1 cent in Malaysia

Come April 1st, all bills will be rounded to the nearest multiple of five sen in Malaysia. 

I just know that it doesn't mean that 1-cent coins are useless, but that it is still legal tender for payment. 

"According to Bank Negara, the introduction of this mechanism is to reduce the demand for the one sen coins. However, the coin remains legal tender for payment of goods and services."

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/30/nation/20795547&sec=nation

Hong Leong Foundation Scholarhip 2008

Hong Leong Group, through Hong Leong Foundation, awards scholarships on an annual basis for Diploma and Degree studies to help promising Malaysians realise their full potential through education.

Successful applicants will receive financial assistance to pursue a Degree/Diploma course in :• IT, Computer Science & Creative Multimedia• Accounting/Finance & Management• Hotel Management• Acturial Science• Science / Applied Science • Business Administration • Mass Communication • Law
• Engineering –
Aerospace & Aeronautics, Electronic, Electrical, Computer, Communication, Mechanical, Mechatronic, Chemical, Environmental
at recognized IPTA universities, Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman, Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology, Taylor’s College, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Limkokwing University College of Creative Technology, Monash University (Malaysia Campus) and Multimedia University.

Undergraduate studies at local public universities
RM 7,000 p.a.
Undergraduate studies at local private institutions (“3+0” twinning programmes on full-time and on-campus basis)
Up to RM 20,000 p.a.
Diploma/Advanced Diploma courses
RM 5,000 p.a.


• Between 17 to 25 years old
• Excellent academic achievement

SPM
-
at least 5As and 2 passes from a minimum of 7 subjects
STPM
-
at least 3As and a pass in the General Paper
CGPA
-
at least 3.5 for Diploma or Matriculation.
• Outstanding leadership qualities, matched by notable participation in extra curricular activities
• Is not on bond or receiving any form of financial aid from other educational institutions or organisations
• Obtained or awaiting an offer of admission from local universities/Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman / selected private universities. Scholarships will only be offered to successful candidates upon enrolment into the institutions mentioned in the "Courses" page


Application forms may be obtained:
- from all Hong Leong Bank Berhad branches in Malaysia during banking hours
- by downloading from here.
- by sending a stamped (50 sen) self-addressed envelope to :
Hong Leong Foundation Scholarship ProgrammeLevel 8, Wisma Hong Leong18 Jalan Perak50450 Kuala Lumpur

* Date for submission of application is 18 April 2008* Only shorlisted candidates will be notified for an interview. Incomplete and late applications will not be considered.

PSP Slim and Lite aka PSP-2000

I am looking around for a PSP Slim and Lite aka PSP-2000.

In ebay, the cheapest I have found so far (24 March 2008) is RM758 with the following items:

SONY PSP Slim & Lite console (3.80 M33-5)

4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo

ORIGINAL AC Adapter (100v-240V~0.3A 50/60Hz)

ORIGINAL Battery Pack (3.6V 1200mAH)

User manuals

Accessories:

Crystal case

Screen Protector

Earphone

Wrist Strap

Cleaning Cloth

Pre-loaded games

However, it is missing a USB cable, which I presume will cost a few tens of RM.

I am pondering whether to get an 8GB Sandisk after I read this comparison between Sony and Sandisk.

Reasons for getting PSP?

Games, multimedia, wi-fi, web-browsing, GPS, and now Skype. :)

Mayhem in Terengganu

PM: Appointing anyone else is against Constitution SEPANG: The appointment of anyone but Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh as Terengganu Mentri Besar is unconstitutional, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. “Most of the state assemblymen support Datuk Seri Idris. This fact remains unchanged. They are in agreement,” he told reporters after attending the 10th Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday. Therefore, appointing anyone else is not right constitutionally,” he said.

Expert: Sultan’s discretion not absolute
Universiti Teknologi Mara Law professor Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi said the position of Kijal assemblyman Datuk Ahmad Said would not be safe even if he was appointed the Mentri Besar by the Sultan of Terengganu. “The Sultan has discretionary powers but this discretion is not absolute. The Sultan is not bound to listen to the advice of Umno divisions or the Federal Government but he has to listen to the state assembly,” he added.

First, BN said LKS did not show respect to the Perak Regent.

Now, they (BN) themselves are not showing respect to the Perlis Sultan, and now the Sultan of Terengganu.

They even had their supporters march to the palace holding banners, with no watergun or police stopping them.

'Patient' uncle

I just finished lunch with Maureen, and on the way back, I went to fill up our 3 bottles with the reverse osmosis (RO) water at the vending machine in front of Hup Heng.

It's cheaper than the others right now, with 10cents for 1.5 liters of water.

When I reached there, a Malay, mustached uncle was filling up water with around 8 bottles of 1.5-liter bottles.

He told me, "I still have a lot of bottles, you better use the other machines" in a slightly unpleasant manner.

"OK, I only have 3 bottles..." I said, wanting to continue with "can you let me use it first?", but he was not listening and went towards his car to fetch another 4 bottles.

All right, I am patient, I can wait for him to fill up his 30-40 bottles, since he didn't had the courtesy to let me fill up my bottles in less than 3 minutes.

So, he went to and fro from his car to the water vending machine, carrying 4 bottles each time, with each trip taking around 30 secs.

It took him around 15-20 minutes to finished filling all the bottles. (I didn't bother to calculate, since he arrived there, he did had the priority to use the machine)

Now, once he has filled up the last bottles, he went back to his car to put his bottles, with another 3 filled-up bottles left on the machine.

Since he was walking to his car, I went up and filled up my 2-liter bottle, expecting it to finish just about the time the uncle came back.

He came back for the bottles, and I was still maintaining my good mood even though I was slightly irritated by the lack of courtesy of the uncle at that time (imagine waiting for 20 mins for a 3-mins task).

However, the words that came out of the uncle were really out of my expectations.

"Be patient lah. Wait and be patient."

WTH?

I was already being patient for him to walk to his car and fill up his bottles for 20 mins, and now that he's not using the machine, I can't even fill up until he has finished taking the last 3 bottles?

Come on, he is the one with no patience to wait for me to fill up just half a bottle of water!

If he had patience, he would have let me fill up my 3 bottles in 3 mins, but instead made me wait for 20 mins!

And he even had the nerve to come out with words like this.

Pure classic.

Powerpoint and Groove 2007

I have been using Office 2007 for a few months, and I can say is that it is very poor.

Sure, the GUI has improved, but the usability (or ergonomics) has deteriotated.

For example, in Powerpoint, I am always using the insert textbox command, which is located under the "Insert" toolbar.

Only one toolbar is visible at one time, so if I had to insert a textbox, I had to choose "Insert" toolbar first.

Once I had finished adding the textbox, I would normally need to create another textbox to label another part of the diagram.

However, Ppoint decided that instead of having "Insert" toolbar visible, "Home" toolbar is there instead, which means I had to re-click "Insert" again, and repeat the whole process.

This is annoying, and the fact that my office's mouse is not really that precise, a lot of time were wasted just for this.

Another annoying feature of Office 2007 is the Groove 2007.

I would say it is not useful, and is better uninstalled asap.

I have found the following steps for uninstalling Groove in the Microsoft website:

How to uninstall Groove 2007

1. On the File menu, click Exit, and then click Yes when you are prompted to confirm. If Groove stopped because of an error, open Task Manager to confirm that Groove is not running.

2. In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs. In the list of installed programs, select the 2007 Microsoft Office suite that you are running, and then click Change.

3. Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Continue.

4.Click Microsoft Office Groove, click Not Available, and then click Continue.

5. When the Setup program is finished uninstalling Groove 2007, click Close

6. To remove all data files, delete your Groove data folders. These folders are in one of the following locations, depending on the operating system that you are running:

• Windows Vista
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Groove\User\Accounts
• Microsoft Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\groove
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\Groove

Samy: Who will stand up for Indians?

KUALA LUMPUR: The time is not right for a single party system in Barisan Nasional as suggested by Gerakan, MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said here. He said in today’s political situation, such a move would dilute the rights of the Indian community. Samy Vellu said a smaller community like the Indians have to fight for their rights and that could only be done through MIC.

Source: Thestar (Samy: Who will stand up for Indians? )

"Indians have to fight for their rights"? "Could only be done through MIC"?

Are malaysians really so vicious that we will ignore other races' plight?

I think if a similar thing is spoken in US/Europe, well, it would not go well at all.

We don't see anything like Obama saying, "Vote for me so that blacks' rights are protected", nor Hillary saying, "If you don't vote for me, whites will not have a big say in government".

Death Note?

I know this is old news, but for those un-informed, a certain infamous politician in Klang has died of heart attack, as reported by The Star.

This brings to mind a certain Japanese manga(comics)/anime/movie called "Death Note".

In the comics, the main character, Raito, was a very intelligent man whom happened to obtain a Death God's notebook, whereby by writing one's name on the notebook (Death Note), the man will die of heart attack within a few minutes.

Determined to use this book to create a world without crime nor corruption, Raito proceeded to use the Death Note to kill all the criminals daily using the name "Kira" (which is the direct translation of Killer in Japanese).

His arch-nemesis would be a detective with the codename, "L", whom somehow managed to link all the clues together to identify Raito as Kira. However, he (L) did not have proof of Raito's doings, and therefore L and Kira were engaged in a long but intense battle of wits.

Somehow, I think there the story is similar to the real life hacking battle story between Mitnick and Shimomura.

Penang Mega Projects

I am glad that Koh Tsu Koon has helped to appeal for the mega projects in Penang. It would be best if the projects are kept going since they had already been planned and approved before the elections.

I hope the gov know that cancellation of the projects would mean that they are just election gimmicks, which they emphasized are not.


‘Keep all mega projects’
PENANG: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng found an unlikely ally in his political foe Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon when both leaders urged the Federal Government not to scrap all major projects in the state.

Lim urged them not to “cut their noses to spite their faces,” adding that if they wanted to punish the people for voting in the Opposition, “then you may end up punishing Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Kelantan and the Federal Territory as well.”

“They should also understand that the Prime Minister is not the prime minister of one political party but the prime minister of all Malaysians,” he said.

Dr Koh, who is Gerakan acting president, appealed to the Federal Government to continue with the implementation of mega projects in the state although it was now ruled by Opposition parties.

“These infrastructure projects are crucial for the future economy and quality of life for Penang and our neighbouring states,” he said in a press statement.

Among the projects he mentioned were the Second Penang Bridge, Penang Outer Ring Road, monorail and the public transport system.

“Successful implementation of these projects will also ensure that Penang will continue to grow as the hub of the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) and the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT),” Dr Koh said.

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/15/election2008/20651540&sec=election2008

NEP under threat?

DAP decision will affect all Malaysians, says Hisham

Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin said The DAP’s decision to abolish the New Economic Policy (NEP) could cause national instability.

“Such irresponsible actions from DAP will only worsen the economic disparity of our multi-racial country.

“All the while the NEP has served to maintain balance in such issues.

“We cannot allow a large part of the country's economy to be ruled by the minority races while the majority race is abandoned without representation,” he said.

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/14/nation/20642620&sec=nation


Police disperse protestors in Penang
A big group of protesters, mostly Umno members and supporters, took to the streets around Komtar after Friday prayers to protest against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's remarks on the New Economic Policy.

Chanting “Hidup Melayu” (long-live the Malays) and “Allahuakbar” (God is great), the protesters marched towards Komtar in Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong at about 2.30pm.

Ahmad Ibnihajar denied that the protest was led by the state Umno but claimed that the Malays had gathered in response to an SMS circulated on Friday.

Source: http://www.thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/14/election2008/20080314153313&sec=election2008

Call to scrap mega projects

The state Umno will “persuade” the Federal Government to scrap all the mega projects in the state in view of the people's clear rejection of Barisan Nasional.

Since Penangites do not want development, the Federal Government should not force it on them, said state Umno liaison committee secretary Datuk Azhar Ibrahim.

He said that this was not Penang Umno taking revenge “but we are actually giving the people what they want”.

Source:http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/3/14/nation/20641797&sec=nation

Is NEP really that important? Has it really helped all the Malays? Is this really good governance? Does voting for opposition really mean that we do not want development?

Malaysia's direction?

Source: http://business.theage.com.au/malaysian-voters-open-the-door-for-anwar-ibrahim/20080311-1yrf.html

As written by Michael Backman:

"The nightmare scenario for Abdullah is that Anwar's wife, who was again elected on Saturday, will resign in the coming months, forcing a by-election at which Anwar will be elected. He might then help to coalesce the opposition parties into a more unified and effective voice. If he were to lure the Chinese-based MCA and perhaps the Sarawak-based United Traditional Bumiputera Party away from the ruling coalition, then the opposition would have precisely half the members of parliament. And if just one more government member were to walk — Tengku Razaleigh perhaps — then the Government will fall after 50 years in office. The current 13-party ruling coalition would be replaced by a five-party coalition. Whether or not this happens, there will be constant tension from the fact that it might."

Perhaps MC* can really change its image, by doing the right thing this time. Too many times have we seen they defend the undefendable, and did not speak up for everyone.

New Malaysia (hopefully)

BN lost heavily in this election. I expected BA to get some seats, but winning 5 states is surely the beyond the wildest dreams of even Lim Kit Siang.

With BN forming government with a simple majority, it is hopeful that the national w*sting and c*rruption can end, with the opposition having more voice in blocking things that are not beneficial to Malaysia.

However, I am still in doubt as to whether DAP, PKR and PAS can form an effective partnership.
Case in point is Sarawak and Sabah, where they are not able to reach agreement on who to field against BN.

Anyway, I am hopeful that with this result, Malaysia can grow stronger.

My sentiment is that everyone regardless of race and religion, should be able to enjoy peaceful life.

In my opinion, in terms of secular country's governance, we should look at Turkey, where the country's is secular, with not much conflicts between Muslim and non-Muslims.

Scam email

I have just received the following email from stegroup@streamyx.com. Looks like I have won 516,778 UK Pounds. No doubt that this is another scam, but the fact that it was sent using streamyx.com email account meant it is just a spoofed email.

And the thing is, the scam letter was so badly written that it looks more like a primary school pupil's letter. It was stated that the email was written by Mr.CLARKE DAVIS of webdraws_101@hotmail.com, but at the bottom, it was signed by another Mrs. Lucy Baines
Co-ordinator. Who should we contact then? It looked like this Mrs. Lucy Baines just copied the Davis' poorly written scam email, and then just added in her name and some fields. Great, even scam mails can be plagarised now.


Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:48:28 -0800
From: stegroup@streamyx.com
Subject: Batch: 074/05/ZY369

Your email account has been picked as one of the ten winning email address in 2008. You are therefore been approved to claim a total sum of 516,778.00 (Five hundred and Sixteen thousand,seven hundred and seventy eight pounds sterling only)
Ref: UK/9420X2/68 ,
Batch: 074/05/ZY369,
Lucky No:- 07-13-31.54-640

All participants were selected through a computer balloting system drawn from Nine hundred thousand E-mail addresses from Canada, Australia, United States, Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa?and Oceania as part of our international promotions program which is conducted annually.
Mr.CLARKE DAVIS
Email:webdraws_101@hotmail.com
1. Full Names: 2. Address: 3. Age: 4. Sex: 5. Marital Status: 6. Occupation: 7. Phone numbers: 8. Fax number: 9. Country:

Best Regards.
Mrs.Lucy Baines
Co-ordinator