Created this new Posterous to post KLCC related stuffs on transformation or any other observation. Let's see how ...
YURAN PERAMAH
14 years ago
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Transformation Starts in the Mirror
Every writer blogger feels compelled to spew at times. It's one of our inner demons. We must write. This is my spew as we leave 2009 and look to the next year.
I came across this personal reflection about "personal transformation" that matters. Life is too short to be just another statistics. Let;s make a difference.
Monday, December 7, 2009
A Christmas Carol
Just watched that Disney movie starring voice of Jim Carrey. Is it just me or the 3D effect is just so ordinary? Or could it be the 3D glasses that the cinema gave to the audience? I mean, I've been to a Disney World 3D show that have the images "coming out" from the screen as if it's going to eat me. But this movie just doesn't cut it for me. And the dialog... Ugh, either I'm not an Anglophile or my brain just don't want to think. To think I've spent a huge chunk of money to bring all of my four kids to see this movie. I should've brought them to see 2012.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
School Break
Well it's that time of the year when children in Malaysia are on school break. It's a long one.
I got three school going kids. Now I gotta figure out how to keep them occupied. No ... Playstation is not a good option. Well they do deserve a break; but they need to also at least read good books, lest they'd be too relaxed.
I think I should bring them to the local library to make them select their own books to read. And maybe ask them to write a report or tell a story about what they had read about. Yeah ... and just maybe, as a reward for their 'good behavior' I'd bring them to the beach.
Well that would sort out Week 1. What am I gonna do for the next 8 weeks ? Aargh ... when will this father has his break ...
Monday, November 9, 2009
Football is weird
I just learned that MU has lost to Chelsea. I was so tired today working in the garden that I retired early.
I've sorta predicted that MU will lose. However, when I read the commentary of the match. I felt good about MU performance. In spite of defensive woes in earlier matches plus the main defenders sidelined, we did well considering we're facing the "in form" team at the moment. The performance of the midfield was awesome it seems. Only a 'dubious' call by the referee made the difference (and what a big difference it made).
This match in some ways also typifies life. Even when you did everything right, you'd still end up at the short end of the stick. Life's like that.
The important thing is for MU to bounce back strongly. They're now 5 points behind. It's still early in the season. But, they must rebound with ruthless efficiency coz that's what matters. Go MU!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Teacher hits lover in front of pupils
KUALA TERENGGANU: A teacher assaulted his girlfriend, who is also a teacher, in full view of her students after he suspected that she was cheating on him.
The 26-year-old allegedly assaulted the woman on two occasions in front of the students, threatened her at knife-point and stalked her when she was conducting classes at a primary school in Batu Rakit.
The victim, who is also 26, decided she had had enough and lodged a police report on Tuesday.
State CID chief Asst Comm Mohd Fauzi Abduri said that on Oct 26, the teacher invited the woman for lunch after classes to settle matters between them.
However, he stopped his car at Gong Badak stadium and started to hit her, causing the victim to suffer bruises.
He said since then, the teacher continuously intimidated the woman, pressuring her to reveal who she was seeing. He also assaulted the victim in her school compound.
ACP Mohd Fauzi said on Tuesday, the teacher again invited the woman for an outing but she refused to get into his car.
This angered the man who then dragged the victim into his car.
However, she managed to escape with a colleague’s help and lodged a police report in Batu Rakit.
He said based on the report, police detained the teacher at his home in Kamung Beladau Kolam here on Tuesday.
via thestar.com.my
What a way to show real life "lessons" in school. It's just shows how fragile human feelings are.
Pornthip aware of limitations
BANGKOK: Thailand’s forensic expert Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand said she will attend the second post-mortem on the late Teoh Beng Hock despite being barred from carrying out the autopsy herself.
Dr Pornthip said she was informed by the deceased’s family lawyer and an official from the Selangor state government about Coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas’ decision to have Teoh’s remains exhumed for a second post-mortem.
“I was told the post-mortem is likely to take place next Saturday, but I can only observe because of the legal implications,” she said yesterday.
She added that she was aware of the fact that she was not allowed under the law, to actively take part in the post-mortem, adding that she even raised the matter last July when the Selangor state government contacted her.
“I didn’t go at that time because the family did not allow me to carry out the post-mortem.
“But I was then invited to give testimony in the inquest,” said the director-general of Thailand Central Institute of Forensic Science, Ministry of Justice.
Under Malaysian law, only practising physicians registered with the Malaysian Medical Board are allowed to carry out post-mortem as stipulated under the Medical Act 1971.
Teoh, who was political aide to Selangor state executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah, was found dead on the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on July 16, after being quizzed by the Selangor MACC on the 14th floor of the same building.
The family applied to exhume Teoh’s remains, following Dr Pornthip’s testimony that there was an 80% probability that his death was due to homicide.
Asked if she could come to a conclusion despite not being able to carry out the post-mortem herself, Dr Pornthip said it all depended on the degree of decomposition.
“As for me, I am just trying to help. I know my limitations,” she said. — Bernama
via thestar.com.my
A high profile case. A controversial forensic expert. Many 'loopholes' to exploit. Ahh ... I can only assume where this is heading. Somebody has played his cards well.
NST Online Too many tongues, too few channels
Too many tongues, too few channels
2009/11/06
THERE are not enough channels on national television and radio to air programmes for all minority ethnic groups, the house was told yesterday.
But Deputy Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum said the ministry would expand the scope of programmes once RTM was fully digitalised.
RTM is expected to go fully digital by 2012.
Answering a supplementary question from Datuk Seri Wilfred Mojilip Bumburing (BN-Tuaran), who wanted to know if the ministry was planning to give more airtime for minorities in Sabah and Sarawak, Gandum said for the time being it could not be done.
"There are more than 70 ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak.
"So if we broadcast for all of them, what about the ethnic groups in the peninsula?
"Like the Malays, they have all kinds of groups within them like the Minang and Jawa" he said.
To a question from Datuk Johari Abdul (PKR-Sungai Petani) on whether the ministry was planning on more dramas in local languages instead of airing dramas in Tagalog, Spanish and Thai, he said the ministry was requesting local producers to make more programmes.
Earlier, replying to Bumburing's main question on broadcast content for minorities, he said Radio Malaysia Orang Asli -- ASYIKfm -- used four main dialects: Semai, Temiar, Temuan and Jakun.
Those in Sabah have Radio Malaysia Sabah fm that broadcasts in the Murut, Kadazan, Dusun and Bajau languages while Sarawak listeners can tune in to WAI fm which broadcasts in the Iban, Bidayuh and Kenyah languages.
![]()
via nst.com.my
What can you say? Malaysia truly Asia? With so many ethnic minorities, no wonder our broadcasters, writers, etc are never short of contents. But, for the nation's United front, we should give more emphasis to our national language. It should not stop the Govt. from allowing a time slot for programs for these segments of the 'rakyat' though.
MACC man fails to answer defence’s questions
IPOH: The credibility of a prosecution witness in a corruption trial was called into question after he failed to answer several of the defence lawyers questions.
Surjan Singh said it was obvious that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) assistant investigator Nor Azrin Desa had been coached.
Turning to Sessions Court judge Azhaniz Teh Azman Teh, Surjan Singh said: He is taking the easy way out by saying yes or no to questions.
To this, Azhaniz Teh said: To be fair, the witnesss job is to note down all marked notes.
Nor Azrin also denied Surjan Singhs suggestion that the arrest of the accused was a Barisan Nasional plan and that the MACC had been roped in to ensure it was successful.
Nor Azrin was testifying in the hearing of former PKR exco members Mohd Osman Mohd Jailu, 57, and Jamaluddin Mohd Radzi, 52.
Jointly charged with them are two former Perak Tengah district councillors Zul Hassan, 45, and Usaili Alias, 56; businessman Fairul Azrim Ismail, 31; and Perak Development Corporation technician Ruslan Sahat (now deceased).
The charge was to help businessman Mohamad Imran Abdullah obtain a multi-million ringgit development project in Seri Iskandar.
Earlier, Surjan Singh questioned how Nor Azrin could produce sketch plans of where the marked notes were handed over a month later but could not answer other pertinent questions.
Nor Azrin testified that he had been to the locations where the money was allegedly handed over several times.
I also note down on my draft copy of the sketch plan the location where the money was handed over.
He also disagreed with a suggestion that Mohamad Imran was paid by MACC to trap all the accused.
Hearing continues today.
via thestar.com.my
This is one of the many examples of why MACC's credibility is so low in the eyes of the Malaysian public, and the perception of international community about transparency in Malaysia worsens these days.
Check
I've been using email function in online news. But so far, these mails are NOT coming to my Posterous. I'm checking it via mailing straight from inside Yahoo Mail!
Monday, November 2, 2009
FWD:
This message was forwarded to you by mkhairi@klcc.com.my.
Comment from sender:
I empathize with the Palestinians. Can't believe the superpowers are playing "God". This will create more uprisings and violence. US must take responsibility if this happens.
This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/2/worldupdates/2009-11-01T214535Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_India-435895-2&sec=worldupdates
__________________________________________________________________________
Story file not found.
__________________________________________________________________________
Your one-stop information portal:
The Star Online
http://thestar.com.my Copyright © 1995-2009 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited.
Comment from sender:
I empathize with the Palestinians. Can't believe the superpowers are playing "God". This will create more uprisings and violence. US must take responsibility if this happens.
This article is from The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/2/worldupdates/2009-11-01T214535Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_India-435895-2&sec=worldupdates
__________________________________________________________________________
Story file not found.
__________________________________________________________________________
Your one-stop information portal:
The Star Online
http://thestar.com.my Copyright © 1995-2009 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited.
Perak PR to probe bridge tragedy
IPOH: Perak Pakatan Rakyat has set up its own committee to investigate the Kuala Dipang bridge collapse that claimed three young lives.
Ousted State Speaker V. Sivakumar, who leads the ad hoc investigation team, said input by a third party was needed to ensure that the victims families were given a fair report of the tragedy.
It is unjust to have the Education Ministry investigate the matter as it is the party in question, he told reporters yesterday.
Last Monday night, 22 pupils attending a 1Malaysia camp in Kuala Dipang, fell into the Kampar River while crossing the bridge.
N. Dina Deve and M. Devatharshini, both 11, and 12-year-old V. Divyashree, died in the disaster.
Sivakumar said the committee would conduct its own investigation with the help of a panel of experts which included land surveyors, engineers and lawyers.
Also on the committee are Teja assemblyman Chang Lih Kang, Thomas Su (Pasir Pinji) and Dr Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah (Titi Serong).
We will have the report ready in two weeks, he said.
Chang said he hoped the various government departments would cooperate with the committee in its aim to seek the truth.
Calling on Barisan Nasional to set aside their differences, he said Pakatan was investigating the tragedy on compassionate grounds and not to gain political mileage.
via thestar.com.my
Sometimes you can't tell the difference whether these people are acting for their own political self interest or the better interest of the whole society. These calls for investigation only appear after tragedy struck. What about other mismanagement that have not reached 'crisis/tragedy' levels yet?
al_kyrie@yahoo.com has shared something with you
With the recent flu outbreak, it's best we research on alternative methods to counter these attacks in a better way. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029125538.htm ---
This message was sent by al_kyrie@yahoo.com via http://addthis.com. Please note that AddThis does not verify email addresses. Make sharing easier with the AddThis Toolbar: http://www.addthis.com/go/toolbar-em
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Slate Article: How To Charge Your Laptop
Mohd Khairi has sent you an article from  .Some important stuffs for us "mobile workers" who can't but use gadgets/devices using batteries. Well worth reading. |
 |
technology How To Charge Your Laptop Four essential tips for extending the battery life of your computer, cell phone, and every other gadget. By Farhad Manjoo Posted Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at 5:31 PM ET Whether they're in our computers, cell phones, or cars, the only time we think about batteries is when they're almost dead and we need to find some place to charge them—and then we're not thinking nice things. Batteries are an old-school technology. We stuff them into gadgets that are always getting smaller, f! aster, and cheaper, but battery technology doesn't yield to Moore's Law. What we know about batteries today is pretty much what we knew about batteries back when ENIAC was invented. As a result, batteries remain a primary limiting factor in our machines; they're the reason we don't have better cars, why your smartphone won't play a two-hour movie, and why your otherwise perfectly functional three-year-old laptop is useless on a plane trip. Our daily struggle with batteries has spawned a cottage industry of advice about their proper care and feeding. Some argue that the way to get the most juice out of your gadget is to charge it as often as you can. Others caution about the sin ! of overcharging; this school holds that batteries are happiest when they're run down to zero every once in a while. Dig deeper into this line of thinking and you find its proponents are most concerned about a battery-destroying phenomenon known as the "memory effect"—a worry that if you keep re-charging your battery before the juice goes down to zero, it will gradually lose capacity. A related annoyance is your gadget's battery meter; the more often you charge and recharge your iPod or your cell phone, the more inaccurate its fuel gauge seems to become. To clear up these annoyances and conflicting theories, I called up Isidor Buchmann, the CEO of Cadex Electronics, a Canadian company that makes battery-testing equipment. Buchman also runs Battery University, a very he! lpful Web site for battery enthusiasts and engineers. I asked Buchmann how we can make sure that our batteries last a long time. "There is not too much to discuss," he began, and then launched into a conversation exploring the numerous frailties of batteries. The upshot is this happy factoid: No matter what you do, your battery will become a useless piece of junk—one day it will reach a point where it can no longer be charged, and then you'll have to recycle it. It will die if you use it often. It will die if you hardly ever use it. It will die if you charge it too much. It will die if you charge it too little. You can pull the battery out of your camera, stuff it under your mattress, and come back for it in five years. Guess what? Your battery will be dead. And when I say dead, I mean dead—not that it's run out of juice, but that it can no longer hold a charge. That said, there are ways to prolong your batteries' lives. Here are some of Buchmann's tips: Laptops: The typical lifespan of a lithium-ion l! aptop battery is about 18 months to 2 years, Buchmann says, but yours will last much longer if you don't punish it too much. The main stresses include undercharging, overcharging, and one that few of us consider: heat. Temperatures inside a laptop can reach more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hell for a battery. Ideally, Buchmann says, you should try to keep your battery charged from 20 percent to 80 percent. Keep in mind that these are guidelines for ideal use—it's generally inconvenient to unplug your machine before it goes all the way to 100. But even if you're not on constant guard, be mindful of charging your machine constantly, well past when you know it's full. You also should be conscious of letting your battery run all the way to zero. Try to keep your laptop as cool as possible. The best technique here is to charge up your battery when the computer is turned off. When your laptop is turned on and plugged in, you should pull the battery out of ! your computer. Yes, pull it out. "I know that's inconvenient," Buchman n says, "but keeping your laptop plugged in when the battery's fully charged—that combination is bad for your battery." What if your battery can't be removed, as in Apple's latest laptops? Buchmann says that new laptop designs often place batteries in cooler parts of the machine, and they may also include some intelligence to limit the stress of a fully-charged battery—that is, the machines stop applying a charge when the batteries are just under full capacity. This prolongs the battery's lifespan. The trouble is, most laptop manufacturers keep their charging algorithms secret, so it's not possible to know which laptops use this battery-prolonging technique. (Bachmann assumes that Apple does so based on its battery-promoting advertisements.) But even if your computer is clever enough to stop charging the battery when it's full, you're still better off removing the battery if it is remov! able. This will help your battery beat the heat. Phones, cameras, and other gadgets: In general, the rules are the same as for laptops: Keep the battery in the 20 percent to 80 percent range, and keep it cool. If you leave your phone on a hot car seat all afternoon, or if you run down your camera at an all-day trip to the zoo and then forget it in a sock drawer for six months—well, somewhere a little battery angel loses its wings. The best way to store batteries that you won't be using for a long time—as in a camera, though this also applies to laptop batteries—is to charge them to the 40 percent level first, Bachmann says. Batteries "self deplete"—meaning they lose power even if they're not in use. Charging the battery a little bit before you put it away ensures that it doesn't get down to dangerously low levels while in storage. The memory effect: Will your battery lose capacity if you don't let it go down to z! ero every once in a while? Not likely. The memory effect applies only to nickel-cadmium batteries, whereas most modern electronics use lithium-ion or the more advanced lithium-ion polymer. Not only are lithium batteries immune to the memory effect, they also don't require you to do anything special the first time you use them (like charge them up for 24 hours, as some gadget manuals say). Nicad batteries are still found in cordless phones, electric toothbrushes, and other cheap gadgets, but they're usually pretty inexpensive to replace. How come my battery gauge is off? Making an accurate battery gauge is much more difficult than measuring how much gas you've got in your car. Since a battery's capacity is constantly decreasing, your gauge will likely get less accurate the longer you own your gadget. The length of a charge also depends on impossible-to-predict environmental! factors like temperature. "The technology to measure batteries is just not that good," Buchmann says. "We can't do it. It's that simple." Most battery meters in electronics work by monitoring electrical inflows and outflows—in other words, how long you charge and how long you use your device. They also try to guess how your battery may have become degraded over time. But each time the computer makes such a guess, it adds errors into the calculation. These errors build up over time, and eventually you notice your laptop dying even though the battery meter says you've got 40 minutes left. To solve this, you should occasionally "calibrate" your charge meter by depleting your battery completely, then charging it up fully. This usually resets your machine's "flag" for your battery's capacity. Of course, running it down and then charging it up again puts more stress on your battery, accelerating its death. But there's no getting around that. Farhad Manjoo is Slate's technology columnist and the author of True Enough: Learning To Live in a Post-Fact Society. You can e-mail him at farhad.manjoo@slate.com and follow him on Twitter.Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2234009/ |
Slate Article: How To Charge Your Laptop
| Mohd Khairi has sent you an article from .Some important stuffs for us "mobile workers" who can't but use gadgets/devices using batteries. Well worth reading. |
|
| technology How To Charge Your Laptop Four essential tips for extending the battery life of your computer, cell phone, and every other gadget. By Farhad Manjoo Posted Friday, Oct. 30, 2009, at 5:31 PM ET Whether they're in our computers, cell phones, or cars, the only time we think about batteries is when they're almost dead and we need to find some place to charge them—and then we're not thinking nice things. Batteries are an old-school technology. We stuff them into gadgets that are always getting smaller, f! aster, and cheaper, but battery technology doesn't yield to Moore's Law. What we know about batteries today is pretty much what we knew about batteries back when ENIAC was invented. As a result, batteries remain a primary limiting factor in our machines; they're the reason we don't have better cars, why your smartphone won't play a two-hour movie, and why your otherwise perfectly functional three-year-old laptop is useless on a plane trip. Our daily struggle with batteries has spawned a cottage industry of advice about their proper care and feeding. Some argue that the way to get the most juice out of your gadget is to charge it as often as you can. Others caution about the sin ! of overcharging; this school holds that batteries are happiest when they're run down to zero every once in a while. Dig deeper into this line of thinking and you find its proponents are most concerned about a battery-destroying phenomenon known as the "memory effect"—a worry that if you keep re-charging your battery before the juice goes down to zero, it will gradually lose capacity. A related annoyance is your gadget's battery meter; the more often you charge and recharge your iPod or your cell phone, the more inaccurate its fuel gauge seems to become. To clear up these annoyances and conflicting theories, I called up Isidor Buchmann, the CEO of Cadex Electronics, a Canadian company that makes battery-testing equipment. Buchman also runs Battery University, a very he! lpful Web site for battery enthusiasts and engineers. I asked Buchmann how we can make sure that our batteries last a long time. "There is not too much to discuss," he began, and then launched into a conversation exploring the numerous frailties of batteries. The upshot is this happy factoid: No matter what you do, your battery will become a useless piece of junk—one day it will reach a point where it can no longer be charged, and then you'll have to recycle it. It will die if you use it often. It will die if you hardly ever use it. It will die if you charge it too much. It will die if you charge it too little. You can pull the battery out of your camera, stuff it under your mattress, and come back for it in five years. Guess what? Your battery will be dead. And when I say dead, I mean dead—not that it's run out of juice, but that it can no longer hold a charge. That said, there are ways to prolong your batteries' lives. Here are some of Buchmann's tips: Laptops: The typical lifespan of a lithium-ion l! aptop battery is about 18 months to 2 years, Buchmann says, but yours will last much longer if you don't punish it too much. The main stresses include undercharging, overcharging, and one that few of us consider: heat. Temperatures inside a laptop can reach more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hell for a battery. Ideally, Buchmann says, you should try to keep your battery charged from 20 percent to 80 percent. Keep in mind that these are guidelines for ideal use—it's generally inconvenient to unplug your machine before it goes all the way to 100. But even if you're not on constant guard, be mindful of charging your machine constantly, well past when you know it's full. You also should be conscious of letting your battery run all the way to zero. Try to keep your laptop as cool as possible. The best technique here is to charge up your battery when the computer is turned off. When your laptop is turned on and plugged in, you should pull the battery out of ! your computer. Yes, pull it out. "I know that's inconvenient," Buchman n says, "but keeping your laptop plugged in when the battery's fully charged—that combination is bad for your battery." What if your battery can't be removed, as in Apple's latest laptops? Buchmann says that new laptop designs often place batteries in cooler parts of the machine, and they may also include some intelligence to limit the stress of a fully-charged battery—that is, the machines stop applying a charge when the batteries are just under full capacity. This prolongs the battery's lifespan. The trouble is, most laptop manufacturers keep their charging algorithms secret, so it's not possible to know which laptops use this battery-prolonging technique. (Bachmann assumes that Apple does so based on its battery-promoting advertisements.) But even if your computer is clever enough to stop charging the battery when it's full, you're still better off removing the battery if it is remov! able. This will help your battery beat the heat. Phones, cameras, and other gadgets: In general, the rules are the same as for laptops: Keep the battery in the 20 percent to 80 percent range, and keep it cool. If you leave your phone on a hot car seat all afternoon, or if you run down your camera at an all-day trip to the zoo and then forget it in a sock drawer for six months—well, somewhere a little battery angel loses its wings. The best way to store batteries that you won't be using for a long time—as in a camera, though this also applies to laptop batteries—is to charge them to the 40 percent level first, Bachmann says. Batteries "self deplete"—meaning they lose power even if they're not in use. Charging the battery a little bit before you put it away ensures that it doesn't get down to dangerously low levels while in storage. The memory effect: Will your battery lose capacity if you don't let it go down to z! ero every once in a while? Not likely. The memory effect applies only to nickel-cadmium batteries, whereas most modern electronics use lithium-ion or the more advanced lithium-ion polymer. Not only are lithium batteries immune to the memory effect, they also don't require you to do anything special the first time you use them (like charge them up for 24 hours, as some gadget manuals say). Nicad batteries are still found in cordless phones, electric toothbrushes, and other cheap gadgets, but they're usually pretty inexpensive to replace. How come my battery gauge is off? Making an accurate battery gauge is much more difficult than measuring how much gas you've got in your car. Since a battery's capacity is constantly decreasing, your gauge will likely get less accurate the longer you own your gadget. The length of a charge also depends on impossible-to-predict environmental! factors like temperature. "The technology to measure batteries is just not that good," Buchmann says. "We can't do it. It's that simple." Most battery meters in electronics work by monitoring electrical inflows and outflows—in other words, how long you charge and how long you use your device. They also try to guess how your battery may have become degraded over time. But each time the computer makes such a guess, it adds errors into the calculation. These errors build up over time, and eventually you notice your laptop dying even though the battery meter says you've got 40 minutes left. To solve this, you should occasionally "calibrate" your charge meter by depleting your battery completely, then charging it up fully. This usually resets your machine's "flag" for your battery's capacity. Of course, running it down and then charging it up again puts more stress on your battery, accelerating its death. But there's no getting around that. Farhad Manjoo is Slate's technology columnist and the author of True Enough: Learning To Live in a Post-Fact Society. You can e-mail him at farhad.manjoo@slate.com and follow him on Twitter.Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2234009/ |
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Do not question ministers' appointment: PM
KUALA LUMPUR: Do not question my prerogative to appoint ministers, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He told the Gerakan national delegates conference that he appointed its president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon as Minister in the Prime Ministers Department because he valued Gerakans participation in the Government.
I appointed Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon because I value the role of Gerakan. I want the voice of Gerakan members to reach the Government, he said in his opening speech at the partys national delegates conference on Sunday.
Najib also said the appointment was made to assist in Gerakans rejuvenation as it picks up its pieces after losing heavily in the 2008 general elections, notably losing Penang as their stronghold after governing the island state for more than 30 years.
Dont question it, this is my right as Prime Minister. I dont do this because I want to flaunt my power but I made the decision in the interest of Barisan Nasional, he said.
Najib made the appointment in April and tasked Dr Koh to promote national unity and implement government key performance indices (KPI) and national key results areas (N-KRA).
Sri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz had, last week in the Dewan Rakyat, called for the resignations of Dr Koh and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
Mohamad had said Dr Koh had failed in his duties as minister while Ong had lost the confidence of his own party.
Najib. who is also Barisan Nasional chairman, stressed that Gerakan and other Barisan Nasional component parties had to get their internal affairs in order quickly and begin the process of instituting change for the better in their ranks.
Gerakan must move together like a train. So do MCA, MIC, PPP and all the others. If you have troubles, solve them quickly. What are you waiting for? he asked.
Najib also stressed that Barisan as a ruling coalition was relevant in the past, present and future.
It is not because we say so but because we are willing to change. We hear the voice of Malaysia and we will continue to commit ourselves to the people of Malaysia, he said.
He also reiterated his objective as a Prime Minister was to lead all Malaysians.
I am not just Umno chairman but also BN chairman. I am not a Prime Minister only for the Malays but for all Malaysians, he said.
via thestar.com.my
Maybe before the PM starts making these kind of remarks, he should be backing up his belief with hard facts about the performance of the minister in question. After all, his "rallying cry" this days are "people first, performance now". So since the people has a question about his minister's performance, he'd better has performance data to back it up.
Body odour, humdrum sex cause divorces in Terengganu
KUALA TERENGGANU: Smelly body odour, humdrum sex and boring pyjamas are behind the high divorce rate in the state and the government is scrambling to find ways to improve sexual relations, especially for newly wed couples.
Top on its list of proposals is to invite cosmetic firms to introduce exotic and sensuous fragrances which can arouse sexual ardour.
State Religious and Information committee deputy chairman Muhammad Ramli Nuh believes that this effort could slow the divorce rate among young couples.
He told The Star Sunday that at least three in every ten marriages registered in the state ended in divorce.
He added that separations were now common among couples aged between 25 and 30 years.
Muhammad Ramli said that couples who had been married for less than five years but already on the verge of separation told counsellors that routine sex and smelly body odour were the main reasons behind their break up.
He said he was bewildered that some couples even blamed their spouses for old-fashioned pyjamas - sarong and t-shirt - body odour during intimate moments made their sex life monotonous or turned them completely off.
I know of one case where a separation was triggered because the spouse smelled of fish crackers, he said.
Hence, Muhammad Ramli said the state government through state Family Development Board was welcoming cosmetic firms to introduce special perfumes to be used by such couples that could sustain relationships till death do them part.
He said the state government was also looking for beauty consultants to provide grooming and aesthetic workshops for couples in the state.
The workshop is not only intended for the wives but to provide tips to men on how to be attractive to their spouse, he said.
He said the state government had already engaged marriage consultants to arbitrate between feuding couples with a view to reconciling them.
But then we have to look into the finer details on the actual cause that triggers divorce; if they are smells and dressing, we should find an appropriate solution to address this and save marriages in the state, he said.
Muhammad Ramli said he had also suggested that couples to bathe together to make their relationship more exciting.
I met this elderly couple in Kelantan. Both of them bathe together although they are grandparents and enjoy a blissful marriage.
This is why I mooted the idea that this method be introduced as part of pre-marriage courses conducted in the state, he added.
Related Stories:
Tganu offers free honeymoons to couples bent on divorce
via thestar.com.my
I never thought I could live to see this type of news on Malaysian news. We rarely talk about these things in public. I think force of globalization has reared its head on our shores. Marriage counselors seemed like a good prospective jobs after reading this, don't you think?
Strong Aussie dollar boosts tourism to Malaysia
SYDNEY: The strong Australian dollar and Malaysia's ranking as a top tourist destination has resulted in a 33 percent increase, to a record 427,076, in Aussie departures to Malaysia last year.
The increase by more than 100,000 visitors from the previous year is also attributed to Australians' preference for short-haul destinations especially Malaysia and other Asean holiday spots compared with the more expensive ones in Europe and the United States.
Up to September this year, Australian arrivals in Kuala Lumpur registered an increase of 20.6 percent to 371,488 as compared with the same period last year.
Tourism Malaysia Sydney director Shahrin Mokhtar said the change was due to Australians preferring affordable places closer to home as against expensive long-haul travel destinations in the west.
"We expect to see even more Australians visiting this year because of the strong Australian dollar (A$1= RM3), which is fantastic value for a holiday in Malaysia," he said.
"It's even cheaper than the high-cost holiday within Australia.
"In addition, Australians feel the 'destination fatigue' towards local holiday venues that do not offer the cultural and physically exotic nature as Malaysia's," he said.
Australia, Shahrin said, was among the top 10 tourist-generating markets for Malaysia because it ranked high among Australians as a "must-visit" destination.
This was as a result of Tourism Malaysia's efforts to promote Malaysia as a preferred destination among Australians and New Zealanders, and this was visible through various marketing campaigns and regional road shows (with the theme "Fun & Affordable") held in various parts of Australia.
Meanwhile, New Zealander arrivals in Malaysia has also recorded a double-digit growth of 35.6 percent to 56,117 in 2008.
This year (JanuarySeptember) figures posted showed an increase of 13.5 percent to 45,362.
The Australian outbound tourism market has not suffered as much as predicted during the global financial crisis, not nearly as much as it did after the New York World Trade Centre 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARs) and Asian bird flu outbreaks.
Compared with the other Asean destinations, Malaysia is a fairly strong draw card for Australians and New Zealanders, attributed to a large extent to its positioning as an interesting alternative to the more predictable locations such as Bali (Indonesia), Thailand and Fiji, Shahrin said. - Bernama
via thestar.com.my
Yep .. I can vouch for this news. I've been hearing a lot of strong Ozzie accents up around Petaling Street in my beloved K.L. It'd be good if the Govt. can arrange something like a Bollywood exchange i.e. getting Aussie film maker to do filming here. Imagine doing film about the Death March of Aussie soldiers during the WW2. Now that should boost more tourists here. More importantly though Govt. should upgrade transport infra in and around K.L.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
10 lessons in bootstrapping a business
This is an excellent piece for 'budding' and 'aspiring' entrepreneurs. I've not yet become one, but do intend to be one in very, very near future.
It worked!
I've made some baby step progress with Posterous. Now I've seen how easy it is; I can start posting a lot more on my Twitter and Blogger accounts. Ya'ay ...
Testing post on Blogger
Ya'ay it worked. Now I can update both my Twitter and Blogger just by using my mail account. Love ya Posterous ...
From: Posterous (mikis) <post@mikis.posterous.com>
To: al_kyrie@yahoo.com
Sent: Sat, October 31, 2009 1:30:05 AM
Subject: Posterous | Re: Testing post on Blogger
Testing post on Blogger
I've just added Posterous service for Blogger. This should ease my posts to my Blogger account. Let's see how this goes ...
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Hello World!
That's was the first programming output you'd create if you took structured computer programming during my days. It's the same with this blog I've just created. It's a greeting to all of you my readers ...
I used to have another blog at Blog.com. It's dead now. Let's see if I can do better with this migration. The idea then was to capture about anything on Malaysia that I'd come across. I guess in this era of globalization I'd better widen my scope.
It's always hard to sustain momentum I know. Gotta find 'frictionless' surface to let the ball rolls ad infinitum. Or maybe I should start from highest point to build the highest kinetic energy ... hmm, highest point ... vantage point. Has a nice ring to that. Let's hope it's a good omen.
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