amount of light illumination at different parts of the globe is also an indication of the prosperity of that location. If you observe, reclusive states like North Korea, Myanmar and most of Africa are shrouded in darkness!

And the brighter the place is, the more it is consuming our scarce resources and contributing to global warming. Of course, these places are usually rich too. E.g. US & Europe.

Rumors and fear

Johor Palace: No action against those who don’t don mourning attire (Update) [THE STAR]

There has been so much rumors flying around the past few days following the death of Sultan Iskandar. This kind of marred the otherwise solemn and sad affair of the passing of Johor's Sultan.

Rumors mainly centered about the donning of mourning attire which was first announced by the Menteri Besar. Some said enforcement officers were on the ground imposing fines on those who failed to comply. Some even claimed that people were slapped for arguing. Roadblocks were put up on a witch hunt exercise. Retail premises were being fined etc. etc. You can easily search around on google and you would fine more bizarre examples on the web. I am not sure whether these were true, partially true or totally fake but it is good that the Johor Palace decided to clear matters and clarify on the whole issue. And they were right that mourning should come from the heart and not enforced. For more info, click on the above link.

It looks like either there have been some overzealous officers out to earn a buck or there were some impostors on the prowl. Either way someone is profiteering from all the uncertainty. And amidst all the sadness, people were gripped in fear of being reprimanded. More so for non-Johoreans like me who has never seen such a thing happening back home in KL or Selangor. Apparently, there was some shortage of 3-in black cloth as everyone grabbed them to pin up their sleeves. Yours truly also took no chances on the first working day for fear of being slapped by someone, worse still an impostor! Everyone weren't very sure and some were quite creative using black tapes or even cutting off cloth from T-shirts.

What I do know as fact was that officers ordered shops and shopping complexes to be closed down on Saturday as a mark of respect during the funeral of the Sultan. Circulars were issued and some time was given to close shop. I think only food outlets remained open. There were some grunts and complaints but I think mostly complied. Entertainment outlets weren't even open at all in the first place. The town was indeed very quiet and sombre - something very uncommon in JB on a weekend. Singaporeans who visited were shocked. And with nothing else to do, most Johoreans were glued to the TV set following the entire funeral process.

But what is for sure is Sultan Iskandar has passed away. And one things if for sure - he's been an imposing figure on Johor for 3 decades and would not be easily forgotten by Johoreans. May his soul rest in peace!

For the smokers...

Death of Johor Sultan

Woke up this morning to the news of the passing of Johor's Ruler - Almutawakkil Al-Allah Sultan Iskandar ibni Almarhum Sultan Ismail. May his soul rest in eternal peace. According to Channel News Asia, no reason was given for his sudden demise although it is reportedly common knowledge that he has been frail for some years.

A 7 day mourning period was declared as Johor mourns the death of Sultan Iskandar. Sultan Iskandar is no doubt one of the most powerful and revered of all Sultans in Malaysia.

Shops started flying the Johor flag at half-mast. Shopping complexes were closed for most of the day. Entertainment outlets were also closed as a mark of respect. Many Johoreans were seen wearing the Songkok with a white band while non-Malays were wearing black armbands.

The city of JB is no doubt in a sombre mood despite the weekend and this would continue for the next 7 days.

Day trip to Batam

Had a day trip to Batam on Friday. My first visit to Indonesia. It was a working trip though I achieved nothing workwise. Instead, I felt that my perspective of Indonesia has changed after this visit. We normally associate Indonesians with lawlessness, poverty and robbery thanks to some Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia. However, I must say Indonesia (or at least Batam) is not really what I've imagined. Then again, most would liken Batam to Singapore more than to Indonesia.

I recalled someone telling me the scary crowd at the ferry terminal in Batam. However, I found Batam's ferry terminal safe and clean. The crowd was definitely more civilized that the ones in Puduraya or Larkin! The streets of Batam seemed clean with no litter. The town (around Batam Center area) was well-planned and systematic.

I was at the office of one government-linked company. What struck me as most interesting was the attire of the people. All the guys seem to be wearing Batik. Somehow, that gave a very laidback, calm and dignified impression. The people were friendly and very helpful, unlike probably some of the government departments back home in Malaysia.

The shopping complex opposite the ferry terminal was lively and it was actually playing CNY songs. Things have definitely changed dramatically in a country that used to persecute Chinese. In fact, I found Batam Mega Mall better than many other complexes in JB.

So, while I have accomplished nothing workwise and definitely realigned my impression of the sleeping Indonesian giant. One day (Or maybe it's happening now), they'll definitely move ahead of Malaysia. And what more with all the crap and shit Malaysia is nowadays.

In the deepest place of Singapore

Visited Singapore's Changi Water Reclamation Plant today. Had the opportunity to go about 50m underground to see the deepest place in Singapore, the equivalent of a HDB flat height but into the ground. This is where a set of influent pumps are located, pumping incoming sewerage to the reclamation plant. The Changi Water Reclamation Plant (CWRP) is the heart of Singapore's latest engineering feat - Deep Tunnel Sewerage System (DTSS).

The DTSS is a water superhighway that collects all used water i.e. sewerage into a centralized system for treatment, reclamation and disposal. Huge pipes located deep into the ground (even below the MRT lines) lead to the CWRP. At the CWRP, huge pumps (3.3kV/ 3.5MW each) pump the sewerage to ground level where they are treated. Treated water can then be processed into NEWater or disposed to the sea via outfall pipes. Solid waste from the treatment process are sent to incineration plants.

The CWRP is a state-of-the-art used water treatment plant capable of treating 800,000 cubic meters of used water a day. That's equivalent to 320 olympic size swimming pools!

Water resources and conservation is a largely ignored industry in most countries, including Malaysia. Some have predicted that if left unchecked, many countries in the world will be faced with severe water shortages and contamination in years to come. Even in water-abundant countries like Malaysia, Klang Valley is expected to face severe water problems in a few years time and it is no help that the ongoing water restructuring in Selangor has failed.

And our sewerage and drainage systems still leave much to be desired. I was surprised to see the untreated incoming water of the CWRP actually looked quite clear by Malaysian standards. I'm sure our untreated sewerage would look more like kopi-O. In fact, some of our household waters look worse than Singapore's sewerage water!!

A sensible and lively debate

Finally a sensible debate after watching the other one on Al Jazeera's Inside Story which featured one who reads from notes. Now, I truly understand why unconfident people get confused.

This time, the debate comprises a politician, social activist and religious scholar who at least all understand what they are talking about. The debate was lively and even funny at times. There should have been more meaningful discussions and debates like this on issues concerning we Malaysians, rather than sweeping everything under the carpet until it blows up.

Al Jazeera - Inside Story

So... is the use of the "term" purely a religious issue (how come the "non-believers" in Mid-East use the "term" without any problems?) or is it a political problem (since some claim that Malaysia is unique). It is indeed unique as it stands out above the rest in some of the most embarassing and outrageous issues.



And as it stands, there seems to be more forbidden "terms" according to some obscure laws enacted years ago by who knows who... This must be the only country with a list of forbidden "terms". Why am I not surprised on how things may pan out... this is after all Boleh-land. Here one need not be morally correct, scientifically correct, religiously correct or indeed have any common sense. One needs to be politically correct!

Confident People Do Not Get Confused

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....