Lesser Payouts For Your Big Small Lotteries

Looks like the economy is hitting Malaysia deep in the pocket, not only of the general public but corporate giants as well.

Cash loaded companies that are into the lottery business are reducing the payouts for the winners' purse effective 15 December 2010. No Christmas bonuses for you.

Not one company but three had obtained approval from the Ministry of Finance. It looks like your RM1 is worthed lesser now.

The Sports Toto-4 Digit Big Game, Sarawak Turf and Equestrian Club-1+3 Digit Big Game and Magnum-4 Digit Big Game are the usual big timers in the local scene's lottery game. Will this affect the players' decision in reducing their betting stakes or stopping eventually? Don't think so.

People who have been buying will continue to harbour the hope of becoming richer or even becoming a multi-millionaire. I know of a person who will somehow hit top prizes a few times in a year and I have heard of people who have not hit any single prizes at all.

There was this funny part where a friend was reading the back pages of the newspaper, apparently looking at the lotteries' results. Out of a sudden, he gave a loud shrieked and shouted "Aiyoh, my car registration number came out as the top prize". I took a look at the newspaper and indeed it was.

So, I asked him "Which number did you buy this time or you reversed your registration number instead?"
His response "That's the thing, I didn't buy this time!"

Some people are like that. What are you complaining about when you didn't do it? I thought he bought other numbers at higher stakes and eventually not a single dollar was placed. Talk about complaining.

Wasting my time talking to him about it ........ kept on mumbling on the wasted chance lah, this lah, that lah, if lah, should have lah. Anyway, wasted actually otherwise the meal that we were having would have been on him.

Hello friend, thinking about it, you should have bought it lah! If you have bought it I would have gotten a free meal.

Reading: BToto, BAssets, Magnum get MoF nod to reduce prize pay-outs - The Edge
Tags: Lottery, Betting, 4 Ekor, 4D, Sports Toto, Big Small, Berjaya Toto, Magnum, Sarawak Turf and Equestrian Club

Recognised Sexy Structure In Malaysia

Malaysia has one structure that has been recognised as one of the Top 10 sexiest buildings in the world and that is our Penang Bridge. The informal selection was made by members and editors in travel website VirtualTourist.com's forum.

The Penang Bridge came out as number nine in the listing. The other chosen sexy buildings are as follows:-
1) Quadracci Pavilion, Milwaukee Museum of Modern Art; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Its description lies somewhere between a glorious yacht, a graceful dove, and a modern dancer. Be sure to catch the Pavilion's Burke Brise Soleil at the beginning and end of the day when its wings open and close.

2) Absolute World Towers; Mississauga, Canada
The supermodel of modern architecture, the twisting Mississauga towers have probably grown tired of hearing the compliments.

3) Sonneveld House; Rotterdam, The Netherlands
The strong, silent type, Sonneveld House was way ahead of its time when it was built in the early 30s. Aside from its clean lines and modernist design, the home also contained a bell system to contact household help, telephone system, and highly daring color combinations.

4) Casa Batlló; Barcelona, Spain
Gaudi's curvy masterpiece is made all the more amazing when one realizes this sensuous building was completed over 100 years ago.

5) Sydney Opera House; Sydney, Australia
It was opened in the era of polyester and bad hair but this structure has always been timeless.

6) Millau Viaduct (Viaduc de Millau); Millau, France
In a land where beauty is everywhere, the competition for the sexy title is fierce. Simple but stunning, this structure's clean lines and an intimidating scale only add its undeniable magnetism.

7) Zwinger; Dresden, Germany
The oldest building on our list, Zwinger, which was heavily influenced by Versailles, was all but destroyed in the Second World War. Painstakingly restored, it was the building's power, imposing facade, and largesse that put it on our list.

8) Walt Disney Concert Hall; Los Angeles, California
Now that the controversy has died down Angelenos can't imagine their city without the shimmering panels that gleam like diamonds in the strong California sun. The building is especially vibrant now that its dazzling and vivacious new music director, Gustavo Dudamel, has taken the reigns.

9) Penang Bridge; Malaysia
As slinky as a screen siren, this particular choice is almost more sculpture than bridge. Slithering across the water to connect the island of Penang with the Malaysian mainland, the bridge is also known for its annual marathon.

10) Fallingwater; Mill Run, Pennsylvania
Having been featured on the cover of no less than Time magazine, Fallingwater remains just as mythic and legendary as its creator, the iconic Frank Lloyd Wright. Built for the Kaufman family of Kaufman's department store, the gutsy house is situated on top of a waterfall, not merely with a view of it as the family first anticipated.

I have seen items 5 and 9 only. Loooooooong way to go in my travelling. How come buildings in Istanbul were not favoured?

(The above had been extracted from Reuters Life)
Tags: Quadracci Pavilion, Absolute World Towers, Sonneveld House, Casa Batlló, Sydney Opera House, Millau Viaduct, Zwinger, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Penang Bridge, Fallingwater

Malaysian Brains in Melbourne

Extracted from Anilnetto.com

Happened in Melbourne, Australia.

10 Nov 2010
1. Arrived early at hospital, so decided to walk down the street to check out an expensive shop by famous Melbourne-based designer. Was pleasantly (but sadly) surprised to learn the ‘local designer’ was a Malaysian whose entire family migrated from Malaysia!

2. Went back to hospital. Was registered by a loud receptionist who was Malaysian whose family migrated from Malaysia!

3. 20-30 minutes wait later, was seen by a specialist (endocrinologist) who studied at Melbourne Uni and then migrated to Melbourne… from Kuala Lumpur! (Oh btw, since this was public hospital, this Malaysian endocrinologist was also teaching/supervising an Australian medical student while she was consulting me).

4. Referred for thyroid biopsy. They booked me in for Monday (only five days later).

15 Nov 2010
Thyroid biopsy wasn’t nice, but the surgeon was very friendly and made me feel assured. I recognised the accent again, so as I did for others above, I asked… The surgeon was from Johor Bahru!!! From my observation of conversations, this ex-Malaysian was obviously senior and well-respected, and was using my procedure to teach an Aussie medical student!

Public hospitals will never be of 5-star luxury, but my 100%-free-of-charge experience thus far has been more than acceptable. But I am very disturbed (!!!) by the series of expert EX-MALAYSIANS treating me in Melbourne! Receptionist, Doctor Surgeon, all Malaysians! What the…!

I’ve heard and ranted about brain drain, but to experience it so real and personally was disturbing…
Tags: Brain Drain, Melbourne, Ex-Malaysian, Endocrinologist, Surgeon

Another Port In Danger?

We have seen and read about the RM12.5 billion fiasco that happened with the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project that was governed by the Port Klang Authority (PKA). Until today, even after the submission of the full audit report by PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd, nothing has been unearthed. PKA even placed a maximum two weeks viewing opportunity for the public to read the audit report via their website. Wonder why?

There goes our taxpayers money and we won't get to see the root of the problem unless the people being charged dare to reveal what had happened actually.

All these happened right under the nose of the Ministry of Transportation. It is also partly due to the non-appointment of professionals from the related port industry but people linked with various politicial party. When there is a guy with thirty three years of experience that you can hired / maintain to obtain his professional input / feedback, his contract was not renewed in the end. Why?

Now, the Ministry of Transport has decided to try their luck again at another port. This time it is with the Penang Port Commission (PPC).

PPC's chairmanship is now being helmed by the former Minister of Health, Dr. Chua Soi Lek. What does a medical doctor knows about managing a port? This is really absurd. It doesn't matter whether the chairman comes from Penang or other part of Malaysia, just as long as he/she is a reputable and capable of managing a port authority.

PPC's role of being a regulatory authority is similar with PKA. What PKA has done is totally unchecked even though it was under the ministry which reports to the cabinet. What is in PPC's plans in days to come?

Rumour is abound that a local tycoon is in the midst of buying up Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) of which the operations of the port and ferry services were privatised to PPSB. PPSB is under the purview of the Ministry of Finance. See how complicated it is with our government's method of running the country's transportation business. Is PPC going to disapprove this idea or planning to smoothen the sale of PPSB to this local tycoon?

Why sell to this local tycoon only and why not at an open tender? The Penang state government has now indicated their interest to acquire PPSB from the federal government. Will the federal government listen to this state government offer or will proceed with a sale at a much lower price to the well connected local tycoon?

We wait and see.
Tags: Port Klang Free Zone, PKFZ, Port Klang Authority, PKA, Penang Port Commission, Penang Port Sdn Bhd, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Finance

Wall Street Modus Operandi?

If you have difficulty understanding the current world financial situation, the following should help ...

Once upon a time in a village in India, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10.

The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at $10, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts. The man further announced that he would now buy at $20. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: 'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50.'

The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys.

Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere! Welcome to Wall Street.
Tags: Wall Street, Humour, Funny, Monkey, Villagers

Is Your Earning Above The Poverty Line?

The government has regarded that a person could be living in poverty if his/her monthly earning is less than RM720.

And the sad part is, even acknowledged by the Ministry of Human Resources, about 34% of Malaysian employees are earning below the poverty figure of RM720. This group of people are estimated to be earning less than RM700 per month.

Can I say that, unfortunately, the government has greater plans for a 100 storey building and massive annual budget of around RM4 billion to beef up our defence (who are we going against?) instead.

What we are seeing here is that our nation has at least 34% of its population living in poverty. That's a big number. Officially, our population is 28.25 million and this works out to about 9.6 million Malaysians are in poverty. So, every three Malaysians you see on the street, one of them is living under poverty.

If Malaysia's labour force is estimated to be 11.561 million as at Sept 2010, it means to say that only 1.956 million of the labour force are paid above RM700 per month. Of this 1.956 million labour force, how many of them are earning less than RM3,000 per month, where it is also considered as low income.

That's a huge population for the government to push us up to become a high income nation. I know we can but when?

With huge leaks happening in all ministries, government departments and agencies and even at private entities level, all I can say is that a lot of prayers are required for this nation's leaders to buck up and many to be shipped out.

With this going on, the Talent Corporation that has been set up to retain Malaysian talents (in order for them not to think about emigrating overseas) and to encourage the return of many Malaysians who have been working overseas to our nation, all efforts will go down the drain for sure. I wonder how much has been paid to "consultants" who have been advising the relevant government departments on those marvellous ideas.

Just on Wednesday morning, a chief invigilator for the SPM examination in announced loudly telling the chinese and indians students to go back to their motherland of China and India when she can't control them. You call that a smart idea to keep the school going kids quiet? Why are we seeing such people coming from the teaching profession? That's because the government is not firm and not doing anything about it as it's being repeated again and again by many government servants.

That's the by-product of the current government's attitude towards the public. On one hand you have plans for retaining and wooing Malaysians plus the grand Economic Transformation Programme to be achieved by year 2020 but sadly on the other hand, nothing is done to ensure all government staff or even the public are buying the idea. Not to say it can't be done but so many things have to be undone first before the intended can be done.

Are we really for it (as in high income nation) or just no action talk only (NATO)?
Tags: Poverty Line, Labour Force, Talent Corporation, Low Income, High Income Nation, Economic Transformation Programme

Scandals Involving World Cups 2018 & 2022

In my blogpost of 18 May 2010 entitled "Is World Cup 2010 Fixed?", I have read elsewhere and put it that the World Cup 2010 could be fixed and that Spain will advance all the way to the finals. Exactly what was being predicted and Spain won eventually!

Recently, the Sunday Times reporters went undercover and approached a number of FIFA committee members to gain advantage for a certain country (the reporters assumed the representation for USA) in the upcoming voting day on 2 December 2010 for the right to host the World Cup 2018 and World Cup 2022.

Unfortunately, the undercover reporters secretly recorded two of the conversations and I think FIFA's top officials are in a daze in handling this awkward situation.

Al Jazeera news clip for your viewing on the reported scam -


Two of those recorded conversations involved Amos Adamu of Nigeria and Reynald Temarii of Tahiti. It has been shown that both of them are willing to 'sell' their votes in return for some financial rewards.

Amos personally requested for £500,000 and Reynald requested for £1.5 million but to benefit a sports academy. Both have been suspended by FIFA for 3 years and 1 year respectivelt coupled with a fine of 10,000 Swiss Francs and 5,000 Swiss Francs accordingly. Suspension only? I would have kicked them out indefinitely as there was hard rock evidence.

The best part is Temarii has told the undercover reporters that two other bidding countries have approached him too withto figures of between £10 million to £12 million. Now, who could be the other two countries??????

In other words, there are lots of lobbyists out there hunting down those FIFA executive committee members (22 of them to be precise but minus 2 now) who have the voting rights right now up to 2 December 2010. The right to host the World Cup will involve billions of dollars and the spin-offs it could create in a particular country's economy during the World Cup month. What is £10 million compared to the billions to come?

I thought all this vote buying scandals happen during political elections but it's really a disease that even football is not spared.

FIFA has suspended four more officials after their names have been named in Sunday Times' investigation of the scandal. They are as follows:-
1. Slim Aloulou - FIFA dispute resolution chamber (suspended 2 yrs; fined £6,300)
2. Ahongalu Fusimalohi - General Secretary of Tonga Football Association (suspended3 yrs; fined £6,300)
3. Amadou Diakite - FIFA referees committee (suspended 3 yrs; fined £6,300)
4. Ismail Bhamjee - Honorary member of Confederation of African Football (suspended 4yrs; fined £6,300)

Another two persons named are former FIFA executives, namely Michel Zen-Ruffinen (former FIFA General Secretary) and Michel Bacchini (former FIFA tournament director) where punishments would be meted out in due course. These two fellas' crime were that they were able to tell the undercover reporters who amongst the 22 FIFA executive committee members that could be approached.
All these fellas are holding influential positions and they could have manipulated previous World Cups without us knowing.
Now, you tell me who's gonna win the bid to host the two World Cups? Russia has been rumoured to host the World Cup 2018 since May 2010, before the start of the World Cup 2010.

Who are the bidders for the World Cup 2018?
1. Belgium & Netherlands
2. England
3. Russia
4. Portugal & Spain

Who are the bidders for the World Cup 2022?
1. Australia
2. Japan
3. Qatar
4. South Korea
5. United States

You just never know that they may as well decide who will win the World Cup 2014 to be held in Brazil. Your guess is as good as mine.

Related post - Is World Cup 2010 Fixed?
Tags: Football, Soccer, World Cup 2018, World Cup 2022, FIFA, Sunday Times, Amos Adamu, Reynald Temarii, Voting Scandal, Bribery, World Cup Votes, FIFA Suspension