Lower Car Prices For Malaysians?

“I believe that low-income Malaysians today would not have been able to have their own cars had it not been for Proton." - Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee Heung.

So pathetic.

How does a low-income Malaysian get to own a Proton? Proton has to build a car which has cheaper components and parts [I hope that the quality has not been sacrificed/compromised ;)] coupled with lower duties imposed by the government.

Personally, those who can even afford to buy a local made car are quite well off. It's not just buying a car but you have to ensure periodic maintainance, pump it up with the costly petrol, clean it, the need to pay road tax and a potential higher car insurance.

Try telling that to a father who is fetching two of his kids to school early in the morning. This is happening right in Kuala Lumpur itself. Don't need to describe about the rural areas.

Because of government protection accorded on Proton, higher duties were imposed on all other foreign made cars which made it quite impossible for low-income (I would say even above average Malaysians are affected) Malaysians to own one. These foreign made cars, even though of better quality and safety standards, are placed out of reach in that Malaysians will be forced to opt for a cheaper version i.e. the Proton cars.

I have heard before that one of the main reasons for imposing high duties on foreign made cars was to reduce the number of cars being driven on the roads. But why produce local cars that are cheaper where more people can buy it then. It contradicts.

Surprisingly, Proton cars could be bought at a cheaper rate even though it was exported out of Malaysia. No duties imposed by those countries? What about the freight charges?

In Saudi Arabia, Proton cars are sold at unbelievable low prices. It's not only in Saudi but the same in many other countries where Proton is being sold.

Worse still, the quality/specs are much better for those exported Proton cars. Apparently, it's to meet the minimum quality/safety standards in those countries.

Shouldn't these low prices be the same as in Malaysia for those low-income Malaysians?

Why are we benefitting the foreigners?

Low-income Malaysians subsidised those cars being exported?

Related post - Prices of Cars in Canada
Related post - Proton Cars Being Ridiculed in UK

Reading: Chor lauds Proton for making cars affordable - Star
Reading: Proton - Prices & Specs - Drive Arabia
Tags: Malaysian Car Prices, Saudi Arabia, Proton, Car

Rubbish Dump Fire

Few weeks back in the late Sunday afternoon, a plot of land behind my residential area was burning out of control. Not sure if it was an illegal dumping ground or that it belongs to some factories there.

It was about 150m away from the last row of houses in the residential area.

It was thick black smoke. Though I can't smell anything but ashes were raining down on those witnessing the fire. Toxic?

Within seconds on seeing that it was quite serious, I asked those two guys who were standing there earlier "Have anyone made a call to the fire station?". They responded "Don't know, we just came only". They were there before I arrived ..........

That's our public apathy. Each one waiting for someone else to do it and these people will be fast to blame others for not doing anything if something was to happen to them.

When I called the emergency number 999, the operator asked for details of the area on fire. I told her it's behind my residential area and I told her it was somewhere near the Kg. Bohol area. That operator was not sure of the place and asked me to provide a more detailed address.

I told her it was a fire burning into the forest area. I have told her on the estimated route to go that area. Still she requested for more details saying that the place is not easily understood.

Fed up, I told her to just pass the call to the fire station nearest to my place, which is the Bukit Jalil fire station. I told her if the personnels at Bukit Jalil fire station were to come out from their fire station, they would definitely see the thick black smoke and they'll be guided by that smoke signal. I guarantee that because I'm seeing it with my own eyes (raising my voice at this point).

She could sense my seriousness now. When the call was passed to the Bukit Jalil fire station, the guy who took my call said that they already knew about the fire and had dispatched their personnels there. Good job! But not for the operator because she was wasting precious time.

At this point of time, a number of the neighbours were there to geh poh chi (busybody). Not one person asked whether a call was made to the fire station.

Saw one guy, seems like a reporter or something like that, busy taking pictures with his high end camera and other gadgets but didn't make any calls to the fire station.

The best is yet to come ........ after standing there for a moment I noticed two elderly men came in their car. Walking to the spot where you can see this fire with the best view.

And he said this "Don't know whether the firemen are already there to put out this fire".

I felt like saying "Uncle, if you haven't made the call to the fire station, how do you expect them to be there?".

That's Malaysia and maybe for many Malaysians.

Some complained about the government day in day out but when you asked them whether they have voted in the last general election .............. do you know the answer? ....... Its a big NO!
Tags: Public Apathy, Bukit Jalil Fire Station

Hyped Up TM Technology

I wrote this email to Telekom Malaysia ("TM") on 8 March 2010:-

----------------------------
From: Johnny Ong
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 2:00 PM
To: 'help@tm.com.my'
Subject: Availability of TM fixed line and internet
Importance: High

Dear TM,

May I know when could I apply and have access to TM fixed line and internet service at the following address –

***, Jalan ***** *
******* ***** ***** ***** **
*****Kuala Lumpur

Please note that in Jan 2010, TM Point staff has indicated that the said TM services are still not available for Phase 2A residents even though Phase 1 and 2 are well connected.

Regards,
Johnny Ong
----------------------------

Very disappointed that till today, no response from TM.

So, I wrote another email to TM on 25 March 2010:-

----------------------------
From: Johnny Ong
To: tmhsbb@tm.com.my; help@tm.com.my
Sent: Thu, March 25, 2010 8:25:36 AM
Subject: No TM Line Available

Dear TM,

Please don't hype up the HSBB when TM don't even want to commission a simple telephone line at my place of residence. Excuse given was insufficient applicants = to my understanding, profit is more important than providing the necessary service.

Sent an email to help@tm.com.my on 8 March on the same issue and no response after 2 weeks, great isn't it?

Regards,
Johnny Ong
***, Jalan ***** *
******* ***** ***** ***** **
*****Kuala Lumpur
----------------------------

Yeah, I told TM not to hype up their new UniFi (High Speed Broadband) ("HSBB") service when they can't even provide the basic. I can't even subscribe to their normal internet package, what more this HSBB.

I'm not surprised to read this article Consumers let down by cap on UniFi packages in Star newspaper where it mentioned the following:-

* Some are disappointed over what they feel are expensive charges for the packages for home users: RM149 for 5Mbps, RM199 for 10Mbps, and RM249 for 20Mbps.

* In Singapore, a 1Gbps (gigabit per second) service – which is five times the speed of a 20Mbps connection – only costs about RM200.

* But the real disappointment is the realisation that the UniFi packages have a cap on the amount of data that can be downloaded.

* The consumers bristled when they learned that the 5Mbps service is capped at 60GB of data per month. The 10Mbps service is capped at 90GB while the 20Mbps service has a 120GB cap.

* They were even more disappointed to learn that the data download caps are calculated on a daily basis.

* Consumers were further horrified to learn that if they exceeded their daily download limit, their high-speed broadband connections would be throttled down to about 10% of the purchased speed.

Related post - Poor Telecommunication Infrastructure
Tags: Telekom Malaysia, TM, UniFi, High Speed Broadband, HSBB, TM Fixed Line, Internet Service, TM Point, Gigabit Per Second

Street Drinkers To Be Arrested

In Sudan, alcohol drinks are not permitted so we don't have to talk about drinking at pubs or wherever you want to.

In the UK, you are permitted to drink but somehow there are some restrictions being placed. Of all places, it's not permitted around the Old Trafford stadium that belongs to Manchester United at certain timing.

As per the Designated Public Places Order (DPPO), the police from the Greater Manchester Police’s Trafford Division can stop you and request you to surrender your alcohol drinks in the street especially on match days.

If you decide not to surrender your precious alcohol drink, be prepared to receive a £50 fine or alternatively, you can save some money on accommodation as you will get a free one night stay in jail.

I thought jailing people for alcohol related offence in the street is only heard in Islamic country.
Tags: Alcohol Drink, Street Drinker, Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester United,
Greater Manchester Police’s Trafford Division, Designated Public Places Order, DPPO

Malaysians Confused About 1Malaysia

Malaysians Confused About 1Malaysia - I thought of this blogpost title after reading the following article found in Bernama, People Still Do Not Understand Fully 1Malaysia Concept, Says Information DG.

It mentioned that "80 per cent of the people interviewed knew about the concept but were not able to explain what it really stood for." I know why. Mainly because of various parties which are closely linked to the government have caused the confusions. These parties (media and NGOs) kept stirring racial and religion sentiments in this multi-racial / religious country.

It's because of this that the people are unable to explain what it stood for regardless that 1Malaysia has eight aspirations.

At the same time, the controversial National Civics Bureau (BTN) is in the midst of organising 500 1Malaysia seminars for the private sector and non-governmental organisations. As based on their own research, they found that Malaysians were unclear on the application of values to realise the concept.

If this 1Malaysia concept was announced recently I would understand if the people are still unclear or misunderstood it. But it was announced way back on 16 Sept 2008. It's past seventeen months now and the people still cannot grasp the whole idea??????

So sad.

The prime minister stated this - A Truly United Malaysia If People Embrace 1Malaysia Values.

Couldn't agree more but how sincere is the government, its respective ministries, state governments (be it under BN or PR), the mainstream media (which is fully under the control of the government via various parties linked to them). All talk but action is otherwise, what's the point?

FYI, we are not fools!
Tags: 1Malaysia, Malaysia, National Civics Bureau, BTN, Biro Tatanegara

Many U-Turn Professionals

The government has many U-turn pros working within various departments. They announced major proposals only to delay or defer or cancel those proposals later on.

Which one?

* Real Property Gains Tax
The tax proposal of a flat rate 5% tax on all properties regardless of the holding period (especially for those held more than 5 years) was suggested in during the Budget 2010 but has been scrapped now. Why? I thought many thoughtful meetings were held before this was announced in the budget.

Reading: Raising revenue via real property gains tax - Star

* Two Tiered Fuel Subsidy
The confusing and tedious approach in getting the subsidised fuel at each petrol station for each consumer has been scrapped. One will ask why a proper study was not done in the first place before announcing something that big that will involve heavy implementation cost and major public education.

Reading: Proposed tiered fuel subsidy scrapped - MySinchew.com

* Goods and Services Tax
The second reading of this proposal was supposed to be held in the parliament today but was deferred. Why? Not prepared? One reason given earlier i.e. yesterday (yeah, before the parliament sitting today) was "lack in input from the general public". It was mentioned that input was only gathered from private sector. Who are these people in the private sector?

Even the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers suggested a different approach which is to implement the Retail Sales Tax (what's this anyway?!?!?!) instead. Didn't consult the business sector too?

But I like what the GST (read it somewhere and it sounded so perfect) acronym stands for in this case - Go Squeeze Them!

Reading: Second Reading Of GST Bill Dependent On Public Input - Bernama

Way way before the above, they u-turned on the teaching of Maths & Science in English language.
Tags: Real Property Gains Tax, RPGT, Two Tiered Fuel Subsidy, Goods and Services Tax, GST, Retail Sales Tax

War Declared On USA

George Bush was sitting in his office wondering whom to invade next when his telephone rang.

'Hello, Mr. Bush!' a heavily accented voice said, 'This is Gurmukh from Phagwara, District Kapurthala, Punjab .. I am ringing to inform you that we are officially declaring the war on you!'

'Well, Gurmukh,' Bush replied, 'This is indeed important news! How big is your army?'

'Right now,' said Gurmukh, after a moment's calculation, 'there is myself, my cousin Sukhdev, my next door neighbor Bhagat, and the entire kabaddi team from the gurudwara. That makes eight.'

Bush paused. 'I must tell you, Gurmukh that I have one million men in my army waiting to move on my command.'

'Arrey O! Main kya..' said Gurmukh. 'I'll have to ring you back!'

Sure enough, the next day, Gurmukh called again.

'Mr. Bush, it is Gurmukh, I'm calling from Phagwara STD, the war is still on! We have managed to acquire some infantry equipment!'

'And what equipment would that be, Gurmukh' Bush asked.

'Well, we have two combines, a donkey and Amrik's tractor.'

Bush sighed. 'I must tell you, Gurmukh, that I have 16,000 tanks and 14,000 armored personnel carriers. Also, I've increased my army to 1-1/2 million since we last spoke.'

'Oh teri....' said Gurmukh. 'I'll have to get back to you.'

Sure enough, Gurmukh rang again the next day.

'Mr. Bush, the war is still on! We have managed to get ourselves airborne..... We've modified Amrik's tractor by adding a couple of shotguns, sticking on some wings and the pind's generator. Four school pass boys from Malpur have joined us as well!'

Bush was silent for a minute and then cleared his throat. 'I must tell you, Gurmukh, that I have 10,000 bombers and 20,000 fighter planes. My military complex is surrounded by laser-guided, surface-to-air missile sites. And since we last spoke, I've increased my army to TWO MILLION!'

'Tera pala hove....' said Gurmuk, 'I'll have to ring you back.'

Sure enough, Gurmukh called again the next day.

'Kiddan, Mr.Bush! I am sorry to tell you that we have had to call off the war.'

'I'm sorry to hear that,' said Bush. 'Why the sudden change of heart'

'Well,' said Gurmukh, 'we've all had a long chat over a couple of lassi's, and decided there's no way we can feed two million prisoners of war!'

--------------------------
Now, this is what I call CONFIDENCE!
Tags: Confidence, Humour, Funny, George Bush, Phagwara, Kapurthala, Punjab, Prisoners Of War

Rumours On Malaysian Christian Coalition

Received an email that quoted Malaysian Christian leaders / pastors are coming together to form a Christian Coalition in Support of 1Malaysia (CCS1M).

My first instant thought is always to verify emails or messages before forwarding it to others. After checking with a few friends that have connections to those Christian leaders / pastors as quoted in the article, the conclusion is - there is no such intended coalition.

Not that the Christian leaders are not in support of the government but to use and quote the names without their consent / approval and telling a lie about this coalition are the main issues here.

There are people out there who are ready to create discord among the Christian voters than anything. No doubt, in my humble opinion, that Pakatan Rakyat may not have performed up to our expectations but then how much has Barisan Nasional done thus far for the people.

Can see some hands are trying desperately to court some votes lost in the previous general election but I see it as a good political move in a sense. Pakatan Rakyat should not rest on their laurels.

---------------------------------------

There is a proposal that Christian leaders and pastors come together for the sake of the nation to form a Christian Coalition in Support of 1Malaysia (CCS1M). We have seen the mess created by the Pakatan Rakyat leaders and elected representatives and are fed up with their choatic administration of Perak, Penang and Selangor. The Christian block of votes in the urban areas like Ipoh, Penang, PJ, Subang Jaya, etc has contributed to the Pakatan victory in the March 2008 general election but what happened to those elected, especially the Christian elected representatives.

People like Teresa Kok and Hannah Yeoh are riding on a popularity wave and competing with each other in a fashion show parade. They act like beauty queens. There is also Janice Lee who thrive on street demonstrations and does nothing else. The Christian cousins of Ngeh and Nga of Perak did not lose time in awarding themselves with datukship and state award even before they warm their seats of the Perak state exco.

There is Edward Lee, another Christian lay leader, who got elected and then does nothing at all after that, just collecting his allowance and enjoying regular free meals with his family given by his constituency voters.

Nothing has changed during the last two years the Pakatan ruled Penang and Selangor, but things have become worse.

The Najid administration, meanwhile, has done a lot for the people, and churches are among those benefitting from the Barisan Nasional federal government. Just ask Assemblies of God denomination head Rev Ong Sek Leng who is also pastor of the burnt Tabanacle Church or Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship president Tan Teck Seng and the defecto NECF leader Rev Wong Kim Kong (although he has retired, he still controls the NECF as executive advisor).

We are proposing that the following church leaders and pastors form a pro tem committee to set up the CCS1M:

NECF leader Rev Wong Kim Kong,
Baptist lay leader Dato Davy Woo,
AOG Church head Rev Ong Sek Leng,
Methodist Church head Bishop Hwa Yung,
Baptist Church Convention head Rev Isaac Lim,
Anglican Church head Bishop Ng,
Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship national president Tan Teck Seng,
Christian editor Dato Seri Wong Chun Wait of the Star,
Christian women leader Tan Cheng Liang, and
Christian politician Dato Lee Hwa Beng.

These are all well-known church leaders who support the Barisan Nasional. Many church leaders, pastors and members are now keen supporters of Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib and Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat. They are fed up with the Pakatan tactics.

Let us all pray that peace and order will be restored in the states that fell to Pakatan, and work for Barisan victory in these states at the next general election.

And we hope Christian journalists like Dato Seri Wong Chun Wai, Thomas Lee, Bob Teoh, Soo Eu Jin, Debra Loh, etc will help promote the CCS1M with their commentaries.

So, Rev Wong Kim Kong and Dato Davy Woo, the ball is in your court to initiate and organise this new movement of God to remove the hypocrites from power.

Please forward this message to as many Christians as you can.

---------------------------------------
Am equally sad with some people who continues to forward sms / emails without checking the facts first.

Reading: Can You Smell That????? It’s Called Desperation - MS Daffodil
Tags: Christian Coalition in Support of 1Malaysia, Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship, NECF, Baptist, AOG, Methodist, Anglican, Christian, Pakatan Rakyat

Froggies Found in Parliament

Three Members of Parliament (MPs), Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri (Bagan Serai), Zahrain Mohamed Hashim (Bayan Baru) and Tan Tee Beng (Nibong Tebal), have quit PKR, one of the three opposition parties in Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Was money involved in these froggie decisions as highlighted in the article entitled "BN money talks in defections, claims PKR".

The MPs who quit gave lame reasons for resigning from PKR and said that they are independents now ...... most likely siding Barisan Nasional, the ruling coalition of the current government.

Whatever reasons that you have quit on, remember this ....... you were voted based on what you have said during the election campaign or for what PKR has decided to fight for.

I think that your political career may be over now. I'm sure that you won't be selected to stand for election in the same place. If you were placed in another place, I'm sure your opponent would hype on your froggie decision in the past.

In my daily geh poh chi session with friends, we commented that people like you do not have integrity and people who chose to vote for you had been betrayed.

As for Zulkifli Nordin, who walked out of PKR's disciplinary board meeting yesterday, I'm really puzzled by your actions recently. You walked out because non-muslims were the majority or Christian being present in the board?????

How racist can you get from here? I really wonder. Where are we today? We are moving towards being a develeped country but there are people who still wants to stir racial and religious issues every now and then.

Zulkifli may have to walk out of a restaurant if there were non-muslim cooks.
Zulkifli may have to move out of a constituency if a Christian politician was elected there.
Zulkifli may have to resign as a Member of Parliament because non-muslims voted for him too.
Zulkifli may have to get out from places where there are either non-muslims or Christians that are making decisions in those places.

Absurd? That's how absurd some Malaysians have became.

Reading: Zul threatens to quit if non-Muslims hear his case - FreeMalaysiaToday
Tags: Mohsin Fadzli Samsuri, Bagan Serai, Zahrain Mohamed Hashim, Bayan Baru, Tan Tee Beng, Nibong Tebal, Zulkifli Nordin, Pakatan Rakyat, PKR, Parti Keadilan Raykat, Malaysian Politics

Australian Ghost Story

This story happened a while ago in Brisbane, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.

John Bradford, a Sydney University student, was on the side of the road hitch hiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm. The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him.

Suddenly he saw a car slowly coming towards him and stopped. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got in the car and closed the door, just to realize there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before he hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel.

John, paralyzed with terror, watched how the hand appeared every time they came to a curve. John saw the lights of a pub down the road so gathering strength, jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and asked for two shots of tequila. He then started telling everybody about the horrible experience he went through.

A silence enveloped everybody when they realized he was crying and ... wasn't drunk.

About 15 minutes later, two guys walked into the same pub. They were also wet and out of breath. Looking around and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other, *'Look, Bruce ....... here's the idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it.' *
Tags: Australian Ghost Story, Ghost Story, Funny, Humour, Brisbane, Alfred Hitchcock