Pay More For Fast Results

Heard of this phrase before "pay more for fast results"?

Two types of services will see an increase of prices / fees in due course which will hit people like me and you.

Firstly - legal fees especially for the fees to be paid to lawyers who will appear in court on your behalf. The Bar Council has announced a potential increase of about 300% to 400% of the legal fees. One of the reasons given for the increase is that the lawyers would have more responsibilities.

With such an increase, it's very doubtful that legal avenue would be out of reach for the general public and the services would only be available / reserved for those rich and powerful.

Even at this point of time, I have friends who are not willing to go to court even though they could hold the advantage of winning a case. Reason? It's already expensive now. To justify the huge increase, it was said that lawyers will have to resolve the cases at a quicker pace to match the courts' KPI where it has to close a case at a faster pace.

For this quicker pace, you and I would have to be prepared to pay through your nose.

Then out of a sudden, the central bank allowed for the huge increase of motor insurance premium between 250% and 450% which will take effect from 2012. However, the increase will be on a staggered basis up to year 2016 before the real premium is left to the market forces.

It was a joke to say that the low income people won't be greatly affected as it's being staggered over a period of four years. What about four years later? The existence of low income people in Malaysia has evaporated?

Main advantage for the huge increase - so that you and I can make a faster insurance claim.

On both of the above increases, the word "faster" is so vague. There's no dateline put on it and it's just plain talk again. Who will lose in the end? The consumers again.

And the government dare to say that the inflation rate is still below 5%?

Reading: Motorists to pay higher insurance premiums but will enjoy faster claims - Star

Reading: Price for faster ‘justice’ - Star

Tags: Legal Fee, Bar Council, Court, Lawyer, Motor Insurance Premium, Central Bank

Gifted Business Class Seat

In this blogpost, I would like to thank Emirates Airlines for the seat upgrades for the Dubai-Kuala Lumpur route that had happened twice now. I think it was due to the Gold Skywards membership that paved the way for it. The first happened just before Christmas Eve and the second time happened just before Chinese New Year where it was peak period for many airlines.

This is the Business Class seat in the new generation of Boeing 777 aircraft. Comes with comfy pillow and it can be converted to a flat bed if you want to sleep.

Well, I enjoyed the flight no doubt about it.

Was served with champagne upon sitting down. Pulled up my screen to see which movies are available for this trip.

The wine list for business class passengers. I opted for the Port - Quinta do Noval LBV 2002 instead which I found that it was so soothing as it enters the mouth.

This was just the snacks. Can't recall fully but I can remember about the roasted duck and some turkey meat as well. Plenty of it.

Here comes my second meal as we had just passed India on the way to Kuala Lumpur.

This was the breakfast. You would be served with a plate of fresh fruits, different types of breads where you can choose a few and I can request for extra butter.

You would also get yoghurt and fruit juice.

After your meal, you can request for either the Ceylon, China, Earl Grey, Camomile tea. Alternatively, you can request for a cappucino which I did. Fantastic indeed.

Somehow, I was captivated with the main meal and forgotten to take a picture of it.

Well, there goes my business class trips as my gold membership will expire and will be downgraded to the silver membership due to lesser travels last year. Anyway, thanks a lot!

Tags: Emirates Airlines, Boeing 777, Emirates Business Class, Gold Skywards

Four Hours Away From South Sudan

Life at site is not as rosy but we make things lively. For instance, we do try to keep fit here. But I admire my fellow colleagues creativity. We can't afford to import a proper gym set but we can still create one.

This body builder toy is made of solid concrete. Really terror! 

This is your pumping bench made of simple steel and a wooden plank.

Even the small dumbbell is made of solid concrete. More effective body exercise.

The long cabin container.

The dining area.

Other blocks of cabin containers.

 

My shared room with just two beds, a table and a aircond plus a toilet.

Cows rampaging up to the road at a very slow pace.

The cows couldn't be bothered by our car. We just moved slowly and you better don't injure any of it.

Some of the cows that had passed through earlier.

Tags: Cows, Southern Sudan, Project Site, Body Builder, Pumping Bench, Dumbbell, Solid Concrete

Dog Abuser in OUG?

Within 24 hours a dog abuser's identity is getting closer to being exposed in Malaysia.

I thought the internet human search happens only in China where their netizens will post relevant issues or events to identify a certain person who has ran foul of the law and trying to hide. Within 24 hours, all major China forums will be posted at all China provinces. The power of internet.

This time, I'm seeing it for the first time that it's being done here in Malaysia and it's picking up pace each hour.

Apparently a video was showing a man that was trying to get this dog, named as Sushi, to stand on two legs. He whacked the dog like nobody's business and really tortured the dog. Somehow he doesn't seem to know that dogs are supposed to stand on four legs, not two. Lacked of education or maybe no a brainer.

This internet human search was really superb. As the man in the video was speaking in cantonese, this internet human search went round Malaysia, Singapore and even Hong Kong.

This video was uploaded by someone who found a USB pendrive that was dropped by someone in the KLCC shopping centre. This video was the only file in the pendrive.

You'll be wondering who was holding the video camera to shoot such an awful event. Rumoured to be the fella's girlfriend by the name of Doreen Loo.

The internet human search is on for this man now. It was rumoured that he could be staying in Green Park Condo located in Taman Yarl.

Have you people in Green Park Condo seen him before? His name could be Allan Tan and driving a Proton Wira (Reg. No. NBC 8313). Does he or the car really exist?

SPCA Singapore has posted that fella's picture in their facebook too which has drawn criticism from many facebook members.

Asiaone, an online newspaper in Singapore, has published an article on this dog abuse on 24 January 2011 - Man treats dog as punching bag.

I really wonder if he would do the same act to a Rottweiler or a Doberman.

Tags: Dog Abuser, Green Park Condo, Taman Yarl, Allan Tan, NBC 8313, Doreen Loo, Sushi, Poodle, Internet Human Search

Power Of A Vote

Iraqis voted for their government just last year. Despite bombings occuring nationwide with some bombs jeopardising certain voting centres, Iraqis still came out to vote.
Reading: Millions of Iraqies defy bomb and rocket attacks to vote - The Times

Why?

In South Sudan, close to 3.5 million people went to vote despite hearing people being stopped or killed while coming back to South Sudan for the once in a lifetime vote.
Reading: Violence mars south Sudan vote - IOL News

Why?

People in this two countries wanted to see changes to their lifes and they have been deprived of their rights for so long. Now it's the time to change and decide for themselves and their future generations.

These people didn't take their single vote for granted.

But it's a totally different scenario in Malaysia.

Many Malaysians have not registered to vote and some who have registered don't intend to vote. Many of these people couldn't be bothered with the Malaysian political situation. Some thought that by not voting, they considered themselves neutral (how wrong are they).

Malaysians who don't vote took their single vote for granted.

Must Malaysia reach the point similar to those situations found in Iraq or Sudan before we decide to determine Malaysia's future destination. I always believe that what you have decided today, especially in your personal life, will determine the outcome of your future (notwithstanding your prayer to God of course). Though a prayer can move mountains, it all depends on your role in making sure the mountains move. Simple example would be praying for straight As in examination results but not wanting to study at all.

Malaysia's next general election i.e. the 13th General Election is rumoured to be forthcoming. For those of you who have not registered before, you can register yourself at the following places:-

(a) The Election Commission Headquarters

Ground Floor, Block C7, Complex C,
The Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62690 Putrajaya
Tel. No.: 03-88856686

(b) State Election Offices

(c) Computerized Post Offices
http://www.pos.com.my/WebsiteBM/MAIN2.ASP?c=/V1/Ournetworks/map.htm

(d) Outreach Programmes with Mobile Registration Centres (no activity for this at the moment)

(e) Embassies, High Commissions and Consular General Offices overseas
Please click http://www.kln.gov.my/bm/?page=mission

(f) Your nearest Assistant Registrar

For those of you who have registered and those who have voted before, please check your voting centre again at the Election Commission's Electoral Roll to ensure that the Election Commission has not secretly decided to throw you to another constituency or another school to cast your important single vote.

Even in the Election Commission's website, the following caption is flashing across their website "Election can happen at anytime. It is your responsibility to vote."

I'm proud to say that I have voted in the last four general elections (1995, 1999, 2004 and 2008). I was also involved in the 12th General Election as a Polling Agent and Counting Agent. I walk the talk!
Tags: Election Commission, Registered Voter, 13th General Election, Right To Vote, Malaysian Voter, Polling Agent, Counting Agent

Never Before In World Cup Venue Selection

Apparently a lot of people throughout the world is still quite upset about the selected venues for the coming Word Cups to be held in Russia and Qatar.

Never before, as far as I can remember, that there was so much of hoo haa in previous World Cup venue selection.

Argentine Football Association ("AFA") president Julio Grondona has to deny publicly that AFA didn't receive any payment of US$78.4 million (of bribe you mean?) that swayed his decision to vote for Qatar. That amount of money was rumoured to assist AFA out of their financial crisis involving the domestic Argentinian football league.

Somehow my blogpost on Is World Cup 2010 Fixed? is widely read in Argentina as it's being pasted in their football forums.

FIFA's general secretary, Jerome Valcke, then had to dismiss that there were many complaints about the World Cup voting procedures and that it wasn't transparent. Did it happen in previous World Cup venue selctions to this extent?

Just when you thought that everything's over now and that the respective host nation is to pick up from here and move forward in planning for a great World Cup.

Suddenly, Michel Platini - the UEFA President and Sepp Blatter - the FIFA President, suggested for calls to change the World Cup dates for Qatar from the summer period to the 'winter' period. They are saying that the footballers may not be at their best if they were to play in the heat of up to 50 celsius degree. That was the main point that shocked every football fans in the world.

Why choose them in the first place then if the summer heat was the main issue? I thought I read that Qatar has came out with excellent plans that stadiums will be air-conditioned and that the football pitch surroundings would be created with cooling effects. Now they are saying that it's too hot in the summer?!?!?!?!?!

What's the problem now?

The winter in the Middle East is normally around December to February with January being the 'coldest'. Are we saying that the 2022 World Cup will be played in year 2023 then?

If Qatar had submitted a World Cup bid detailing their plans to hold a 'winter' World Cup in the Middle East, would it have a significant effect on the voting exercises.

Now that Michel Platini has also called for the 2022 World Cup to be played at several Middle East countries at the same time, it has totally put the voting process into a disrepute. How can the venue be changed at this point of time? All this should have been highlighted in the bid and to be decided by the 22 FIFA executive committee members (another 2 committee members had been kicked out due to bribery scandals prior to the voting exercise) and not by two said individuals (Michel & Blatter) who have the loudest voice in the football arena.

Are we also saying that Qatar has to engage architects / engineers to review all the new stadiums again to accommodate the 'winter'? Do you need to switch on the air-conditioners during 'winter'?

Or that this 'winter' World Cup was actually in FIFA's mindset all this while even prior to the voting exercise? You tell me!

Not only that the architects / engineers have to amend the stadiums' drawings but all the football associations and football clubs in the world have to change their football schedules just to accommodate this so-called 'winter' World Cup.

Imagine the resources that are going to be wasted throughout the world.

Related post - Is World Cup 2010 Fixed?
Related post - Scandals Involving World Cups 2018 & 2022

Tags: World Cup Venue, Russia, Qatar, Argentine Football Association, Julio Grondona, World Cup Scandal, Michel Platini, Sepp Blatter, Winter World Cup

Beware Of Cheating Durian Sellers!

Five true accounts of events with durian sellers all over Kuala Lumpur:-

1) I myself was approached with the same modus operandi when having dinner with my family in a restaurant in Melawati. But when the durian seller quoted me the price can't remember how much but it was a ridiculous amount.

It was so unbelievable, I walked away in a huff, back into the restaurant, ignoring all the frantic cries of the durian seller. It was lucky I did so.

Dirtbags!!!
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2) DO NOT entertain or approach any durian seller whom you do not know at all, especially pasar malam, an event which they move from one place to another ....

Personally, I had a similar experience at Raju's in Petaling Jaya sometime early this year, 2010. As we had finished our roti canai at Raju's, a "decent" looking youth came up to me with a durian with a "window" opened to show a nice and tempting durian flesh inside. Yummy, so I thought.

He led me to this van half-filled with durians and promptly told his burly buddy that this boss (that's me) wanted to buy. This fellow just picked a huge durian and proceeded to open it.

Then in quick succession, he had already opened 3 fruits. I frantically stopped him and said that I actually wanted one only. The usual concluding statement from him was, "What am I going to do with these 3 opened durians?"

I asked how much? He answered, "RM280.00"!!

I uttered, "That's robbery."

Sensing that I had just been conned and cornered, I said sternly that I am only willing to pay RM120.00 max for the durians. To cut the long story short, I settled for RM200.00.

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3) Dear all,

My daughter just related this true incident that happened to her friend's mother.

She was eating breakfast at a makan stall in a wet market. A man approached her and asked if she would like to buy some fresh durians. Being a durian lover, she said yes. The man then asked her to follow him to his stall nearby.

At his stall, there were lots of durians. The man opened some fruits to show her the freshness of the durian. She was quite taken aback that he opened quite a few, so she said only wanted 5 durians.

Suddenly, the man asked, "What am I going to do with the opened durians?!" He insisted that she buy all the opened fruits. At this point, two big men with tattoos appeared at the stall.

The frightened woman decided not to buy and quickly walked to her car. But just as she opened the car door, the 'durian seller' came up behind her and slammed her door shut!

He waved the parang he had used to open the durians and demanded RM400 for the 5 durians she had wanted to buy.

The lady tried to protest about the price, but the man shouted at her, waving the parang threateningly close to her head. So, after some 'bargaining' (pleading), the three men settled on a price of RM 300 for five durians!

This incident happened in Cheras, but a robbery scam can be set up anywhere.

Beware, because they pretend to be legit traders, and durian sellers do carry parangs in broad daylight, so they have an alibi. If the cops show up, they'd just deny everything.

Times are hard now, and criminals are cooking up creative ways to rob the more vulnerable ones in surprising ways.
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4) Dear neighbors,

Beware of durian van seller (3 young guys with red hair + tatoo) who come to our neighborhood promoting "branded" grades of durian at RM10 - 18/kg. I chosen 2 BIG "mau san wong" durians after being offered at RM15/kg, used his scale weight the reading was 14kgs = RM210.00. I was shocked and refused to take the durians but he said both durians are already opened and checked by me; therefore I have to take it because he will not able to sell to others. Then all 3 durian guys keep persuade me..+ the driven of my durian-addict... has made me lost sense and bought both durians. After paid & back into my house I use own weight and found both durians are only 9kgs........SHIT ! Kena tipu liao...

So dear fellows please take my lesson and do not follow my step.
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5) They striked again. I saw the durian sellers this evening about 5:30pm. Two of them managed to lure a resident at jalan xxxxx and managed to cheat her of RM180 for a big durian weighing about 5-6kg, but the scale was showing a higher reading. By the time I could go and rescue her, they managed to harass her that she had to buy it cause they already opened it to show her. So i just stood there and stared at them while they quickly gave her the balance and reversed the car out of our lane.

Now i managed to get the number plate of the van - WSL6975. Can the committee inform the guards not to let in all these impromptu sellers? Also, I am paying the monthly RM100.00. Can i get contact details of these guards, in case i need to chase away these pests from our neighborhood, in the future.
Tags: Durian Seller, Cheating Durian Seller, WSL 6975, Fresh Durian, Parang, Man With Tattoo