Friday, March 31, 2006

Again ?

I simply do not wish to comment anymore. ......

As reported.......
Woman, 61, ordered to strip
New Straits Time 31st March 2006
By Ranjeetha Pakiam and Iskandar Alang Bendahara

KUALA LUMPUR: A 61-year-old woman claimed yesterday that she was ordered to strip naked, ordered to turn around thrice and teased at a police station on March 11 in connection with a shoplifting case. And to add injury to insult, more than RM200 was allegedly taken from Cheng Pik Wai’s purse. Cheng, who lodged a report at the police station in Jalan Tun H.S. Lee yesterday, said her ordeal began when she was brought to the Jalan Hang Tuah police lock-up at Pudu Jail on March 11 over a "slight misunderstanding" while she was shopping at the Sogo department store. Cheng and her husband Walter Lim, 63, were at the Parliament lobby yesterday with Seputeh MP Teresa Kok to tell their side of the story. "I felt that I was not allowed to explain myself to the Sogo guard or to the police at the station. "I was treated unfairly and I felt humiliated when asked to strip," Cheng said in Mandarin at a Press conference. Cheng, who is of Taiwanese origin but is now a Malaysian citizen, does not speak Bahasa Malaysia or English. Her statements were translated by Kok. Her husband, a Malaysian, said she had first come to the country in 1971, but had constantly been in and out of the country and had only settled down here for good in 2003. Cheng said she was later taken to the Dang Wangi police station, where she was taken to a room and told to strip. The two policewomen present laughed loudly while she turned in circles three times as ordered. She said her husband came to bail her out at 8pm, but just before she was allowed out of the station, the two policewomen asked her for money. She gave them RM10. After leaving the police lock-up, she checked her purse and found only RM260 inside. Another RM209 was missing. However, the police report was only lodged yesterday as she wanted to settle matters with Sogo first. "Sogo has accepted her explanation and the misunderstanding has been cleared up," said Kok.Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Datuk Ahmad Bahrin Idrus confirmed receiving the report."As it was recently lodged, we need a few days to complete investigation," he said.Ahmad Bahrin said he had instructed the Dang Wangi police to expedite their investigation into the allegations.He declined to comment if it was normal procedure to ask detainees to strip naked while changing into lock-up uniform in front of female police officers. "All I can say is that we need to check the allegation to see if it is true and then check it against the standard operating procedures," he said.However, he confirmed that the Inspector-General of Police’s Standing Orders on Code of Practice for Body Searches had been implemented by the city police.The police rules were announced by Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar at a three-day human rights course and distributed to 147 police chiefs in attendance on March 3 in Kuala Lumpur.The rules require suspects to be practically attired during searches, and classifies body searches into three categories: Pat-down, strip and intimate searches. There is also a requirement that searches are not conducted by officers below the rank of inspector, with consideration for gender and cultural sensitivities.

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Managing the insignificant

Taoism
Chpater 64 - Managing the Insignificant

What is still at rest is easily kept quiet.What has not as yet appeared is easily prevented. What is still feeble is easily broken. What is still scant is easily dispersed. Treat things before they exist. Regulate things before disorder begins. The stout tree has originated from a tiny rootlet. A tall tower is raised by heaping up bricks of clay. A far away journey begins with a foot. He that makes mars. He that grasps loses.The holy man does not make; therefore he mars not. He does not grasp; therefore he loses not. The people when undertaking an enterprise are always near completion, and yet they fail. Remain careful to the end as in the beginning and you will not fail in your enterprise. Therefore the holy man desires to be desireless, and does not prize articles difficult to obtain. He learns, not to be learned, and seeks a home where multitudes of people pass by. He assists unlimited things in their natural development, but he does not venture to interfere.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Coffee Prayer


Our Coffee which art in Brazil,
Caffeine be thy name.
Thy cuppa come,
with thy cream and thy sugar,
Thy will be done in kopitiam,
as it is in American Starbuck.

Give us this day our daily Caffeine.
And forgive us our doziness in the morning,
as we forgive those who doze against us during the day.

And lead us not into sleepiness,
but deliver us from false alertness:
For Thine is the drink,
and the booster,
and the sheppard of my glorius day...,
5 times a day and Raspberry Mocha !
forever Latte Coffea Arabica.

Amen ?

Monday, March 13, 2006

What Women Want ?


Oh, women
look what have you done ?
You go to gym, spa, beauty parlour, slimming centre..
your clothes are now tighter, smaller, and more revealing
You want to look sexier and yet respectable
you have sexualized the world....
Equality of sexes ?
feminism sound like mental illness to me..

You want to be respectable,
I have to work harder now,
to finance your lifestyle.
you want a career,
I have to do more housework now,
and balance my career and home.

You want finacial independece,
so you have 50% of my everythings, and
kept your 100% to yourself.

The "yin" is now
more dominat than the "Yang".
Yet you still proclaimed the "inequality",
and the perceived sexual discrimination ?

Oh women,
what do you really want ?
Ahh... silly me !
Men sometimes do look stupid !
You are not interested in EQUALITY !
You want full control of my EQUITY !

I agreed, behind every successful man,
there is a woman.
But don't you agreed that,
behind every successful woman,
there is a VERY VERY TIRED man ?

To all the women out there,
with all due respect,
Happy International Women day ( March 8th 2006 )

Friday, March 10, 2006

Work with me ?

What do you see Preacher man ?

Can you feel your sights with your heart ?
With rhetoric, your cried "Work with me, NOT for me" ?
With feel good innocence, we put you back to power....
Two years has passed,
Oh, Preacher man, what do you see ?
Can you still see with your far-away eyes ?
Can you remember the vows you promised ?

In your own ivory tower,
you surround yourself with your wise men & women,
to be portrayed as a political leader with courage, conviction and wisdom.

But Mr Preacher man,
are you out of touch with reality ?
Can you still see with the eyes of common men on the street ?
Can you see the contractions of invoking "unavoidable" decisions,
to worsen the conditions for betterment of life for all Malaysians ?
Can you feel the pains they are suffering ?

Do you share the burden of breadwinners
bringing less foods home,
spending less time at home,
losing faith in the system,
and crying silently in desperations to hold the family together......

Mr Preacher man,
with your armchair philosophies,
what do you see ?
Do you still see the dignity and worth in your power hallway ?

Work with you ?
or Do as we are told,
burning the future now to keep the present warm ?

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Take it positively ? Again ?

The following is a statement issued by MCA, a component party in the Federal Government of Malaysia. The statement titled Look At It Positively, is the party's political justification in support of the recent price increase in Petroleum in Malaysia. While I respect the political rationale of MCA to justify for the price increase, I also sincerely hope the already implanted “comical misconceptions and misinformations” this country bumpkin has, can be corrected by the bunch of professional men and women of the Economic Bureau of MCA.
I seek forgiveness for my my lack of understanding of economics. But for whatever justifications the MCA and the government can come up to support the price increase, I just want this bunch of politicians to know that, as a hardworking Malaysian, I am seriously affected by this price increase, and I am seriously suffering in Silence ! Please don't ask me to work harder anymore because there are no more energy left in me! Please don't ask me to tighten my belt more because my last belt already snapped ? Please don't ask me to adjust my lifestyle any more because the next level for me is the poverty line.
The bottom line is, please don't make life anymore difficult for me...... My comments are in RED !!!

Look at it positively ( I have been very POSITIVE since birth !!! How much more POSITIVE you want me to be ? )
IT HAS BEEN nearly a week since the Government announced an increase in the price of petrol and diesel prices. ( To me, every year I am suffering from the price increases and its multiplier effects !!! )

Now, perhaps we ought to give the matter serious thought and consider the Government's rationale in making the move. We are sure it was just as hard for the Government to make that decision as it would be hard for us to accept the reality of the situation. ( so you mean to said that the citizen of this country are incapable of serious thoughts and are not considerate to the well beings of the country ? The petrol pumps are the last few remaining places where it does not discriminate the rich, the poor, the skin colours, the faiths, etc. I totally agreed that it is very hard for the Government to remove subsidies from deserving citizens and give it to non deserving citizens. This is not an act of courage but arrogant ! The word “subsidies' is a very derogatory word and it implies the citizens of Malaysia expect handout from the government. The proper word to use here is REBATE. Every citizen is entitled to rebate from the profit made from the natural resources of this country. )

The Government obviously had given the matter much thought and decided that the move just could not be avoided, not unless we want to live in a situation where subsidies will take away a huge part of the Government’s development expenditure. ( It can be avoided ! For example, by removing patronage to the government link companies and by not venturing into commercial enterprises will give the same result of not denting the government development budget. The government should also avoid financial expenses into “luxury” participations such as monsoon cup, F1, etc.)

We are sure it was not an easy choice, but one that the Government had to take in the long-term interest of the country’s economy and a more stable financial system. ( It is always not easy to make choice when factual data are inconclusive ! this is basically an evasive political statement to justify simplistic evaluation of the long term economic position of the country. )

Global petroleum prices had been increasing exponentially since 2002. ( As a net producer of petroleum, so is the profit of Petronas and the derived taxes )

And since last year, the price of crude oil has surged to around US$62 per barrel now, and this is expected to hover around this high level. ( So is the Huge profit derived by Petronas )

While Thailand and Indonesia raised prices in July last year, Indonesia by as much as 126%, our Government had resisted any attempts to increase prices then. Obviously, this cannot go on further. Malaysia cannot be isolated from the international environment. ( Is Indonesia and Thailand a Net exporter of Petroleum. Why not compare ourself with Brunei in Similar capacity ? Please tell me which net petroleum exporter countries that require their citizen to pay petroleum at international price. Thailand does not have Toll but in Malaysia We have to pay toll charge of more than RM 100 from Kuala Lumpur to Alor Setar. The question is, why compared ourself with biased parameters to justify for unpopular actions )

With the continued high global oil prices, Malaysia cannot help but raise the price of petroleum. ( But we are not importing petroleum. This kind of juggernautmic still puzzles me ! With continued high global oil prices, Petronas cannot help but continued to enjoy huge profits !!! )

Even after the 30 sen per litre increase, the petrol price in Malaysia is still among the lowest in the world and in Southeast Asia, except for Brunei. ( The rest of the world import petroleum, while Malaysia is self sufficient and is an exporter. Raising prices is a simplistic excuse to mismanagement of economy ! )

Let us consider the alternative to any increase in fuel prices. ( What alternative ? The only alternative you have is to raise price. Come on, be a bit more creative in creating wealth. Stop using subtle threats !)

Continued fuel subsidies will have far-reaching effects on the economy. ( Another threatening political statement. "far reaching effects" ? Are Malaysian really that stupid ? The only far reaching effect I see here is, if the present government always resort to simplistic approach without taking into consideration of the well being of average Malaysian, they will lose the rights to form the next government !)

The country will be better off spending the funds allocated for subsidies directly in the economy. ( Give me an example of the government spending that is DIRECTLY into the economy. Can pumping of Billions dollars into government linked companies to write-off its debts be considered as an example of spending directly into the economy ?)

Detailed analyses indicate that if the Government continued to subsidise the price of petrol, it will eat into the development budget, thus causing an economic drag. ( Detailed Analysis ? Which one ? Please publish the documentation. Eating into development Budget ? Please also transparently list out all other subsidies that are given out by the government that are not eating into development budget. Economic Drag ? By not giving back the citizens' entitlement of direct rebate ?)

To allow this to happen will go against the principle of good governance. ( Now you are talking about principle of good governance. What constitute good governance in Malaysia ? )

A study by Morgan Stanley estimated that if the money for fuel subsidies were spent in the economy, growth would improve by 3.2 percentage points. ( I can also conclusively state that if the propensity to spend by average Malaysians is reduced by 20% due to removal of petroleum rebates, approximately RM 4 Billions, directly from the economy and unfairly diverted to non productive sector will cause far more serious damages to the economy. So, are you sure you are not quoting Morgan Stanley's study out of context ? )

If the funds were allocated to targeted groups where the multiplier effect is significant, the impact would likely be greater. ( huh, this is the tricky and interesting part... Which target group now the government intend to divert the subsidies into ? Multiplier effect ? Does it really apply here ? Are you qualified to make this assessment ? )

It must be pointed out that even with the increase in petrol prices, vulnerable groups like fishermen are protected as they will continue to be supplied with diesel at RM1 per litre. High oil prices resulted in high price for synthetic rubber, which has resulted in high prices of rubber to between RM3 to RM3.50 a kg. ( By all means, the fishermen must be allowed to continue to enjoy the petroleum rebates. For your information, fisherman catches fishes. I don't see how a fisherman's profession is directly correlated to the increase in Rubber price. )

The price of other commodities like palm oil and timber has also increased, resulting in substantial increases in the income of rural households and better standard of living of the rural hinterland. ( Raising the standard of living is always the moral obligation of the government. Should the higher level of standard of living be negated by raising petroleum prices and its multiplier effects ? By your definition, what constitute a rural hinterland ? Better standard of Living in rural hinterland ? You referring to Orang Asli ? )

For example, a household with a 10-acre plot of rubber land now earns between RM8,000 and RM10,000 per month. ( Wow, if with a small plot of land, the rubber tapper can made a profit of RM 8K to RM 10K month, that should qualified them to the top 2% of Malaysia's high income group. I sincerely doubt you are reading the right column of the statistics ! But anyhow, does revelation of this fact justify the government's actions to increase petrol prices ? )

The point is used to stress that Malaysia has to work within a system in which the country not only enjoys the benefits of high commodity prices, but must also be prepared to adjust to the consequences of paying more for petroleum products. ( System ? what system you are talking about ? political system ? Economic system ? Free Market system, Or selective tempering of Systems ?)

Prudence is perhaps the key word here. ( Prudence ? Agreed totally. We have done our part. But would the government be open enough to admit to the economic wastages contributed by the government machineries ? )

Malaysians, like their counterparts in Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore will have to accept the reality of high oil prices and make the necessary changes and adjustments. ( Accept the Reality ? Which side of the reality you are referring to ? The reality that there are too much wastages in the system to the extend that REBATE are now being reclassified as subsidies and forcibly removed ? Be specific ? )

The fuel price increase is a message from a respectable government to the people that they must adjust their lifestyle and adapt to rising oil prices and to remain competitive and to ensure a stronger economic foundation and financial management in the long-term for the benefit of the people and the country. ( Oooh, So only the government is respectable ? You mean to say that the citizens of Malaysia are not respectable ? Why not the government and its agencies, ministries, and GLC lead by example adjusting their lifestyle and spending ? In addition, how can raising prices be equipped with more competitiveness ? Which school of economics you come from ? )

I bet the same arguments will be used over and over again to justify for the increase in prices of other basic necessities. Isn't it very easy to recycle standard answers ?

With a mug of coffee in my left hand, and a pen in my right hand to write nonsense, I feel like going to the registrar of societies to register an association called Malaysian Conmen Association. Any followers ?

MCA
ECONOMIC POLICY BUREAU,
Kuala Lumpur.

Monday, March 06, 2006

I am CONFUSED

Ours is a religion of peace, love, and Compassion.
so they claimed.

We are misunderstood,
We are manipulated,
We are oppressed,
and the world is not sensitive to us.
So they beat their chests and cried.

We respect human rights,
We value freedom of speech,
we denounce violence,
and, we are against discriminations....
So they shouted.

And yet, despite all these proclaimed righteousness,
I hear and see in graphic details
of the aggressions and violences,
of intolerences, of oppressive stands,
of murders and killings,
of disrespect for humanity,
of injustices to the minorities,
and all the wrongs,
committed by you.

Who are you ?
Children of God ?
Or, messengers of absurdities ?
Please, Please....
Do not confuse me anymore.......

How I wish Adam and Eve was a Chinese,
because they would have eaten the snake,
instead of getting choked with apple in their throat.
And, we would all live in Paradise now........

Now, Can I have my coffee with good old Canadian Maple syrup ?

Friday, March 03, 2006

Huh.......

On the lighter side, I received this in my mail...............
To those of us who have children in our lives, whether they are our own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or students...here is something to make you chuckle. Whenever your children are out of control, you can take comfort from the thought that even God's omnipotence did not extend to His own children After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was "DON'T!"
"Don't what?" Adam replied.
"Don't eat the forbidden fruit." God said.
"Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve..we have forbidden fruit!!!!!"
"No Way!"
"Yes way!"
"Do NOT eat the fruit!" said God.
"Why"
"Because I am your Father and I said so!" God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants. A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was angry! "Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?" God asked.
"Uh huh," Adam replied.
"Then why did you?" said the Father.
"I don't know," said Eve.
"She started it!" Adam said
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"DID NOT!"
Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.

BUT THERE IS REASSURANCE IN THE STORY! If you have persistently and lovingly tried to give children wisdom and they haven't taken it, don't be hard on yourself. If God had trouble raising children, what makes you think it would be a piece of cake for you?

THINGS TO THINK ABOUT!
  1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk. Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.
  2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.
  3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.
  4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said.
  5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
  6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.
ADVICE FOR THE DAY:
Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day.
AND FINALLY:
IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE: "TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

Thursday, March 02, 2006

....and lawyers make good money....

A friend emailed these jokes to me. I like it......
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: What is your date of birth?
WITNESS: July 18th.
ATTORNEY: What year?
WITNESS: Every year.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: How old is your son, the one living with you?
WITNESS: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.
ATTORNEY: How long has he lived with you?
WITNESS: Forty-five years.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved invoodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
___________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.
________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh....
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on deadpeople?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you goto?
WITNESS: Oral.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing anautopsy on him!
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh?
______________________________________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for apulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when youbegan the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law!

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

More Tariff Hike ?

More Tariff Hike ?

The price hike for petrol is here to stay. The bittered pills have been swallowed. As usual, Malaysians will have to live with it and life go on....
Now, let's prepare ourselves for another shocks ! Tenaga Nasional Berhad ( TNB ), the national electricity supplier has submitted request to the government to hike the tariffs by more than 10%. Part of the reason for this price hike request is, the utility company has considerable debts, and has been unable to generate enough cash from business operations to cover its spending. It also state that Malaysia has the lowest electricity tariffs in the region. So ? Aren't we Malaysian very lucky ? Look like I have to buy a few more kerosense lamps to save on electricity ! so, why not arguing on the point that Malaysian has one of the lowest per capital income in the world ? Can the Government put money into our pocket from petroleum royalties to raise our per capital income ? Bolih ka ?
When the cock talks, should the chicken listens ? The proper protocol is, when the big cock talk, the small cock listen. When the small cock talk, the chicken listen. Or was it really the cock talking cocks cocks ? No wonder there are so many cocked face cocks cocking cock languages in the cocking farms in Malaysia.... Come to think of it, even the cocks ( big and small ) are suffering from cocking Avian flu.........

Telekom Malaysia Berhad ( TMB ), you cocking next ?
Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor ( SYABAS), you cocking next ?
Let's all pray to GOD that they don't increase the price of my favorite Hainanese Cockffee, sorry, coffee ( It is called Kopi-O-cock-cock ).