or – I have friends in high places. In Malaysia it is not what you know but rather who you know. The MO is to tap into whatever resources you can bring to bear if you have a friend in the right place. Even in mundane things such maintenance and water bills.
Yup, you read right. I live in an apartment whose management (developer) threatens to cut off the water supply to residents who are behind by only 2 months' maintenance charges or Rm70 in water bills. Residents who are behind in payments are listed in a notice board located at the lift lobby for all to see; it also announces a monthly 'operasi kunci air' on recaltritrant residents who fail to pay up. I make it a point to to check out the board and once saw that there was a resident who owed 8 months' maintenance and over RM1000 in water charges – this resident was still enjoying uninterrupted water supply. I made an enquiry when paying my bill and was told ' this person has a special arrangement with someone in the management'. He also runs a dilapidated food court or shack near the apartments and the water is piped to it. The cheek of it all! Using water at residential rates piped to a food selling establishment and not paying the bills at the same time.
The resident committee is well nigh useless in fighting for the apartment dwellers' rights; being more interested in organising table tennis or other games. This is why not many people bother to join the committee or attend meetings.
On the same note, this is why strata titles takes umpteen years to be issued. The developer wants to keep on creaming the maintenance income which would be lost once the titles are issued because the residents can then set up their own independent management firm to handle everything. So they drag their feet as the delay serves their purpose. This situation will never improve, so perish those hopes for a speedy change to this.
Just grin and bear it. Meanwhile, try to cultivate some friends in high places. May do you some good.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
My swan bigger than your swan.....
Malaysians seem to be pre-occupied with setting some record or other. Biggest this, longest that, highest something or other. Why do we indulge in this? Do we really need such shallow achievements to crow about to all? Are such records of international recognition? Are they a waste of resources that could be more meaningfully expended in other avenues? Are we so insecure that we need such feats to gather attention to ourselves?
A record breaking burger was recently made in Pennsylvania that weighs in at 55.79kg. Now that's a real whopper! A humongous beef patty sandwiched between the halves of an equally giant bun and garnished with pounds of tomatoes and lettuce. Let's see Popeye's friend Wimpy wolf that down. A claim is being filed with the Guinness Book of Records.
That was a creditable burger and record. Not like our local attempts. Longest hot dog 'record' which consisted of hot dogs stacked end to end does not a world record make. Anyone can do this. What will impress is a fantastically long bun holding an equally long sausage. Same with the 'longest' satay grill, just lots of satay grills juxtaposed on adjoining tables. The latest was the kebab attempt; another case of just sambung-sambung. This is pathetic! Maybe this is why we have a local book of records; we can't get into the Guinness. Or is it because Guinness is not halal due to its stout. Whatever.
Our local attempts at setting dubious records are a waste of time, resources and effort. It is better that the money spent be chanelled to charitable purposes and the free time of the participants expended on social work.
A record breaking burger was recently made in Pennsylvania that weighs in at 55.79kg. Now that's a real whopper! A humongous beef patty sandwiched between the halves of an equally giant bun and garnished with pounds of tomatoes and lettuce. Let's see Popeye's friend Wimpy wolf that down. A claim is being filed with the Guinness Book of Records.
That was a creditable burger and record. Not like our local attempts. Longest hot dog 'record' which consisted of hot dogs stacked end to end does not a world record make. Anyone can do this. What will impress is a fantastically long bun holding an equally long sausage. Same with the 'longest' satay grill, just lots of satay grills juxtaposed on adjoining tables. The latest was the kebab attempt; another case of just sambung-sambung. This is pathetic! Maybe this is why we have a local book of records; we can't get into the Guinness. Or is it because Guinness is not halal due to its stout. Whatever.
Our local attempts at setting dubious records are a waste of time, resources and effort. It is better that the money spent be chanelled to charitable purposes and the free time of the participants expended on social work.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Another 6 bites the dust!
Yet another express bus accident, 6 precious lives sacrificed. The bus concerned ploughed into 2 cars that had collided on the highway; then plunged into a ravine and turned turtle. Was the bus running too fast, over the speed limit?
Bad judgement and plain bad luck accounts for most accidents. Buses are getting more powerful with turbocharged engines that enable them to easily overhaul a small car on the straight. Vehicular performance is enhanced each day while driving skills of the average driver do not keep up.
Installation of black boxes for long haul buses remains a bad idea. These data recorders are good only for pinpointing cause and blame in the aftermath of an accident. When innocent victims have gone to the great beyond. They do not prevent mishaps and loss of lives. What should have been done was to adopt the speed limiter similar to that found in high end cars which limits to them to 250kph. In the case of buses, the limit should be 90kph, yet we can frequently see them flashing past at 130kph or more on the expressways.
I wonder if the relevant agencies have the means to download and expertise to analyse the black box's recorded data. Isn't it much better to prevent the disease than having to bother about the cure later? In this case, there is really no cure. People have been needlessly sacrificed and lives wrecked.
Massive re-thinking is needed here. It is much easier to prescribe equipment changes by law than to instill safer driving attitudes. No amount of exhorting of safe driving is going to do any good if recalcitrant drivers are hell bent on proving they are better than Schumacher or Alonso.
Meanwhile, for longevity perhaps a course on defensive driving would be a good investment.
Bad judgement and plain bad luck accounts for most accidents. Buses are getting more powerful with turbocharged engines that enable them to easily overhaul a small car on the straight. Vehicular performance is enhanced each day while driving skills of the average driver do not keep up.
Installation of black boxes for long haul buses remains a bad idea. These data recorders are good only for pinpointing cause and blame in the aftermath of an accident. When innocent victims have gone to the great beyond. They do not prevent mishaps and loss of lives. What should have been done was to adopt the speed limiter similar to that found in high end cars which limits to them to 250kph. In the case of buses, the limit should be 90kph, yet we can frequently see them flashing past at 130kph or more on the expressways.
I wonder if the relevant agencies have the means to download and expertise to analyse the black box's recorded data. Isn't it much better to prevent the disease than having to bother about the cure later? In this case, there is really no cure. People have been needlessly sacrificed and lives wrecked.
Massive re-thinking is needed here. It is much easier to prescribe equipment changes by law than to instill safer driving attitudes. No amount of exhorting of safe driving is going to do any good if recalcitrant drivers are hell bent on proving they are better than Schumacher or Alonso.
Meanwhile, for longevity perhaps a course on defensive driving would be a good investment.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Fries with that??
Fast food advertisements to be banned ??!! Reason? To promote a healthier lifestyle among Malaysians. This will only hold true if a blanket ban across all media channels such as television, radio, printed media, etc. is imposed. No point if only RTM bans such ads or on children programs. Fast food companies cry foul, saying their food is healthy and balanced while at the same time casting aspersions on other local foods such as nasi lemak, roti canai, et al.
I am not overly perturbed by this scenario; no issue really as I prefer the local stuff. What I cannnot fathom is why nobody has asked whether fast food such as burgers and fried chicken gives one value for money. At about RM9-10 per person for a burger set or 2-piece chicken set ( both with fries & soda); it certainly ain't cheap.
I remember when I first tried a large burger over a score years ago (that pretty much tells you my age) the meat patty used to be thicker. There was more to bit into and the cheese slice tasted more like real cheese. Now the meat patty looks and tastes more like a soggy disc of dark cardboard. I suppose corners had to be cut to keeps costs down and profits up so we can tell everyone our burgers are the cheapest in the world. The cheese, sigh, tastes just like something from the lab - plasticky. I have always considered ready sliced cheese as plastic. Jamie Oliver showed how to make nice beef patties recently on tv, may be a recipe on his website.
I also recall that the fried chicken pieces used to be larger than now. When it first started, the fried chicken chain said that the birds had to be of a minimum weight (this I can't recall, can anybody throw some light on this?) in order to be used. Common cow (or chicken?) sense will tell us that a bird of any size will yield the same 8 parts – 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 2 breasts and 2 flanks; only the said parts will be smaller or bigger. Using a smaller bird will definitely yield more profit, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to grasp this logic. My observations were confirmed during one of my visits to Singapore when I tried the fried chicken there (from the same named chain) – the chicken parts were definitely larger than what we get here. Mind you, the chooks used there come from our dear beloved country. Jeez, perhaps I shouldn't be using my singdollars just to satisfy this curiosity of mine, but I did. And came away that I was right after all. Now I steer a wide berth from such fried chicken, preferring to rustle up a roast chicky from an old recipe - can gorge to my satisfaction without feeling shortchanged.
A new fish burger was widely advertised, the ad showing a humongous fish patty that was larger than the bun that held it. Supposed to be substantially larger than the competition's fish burger. Damn fool that I was; I tried it and came away feeling diddled. The bloody bun was larger than the fish patty!. Wtf? Talk about deceptive advertising.
Pizzas. Mama mia, how can any self respecting Italiano bring himself to eat our local pizzas?. Do the maths and you'd conclude that it is a grossly overpriced pretender to the real thing. At about RM30 per large pizza, what do you get? A large flour disc with tomato paste, mozarella cheese, vege/fruit and meat toppings. The total meat protein content comes to about 2-fingers worth per pizza. The cheese is probably fake mozarella as the real McCoy is mucho expensive. The profit margin must be mind boggling. Which is why they can give you a one-for-one offer during promotions and still make a good profit. Started you thinking, right? But make your own choice, nothing stops you from blowing away your hard earned moolah if you are addicted to it. Free country.
I personally prefer to pig out at the restaurant run by a large furniture chain store in Mutiara Damansara. Not naming it cos I am not paid to advertise it but I guess you know as much. For under RM20, I can enjoy meat balls or poached salmon, with dessert and unlimited coffee refills (actually limited by only your bladder and your thick skin in making repeated trips to the dispensing machine, blush). If appetite permits, grab a platter of smoked salmon too. Atmosphere is so-so being more of a diner than a real upmarket place. Just the place to bring a buddy for a tete-a- tete. Healthier food too. Kiasu bugger that I am, I do sometimes go for breakfast there. 9 to 11am. If you scramble (right kiasu term to use, nyuk) there by 10am, RM2 (read two) buys you a plate of nasi lemak with sotong or 2 small pieces of chicky or you can opt for the boiled eggs set with toast/buns. Coffee (or rather the cup) is gratis before 10am. They charge RM3 for the coffee after 10am. I shan't disclose how many cuppa coffees I gulp down. You can guess. Talk about the cheapest brekky in town, it doesn't get any better than this. I hope they don't get any bright ideas about raising prices after this. Lotsa people will curse me for my big mouth.
So make your pick. One man's meat is another's poison. Bon appetit!
I am not overly perturbed by this scenario; no issue really as I prefer the local stuff. What I cannnot fathom is why nobody has asked whether fast food such as burgers and fried chicken gives one value for money. At about RM9-10 per person for a burger set or 2-piece chicken set ( both with fries & soda); it certainly ain't cheap.
I remember when I first tried a large burger over a score years ago (that pretty much tells you my age) the meat patty used to be thicker. There was more to bit into and the cheese slice tasted more like real cheese. Now the meat patty looks and tastes more like a soggy disc of dark cardboard. I suppose corners had to be cut to keeps costs down and profits up so we can tell everyone our burgers are the cheapest in the world. The cheese, sigh, tastes just like something from the lab - plasticky. I have always considered ready sliced cheese as plastic. Jamie Oliver showed how to make nice beef patties recently on tv, may be a recipe on his website.
I also recall that the fried chicken pieces used to be larger than now. When it first started, the fried chicken chain said that the birds had to be of a minimum weight (this I can't recall, can anybody throw some light on this?) in order to be used. Common cow (or chicken?) sense will tell us that a bird of any size will yield the same 8 parts – 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 2 breasts and 2 flanks; only the said parts will be smaller or bigger. Using a smaller bird will definitely yield more profit, you don't need to be a rocket scientist to grasp this logic. My observations were confirmed during one of my visits to Singapore when I tried the fried chicken there (from the same named chain) – the chicken parts were definitely larger than what we get here. Mind you, the chooks used there come from our dear beloved country. Jeez, perhaps I shouldn't be using my singdollars just to satisfy this curiosity of mine, but I did. And came away that I was right after all. Now I steer a wide berth from such fried chicken, preferring to rustle up a roast chicky from an old recipe - can gorge to my satisfaction without feeling shortchanged.
A new fish burger was widely advertised, the ad showing a humongous fish patty that was larger than the bun that held it. Supposed to be substantially larger than the competition's fish burger. Damn fool that I was; I tried it and came away feeling diddled. The bloody bun was larger than the fish patty!. Wtf? Talk about deceptive advertising.
Pizzas. Mama mia, how can any self respecting Italiano bring himself to eat our local pizzas?. Do the maths and you'd conclude that it is a grossly overpriced pretender to the real thing. At about RM30 per large pizza, what do you get? A large flour disc with tomato paste, mozarella cheese, vege/fruit and meat toppings. The total meat protein content comes to about 2-fingers worth per pizza. The cheese is probably fake mozarella as the real McCoy is mucho expensive. The profit margin must be mind boggling. Which is why they can give you a one-for-one offer during promotions and still make a good profit. Started you thinking, right? But make your own choice, nothing stops you from blowing away your hard earned moolah if you are addicted to it. Free country.
I personally prefer to pig out at the restaurant run by a large furniture chain store in Mutiara Damansara. Not naming it cos I am not paid to advertise it but I guess you know as much. For under RM20, I can enjoy meat balls or poached salmon, with dessert and unlimited coffee refills (actually limited by only your bladder and your thick skin in making repeated trips to the dispensing machine, blush). If appetite permits, grab a platter of smoked salmon too. Atmosphere is so-so being more of a diner than a real upmarket place. Just the place to bring a buddy for a tete-a- tete. Healthier food too. Kiasu bugger that I am, I do sometimes go for breakfast there. 9 to 11am. If you scramble (right kiasu term to use, nyuk) there by 10am, RM2 (read two) buys you a plate of nasi lemak with sotong or 2 small pieces of chicky or you can opt for the boiled eggs set with toast/buns. Coffee (or rather the cup) is gratis before 10am. They charge RM3 for the coffee after 10am. I shan't disclose how many cuppa coffees I gulp down. You can guess. Talk about the cheapest brekky in town, it doesn't get any better than this. I hope they don't get any bright ideas about raising prices after this. Lotsa people will curse me for my big mouth.
So make your pick. One man's meat is another's poison. Bon appetit!
Run for dem hills!
Earthquakes and tremors – these are words we hear and read about almost every month lately. Human lives remain the main casualties whenever and wherever such events happen. Malaysia has been rather fortunate thus far, its casualties in the 2004 Asian tsunami were much lower than neighbouring nations such as Indonesia and Thailand.
More than 2 years have passed. Are we prepared to react and cope should worse disasters come knocking on our doors? Are our emergency response for rescue and medical support up to scratch?
Rescuing people from massive floods and then housing them in ad-hoc relief centres is different than coping with a major earthquake or tidal wave. Injury and death will be horrendously higher in the latter scenarios. We have been very lucky that such disasters that befell our neighbours have left us relatively unscathed. This run of good luck may not hold; so let's not get complacent. We should get cracking to prepare well for when such disasters really occur, not if.
Can our fire and rescue services cope with casualties running into the thousands if major highrise buildings in urban centres collapsed in an earthquake? Victims need to be extricated quickly and sent to medical centres for treatment. Road traffic will be choked to a standstill; can enough helicopters be mobilised to shuttle victims swiftly to hospitals? How are personnel from elsewhere in the country to be deployed quickly to affected areas?
In a major earthquake, landline and mobile telephone services will no doubt be disrupted. Will mobile radio communications be adequate in providing efficient information exchange between the disaster agencies involved? Surely we are not going to use semaphore or smoke signals.
Government hospitals will no doubt be inundated with casualties; thereby having to rope in the private medical centres as well. Has any prior arrangements been made with these private centres for requisition of their facilites? Do we have sufficient ambulances? Do we have field hospitals similar to that used by armed forces that can be speedily set up in disaster zones? Have we procured sufficient equipment such as rescue baskets and stretchers? What about medications and dressings?
I really dread when the writing is on the wall - a major disaster strikes our fine land and we can't cope. Then what? Wait for foreign relief agencies or volunteers to come and assist? To do what? Collect dead bodies?
Get cracking, no more pussy footing, wake up!
More than 2 years have passed. Are we prepared to react and cope should worse disasters come knocking on our doors? Are our emergency response for rescue and medical support up to scratch?
Rescuing people from massive floods and then housing them in ad-hoc relief centres is different than coping with a major earthquake or tidal wave. Injury and death will be horrendously higher in the latter scenarios. We have been very lucky that such disasters that befell our neighbours have left us relatively unscathed. This run of good luck may not hold; so let's not get complacent. We should get cracking to prepare well for when such disasters really occur, not if.
Can our fire and rescue services cope with casualties running into the thousands if major highrise buildings in urban centres collapsed in an earthquake? Victims need to be extricated quickly and sent to medical centres for treatment. Road traffic will be choked to a standstill; can enough helicopters be mobilised to shuttle victims swiftly to hospitals? How are personnel from elsewhere in the country to be deployed quickly to affected areas?
In a major earthquake, landline and mobile telephone services will no doubt be disrupted. Will mobile radio communications be adequate in providing efficient information exchange between the disaster agencies involved? Surely we are not going to use semaphore or smoke signals.
Government hospitals will no doubt be inundated with casualties; thereby having to rope in the private medical centres as well. Has any prior arrangements been made with these private centres for requisition of their facilites? Do we have sufficient ambulances? Do we have field hospitals similar to that used by armed forces that can be speedily set up in disaster zones? Have we procured sufficient equipment such as rescue baskets and stretchers? What about medications and dressings?
I really dread when the writing is on the wall - a major disaster strikes our fine land and we can't cope. Then what? Wait for foreign relief agencies or volunteers to come and assist? To do what? Collect dead bodies?
Get cracking, no more pussy footing, wake up!
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