Prices of Cars in Canada

One evening after work, we wanted to buy some groceries or simple food stuff from a supermarket but ended up at Ozone Cafe located across the other side of the city.

As it was only 6pm plus, I ordered a Strawberry Tart (7 Sudanese Dinar), a cup of Vanilla Milkshake (10 Sudanese Dinar) and a small bottle of Safia Pure Water (3 Sudanese Dinar). With this it's already around US$8.70.






Chocolate Truffle ordered by Nazril. I think it was 7 Sudanese Dinar too.

This cafe is situated at a large roundabout. There's parking within the place and if you were to come later at night, you may have to park and cross the road to come into this large roundabout.

Don't know why they would approve such a restaurant in the centre of a roundabout. I'ts quite dangerous for customers to run across the heavy traffic roads around it.

As we relaxing ourselves, I picked up The Gazette newspaper from Canada at their newspapers stand. It's outdated anyway. As I flipped through the newspaper, I felt sad for my fellow citizens of Malaysia.

Managed to take a few snaps of some advertisements for your viewing.

Firstly, the BMW 323i model in Canada is available at a monthly instalment of C$445. That too, your downpayment is around C$6,000++.

Bearing in mind that this monthly instalment rate is for a four year financial loan period, not a nine year loan period as found in Malaysia.

In Malaysia, you have to incur above RM2,000 per month for this BMW model for a nine year loan period. Malaysia priced it at RM338,000.

Next you could purchase the 2009 Honda Accord LX model at a monthly instalment of C$268. Maybe we can afford to purchase the Honda's four tyres with RM268 per month. Malaysia is selling the 2.0L model at RM136,800.

The 2009 Honda CR-V LX model is available at C$298 per month. In Malaysia, it's only RM147,800.

If at a dollar to dollar comparison, Canadians could afford to buy any car they want and replace their car within a short period of usage. At the rate of RM298 per month for example, we can't even afford to buy the cheapest national car of Malaysia.

Next few pages, the Nissan cars. You could obtain a 2009 Nissan Versa Hatchback at C$159 for the monthly instalment payment.

Best of all, you could get yourself the 2009 Nissan Murano at a bargain price of C$21,898. In Malaysia, the price is going at a staggering price of RM370,000.

How come? Why deny us the privilege to drive such a nice car?

This 2009 Mazda 3 Sedan is being retailed at C$15,995 compared to Malaysia's retail price of RM133,515.

The Mini Cooper 2009, another latest model, is found in Canada at a best price of C$349 per monthly instalment. Very cheap in Malaysia for the rich and famous people of course, retailing at RM195,000 only.

Monthly instalment at nine long years, as permitted by banks, could be around RM2,000 with a 10% downpayment.

Any Malaysian would have been able to afford a Mercedes Benz.

The B170 model is being sold at C$23,900 compared to Malaysia's price of RM220,000.

The C-Class Merz is being retailed at C$24,900. The Merz C-200 Kompressor in Malaysia is being sold at RM238,888.

The mouth watering SLK Merz convertible ..... oh my ...... only C$41,900. In Malaysia, don't even dream about it with our salaries, the SLK200 Kompressor is being sold at RM468,888.

Ok, Ok, don't talk about expensive car models. Why don't we just compare it with much more affordable cars found in Malaysia.

The Toyota Yaris Hatchback in Malaysia is being sold between RM92,800 to RM98,800.

In Canada, it's being retailed between C$11,315. Beat that!

Why can't Malaysian car dealers sell at those prices? Simple answer is found on my two other blog postings about Proton and Perodua car models. The prices are jacked up in Malaysia using various taxes, direct or indirect, to protect the Malaysian car industry.

Ok, Ok, I would understand if we are protecting the Malaysian car but we are paying high prices for electrical goods too.

Say for instance, a LG 50 inch Full HD Plasma TV is being retailed at C$1,498.99. In Malaysia? It would be close to five figures for sure. Wrong?

Today's exchange rate for One Canadian Dollar = RM3.01. Just look at the big difference!

Please note that all car prices quoted in Ringgit Malaysia are estimates only found at Car Standard website. So, don't quote me.

What about car prices in Sudan? It's almost similar pricing. Third world countries rely a lot on taxes and this would be their main source of income but for a much developed country like Malaysia .............. sigh.

That is why Malaysia has to produce mini cars like Proton Savvy and Perodua Kancil to please Malaysians who can't afford affordable cars.

In Sudan, there's only a few Petronas petrol station. Being Malaysian, when we are running out of petrol and if we are nearby, we wil pump Petronas petrol of course.

Related posts:-
* Proton Cars Being Ridiculed in UK
* Perodua Cars Being Ridiculed in UK

Tags: Ozone Cafe, Strawberry Tart, Chocolate Truffle, The Gazette, BMW 323i, 2009 Honda Accord LX, 2009 Honda CR-V LX, 2009 Nissan Versa Hatchback, 2009 Nissan Murano, 2009 Mazda 3 Sedan, Mini Cooper 2009, Mercedes Benz B170, Mercedes Benz C-200 Kompressor, Mercedes Benz SLK200 Kompressor, Toyota Yaris Hatchback, LG 50 Inch Full HD Plasma TV, Proton Savvy, Perodua Kancil

Alice in Cancerland

“Sometimes we are too engrossed in the grand political narratives, and we lose sight of the ordinary Sarawakian. The following story below about a sick Sarawakian lady makes up for that neglect. - sky”
By Keruah Usit

Alice was already a young mother when she found out she had cancer of the nose. She was in her mid-twenties, the target age of trashy magazines and “natural-looking cosmetics”. She had a shy smile and dimples in her cheeks, and she had passed on her pretty smile and dimples to her two little daughters.

Alice’s husband Abel, a hunter and farmer, loved her, and, unlike most other husbands the world over, listened to her. Her small children hung on to her every word.

Alice lived by a river in rural Sarawak, three hundred kilometres (as the helicopter flies) from the nearest hospital. She had noticed a swelling growing around her left eye for six months, but she could not afford the two hundred Ringgit it cost to get to Miri Hospital.

The Penan way of life
Alice was a young Penan mother with no cash income to speak of. Her parents had been born in the rainforest. Her grey and stooped father still went out hunting, carrying a blowpipe and a machete, with a surprising spring in his step.

Alice loved her Penan community; they were close-knit, ready to share, and they looked after their neighbours’ children as a matter of course. Alice, one of 15,000 Penan forest-dwellers - like many other indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak, and the Orang Asli - depended on the rainforest, not for eco-tourism and adventure, but for life itself.

Alice had never even seen a fifty Ringgit bank-note, but she had led a good life, until she grew a tumour the size of a hen’s egg around her eye, and suffered continually from a blocked nose. Alice was alarmed. She walked an hour to the closest rural clinic, a standard government-issue, ancient, wooden house on stilts.

Need to be treated in Miri
The nurse there, a girl her own age, advised her to go to Miri Hospital. “We have no budget allocation to pay for you to travel to Miri,” the young nurse had told her. The nurse repeated the same mantra, week after week, to all her patients needing hospital care.

Alice knew patients were only moved to Miri by helicopter in emergencies, such as obstructed labour. Even then, the helicopter service was unreliable - it had even ceased altogether, for an entire year, without any explanation offered to the nurses, or the villagers.

When the Health Minister at the time, Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek, was asked why the Sarawak helicopter “medical evacuation” service had been interrupted, he was quoted by several newspapers as saying the contract had been awarded, by the Ministry of Finance, and not his own Ministry - to a company that owned no aircraft. The well-connected owners of the helicopter company, as nimble as a dodo, were still paid handsomely, as stipulated in the contract.

Finally, to Miri
Eventually, six months after the onset of the swelling, Alice met four doctors in her own home village - a surprise. The doctors had taken leave and had raised their own funds to visit several remote villages, including Alice’s. A kind doctor from Kuala Lumpur, in her twenties like Alice, made a diagnosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma. She accompanied Alice and Abel on the long journey to Miri.

Alice had never been to the loud, alienating oil town, Miri. She was terrified. The Ear, Nose and Throat doctor took a biopsy from her nose. She waited almost a month for a CT scan appointment. The scan results were disheartening: the cancer had already eaten its way into the base of her skull. Alice was sent on to Kuching, the capital, for radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Then to Kuching
She was, once again, in a strange place, but at least Abel was with her. Abel spent his nights sleeping on a hard armchair in the visitors’ room near the Cancer Ward. Alice shared her trays of food with him. When a kind nurse was on duty, Abel would receive his own portion of food. Alice and Abel preferred their own harvested sago pith, or na’oh, to the clods of grey rice served up on grey trays with plastic compartments, but they persevered with the treatment.
After six weeks of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and unspeakable food, the swelling around Alice’s eye vanished. She started to eat almost normally. Local volunteers drove her around town, urging her to try kolok mee, Kuching’s famed noodle dish. Alice ate noodles for the first time in her young life - and liked it almost as much as na’oh. Her winning smile returned.

A day at the beach
A local volunteer took her to Santubong beach, for Alice had never seen the sea. Alice was delighted, feeling the sand beneath her bare feet, laughing and skipping away from the water as the waves swept in, almost dancing on the shoreline.

Abel and Alice walked, too, among the trees near the beach. They murmured to each other, pointing out plants, those familiar and those less so, to each other. They wandered hand in hand along the concrete path beneath the quiet canopy, longing for their own forest, the forest they knew so well, far away.

More treatment
Soon afterwards, Alice and Abel were sent back to Miri, for Alice to have five more cycles of chemotherapy, one dose a month.

The doctors did not offer Alice and Abel contraceptives - an awful oversight, you might say, and less rare than you might think. Alice became pregnant. The doctor advised Alice to have an abortion. She recovered from the operation, but her chemotherapy was delayed for several weeks as a result.

Alice and Abel were allowed to visit their small children on two or three occasions - you can imagine the joy of those embraces, and the meals of na’oh and wild game shared.

But Alice dreaded each return to the urban hospital. There was the occasional encounter with a vicious nurse or accounts clerk, berating her and Abel for not paying their hospital bills. She would explain, head bowed, quietly and patiently, that she could not afford the bills.

(Most Malaysians know little of the lives of indigenous people. This has not been helped by the government hype surrounding announcements of internet access in rural communities: “e-jekitan”, “e-bario” and the like. One might be led to imagine the Penan carrying iPhones through the forest, tracking wild boar using GPS.)

Doctors!
There was also hardship for Alice, when she had to endure nausea, caused by the inexperience of her doctors in the use of potent medicines. Her doctors were unaware, and a few doctors were perhaps unperturbed in their ignorance, that Alice’s retching could have been prevented easily.
Alice never complained about her difficulties, and her doctors never learned to ask her about her symptoms - in Penan, or any other language.

Home at last
Yet Alice and Abel stayed the course. Alice’s cancer was in remission, and she was able to go home at last. She returned happily to caring for her daughters, and began sending her older daughter to school, walking an hour to school with the little girl, and walking an hour back home after classes.

The Cancer Returned
The cancer returned two years ago. Alice was offered chemotherapy again, for palliation, but she declined politely. She preferred to stay at home with her children. She talked it through with Abel. To Abel’s credit, he supported her.

Alice took to covering the swelling around her eye and in her neck, with a towel. Towards the end of her life, she found it painful to swallow. A volunteer doctor visiting her village gave her pain relief, and some comfort.

Death in dignity
Alice understood she did not have much time left, and she lived with dignity. She remained in her small house with Abel, her parents and her children. She cooked for her family and weaved baskets by daylight and by the timid light of a kerosene lamp at night. She died at home a year ago. Abel, with the support of Alice’s parents, is bringing up the young children.

Alice’s story, of deprivation of basic health care, is echoed all over Sarawak, Sabah and parts of Peninsular Malaysia. Alice never had the benefit of a quick diagnosis. Nose cancer can be cured if it is found early.

Enforced Silence
Our national health care system, flawed though it is, does reach out to many women like Alice, but access to basic health care remains desperately unequal, and under-funding is painfully obvious.

Alice and Abel never had the opportunity to have their voices heard. The rural poor, Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu in Sarawak, Kadazan, Dusun, Murut in Sabah, plantation workers and Orang Asli in Peninsular Malaysia suffer the same enforced silence.

Urban Malaysian voters, on the other hand, have finally found their voice, and have become increasingly vocal in the last twelve months. Our political institutions have had no choice but to respond, albeit in a distorted and confused way. But will the voices of our dispossessed rural population ever be heard?

May Alice rest in peace!

Copied en-bloc from Hornbill Unleashed.
Tags: Penan, Orang Asli, Sarawak, Cancer

Karaoke Night in Khartoum

On Friday weekend night, we dropped by at Petronas Sudan's headquarters where it houses the main office and also staff quarters. We were told there would be Malaysian food and a karaoke session would be held in the open air.

When you are here, anything is interesting. The event started at 9pm.

There was a food stall opened up to sell food cooked in Malaysian style of course. You won't feel 'food sick' over here.
It was a relaxing night and there was a karaoke sing-a-long session. A stage was put up for guys to belt their favourite songs. Yeah, as long as I was there only the guys went up on stage.

Later, a group of kids performed a fast dance. Can't recognise that English song of theirs. It took them only one week to practise.

Soon, a group of men went up on stage to act as back-up singers to support a senior management guy who will be singing his favourite song. Didn't that long and went off for our late late dinner at 10pm.

Tags: Petronas Sudan, Karaoke Session, Malaysian Food

Perodua Cars Being Ridiculed in UK

Top Gear has not only done a review on the Proton cars from Malaysia but also on the second national car manufacturer, Perodua. It didn't escape Top Gear's melancholic eyes.

What was Top Gear's verdict on the Perodua brands? Here goes nothing again (the following write-ups and pictures were sourced from Top Gear's website):-

It may be true that you get what you pay for, but it doesn’t follow that the cheapest cars are the best value. These appallingly under-developed, outdated and plain ugly offerings come from Malaysia’s least desirable brand. Think about it – that means even if you’re doggedly pro-Malaysia, you don’t have to buy one of these.

Perodua Kelisa
‘The cheapest car Malaysia’s cheaper manufacturer produces. Doesn’t fill you with confidence does it?’

The Perodua Kelisa may be the cheapest supermini on sale in the UK, but it will never feel like a bargain. A wheezy little engine, cramped interior, crappy plastics and truly rubbish styling leave you wondering who on earth actually buys this stuff.

An astonishing feat – Britain’s cheapest car is so humblingly bad it’s not even worth the pocket money it costs. So poor it deserves to benefit from the next Comic Relief.

Perodua Kenari
‘As much as we all want to cheer on the underdog, the Kenari deserves all the abuse it gets. An utter shambles.’

A deeply embarrassing car to be seen in, or near for that matter, but in truth the weird looking and weirdly named Perodua Kenari is actually quite capable and an undeniable bargain to boot.

Looks like it ought to have plenty of room inside but is actually pitifully cramped – like the Tardis in reverse. Except that the Tardis looks more like a car than this.

Perodua MYVI
‘A compelling argument for never learning to drive. Concerned fathers take note.’

Although they have made a far better fist of styling the Perodua Myvi than they did with the ridiculous Kelisa and Kenari, it still feels staggeringly cheap and lacks any trace of desirability.

Named after a classic ice lolly, but not as sweet, desirable or long lasting. Costs about the same though. There’s an old Toyota Yaris underneath. Get one of those instead.
Tags: Top Gear, Perodua, Perodua Kelisa, Perodua Kenari, Perodua MYVI, Car Review

Proton Cars Being Ridiculed in UK

Before a car is being put into the market, car reviewers will usually give their expert verdict on how good a car is.

One of them is Top Gear, a famous United Kingdom TV show that has its car review magazines being published worldwide and their website being read by potential car buyers internationally.

Malaysia's national car, the Proton brand, is being sold in UK and therefore they are being reviewed as well. Want to know what was Top Gear's verdict? Here goes nothing (the following write-ups and pictures were sourced from Top Gear's website):-

We don’t know what Malaysian motorists did to upset the gods, but it must have been something pretty serious, judging by the punishment they seem to be getting. Still, at least the domestic audience thinks this stuff is the norm – what on earth do they think they’re doing bringing it to the UK? Walk away.

Proton Gen-2
That sounds like an illegal muscle-building milkshake. Should we call the IOC?

The Proton Gen-2 was the first indication that Proton might be capable of building a car that wasn’t completely dreadful. But it’s out of date now, and still wasn’t much cop way back when.

A budget five-door hatchback intended to make you think twice about buying a Focus. Frankly, we think a medium-size cabbage makes a more sensible alternative.

Proton Satria Neo
‘How do you tell your mates you drive that without getting a slap? And that’s before they even know how bad it is.’

Proton’s concerted bid to attract a younger audience starts here, and it could have been a lot worse. The oddly named Proton Satria Neo both looks good and drives pretty well. But it is still just a Proton…

Not half-bad hatch with decent Lotus-aided chassis, but lack of space inside, awful badge and ridiculous name make it a must-not-have for the youth it’s aimed at.

Proton Savvy
‘What the hell happened here? It looks like someone cracked the designer over the head half way through the job.’

The Proton Savvy is a new-ish and sharply styled offering, both of which facts might lead you to believe that it was half decent. But you’d be very wrong. The Proton Savvy is a stark reminder of just how good cars like the Aygo and Panda really are.

Truly awful, but we are grateful to Proton for reminding us of how good every other small car on sale in the UK is. We suggest you try buying one of those instead.

I wonder how will Top Gear rate Proton Exora, the first home-grown MPV model that had just rolled out of the car factory.
Tags: Top Gear, Proton, Proton Gen-2, Proton Satria Neo, Proton Savvy, Proton Exora, Car Review

My Blog Was Given Warning by Blogspot

When I opened up my email inbox this morning, I saw an email coming in from Blogger. Noticed that my blog was given a warning having been identified as a spam blog.

There are people out there who's trying to kick my blog out of the virtual world to ensure that others don't get to read my articles. Are my articles really that good till my blog has to be deleted / removed?

If you don't like what I have written, please leave. Do not read any further / anymore and do not key in my blog's name again and again just to check on me and flag my blog all the time. My advise to you, please go do something more useful / meaningful with your time / life.

What I have posted are my personal opinions only, gathered from what I have read from all over the internet world. I have written / will write stuff that won't cause / trigger any commotions / misunderstandings / anger / hatred / fights / wars unless it was you who wants to take it out of context and not wanting to read / understanding the article as a whole in a proper manner.

From now onwards, I will be even stricter with unnecessary / irrelevant comments written by blog readers to safeguard against spamming.


--- On Wed, 4/15/09, Blogger no-reply@google.com wrote:

From: Blogger no-reply@google.com
Subject: http://johnny-ong.blogspot.com/ - ACTION REQUIRED
To: xxxxxxx@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2009, 12:59 AM

Hello,

Your blog at: http://johnny-ong.blogspot.com has been identified as a potential spam blog. To correct this, please request a review by filling out the form at http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID=xxxxxxxx

Your blog will be deleted in 20 days if it isn't reviewed, and your readers will see a warning page during this time. After we receive your request, we'll review your blog and unlock it within two business days. Once we have reviewed and determined your blog is not spam, the blog will be unlocked and the message in your Blogger dashboard will no longer be displayed. If this blog doesn't belong to you, you don't have to do anything, and any other blogs you may have won't be affected.

We find spam by using an automated classifier. Automatic spam detection is inherently fuzzy, and occasionally a blog like yours is flagged incorrectly. We sincerely apologize for this error. By using this kind of system, however, we can dedicate more storage, bandwidth, and engineering resources to bloggers like you instead of to spammers. For more information, please see Blogger Help: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42577

Thank you for your understanding and for your help with our spam-fighting efforts.

Sincerely,

The Blogger Team

P.S. Just one more reminder: Unless you request a review, your blog will be deleted in 20 days. Click this link to request the review: http://www.blogger.com/unlock-blog.g?lockedBlogID=xxxxxxxx

Tags: Blogger, Blogspot, The Blogger Team, Blogger Dashboard, Spam Blog, Automated Classifier, Automatic Spam Detection, Spammers

Bank Negara Warning on SMS and Phone Calls

Ref No: 04/09/01

Embargo: For immediate release

Beware of Fraudulent SMS and Telephone Calls Requesting Confirmation on Credit Card Transactions

Bank Negara Malaysia would like to caution members of the public to be vigilant when receiving any calls or SMS claiming that it is from Bank Negara Malaysia or any commercial banks. The facts are:

• There is no department called "Unit Kad Kredit Palsu" in Bank Negara Malaysia
• 8659-XXXX is not a Bank Negara Malaysia telephone line
• Bank Negara Malaysia will NEVER request for personal banking information through SMS or telephone calls.

Based on recent complaints received by Bank Negara Malaysia , there has been an increase in incidents of fraudsters making such calls and sending SMS to unknowing members of the public in order to fraudulently obtain their personal banking information, with the aim of siphoning monies from one's account.

From Bank Negara Malaysia 's investigations, the modus operandi of the scam is as follows:

1. Victim receives SMS or telephone call: Requesting victim to confirm a credit card transaction
for the purchase of goods or services purportedly charged to the victim's credit card.
2. When victim calls the telephone number provided in the SMS, the fraudsters identify
themselves as agents of a commercial bank, and again, ask the victim to confirm whether the
credit card transaction had taken place.
3. When victim informs the fraudster that he has no such credit card or transaction, the
fraudster will start to sound concerned and will advise victim to lodge a report with Bank
Negara Malaysia 's "Unit Kad Kredit Palsu", or with the commercial bank's "credit card
management department". The fraudster will provide the victim with the telephone number
for the "Unit Kad Kredit Palsu".
4. When victim calls the telephone number provided, they are greeted by a automated voice
message which identifies the company as Bank Negara Malaysia, and the call will then be
answered by someone claiming to be a Bank Negara Malaysia officer. This officer will request
for information relating to the victim's banking and credit card accounts under the pretense of
lodging a complaint on behalf of the victim.
5. The fraudsters now have sufficient information to illegally transfer funds out of the victim's
bank account.

Members of the public are reminded not to disclose their personal banking information to any unknown party without verification.

For further information, enquiries or complaints, members of the public may contact or visit:

BNMTELELINK (Customer Contact Centre)
Tel: 1-300-88-5465
Fax: (03)2174 1515
Email: bnmtelelink@bnm.gov.my

BNMLINK (Walk-in Customer Service Centre)
Block D, Bank Negara Malaysia
Jalan Dato' Onn
50480 Kuala Lumpur
(Business hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm)

ABMConnect (Hotline to Association of Banks in Malaysia)
Tel: 1-300-88-9980

Bank Negara Malaysia
7 April 2009

Extracted from Bank Negara Malaysia website.
Tags: Bank Negara Malaysia, Fraudulent SMS, Unit Kad Kredit Palsu, Association of Banks in Malaysia, Confirmation on Credit Card Transactions