Merdeka!

As Malaysia attain the age 48 today, it's time again to reflect on our progress and set our focus on the Malaysian Dream - Wawasan 2020.

Some of my thoughts...

Developed nation?
Many seems to equate development to solely economic development. While a lot has been focused on economic development, we are still lagging behind in political and social development. Political structure has not shifted much since independence. Some of the issues debated in the parliament and the behaviour of MPs have shown that we have not attained the maturity level required. There is also still lack of civic consciousness on the roads, lack of regard for the environment and public amenities and unfriendly counter service.

Bangsa Malaysia
Despite numerous effort to promote the Bangsa Malaysia ideology, today most of us are still Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Ibans, etc. We even have to indicate this information in most application and entry forms. There is a need for political reform to remove the race-based structure of Barisan Nasional in order to achieve this. We should step out from the shadow of the divide and rule strategy adopted by the British. Bumiputra privelages should also be gradually removed in the 9th Malaysian Plan in order to create a sense of fairness to all, especially to the new generations of Chinese, Indians, etc. who are born on Malaysian soil. The new aim should closing the gaps between the wealthy and the poor, regardless of race and religion. We need to establish a mature, liberal, tolerant and democratic society which permits the fullest participation of the people. Even though we are still a long way from Bangsa Malaysia but let's not lose our optism.

Proton
It was reported today that Proton reported a group pre-tax loss of RM4.3m in the first quarter ending 30 June. After 20 years of struggle, Proton has not been able to mount a challenge in the world auto market as opposed to the younger Hyundai and Kia which have been very successful in United States and many other countries.

Malaysia Boleh!
We seem to concentrate too much on building the tallest flag poles and other similar feats, the latest being Malaysia's First Astronaut Programme. Perhaps we should first concentrate on improving our aeronautical technology and use our own technology rather than the Russians' to send our astronauts into space. There is nothing much to be proud of if we are merely space tourists travelling in foreign space shuttles. All we need is money. The Government should also increase its effort to ensure the success of bio technology initiatives and Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). Research and Development should be highly encouraged to produce more new technologies locally. Thus far we have been buying a lot of foreign technologies. In order to achieve this, the Government has to work harder to attract many talented Malaysians who are more willing to work overseas due to lack of transparency, equality and opportunities locally.

Waving flags, singing negaraku may be signs of patriotism, but Malaysians need to look beyond these actions to acheive Vision 2020.

Selamat Hari Merdeka!

Fuel hike imminent

Oil and gas markets came under intense pressure yesterday as Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf of Mexico, forcing the closure of oil production platforms, refineries and the Henry Hub the biggest US trading centre.

Oil prices hit a new record of $70.80 a barrel, although they fell back to $67.20.

Reacting to the trend of the ever increasing oil price Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak said that no government in the world can maintain fuel prices at the current level if the price of crude oil continues to spiral.

“It’s beyond us to control price of crude. So the consumers should not put the blame on the Government if there is a need to raise price of petrol or petroleum products.”

To the average Malaysians, it is time to realise that in this era of globalisation, we need to play our part in managing this sort of situation. Consume wisely and be ready to face the increase in fuel prices. The Government can no longer afford to maintain the fuel price through subsidies. Furthermore, subsidies will reduce our inefficiency and competitiveness in the global market.

Hurrican Katrina

Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, Hurricane Katrina left at least 56 people dead in the US yesterday, and the toll is expected to climb following one of the most powerful hurricanes to hit the northern Gulf Coast in a half century. Tens of thousands will be homeless for months.

According to Bloomberg, US insurers were spared the worst of Hurricane Katrina, but still face an estimated $16 billion of claims from what may prove the second most-expensive storm in US history.

Champions League: Man Utd progress

This blog is dedicated to my pal Jason, who is the number 1 Manchester United fan.

Manchester United cruised into the group stage of Champions League by routing Hungarian champions Debrecen 3-0 (aggregate 6-0) last night.

However, United paid a heavy price as Gary Neville was stretchered off 10 minutes into the game. He is expected to be out for 5 weeks. This is worrying as United is trying to launch a good start into the Premiership.

The injury overshadowed a clinical display from the Red Devils, who continued their encouraging start to the campaign thanks to major contributions from an unlikely source - Gabriel Heinze.

Not only was he impressive in the defence, he managed to score 2 of the 3 United goals through two headers in either half of the match.

Substitute Kieren Richardson fired in United's 3rd goal 4 minutes after Heinze's second goal.

United's clinical display was further tempered when Richardson limped off with 20 minutes left, and United, who had used up all their substitutes finished with 10 men.

One more thing to note is that van der Sar has managed to keep 4 clean sheets in a row. That is a remarkable effort compared to how other United stoppers have fared in the previous seasons. I hope he'll continue his good performance to create a repeat of the '98 glory.

Tak nak?

Déjà vu from Formula 1?

Is Pak Lah's government sucumbbing to the lobbying by tobacco companies?

With the rapid increase in the number of smokers among school children and women, this decision is some what disappointing. What do you think?

Some excerpts from the Star today...

Cigarettes in packs of 14 will still be in the market until 2010, following a Cabinet decision to defer the ban on the sales of such packs.

Announcing this, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the decision was made in the interest of the 13,000 tobacco farmers in Terengganu and Kelantan.

The decision to ban packs of 10 cigarettes from next year, however, remains.

The Government had originally decided last year to limit the sale of cigarettes to packs of 20s from next June.

Dr Chua also admitted that the Tak Nak anti-smoking campaign launched early last year had not been effective.

“We are launching a new Tak Nak campaign, which will be featured more on television and involve NGOs. There will be no more billboards.”

Meanwhile, anti-smoking groups are crying foul over the Cabinet's decision to defer the ban on cigarettes in packs of 14.

Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations secretary-general Mohammad Sha'ani Abdullah said the decision made a mockery of the Tak Nak anti-smoking campaign.

Using “farmers' interest” as the reason for the deferment was a lame excuse, he said, accusing the Government of succumbing to the lobbying of tobacco companies.

Malaysian Idol Spectacular 4: Xerra is out!

Injustice! Poor Xerra (or her real name Tengku Hamisah Zaharah bt. Tengku Zaimi Azlan) is the latest contestant to leave Malaysian Idol 2 tonight. I could not help feeling sorry for her when she broke down during her last rendition of ku mohon made popular by Shiela Majid. She must be wondering why she is leaving this early while other less capable contestants still remain.

Paul was spot on to say that Xerra will be the one leaving the show this week. His justification was Xerra has been one of the bottom three for the past few weeks despite pulling off great performances. She did not manage a reasonably good one this week. So she looks very vulnerable. But she is definitely not the worst performer this week.

Well, if you judge by the trend in the voting for the past few weeks, it wouldn't be a surprise. But if it is based on talent, then it is really harsh to see Xerra off the show at this stage. Among the 7 remaining finalists, I think she is much better than Faizull and Ash in terms of vocal, personality and especially stage persona. Her 10-year experience as a band singer was evident in her every performance.

Anyway, as we all know, not all the time the best talents will get to stay, even in American Idol. For example, Faizull may have a decent voice of a rocker, but he paled in comparison when it comes to other aspects as a performer. He even broke down after his performance in Spectacular 4, most likely due to his meltdown towards the end of his performance. This incident, coupled by his image and personality surely did not make him look like a prospective signing for any record company. However, I won't be surprised if his 'orang kampung' image carries him far into the competition. Are we looking for a Juara Kampung? I surely hope not. We need someone who has great personality and is able to compete at international level in order to project a good image of Malaysia at World Idol.

Somehow I think I know why Xerra is not popular among the Malaysian public. I am afraid it has nothing to do with talent. I prefer not to divulge my theory due to the sensitivity of the subject.

In conclusion, the voting results thus far has shown that Malaysians are not really voting based on talents. It is kind of sad. But even George W Bush could become President of United States, yadda yadda yadda...

Read the entries at this message board and you will learn the level of maturity of some Malaysians.

With her great talent, let's hope that Xerra will land herself a recording contract soon in order to move up a step in her singing career. I'm sure recording companies should know how to appreciate a singer like her.

To the Malaysian public, I urge that in coming weeks you will treasure and appreciate the best talents available. Be responsible, objective and vote for a Malaysian Idol all of us can be proud of.

Nicky found!

Nicky, the missing tiger cub, was found alive and well inside the Malacca Zoo compound Friday morning.

Yay!

Aquaria@KLCC

My wife and I visited the newly opened KLCC Convention Centre last Sunday. We managed to visit one of the main attractions - AQUARIA@KLCC, located on the concourse level.

Under a separate management, the AQUARIA@KLCC is a world-class aquarium housing 5,000 varieties of tropical fishes and offers a unique underwater "edu-tainment" experience. It is designed by a New Zealand company. AQUARIA@KLCC Discovery Zone is the first in the world to make extensive use of multimedia technologies to combine education with entertainment. Based on the statistics, it is bigger than Singapore's Sentosa Underwater World. Similar to Sentosa Underwater World, AQUARIA@KLCC also has an underwater tunnel with a length of 90m, making it the biggest in South East Asia. All corals in the aquarium are fake, as is the reproduction of the Royal Nanhai shipwreck.

The admission fee was temporarily priced at RM20 per person for adults. The fee will increase to RM28 for Malaysians with MyCard and RM38 for others upon the arrival of all the 150 marine life species at the aquarium. At the moment there are more than 100 species available.

The AQUARIA@KLCC is pretty much the same as Sentosa Underwater World except for the many touch-screen information kiosks available at various parts of the aquarium.

Among the creatures I have seen are - exotic frogs, insects, scorpion, spiders, giant tortoises, seahorses, giant garoupas, great white sharks, tiger sharks, rays, giant arapaimas and clown fish. I noticed that the number of marine life available in the underground tunnel is still quite small. Hopefully in due course the aquarium will be enriched with more marine species.

AQUARIA@KLCC is yet another jewel to KLCC as the most visible large-scale urban project and the most well-conceived thus far in terms of connectivity and integration with surroundings.

Buying properties?

Reading this article reminds me of something that I've constantly wondered in recent years.

The last few years have been a boom time for property investments related books - with Richard T. Kiyosaki being one of the most popular authors with his "Rich Dad" series. Azizi Ali is Malaysia's local equivalent. It has also been a boom time for properties worldwide.

Having read some of these books, a strange thought constantly surface in my mind.

What if some of these writers have this strategy/gamble?

1. Start collecting properties when prices are reasonable, i.e. no significant boom in recent years
2. Write books on real estate investment
3. Launch the books
4. Hope the books will sell well and create buying frenzy
5. Wait for price of properties to appreciate
6. Dispose off properties after meeting certain targets
7. Wait for bubble to burst
8. Back to step 1

You might say that I am thinking way too far, but with these books dominating the best sellers lists worldwide for years, there is a huge possiblity that it might be true. Some might argue that it is the boom that drives these writers to write instead. Well, perhaps. Or it could also be a combination of both.

Even though difficult to prove, I believe that the books written by these property gurus could have, to certain extent, fuelled the property bubble we are currently creating and consequently profitted from the sales of their own properties.

Richard T. Kiyosaki should have. He confessed that he is currently dumping real estate that produces no cash flow and going "long on gold and oil." He has begun to post articles on his website to caution against what might be called "surreal estate exuberance."

So to those who are thinking of making it big in properties in Malaysia, be more cautious as we've also experienced some boom in the past few years. But then, with the constant speculation that Bank Negara will revise the BLR upwards, I believe there's still enough room to make some good profit.

Haze to return?

The Meteorological Services Department said that the haze might be returning to the Klang Valley as early as Monday due to change in wind direction.

Meteorological Services Department director-general Chow Kok Kee said the present south, south-westerly winds, which had taken the haze elsewhere and brought some relief to the country would revert to its south-westerly course, bringing with it drier conditions.

“The south-westerly wind is expected to last between two to three weeks,” he said during a press conference at the department.

Well, let's hope the fire in Sumatra could be doused as soon as possible. Having haze for the next two to three weeks is definitely not something the Klang Valley folks are looking forward to.

Nicky is missing!

Our cute little three-month old feline has been reported missing!

Nicky, which was saved from the pot by a Good Samaritan, at the cost of RM10,000 was reported missing from the Malacca Zoo on Wednesday.

Until now it was still not confirmed whether the cub has been kidnapped or merely wandering around in other parts of the zoo.

Meanwhile, the Star is offering a RM10,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of Nicky the missing tiger cub.

Let's hope that the cub will be found soon rather than ending up as dinner elsewhere. Poor thing.