Turning 28...

27 is gone forever...

My red-letter-day had arrived quietly while I was busy preparing for tomorrow's group presentation for Introduction to Strategy and Business module.

I was surprised and amazed that few of my friends SMS-ed/e-mailed me.

One thing I realise as I grow older: Birthdays are becoming insignificant as anniversaries - dating, registration of marriage and wedding took over.

It's kind of creepy to feel the big number 30 approaching, and yet many great challenges are still lying ahead, waiting to be overcome.

Left pocket right pocket?

What is the difference? Isn't the RM200m taxpayers' money?

PMB is owned by Khazanah and Khazanah is our government's investment arm.

PM: I did not buy a private jet
30 January 2007
Malaysiakini

First it was supposedly a US$8 million luxury yacht called the ‘Cobra Sultan’. Now apparently Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has purchased an executive jet worth millions. However, the premier has denied this.

According to him, the government had only leased the aircraft from Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd and it was not for his personal use only. "The jet is for use of the government, not the prime minister (only)," Abdullah was quoted as saying by Bernama. The premier was speaking at a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport upon his return from London after having attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Elaborating, Abdullah said: "The aircraft belongs to Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd; it was (bought with) their money. We just leased it like how MAS (Malaysia Airlines) leases aircraft from them." Several websites had reported that Abdullah had bought an ACJ 319 VIP jet from Airbus at a cost of between US$55 million and US$60 million. The websites claimed, among other things, that the aircraft based on the A320 model was undergoing internal refurbishing in Switzerland. Explaining the rationale for leasing the aircraft, Abdullah said leasing enabled the government to save cost.

"Why do we (the government) have to buy aircraft? If we buy, we have to undertake repairs and expend on many other things. "If is preferable to lease, and when there are repairs to be made, the lessor has to provide a replacement aircraft for our use," he said. Abdullah pointed out that Penerbangan Malaysia stood to gain from the lease, just as it earned from the lease of aircraft to MAS.

'Spreading lies'

Recently, the premier accused Malaysians of using the Internet to spread lies about him. Abdullah said Malaysians were using the freedom and anonymity of the Internet and mobile text messages to make "unfounded allegations." "This sort of freedom had made them resort to such action. Even bloggers or those who maintain websites use this opportunity to create stories. Lies after lies are being told. To them, everything is not right, everything is not good," he added. Abdullah said his detractors were trying to undermine his leadership but added that most Malaysians were still behind him. "I know there are people who are trying their best to ridicule me.

They make a mountain out of a molehill. They just want to rubbish me,” he added.

The premier said this in the wake of a controversial defamation suit against two bloggers by the New Straits Times Press, for which Abdullah has voiced support despite heavy criticism of the action.

Theatre of Dreams & Rooney!!!

It's the Theatre of Dreams indeed... Many die-hard United fans from other parts of the world would have relished this opportunity.

My turn has arrived finally.

Ozzy, Shaq, Johanna and I set off to Manchester early in the morning to catch the FA Cup 4th round tie against Portsmouth. The journey took more than 4 hours, with our coach driver getting lost in the city due to closure of the main road.

We took a tram from Picadilly to Old Trafford. We had (famous according to Ozzy) fish and chips outside the stadium.

It was only 2.30pm. So we have plenty of time to visit the merchandise shop and snap some photos. Both Ozzy and I brought our DSLR along.

We entered the stadium at 4.30pm. The stadium looks nicer than I had imagined, amazing!

Few minutes later, the players came on the field to warm up - the likes of Rooney, Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand, Park... Minus Ronaldo who has been given a week off by Fergie.

My camera doesn't have a good zoom lens, so I couldn't snap the photos of the players on the field.

The game started at 5 sharp with Mark Riley as the referee. Rooney was on the bench. Riley, who usually makes controversial decisions in favour of United, made 2 big errors today instead - disallowing Vidic's header which has clearly crossed the line and wrongly adjudged Larsson for being off-side after he has scored.

The fans were getting impatient by the middle of the second half as United could not find the net despite dominating the game. Everyone started chanting Rooney! Rooney! And true enough he came on in place of Solskjaer a while later and made immediate impression! The first goal was a tap in from Gigg's pass. The 2nd goal was marvellous, a reminiscence of Cantona's great goal against Sheffield United in 1995. He chipped David James exquisitely from 25 yards! James thought the shot was wide, but it wasn't!

Everytime when a United player is near to scoring, everyone at the stands will stood up to have a good look and get ready to cheer... The atmosphere will be really euphoric if a goal ensue.

The final moments were tensed as United let in a late goal. We've been letting in late goals lately, a small blemish to otherwise a great game.

Final score: 2 - 1

The journey back is a long one as we had to queue up for more than one hour to get on the tram from Old Trafford.

We only got back to London at 3am in the morning (another one and a half hour to get home).

All in all, it was a great trip. I would love to watch more games if not for the $$$ factor.

More photos: http://jihying.com/photos/old_trafford/

Cabinet says toll agreements to remain secret

Abdullah's government definitely has not improved on transparency (remember the 18.9% Bumiputera equity case?) It's the rakyat, as toll payers and tax payers who suffer in the end...

S.Tamarai Chelvi and Pauline Puah
The Sun

The Cabinet is not prepared to make public the toll agreements inked between the government and highway concessionaires, says Works Minister Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu.

"I have also suggested that the Cabinet take appropriate action against the person (or persons) who had stolen and exhibited an agreement. The agreement is solely between the government and the company and it is a secret document," said Samy, adding that he brought up the matter at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"It is classified secret ... a restricted document of the government. It has been stolen by some people and we have suggested we are going to ask the Attorney-General's office to take appropriate action against those who stole the document and exhibited it without the authority, and they have to pay for it," Samy said.

Asked whether this was the Cabinet's decision, Samy said: "This is what has been suggested to the Cabinet."

Samy spoke in a press conference today after chairing a MIC central working committee meeting in the MIC headquarters on Jalan Rahmat.

In a press conference early this month, the Coalition Against Toll Hike (Protes) revealed a copy of the agreement between the government and Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak) to reporters.

Protes also demanded the government to reveal how the government had reached its agreements with other highway concessionaire companies.

In an immediate response, Parti Keadilan Rakyat information chief Tian Chua, who is also a Protes member, the Cabinet's decision confirmed what the coalition had said earlier that the content of the contract was unfavourable to the public.

"The government needs to explain how and why this contract had been signed. Instead of being transparent, they (the government) have decided to declare this an Official Secrets Act document.

"It's greatly unfair to the public as they are the ones who pay taxes and tolls," he told theSun.

He said Protes had decided to take the risk before divulging the document in order to tell the public the truth.

"The government is subsidising a big sum of money to the concessionaire companies and these monies come from the public. They've the right to know how the contract was drafted and why the government so willingly accepting terms that clearly disadvantaged tax payers," he added.

Proton edged out by Perodua

Will Proton survive?

Troubled carmaker Proton has lost its top dog status after nearly a quarter-century as Malaysia's biggest-selling carmaker was edged out by another homegrown manufacturer, Perodua.

"This is the first time Perodua has secured the number one spot," Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) president Aishah Ahmad said Thursday.
Proton's market share has fallen sharply in recent years due to the whittling away of duties that has made imports more affordable and a persistent reputation for poor quality and unimaginative models.

Proton was set up in 1983 as part of Malaysia's drive into heavy industry while Perodua began operations in 1995 as a producer of small and fuel-efficient compact models.

In 2006, Perodua led national sales with 152,733 units, giving it a market share of 42 percent, up from 32 percent the year before, according to MAA data.
Proton sales fell to 115,538 units for a market share of 32 percent, down from 40 percent in 2005. It had held the top sales spot since 1985.

Japanese small-car maker Daihatsu Motor, a subsidiary of Toyota, owns a 51 percent stake in Perodua which has produced a series of attractive models well suited to the Malaysian market.

In a telling tale, Proton's new compact Savvy model launched a year ago has been ignored while Perodua's Myvi with its better looks and high-quality interior has a long waiting list and is massively outselling the Savvy.

Loss-making Proton is in the process of selecting a strategic partner to arrest its sharp decline and is in negotiations with US auto giant General Motors, Volkswagen of Germany and PSA Peugeot Citroen oF France.

The Malaysian government owns 59 percent of Proton, including a 43 percent stake held by its investment arm Khazanah Nasional.

The MAA said sales of new motor vehicles in Malaysia, Southeast Asia's biggest passenger car market, fell 11 percent to 490,768 in 2006 and forecast growth in 2007 to remain flat with just 1.9 percent expansion to 500,000.

Aishah said the slowdown was due to higher interest rates, stringent approval processing of hire-purchase loans and shorter repayment periods, as well as higher fuel costs and extremely weak used car prices.

"It will be a competitive year (in 2007) but the worst is over. Consumers will have to accept the prices for their second-hand cars," she told a press conference.
Sales of imported vehicles fell 15.1 percent last year to 80,931 in 2006, with this segment sector led by Japanese carmakers Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Ang Bon Beng, executive director of Nissan distributor Edaran Tan Chong Motors, said vehicle sales for the first quarter of 2007 were expected to be quiet.
"Only in the second quarter, when industry players bring in new models, will there be a slight improvement," he said, adding that Nissan will introduce two new models.
"This month is unusually quiet (ahead of the Lunar New year celebration in February). It is quite abnormal compared to the last two years. I expect sales to be flat for the whole year," he added. - AFP

Lang Lang

I chanced upon this video of Lang Lang on YouTube. Still ruing the missed opportunity to watch him play with London Philharmonic Orchestra due to exams during my final year in undegraduate studies.

Snow!

After some disappointment over the weather reports, I woke up around 6am this morning to find the area outside our flat covered with snow. Too bad we missed the flurry. According to weather reports, it will snow again tonight and possibly the next two days. At least we get something out from enduring the extremely cold weather, unlike the cold, foggy but snowless week in December.

Some views from our flat...

Dinner with Matthias & Lisi

Johanna & I invited Matthias & Lisi over to our flat for dinner.

We cooked steam cod fish, kong pou chicken, stir fried greens, stir fried pak choi, onion and chili omelette and fried chicken in soya sauce and white pepper. Dessert was red dates with longan.

It surely brings back the fond memories of cooking for my friends during undergraduate days (including Matthias!).

We had a great evening looking at photos from our wedding, honeymoon and other trips.

Dinner at Belvedere

I've decided to follow Shazrul's recommendation on Belvedere Restaurant for Jo and my anniversary on 19 January.

Belvedere is one of Marco Pierre White's many restaurants. It is located at the edge of Holland Park, off Kensington High Street.

I've done a bit of research before making my reservation through http://www.toptable.co.uk. It's going to be my first real attempt at French food. I've read about foie gras (duck or goose liver fattened by forced feeding) many times, perhaps this is the time to try it out. The most interesting part of the restaurant is the environment, as this is what most people are paying for. Based on my research, there are a lot of great comments. Overall rating is more than 8 in most restaurant review websites. I downloaded the menu and found the prices quite reasonable for this class of restaurant. So I guess this is a safe bet.

So at 5pm, I started off my journey to Johanna's office, without her knowledge. On the way there, I stopped over at Earls Court to find the right bus to take to the restaurant so that we can walk as little as possible. Then I bought a bouquet of roses outside Earls Court station before hopping on to C3 bus.

Jo said I never send her flowers in her office, so I've decided to leave the flowers at the reception and asked the receptionist to tell her that there is something for her. I quietly slipped out of the reception area and tried to peek from outside. Jo came a while later, saw the flowers, and tried to find where I was. =)

I called her moments later and proceed to her office. I told her that I've booked a place for dinner and have asked permission from her boss for her to leave early on that day.

So off we went. As described by some in the reviews, the restaurant is not easy to find. Took us 20 minutes before we found the place. The restaurant is situated in the middle of a big garden. I could imagine it must be very nice during the day. One day we must come for the Sunday lunch where there is a live jazz band.

We were greeted by the French head waiter who has quite a bit of French accent. Since I've done my research on the menu, ordering was a swift process.

These are what we had: -

Starter

• Parfait of Foie Gras & Chicken Livers
• Snails 'Bourguignonne'

Main Course

• Confit Shoulder of Lamb, Mash & Mange Tout
• Sea Bass, New Potatoes, Spinach & Lemon Butter

Dessert

• Raspberry Soufflé, Ripple Ice Cream
• Prosecco Jelly, Raspberries, Vanilla Ice Cream

The environment is as great as described by the reviewers. There was live piano music accompanying us while we slowly enjoy the environment and food.

We only left at 10pm, 2 hours after our arrival. Good way to start the weekend for Jo after a long week at work, I guess.

2 years on...

2 years have surely gone by very quickly... Happy Anniversary to my dearest Baby.

2 happy years and many more to come!

My new baby...

Isn't she beautiful?

Thanks to my one and only one Baby Johanna...

My S2 IS will still be loved and pampered because of her macro mode and 12x zoom...

It's over!

Finally... After weeks of getting stuck at home, trying to force myself to sit down with my course notes spread open in front of me, while my heart is screaming "No! This is too torturing!", I've finally made it through to the other side.

To add to the good feeling, Johanna just bought me a Canon 30D! Will post the photo of the baby soon!

After I clean up the mess I've made for the past few weeks...

Concentrate!

Life has been bored and torturing lately. The only unpleasant part of studying life. Waiting for afternoon of 16 January to come. At the time being, it's study, study and more studying...

American casualties in Iraq

The war propaganda. Ugly side of humanity contrary to the advancement of civilisation...

How much blood for oil?
Michael Munk

To bring the cost of the invasion and occupation of Iraq to the public, antiwar groups across the country are organizing to mark the 3,000th death of a member of its military components.

But by focusing only on the number of dead Americans we are being manipulated along with the media and public by the administration’s determination to minimize the cost in blood of establishing permanent military bases in the heart of the Middle East oil patch. That public relations strategy consists of prohibiting images of the dead and wounded returning home and those of U.S. casualties in Iraq in the U.S. media as well as aggressive efforts to prevent such coverage by foreign media. It also plants
stories and interviews, leaks to FOX and other Pentagon-friendly reporters and provides generous payola to foreign (especially Iraqi) news sources.

Still, the most consistent propaganda effort since the invasion aims to keep public attention away from the actual amount of blood being shed by the military victims of the war and their families. That cost now exceeds 50,000 casualties—a far cry from the 3,000 to which most of the public is restricted to know.

“Casualties” in the military sense is the total number made unavailable for duty from all causes, including deaths and wounds suffered in combat as well as injuries, accidents and illness. So whether caused by “hostile” (24,965 as of Dec.27) or “non-hostile” (25,406 as of Dec. 2) causes the Pentagon’s own web sites record more than 50,000 so far in Iraq.

However, for most Americans who depend on mass media for information, the number of only 3,000 is the only measure of the loss of life and limb the media allow them to know. For the rest of us, here are the facts:

The Pentagon reports deaths on a daily basis at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf, although its own total always lags behind the wire services number because it insists survivors must be informed before a dead solider, marine, sailor or airman can be added to the casualty lists. But the Pentagon only reports the wounded on the weekly basis (usually on Tuesdays) at the same site and it reports the non fatal casualties from non hostile on another website http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OIF-Total.pdf only monthly.

From those sources, we can count U.S. military occupation forces casualties as more than 50,371 as of Dec. 27. The total (as above) includes 2,400 killed and 22,565 wounded (which includes both severely and less severely wounded) by what the Pentagon classifies as “hostile” causes. By that date, another 583 military personnel had died from “non hostile” causes such as accidents, suicides (there were 99 “self inflicted fatalities) and illness and, as of Dec. 2, another 24,823 had been injured or become ill seriously enough to require medical evacuation. According the excellent site http://www.icasualties.org/oif/, another 147 US “contractors” have also been killed since they invaded Iraq.

I urge opponents of the war to make the public aware that the actual human cost of the invasion and occupation of Iraq exceeds 50,000 troops and their families who have suffered death and often life-long disability—of whom the 3,000 are just one tragic part.