KL Local Council Issued Corruption Challenge

Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur ("DBKL") (in english - Kuala Lumpur City Hall) has issued an ultimatum challenge to the public - "prove that DBKL is corrupted".

What a challenge indeed! Want to take it up?

It's so obvious already and yet wanted people to prove it. I could be sued for blogging this statement. But it's a fact out there. Proof? Evidence?

Just sit at the nearest mamak restaurant at my place and you could see it happening. Proof? Ask anyone, as long as one DBKL officer walks into the restaurant and sits at the last table, the person-in-charge of the restaurant would entertain that officer. Both would talk talk and talk. What transpired? Your guess is as good as mine. Nobody would be bothered by it as everybody's fed up with such thingy.

Hello, people asking for proof lah, why did you keep putting the words there and didn't post any proof. Oh yeah ...........

Being the life president of the kay poh chee club (busybody), I asked "Kena lagi?" (You had it again?). The person-in-charge would say "Biasa lah, bagi minum kopi semua ok" (Usual lah, just provide some coffee drinks, everything will be ok). Coffee drinks in this sense is undertable money.

Still not a proof yet, just hearsay. What more you want? Take pictures? You want me to die with their whole gang of City Hall officers sitting in the car / van just in front of the restaurant?

In the first place, the restaurant is at all fault for not following guidelines issued by DBKL, for instance arrangement of table/chairs at the pedestrian walkway, illegal extension, cleanliness, illegal signboards, licence not renewed, licences not fully displayed or displayed wrongly, didn't apply for certain licence, etc (you just name it lah). How do I know? I asked lah, told you already that I'm the life president of the kay poh chee club.

Not only this mamak restaurant near my house but have seen it in other restaurants be it owned by indians, malays or chinese. No racial issues in DBKL, that's what I liked about them (pun intended of course). Just ask anyone who frequents open air food joints or low class restaurants.

Somemore want to issue a challenge to proof it? No pictures lah, no videos but if they were caught, the usual rhetoric would be - this is just a few black sheeps among the many white sheeps.

Yeah, maybe it was the same group of people that was going to all those food joints and caused people to have the mindset of "all of them are like that one lah".

Hmmmmmm what else to write ah ........... got plenty one but getting angry the more I blog about this ......... and they call themselves Malaysians, preying on helpless Malaysians or Malaysians who were willing to pay also lah ...... broke the rules and afraid that business might be closed down or assets being taken away, so no choice but to give 'offering'.

Related post:-
* Tackling Corruption in Malaysia
Tags: DBKL, Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur, City Hall, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Kuala Lumpur, Corruption, Local Council

Tourism Ministry Cancelled Tourism Plans???

With the appointment of a new minister, Malaysia's Tourism Ministry has terminated a number of Memorandums of Understanding signed between contractors and operators of tourism activities and the Tourism Ministry itself.

Reason given was these tourism activities would be held at states governed by the opposition camps. Due to this, the Tourism Ministry thought that the opposition state governments can't jive with the federal government's vision and plans.

Wow, sore losers showing their fangs!

The Tourism Ministry had terminated plans where they thought were wonderful then, those that could enhance the tourism industry in the nation and/or states. I was sure that they would have done proper studies before entering into those MOUs, then why did they cancel it right now?

Imagine this headline - Tourism Ministry terminated plans to promote tourism.

By terminating it, it reduces events planned for months and years to come and Malaysia was on the footing to draw more tourists to our nation. Moreover, the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 had been extended to 31 Aug this year. Somehow, all this nonsense seems to contradict each other. And the Tourism Ministry has wasted every single person's time who was involved in planning for those events earlier.

The ruling party which had placed their representatives into the government has still not learnt from the political tsunami in the recent general election and was still repeating their same style over the years.

Is the federal government inflicting more hardships on the state governments (those governed by the opposition parties) as the termination of such MOUs were done for events to be held in the five states only i.e. Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor.

Instead, the Tourism Ministry has decided to deal with 'individuals' to implement future tourism activities in this five states under opposition camps. Who are these 'individuals'? Why 'individuals'?

So, what do you do with those staff employed just for those events? Sack them now? Keep them in cold storage? (not referring to the supermarket you numskull). Maybe from those MOUs, many more contracts have been signed to effect the planning, get sued for terminating those contracts? At whose costs? Taxpayers?

Why can't the federal government's ministries work with this five state governments?
Impression given was the federal government purposely did it to punish voters in this five states or those signed MOUs were not beneficial to that five state governments and have to be terminated to cover-up any discrepancies. I really don't know. Hopefully this nation will turn out well in months to come. The world's economy is heading downwards and yet our government is playing a fool.

This is your federal government!

Related post:-
* Opposition MPs Cannot Officiate School Functions
Tags: Tourism Ministry, Federal Government, State Government, Kelantan, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Memorandum of Understanding

Interesting English Word Test

What do these words have in common...... ??

Banana
Dresser
Grammar
Potato
Revive
Uneven
Assess

Are you peeking or have you already given up?

Give it another try.... You'll kick yourself when you discover the answer. Go back and look at them again; think hard.

OK... here you go.. hope you didn't cheat. This Is Cool!!

Answer . . . . . .
In all of the words listed, if you take the first letter, place it at the end of the word, and then spell the word backwards, it will be the same word!!!

Told ya it was cool! Not cool?

Did you figure it out? Then maybe this word test is not meant for you ...... hehe
Tags: English, Word Test, Unique

So Close to the Stormy Clouds

These pictures were taken during lunch hour on 2 Apr 2008 by a friend's friend who works in the Petronas Twin Towers (now has dropped down to becoming the world's second tallest building in the world).
The dark clouds covered the whole city of Kuala Lumpur in a very short time before a heavy downpour.

It rained and drizzled all the way till almost the end of office hours. Thereafter, heavy traffic occured for sure.

So close to the cloud. How can it not be when you are in the world's former tallest building.
Such scene is surely rare to witness, what more captured in pictures.
Tags: Stormy Clouds, Storm, Petronas Twin Towers, Weather

Malaysian National Excuse

This is Malaysia - and you should know -
NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR HAIR LOSS: Ajinomoto (please don't sue me, it's what the majority says)

NATIONAL INSTANT FOOD: Maggi Mee

NATIONAL BREAKFAST: Nasi Lemak

NATIONAL LUNCH: Nasi Ayam

NATIONAL SUPPER: Roti Canai & Teh Tarik

NATIONAL EXCUSE FOR BEING LATE: Traffic Jam

NATIONAL CONDOM: None. Most Malaysians still feel embarrassed buying condoms. So they rushed into a 7-11, hurriedly grab the nearest pack, any pack, pay and leave before the cashier can even blink an eye.

NATIONAL FRUIT FOR INDUCING MENSTRUATION: Pineapple

NATIONAL APHRODISIAC DRINK: Stout. Many Malaysian men swear by it. But then after a few pints they start swearing at everything...

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (MEN): Food Poisoning

NATIONAL FAKE ILLNESS FOR GETTING MC (WOMEN): Menstrual Pain

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY WOMEN WHEN REFUSING SEX: Headache, kids not asleep, maid not asleep, mother-in-law around, early appointment, food not digested yet, aircond not cold enough, aircond too cold, nail polish not dry yet, forgot to take the pill, sleepy, stomach cramps, period, haven't remove make-up, haven't shower, no water supply, going to watch "Santa Barbara ", depress, no mood, etc...

NATIONAL EXCUSES GIVEN BY MEN WHEN REFUSING SEX: None. Malaysian men never refuse sex.

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIARRHOEA: Cap Kaki Tiga. Down one bottle with warm water and you are all "dried up".

NATIONAL CURE FOR HEADACHES: Panadol. The "cure for all". If it fails we have another secret weapon - Tiger Balm.

NATIONAL CURE FOR NAUSEA: Moh Fah Kor.

NATIONAL CURE FOR DIZZINESS: Minyak Angin Cap Kapak.

NATIONAL CAUSE OF DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES): Happy Hours.

NATIONAL INSTANT CURE FOR DIZZINESS (FOR YUPPIES): The sight of a police road block.

NATIONAL RICE COOKER: NATIONAL brand Rice Cooker

NATIONAL RUBBISH DUMP: Anywhere. As long as it is not your house.

NATIONAL MOST MIS-PRONOUNCED NAME: Carrefour. Sometimes even pronounced as Carry 4!

Won't label this blog entry as a joke as this is what Malaysians would say when you ask them the same questions.
Tags: Malaysian National Excuse, Excuse

Attitude is Everything

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it!

You can't be a positive person all of the time How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood." Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked He continued, "..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'"

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.
Tags: Attitude is Everything, Attitude, Inspiration, Motivator

Tackling Corruption in Malaysia

Our Malaysia government doesn't recognise the Corruption Perception Index ("CPI") issued by Transparency International because the index was bias, the datas used are not acceptable, the people doing such index don't live in Malaysia and unable to give a fair assessment / perception ....... blah blah blah.

But when you compare the CPI ranking with the per capita income, somehow it matches. Malaysia is ranked at no. 43 and the per capita income is estimated to be US$4,970 (RM16,000)in year 2005. It's year 2008 today and according to the government's statistical records, sadly to say, our per capita income is only around US$7,300 (RM23,500).

No wonder I can't get high increment as it has to match the per capita income.

I heard that with the Pakatan Rakyat (opposition alliance) taking over the state government of Penang, corruption has reduced. A malay property developer said that she has saved RM700,000 just on upon approval by the state authorities recently. Asked whether it was savings on fees or materials but actual fact was that she doesn't have to pay this or that person anymore. Even a gesture payment would be refused now. What a change!

As long as corruption is still widely accepted / practised, Malaysia will stay where they are now. And if you do participate by giving bribes to the police, don't blame them for the insecurity feeling that you are facing now because you were part of the problem.
Tags: Corruption, Malaysia, Transparency International, Corruption Perception Index, Bribe, Per Capita Income, Pakatan Rakyat