A Day at the Beach (Nudity)

Just another day at the beach.....

Malaysia Mulls Nuclear Energy

Best news I've heard thus far. In the Bernama news release today, the honourable Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Science, technology and Innovation to look into using nuclear power as a source of energy.

I mentioned this in my first post that we need cheap energy to fuel the growth of the country. All the advance country have cheap energy sources, either from within or eternally but they have sourced them out cheaply. Malaysia doesn't enjoy such luxury and should therefore consider the possibility of using nuclear power as our energy source.

Bring in cheap energy and watch the industry bloom all over the country.

Of course this would be bad news to those who has invested millions of dollars into building the existing energy infrastructure. And they should be taken care of, financially, or else they would throw a hammer into these plans.

So, I really hope the Malaysian government will cut through all the red tape and get this done as quickly as possible. We could go for the civilian version of the nuclear power plant so that we can purchase the raw material for it, and not be like our Air Force, which has US fighter planes but do not have the weapons that come with it (this was overheard on the train between a foreigner and a Malaysian) because the US doesn't trust us with it. I guess that is why we have resorted to Russian planes ever since.

The next cheap thing we should be looking for is cheaper Internet access!

Indonesia to Fight Malaysia over Pride

In his article in the Jakarta Post, Diaz Hendropriyono suggested that Indonesia strengthen its millitary might in order to gain some respect from Malaysia. Why? is Indonesia going to attack Malaysia if we don't treat its citizen well. If we dont treat Indonesians well enough, then why send them here to find work. Send them somewhere else. We didn't invite them here. They came at their own will. So fuck it.

Its a typical third class citizen mentality that Diaz is displaying when the amount of money spent on the military might be prudently spent on improving the infrastructure in Indonesia - better roads, electricity, telephone, internet, schools, universities.

In the future, men will fight with ideas and knowledge. Without knowledge, how is Indonesia going to prevent white collar crimes? By bringing in a tank? Or a submarine? How silly can you be Diaz.

You obtain respect by accomplishing things. Not merely by military might. Just look at the US. Their the most powerful millitary power in the world but do they earn the respect of others - not necessarily unless forced upon. People dont like bullies anymore and they sound their opinion by diverting their funds somewhere else. Just like how Malaysia is enjoying an influx of visitors from the Middle East who were shunned by the US.

Stupid, Stupid Liverpool

I hope this season goes horribly wrong for Liverpool FC. So that it serves as a lesson to Benitez that his rotation policy doesn't work and the fact that it worked thus far is only by fluke.

Liverpool players get rotated so much that they don't even know the game of their teammates. This is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong. I am a die hard Liverpool fan but these days, I prefer watching Arsenal and Manchester United play, simple because of their flair in playing a fast, exciting game.

Liverpool is still stuck with its boring game. Everyone thought that with Torres coming in, this would be Liverpool's season but with Benitez screwing things up, how can Liverpool ever flourish? Didn't he learn from the mistakes of the Tinkerman who used the method when at Chelsea, and is now the coach of Juventus (I hope Frank Lampard goes over to Juventus to become their midfield anchor).

For all those fans who have been waiting in vain for the last 17 years for Liverpool to bring back the cup, will it ever happen? Or will the worst happen - Man U to bring in the cup and over take Liverpool as the most successful English club.

I dread the day and the fact that it might happen sooner......

Are All Expatriates Good....

Do you know or work with an expatriate at your office? Is he/she any good?

There's a difference between being good and being experienced. There are some who just have more experience than you have and are quite impressive in their work. But they never stray far from what they know well.

In my line of work in finance, I have met many expatriates and truthfully, most of them are not half as good as what we make them out to be. Just because their white, Malaysians gawk at them as though their God! The only difference between them and us is that their education system (here we go again) exposes them to a lot of field work while the Malaysian education system focuses on memorizing facts and data which we end up not using at all.

American and Europeans go through a lot of field work during their course of study which forces them to think out of the box most of the time. This doesnt apply to Malaysians. But this hardly means that their superior than us.

The mst competent and yet humble expatriate that I personally know and met used to work for Lotus Engineering Malaysia. He's the head of the CAE department. According to people I know in Proton and from mixing with him occasionally, he's a very humble, soft spoken person but is very knowledgeable in his work. Even the engineers in Proton love him. If you don't know the history, let me enlighten you. Proton engineers despises Lotus engineers because they think the Lotus guys are too arrogant, while the Lotus guys thinks that Malaysian engineers are pure idiots. But everyone loved Lance Howes. He's brilliant, smart, handsome (the ladies in my team go ga-ga over him) and yet you feel so comfortable being with him. According to another engineer, who made a mistaken during a presentation, and Lance caught on the mistaken immediately, but didn't bring up the issue in the public forum. After the presentation, Lance approached this engineer and asked him about the mistake - whether is was a mistake on the engineers part or was it a new feature? His humbleness when posing the question astounds and impresses everyone. Lance is someone whom you know respects you for who you are, regardless of what you know.

Unfortunately, people like Lance are a dying breed. Nowadays I see arrogant expatriates, more so in the finance industry where their think they invented everything and we're stupid people who will pay absorbent amounts of money to learn from them.

As long as our education system feeds us useless data, we will be at the mercy of stupid expatriates.

To Lance, you're a gem!

A1Pro Keyboard - Lousy & Useless

Well, this is the A1Pro Keyboard that is sold in the US for $26 (RM93.6) but the Malaysian version, which cost Rm40 doesnt come with the touchpad, it has the old numeric keypad.

But, dont ever buy this keyboard! It impairs your typing speed considerably!

My wife is a fast typist but she could hardly type with this one. The backspace is small and not where it usually is. The arrow buttons which are usually an island by themselves, are compressed with the main tiles. In fact everything's compressed that it's hard to type.

The strokes you're so used to doesn't work with this keyboard.

Save yourself the agony and buy yourself a better keyboard than this one.

Congratulations Malaysian Spaceman

Congratulations Malaysian Spaceman!

One small step for you, but a huge Malaysian footprint on the world. You've made us a household name and we can proudly say that we're one of the countries that has sent a man to space.

Now I hope you can help the smart ministers in Parliament to formulate plans for Malaysia to develop its technological prowess. Compared to our neighbours Singapore or Taiwan, we're way behind in technology. We're so used to using cheap labour to get everything done. I know the government has to balance work flow and other things to ensure harmony among the people or else jobless people will riot and cause unrest like what happens in Thailand and Indonesia.

But with China offering cheap labour, at prices we cannot match, Malaysia is bound to lose its competitive cheap labour edge. Do you know how cheap labour is in Malaysia? Here's how much a young lady is paid to work as an operator in a US semiconductor company in the Ulu Klang High Tech Zone in Keramat - RM700 (USD 194) a month and this lady stands 12 hours a day. She isnt given a chair to sit because she has to stand and managed one to four machines concurrently. US MNC's make their money from cheap Malaysians. How long more will the government allow this to happen?

Malaysia cannot sustain this for long because labour is cheaper in China. The current toxic chemical saga in China where its good are boycotted in Western countries is not solely due to the dangerous chemicals found in its goods. The real reason for the ban against China's goods is because China is flooding the international markets with its cheap goods. And despite pleas to China to balance the trade deficit, Beijing refuses and is now paying the price. How long can Beijing sustain? I dont know. But I know for sure that soon things will go back to normal because human beings forget easily. So, China will start ramping up on its manufacturing again and Malaysia will lose more jobs.

Unless we move up the manufacturing chain into designing and developing our own products. But we cant do this instantly. Design courses have to be introduced in schools and universities to cultivate the young minds to be able to think out of the box. Malaysian teachers should stop spoon feeding their students. We should allow our students to make mistakes and learn from them. But the way our education system is designed by the smart alacks  in the education Ministry makes its impossible for our students to tinker and fail because failing means staying back one grade and become the laughing stock of the school. Malaysian education system promotes rote memorization!

Dr. Sheikh, I've heard what you said in space about following your dreams. And I hope all the young ones heard it too. But its too bad they wont be able to follow their dreams because our education system doesnt allow for it.

Start balancing project work and final exams and not let final exams be the end all in determining if someone passes or fails.

Sex...for S$10k

Here's the scenario.

Your US counterpart sends someone over to the Singapore office where you work for a week of coaching and on-the-job training. At the end of the week, on Friday morning, he offers you S$10,000 (~RM 22,000) to spend the night with him. Just for one night. Would you?

My Malaysian friend who works in Singapore for a financial institution was recently approached with this offer. She's married with two children and while they live in Johor, both her husband and her works in Singapore.

Two weeks ago, this offer was made to her and she was given the Friday afternoon to think about it and if she agreed, was to met him at his hotel room that night.

She did. And was paid with a cheques, which didnt bounce. She's RM 25,000 richer. Would you have done it? Would she do it again? Of course, her first answer is NO, this was the first and last time.

But surprisingly, acts like this are quite common in Singapore where people work long hours and spend more time in the office with their colleagues than at home with spouse and family. She has friends who spend evenings in hotel rooms that you pay by the hour with their colleagues, and then return home to their spouses. Their even gang bans going on, things you only hear in US.

I dont know how rampant this is in Malaysia since Malaysians still prefer the slower paced lifestyle than their neighbours down south in that tiny little island. Maybe the lack of space for recreational activities spurs the animal instinct in them.

Oh well, in the end, my friend had a good time, she says, and the lucky American managed to get himself one sweet pussy for the night.

Dr. Sheikh, How Will Space Help Us?

Reading the Star this morning, apparently Dr. Sheikh was quoted as saying,

“They should look at the various benefits space programmes have produced for the medical and scientific fields as well as spin-offs which benefited the world,” said Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, adding that Malaysia’s space venture would also place it in the same ranking as other developed countries in terms of science.

How will our space exploration help us, Malaysian scientist and doctors and engineers?

Every country has to go through certain stages of technological development in fields of medical, science and engineering; exhausting all possible earthy laws for enriching our understanding before exploring what zero gravity can offer us. We, Malaysia, needs a solid base before we can go and dabble with experiments in space.

Until now, no one from the Ministry of Science and Education has clearly spelled out the type of experiments that Dr. Sheikh has been doing and what possible hope those experiments can bring to us. All we know is that he's the lab boy for scientist from other countries who have experiments that requirea zero gravity environment.

And now there's talk about sending the second astronaut up in 2 years time. Will we have done enough work on our current findings so that our second astronaut can expand on it or are we just going up for publicity and work on other people's experiments again?

I realize now that leaders need to project some vision that the people can believe and hope for. Unfortunately, when I talk to my friends, all they ask is what benefit does this space mission has on Malaysia and whether its just for publicity for the current leaders? I do not know what to say other than to smile and nod my head. I am speechless. Only the Russians are happy. They managed to get one billion from us.

Hardtalk (BBC) with Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar

Full Transcript/ BBC / Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar's


Sarah Montague:
Malaysia has just celebrated the 50th anniversary of its independence from Britain, and there is much to celebrate. Living standards have improved immeasurably over the past five decades, and the economy is doing well. But race is increasingly becoming a problem. A third of the population are ethnic Chinese or Indian. And they are becoming increasingly frustrated at the systematic discrimination they suffer. My guest today is the country's Foreign Minister.

[music]

Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, welcome to HARDtalk.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Thank you very much.

Sarah Montague:
Is it time to change Malaysia's laws and treat everyone the same?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
When you talking about, looking at everyone, we're looking at nation building. The most important thing is Malaysians feel they are Malaysians. To recognise our diversity as a source of our strength, there is no need for us to change the laws so long as we're able to exercise the unity, we're able to act as Malaysians. And I think this is happening, the process of nation building is not a short process. We came from a very divided society that was recognised by economic functions, living at a very poor living standard. So I think we have tackled the issues in a way that will bring peace and stability, at the same time people are able to share prosperity of the country. And this is happening..

Sarah Montague:
But there were laws that were originally brought in to help Malays, who were... basically to tackle poverty. There might have been some justification for them at some time, but since poverty has been tackled, the illiteracy is eradicated, what's the justification for treating generations-old... ethnic Chinese and Indians who've been in Malaysia for generations; why should they be treated differently now?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think when you're looking at it from a detached point of view, you might be seeing it in that way. But if you look at it in reality, what is happening is that the economic growth of the non-Malays is faster after the New Economic Policy than before it. The share of the economic cake, is bigger, deeper and wider than before, so it is not as if you're looking at a theoretical, conceptual thing, you're looking at the realities on the ground. And the realities on the ground, if you look at the household income, between Malays, Chinese and Indians, even the Indians have got better household income than the Malays. So I think if you take it out of its ethnic dimension, then you will see that it is the function of any government to have the less fortunate, to make sure the divide that is based on ethnic division can be overcome. And I think we have done that quite successfully...

Sarah Montague:
Let's take a look at access to universities. Is it fair that it's easier for Malays to get to universities than it is for ethnic Indians or Chinese?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think the question, maybe at the beginning, I think it is the same thing in UK or any country that starts to build a nation. When you start to build a nation, when you see the disparity, the education opportunities, what we wanted to do was to create the opportunity. How do you avoid seeing people who are living in the rural areas with less facilities, how...

Sarah Montague:
... but you don't have that problem any longer it's difficult to justify..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
We do have.. we have.. At present it is based on merit, it is based on merit, and I think if you look at the university, our -- of the education, you have to look in total, the number of students in Malaysia. I think people who see it from outside will try to aggravate the situation and say 'Oh there is disparity between..

Sarah Montague:
But it doesn't just seem.. but it doesn't just seem to be people from outside who are saying this, people within.. it is ethnic Indians and Chinese in Malaysia...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think you have to look at it this way.. I think without me getting excited about it, or emotional about it, looking at it in a fair balance; if you look in terms of total number of students of all universities in Malaysia, there are still more non-Malays than the Malays. And this should not be an issue that divides us. I think ultimately we have done, we have tackled all issues step by step, and it is working. I think for Malaysia it is working. Wherever we see that there is disparity.. At one time scholarships were given to Malays; government scholarships were given to Malays. Now it is open to non-Malays also. So all these things are happening, but we must dismantle..

Sarah Montague:
But what about government contracts...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
For your information, the contracts that are enjoyed by the Chinese in absolute terms, and the non-Malays, is bigger than even the Malays. If I have a piece of land that is one acre in a rural area, that one piece of acre of land, may be valued at RM10,000, or it's about US$3,000. But if I have got a ten thousand square feet of land, in the urban area, that will cost millions. So we do not look at that.. We are building a nation, a nation that has been left divided, been recognised through economic activities, now there is building on common factors amongst us.

Sarah Montague:
But do you not accept that you are in danger.. that there is rising resentment among ethnic Indians and Chinese because of this situation.. it is persisting when they don't see that it needs to persist any longer..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think there is a lot more discussion, open discussion, but you do not misinterpret that open discussion among the races is something negative. It shows that the nation has reached the stage of maturity. We're questioning things that before we have taken for granted. The Chinese are looking at what more can they get, the Indians are looking how they could improve; I'm not saying that there is no problem, but for outsiders to come and tell us, 'Ohh you're going.. there is going to be racial tension, there is going to be problem..' No. I think you just witnessed the 50th anniversary of independence. I think there is that sense of belonging and ownership. It is up to the Malaysians to subsequently to dismantle whatever they consider is necessary...

Sarah Montague:
... how is it that ethnic Indians and Chinese feel a sense of belonging when they're, right from the very top, they can't get access to the top Cabinet posts?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Who told you that?

Sarah Montague:
When was the last time a senior Cabinet post was held by an ethnic Indian or Chinese?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
What do you mean by 'senior Cabinet post'?

Sarah Montague:
Since 1973, the top Cabinet posts: Prime Minister, Deputy, Home Affairs, Internal Security, Defense, Foreign, Finance, Education, Trade and International Trade.. 1973 is the last time any of those posts was held by a non-Malay..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I can argue the same thing with so many countries, I can argue the same thing..

Sarah Montague:
We're not.. we're not talking about other countries, we're talking about Malaysia. Other countries can deal with their problems of their own. How would you deal.. Do you recognise that is a problem? You talk about sharing power, there is..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
No no let me talk to you in a way that is most... that you do not get excited... that you do not get upset about something that you do not understand. Let me tell you this: Whenever we want to do something, it is important for us to look at other countries. That's where we learn, that's how we leapfrog. Democracy does not come by itself, it comes because we look at the examples of other places. So let me say that, in the case that, the most important thing is, there will come a time when the Chinese, the Indians and the other races in Malaysia have accepted that arrangement; how can somebody from outside come to tell us, 'Ohh..'

Sarah Montague:
You mean...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
They have accepted..

Sarah Montague:
.. you mean this situation is fine because nobody is saying anything in Malaysia about it..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
No no.. not nobody is saying. If they are able to.. if the Opposition, if they're able.. or the Chinese parties decide to get together and to change that thing, there is nothing under the law to stop it. That is what I'm saying..

Sarah Montague:
Do you not think it's a little odd that all the senior posts... in the Cabinet in the last 30 years have been held by a non-Malay?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I don't think... I don't think so. This is a democratic system. Each one of them have agreed in the coalition to work together. It is well and good for somebody to say that 'All this.. it should not be', I don't think we're going to be told how it should be..

Sarah Montague:
There is outside... there is inside Malaysia who say this.. this social contract is actually State racism. What do you say to that?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Oh. I can say the worse about Israeli State racism; in our case we don't have that provision. You have to look at it in, I think, objectively. I don't think it is right to look at Malaysia as a racist country. I don't think it is right. You should see how the infusion of cultures, the getting together, the people get along together.. Yes you can find there are.. people who disagree with it.. there are certain things that people say 'Ah it's not perfect,'.. I would be the last person that say this is a perfect situation, but I think we have succeeded in building a multiracial society out of our diversity. We have succeeded in bringing the whole of the Malaysian community, even against the diverse backgrounds, together, to work together. There will come a time... that... if it is the choice of the people, because one person is one vote..

Sarah Montague:
When do you think that time will come..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
... That is up to the voters...

Sarah Montague:
Because there are plenty of people outside Malaysia, who look at it, and let's take a look at investors, because [while you] think, 'Look it's absolutely fine,' there are those who would invest in Malaysia, but choose not to do so. And here's an emerging markets fund manager. He's cashed out most of his fund investments in Malaysia, because he said, 'The problem is that the Malays would do a lot better as well if there weren't the restrictions. They've got the resources, they've got the people; they're just not harnessing them in the right way.' And he suggests that you roll back those measures, to encourage entrepreneurial energy. And that was Mark Mobius, who's the fund manager with Franklin Templeton.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think what he's saying, if you do not... If there are ten fund managers, there is one fund manager that say in that way, then I think he is entitled to his own view. But the majority of fund managers find that Malaysia is a good place for investment, it is a good place that gives good returns on investment; the Malaysian economy has grown because of foreign investment..

Sarah Montague:
But why has it not grown as much as other countries in the area..

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think they're quite happy that it has grown for the last.. If you look at it from double digit, now we have grown about 6 percent, so it's not a bad growth..

Sarah Montague:
... But it's slowing and your neighbouring countries are growing faster.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
No there are times that our neighbouring countries grow slower, and we grow faster. I mean, you can't take... one particular moment and say 'Oh this is growing faster, therefore it is because of..', I can actually give all sorts of clarifications if I want to, on so many things. But I think you have to look at it; have we succeeded in creating peace and stability, in generating prosperity among the races, have we succeeded in trying to infuse [?] culture out of our diversity; we are better off than many other countries..

Sarah Montague:
But my question is, will it continue to do so?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think it will. I am not in the same position like you are... look at it negatively. I am a Malaysian. My love for my country, my commitment to my country, I would say yes. I am not going to allow any foreigners to tell me, 'Oh this is going to break'. No I will not allow that.

Sarah Montague:
A recent survey on race relations in Malaysia found that 34 percent of those who were asked had never had a meal with citizens of other races. The lives of different races within Malaysia are now so divided that, that you have different races - they learn in separate schools, they eat separately, they work separately, they socialise separately - does that worry you?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
If that happens like the way you say, of course it worries us. That's why we have been addressing the racial issues. We talk about among ourselves, I do not know whether you [?] realise or not, we talk about the danger of polarisation, the danger of us looking at ourselves separately, of course we tackle these problems. But we recognise, it can exist. But we have got a desire of tackling those issues. It's not we are saying, you know try to brush everything under the carpet and think, 'Oh it doesn't exist'. What exists, we recognise. But it is not.. it is not as if we are not doing something..

Sarah Montague:
But why is society is becoming increasingly divided? The Crown Prince of Perak makes the point that in his boyhood, the different races mixed more freely. He says some Malay-majority schools have made the girls wear headscarves... ... people to avoid non-Malay homes. He points to the fact that lives are being lived more separately, increasingly so.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think that's a very good comment that he has made. He is as much responsible as all of us are. All of us have to find a way... that means we have identified the problems that we have... the fact that a person wears a headscarf does not make a person an extreme. What we want to avoid, is extreme behaviour, whether of faith or culture, or of customs. We need to work together. I think the most important thing, you know Sarah, if I can tell you, is to understand the issues and then try to address them. Not to look at the issues, and say that, 'Oh it's getting worse.' There is this problem, we need to tackle those problem. I'm not saying that there is no problem. That is the very thing that you are saying..

Sarah Montague:
.. the fact that it is getting worse, and when I quote the Crown Prince ... uhh... the prominent historian Khoo Kay Kim says, 'It is becoming increasingly difficult for the peoples of various ethnic groups to participate in common activity.'

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
No, I think this is what the Malaysians have addressed. All of us are talking about it. It's not something that is alien, that you are telling me that this exists; we know that.

Sarah Montague:
But it is getting worse. Do you not accept it is getting worse?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
No, I think there is relations all over the world, is getting worse. Polarisation all over the world is getting worse. But it does not mean you should give up. We know it exists, but we want to take steps to overcome them. That's why, our current government, is giving the opportunity, for everyone to talk about it. And then try to provide solutions. One of the things that we have done in the Merdeka celebrations is to make that sense of participation, that every race... Because we know there is that problem of polarisation, division... People leaving go to Chinese schools, go to Tamil schools, they don't mix with each other; so all these, we are handling and tackling them. I am not going to take...

Sarah Montague:
What are you plan to do about the schools then, the fact that...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
The schools, we need to overcome the problem of sensitivities. We wanted to establish the integrated schools, where everyone, studying their language, their ... medium of instruction, under one school. But here in this particular case, the Chinese does not want. They want a separate school of their own. So now what we have done, in the national schools, we have brought in the... you can study Chinese, you can study Tamil, you can study other ethnic... You know you can't get that in other places. You know some... I think, we recognise their problems, but it is not a problem
we cannot overcome.

Sarah Montague:
Article 11 of the Malaysian Constitution says 'every person has the right to profess and practise his religion'. Increasingly, that seems to be becoming meaningless. Is it?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I don't think so. I don't agree with you. You're talking about practising their own religion.. you know, Malaysia is one of the places that you can see the practice of multi-religions, and all religions exist in Malaysia. But if you're talking about, you know, converting one person to... That is a different issue entirely...

Sarah Montague:
Why is a Muslim, and there have been some high-profile cases, perhaps one of the most high-profile - Lina Joy, a Malay woman. She tried to convert to Christianity and she wasn't allowed to.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think you have made the whole thing... turn into something that is negative. Lina Joy wanted to change her name; she was never not allowed to convert to Christianity or whatever religion that she has chosen. But a person is born, with an identity card; there is a system that we have in Malaysia, the ID. And that ID you want to change, that creates problems. It is nothing to do with the fact that nobody has arrested her and forced her to become a Muslim, to convert to become a Muslim. But the court decided, on the basis that, you cannot change your name in the ID. But she has got her own choice, she has made her own choice, in wanting to be what she has chosen. I don't think we stop that.

Sarah Montague:
So anybody can convert. Let's take the case of Revathi Masoosai. Now she was a Muslim-born Malaysian woman, who was sent to an Islamic rehabilitation centre for six months, because she tried to live as a Hindu.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
[pause] I think that happens all the time, for a Muslim, you have to look at the diversity.. If you are a Muslim, you are converted or you choose to convert - we see whether that conversion is being done, she has entered into another religion voluntarily or not, then she will have that right, the choice, the option to decide on her own. I think ... out of 5 million Malaysians, or there are about 12 million Malaysians who have profess certain religions, and there are two or three cases; I don't think it represents the whole country. And there are quite a number of issues that are more important, bigger than what you are describing, but if you describe out of one, then it becomes the whole picture. I don't think that is right.

Sarah Montague:
It's.. it's important because it shows what the State is doing, it shows how it could affect other individuals. I mean, if you take her case, why could she not practise as a Hindu?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
She has decided.. If ultimately she has decided to become a Hindu, that's up to her.

Sarah Montague:
.. But she had to go through what she has gone...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
She is a Muslim.

Sarah Montague:
Six months rehabilitation, she says it was like a prison. They say it's a school, but it's actually like a prison.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Yah, out of the how many Muslim women that got converted to Hindus?

Sarah Montague:
She...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
You are.. you know she came out, and she said that is what had happened. Have they proceeded against her? They have not proceeded against her. She has.. they want to make sure that...

Sarah Montague:
She now has to live with her mother in order to see her child.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
To see her child... whether...

Sarah Montague:
She has a child with the Hindu man.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
You know, if you follow a certain religion, like you are a member of a certain club, you are subject to certain rules. When you want to get out of that club, then you must make sure you follow that rule in getting out of it. But nobody is going to stop anyone, who so strongly profess a certain religion, they want to change to another religion, that's up to them. But it does create... misunderstanding, between people, between religions. Malaysia we have survived, because we have kept ...that, that compartment [?], rather than... you know.. the various religions living, practising... without interference. If you see in Malaysia, there are more... Malaysia practises more freedom than even in this country.

Sarah Montague:
But these cases are used... are used as examples of where people fear a creeping Islamisation of Malaysia.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think there is.. there is that prejudice rather than creeping Islamisation. You must remember that in the Constitution, Islam is the official religion of Malaysia. You know.. that at the same time, we have got per capita population, we have got so many...

Sarah Montague:
But is it an Islamic State?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
It is an Islamic State.

Sarah Montague:
It is, or is not?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
... but it is not a theocratic Islamic State. We have said that. You know because we, as far as we are concerned, we do not see the separation you know, the old rule - the separation of church and State, as something that is applicable to us. We do not stop people building churches, there are so many churches in Malaysia, more than wherever you can find...

Sarah Montague:
But you have Syariah Courts operating...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Syariah Court is up to the Muslims.

Sarah Montague:
Only for the Muslims?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
It's for the Muslims. It's not.. it's... you know please don't.. don't get...

Sarah Montague:
But you have this system because of the amendment in 1988, where there seems to be confusion over when Syariah Law applies, and when...

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think that.. that.. I know that you have looked at certain parts of it, and then you try to dissect it. Okay. When there is... on matters pertaining to Syariah, the jurisdiction is given to the Syariah Court. On matters pertaining to Syariah, if there is any conflict between the two laws - between the Syariah and our civil laws - it is for the courts to decide. But this is done in the courts. It is.. we use the rule of law in order to determine right and to determine which law is applicable. And I think that is the correct way of approaching the subject. Malaysia is not an easy country to govern. It is easier for commentators to say 'This is wrong. This is wrong.. this is wrong,' but I think that you have to live in it, to see how to govern the country. And I think overall, we are very happy in what is happening in our country, and whatever weaknesses, we will overcome them.

Sarah Montague:
When your Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became prime minister, he promised to do a number of things, not least tackle corruption. And yet, a survey by PERC (Editor's Note: Political and Economic Risk Consultancy), which is a Hong Kong-based consultancy, showed that corruption is perceived to have worsened in Malaysia this year. Does he accept that you have a lot more to do?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Yes, I think we agree with that. We have to do a lot more in terms of ensuring good governance, ensuring that our fight against corruption can be overcome. I think this is a perennial problem that needs to be tackled, and that has to be tackled with the law, as well as with education, that is why we have established the Integrity.. the Institute of Integrity, in order to inculcate that sense of good governance, values - which is necessary, sense of morality.. When we have problems, we identify them, and we try to tackle them.

Sarah Montague:
It is not going as fast as you would hope. Do you accept that?

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
I think in some areas it is slow, in some areas it is... moving in the right direction. But there are.. there are problems.

Sarah Montague:
Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, many thanks.

Dato Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
Thank you very much, thank you.

MNC's in Malaysia Running By Incompetent People

Being a software vendor, I am lucky in the sense because I get to travel to many MNC's interested in my company's finance solutions. I also get to see how totally, hopeless individuals get paid for doing nothing, just to satisfy the racial quota the government imposes on these MNC's. There are some non-bumi's who are also lazy and incompetent but these are minorities as most non-bumi's have to work hard to survive in this country.

But what amazes me is how these MNC's can tolerate having such incompetent staffs. Don't they know that these people exists and they're impairing if not retarding the efficiency of these companies.

Why doesn't this MNC's really hire competent staff, just like what Jack Welsh does at GE, remove the 10% dead wood every quarter. This, I believe, would actually increase the competency of these MNC's and in the process hones the skills of the people working there. Who knows, we might have these accountants, engineers, doctors come up with world class discoveries?

But all this will not happen with a lot of dead wood around because dead wood tends to bring down healthy wood.

Malaysia to Send Another Astronaut to Space

According to this post in Space Travel, Malaysia intends to send another person to space. The first thing any intelligent person would ask is what did the current exploration to space benefit us? Will he current exploration open a whole new chapter on space exploration where every citizen is given equal rights for the opportunity to fly to space.

Space travel is a wonderful experience. But my beloved Malaysia doesnt even know how to build its own car (Proton) properly, let alone an aircraft. Let us embark on a technological journey of building high tech equipment and technology before doing publicity stunts. Most of the people I work with (mainly accountants and bankers) do not think much of our space expedition. The question everyone poses is how does this help the nation? Yeah, if anyone in the government is reading this, please do explain to us how does this space expedition help the nation other than gaining some publicity for our Visit Malaysia year this year.

Malaysia needs to increase its absorption of technology. We need to stop doing things the old fashion way and start using high technology to compete or else we will end up just like our football team - mighty champions in the 70's, pussy's in the 90's!

I hope the honourable prime minister will not let this country rot and die due to his incompetence in creating a competitive environment for us all Malaysians and not the chosen ones only..

Why Would Amir Go Back To Iran?

In the October 8th, 2007 issue of Newsweek, in the Heard On The Street: Why America is Losing the 'Sticks & Stones' Battel, author Maziar Bahari talked about Amir, a gay Iranian who left Iran 5 years ago and now lives in London with his boyfriend.

In Iran, if Amir was exposed as a gay, he would have been killed immediately.So, he escaped to Britain. His brother was jailed for 8 years for opposing the regime. And two of his cousins were killed for apparently siding the opposition.

But Bahari quoted Amir as saying that if Iran was attacked by America or Britain, he would return home to Iran to fight the enemy.

This is what I do not understand. Why would Amir go home and defend the same country that wouldn't hesitate to kill him for his sexual orientation?After all, Amir had to flee his country to survive!

Is Amir stupid or is he a reflection of all Iranians? I cant believe or see the rational behind such decision.

Video on How Speed Kills...

These are 3 interesting videos on how speed actually kills. I was amazed when I saw this as I, too, tend to drive fast, but not recklessly.

Speed Kills: http://kennethg.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-speed-kills-3-exciting-videos.html

Singapore to Reunite with Malaysia?

In this ChannelNewsAsia article, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew touched on the issue of a Malaysia - Singapore reunification.

Quote:
Some 10 years after he publicly broached the idea of a Singapore-Malaysia reunion - to raised eyebrows all around - Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew has spoken about the topic once again.

In a recent interview with American journalist Tom Plate, Mr Lee said Singapore would be "happy" to go back to Malaysia should the latter practise meritocracy.

On Wednesday, transcripts of the wide-ranging interview - conducted last month in Mr Lee's office - were made available online by UCLA Asia Institute.

When Mr Plate asked Mr Lee who he thought would "come after" Singapore, the Minister Mentor said: "We are a standing indictment of all the things that they (Malaysia) can be doing differently."

"If they would just educate the Chinese and Indians, use them and treat them as their citizens, they can equal us and even do better than us and we would be happy to rejoin them."

Said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, an Institute of South-east Asian Studies (ISEAS) fellow: "The chances of a re-merger in 1996 and in 2007 are the same - Zero."


Mr.Lee was probably dreaming of something in his old age. Malaysia will never agree on this. Singaporeans treat Malaysians like dirt, why on earth would Malaysia accept Singapore in? Unless the tiny island of Singapore is sinking and their finding a way out. Even then, they should come over on our terms and not theirs.

Living in Singapore is like living in a small, crowded village. Always being watched over by the police for any small offense that you commit. Think I am making this up. Just talk to any taxi driver in Singapore and they will tell you the same thing.

Malaysia is no angel either. We're on the other side of the spectrum. We're lax while their strict. We thrive on under-the-counter payments while they try to make everything visible. And it is because of these disparities that these two countries will never unite under one flag.

Let's See How Many Malaysians Will Die This Festive Season

It's the festive season again, the second last big one of the year here in Malaysia. As with all major festive seasons, some people get so happy that they decide to die. Yes, Malaysians like to die. On the road. Using a vehicle as a means to reach heaven or hell, depending on how they have behaved all these years.

Malaysian drivers are hell drivers. When some of these drivers get behind the wheel, they leave their brains in the butts and drive with their dicks. They hog the emergency lanes when traffic is heavy on the highway. They cut in front of you at the very last minute, without using the side signal most of the time.

And the funny thing is that most of these drivers drive a big car - Mercedes, Honda, BMW's.... Their making a statement saying that if you drive big cars, you can flaunt the rules. And the Malaysian Police force seems to agree with that as these big cars rarely get fined. But when a small car does it, they get hauled up immediately.

Just this morning, on the news, a cook and his girlfriend was attacked last night on their motorcycle on their way home by Mat Rempits. Mat Rempits are stupid, un-employed males (mainly) who ride around in motorcycles looking for trouble. They spend all their time on their motorcyles around town just waiting to create trouble or join one. What used to be illegal racing at nights has now turned into intimidation and fights.

To all the Mat Rempits out there, keep up the good work. Your stupidity allows the rest of us to get good, high paying jobs while you're busy gong around harassing people ad wasting your time and life. Eventually, you'll be doing drugs, so the drug dealer makes money of you. And I know you'll get your dough by robbing people and eventually you'll b shot and killed. That's a good way to go.

To all Malaysians, have a blessed Hari Raya. Drive safely. And if you see any Mat Rempit's and other stupid drivers, just smile. Dont let it affect you. Dont do what they do. But try to recognize their face. Because you'll never know when they might come to you asking for a job - would you hire them?

Malaysia Sends Man to Space

Finally, on October 10th, 2007, around half past 9 in the evening, Malaysia sent its first citizen to space.

Much has been said about this mission. Some say its a waste of tax payers money. Other say its a government publicity stunt to show the world that Malaysia can do something, if anything.



I think going to space is a good thing, if more work is to be done after Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor returns home. I know, for sure, he'll be paraded like a trophy around the country for what he has done. I guess that comes with the honour. But if this is all he does, going around the land and making speeches, then the USD10M spent is a pure waste of money. I hope the government makes use of whatever research and tests that he has done in space to the benefit of our people.

The Malaysian government ensured that they will not make the same mistake as they did for the Mount Everest quest when the main climbers (all Malays) couldn't make the last stretch up the mountain peak, and the backup climbers, Malaysian Indians, made it up there. That conquest didn't even warrant the front page news in the local dailies except for the Star newspaper. This time the candidates were carefully chosen as to ensure that a Malay will be arriving at the International Space Station. Talk about fairness.

With the election coming soon, the government knows that it will probably get a bashing at the polls. No doubt that it will still maintain a majority in Parliment but it wont garner as many votes as it did the last time. So it is trying its best to gather as much attention as it possibly can.

Is space exploration necessary for Malaysia? I dont think so. We dont have the brains to make any use of the research and tests that was done in space. The 3 countries that flew to space, United States; Europe and China; have all built their own aircraft and then space craft before embarking on sending a manned mission to the stars. Malaysia cant even build a car properly, let alone a plane, what use is sending a man up to space. All this is done just for publicity. What a waste and shame.

Malaysia needs more energy now. We need a civilian nuclear plant to provide cheap and clean source of energy. If energy is cheap, the industries can boom. When industries flourish, the need for skilled workers increase. Schools will then produce more graduates, who serve these industries, raising the level of competition of our local industries.

And we need more citizens with an open mind, not religious fanatics. And these fanatics are now teaching in primary schools and brain washing the younger generation. I see this with my own eyes and from others have mentioned. I think the prime minister is aware of this, as in his recent speech in Turkey about the possibility of racial meltdown in Malaysia if things do not cool down. But does he realize that his people are the main cause of these racial tensions?

So let's focus on all these before we come out with more publicity stunts.