Nicol David could have played better Badminton

Don’t you think so? It wasn’t even a fight between Chong Wei and Lin Dan. Funny thing is that we’ve waited for so many years for that glitter of hope and we were given the “nasi lemak” treatment – BUNGKUS or TARPAU.

From hero…

Chong Wei seemed like he threw the towel before the fight even started. I was watching attentively during the second set.

0 – 0

1 minute later, 9 – 1.

To zero.

39 minutes of potong stim action.

AT LEAST he got RM300,000 and other goodies. As any typical Malaysian man-on-the-street will say, “Not bad wat”

Guan Eng vs Tsu Koon – Battle of the Sexes

Guess who wears the skirt?

No I didn’t stutter nor am I surprised. I believe more cans of worms will be opened soon enough from the Pearl of the Orient.

Check out the full article here from Malaysian Insider.

Saiful Swears On The Quran – Many Virgins Await Him in Paradise

Yes yes. I believe that everyone here has already heard. Our handsome friend has decided to swear on the Quran that he was sodomised by Anwar. I smell fish when I heard about this since Permatang Pauh by-election is just around the corner and I never knew that our national example of a “victim in despair” is now a politician… or at least trying to be one.

The timing is just dead-on. As well as those PKR members who are being hauled in by the ACA. What is this? If you can’t beat them… arrest them?

I just love the way we play blatant “shove-it-up-your-ass” politics here in Malaysia.

CSI: New found breakthrough in forensics

Kuala Lumpur, 17 July 2008 - The Royal Police of Malaysia and its team of scientist have discovered new genetically enhanced drones called “Sodrones” measuring 1 micrometer wide and 2 micrometer long. These drones, with its scientific name “Sodomius Analus” were said to be found to possess substantial spying capabilities and have the capacity to store sensitive and top secret information up to 10 gigabytes.

The drones were also found to be resistant to various environmental agents and is believed to thrive best at human body temperatures. Latest reports have indicated that the opposition party of Malaysia, Pakatan Rakyat is responsible for the genetic engineering process and its efforts have been lauded by various microbiology organizations around the world as “simply stunning”.

Putting his money where his mouth is, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim became official test subject No.1 of his organization by lacing himself with Sodrones before meeting Mohd Saiful Bukhari, the double-agent with a back itch who accused Anwar Ibrahim for misusing Sodrones in an attempt to shake up the political scene of Malaysia and causing top leaders of the government to doze off during international meetings while others have reported a serious case of “lost common sense” during national debates.

The Royal Police of Malaysia has detained Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and conducted various tests on him to ascertain the level of Sodrones concentration in his body. They have found that the Sodrones drones seem to favor certain parts more than others. “I was striped naked, my private parts examined”, said Anwar Ibrahim of his test session with the police.

Apparently, Sodrones requires high-end military equipments to detect but currently, the military repository is closed for C4 inventory recount.

More news to follow after this.

Behind the bars of solitude

It seems like Malaysia is currently the world theatre for the ultimate political drama of this generation. We have Blue Team versus the Red Team each fighting tooth and nail for the prized seat of government of the day.

In a way, David versus Goliath has never been illustrated more graphically and emotionally as compared to what we as Malaysians are experiencing today. Truth to be told, I am not exactly the perfect example of patriotism. Then again, how many of us can truly say that we are patriotic? Morale in that department has fallen to almost rock bottom with our government an inch away from forcing us to fly the Jalur Gemilang (National Flag) during Independence Day.

Today, we see, experience and feel a government that transcends all the basic and civilized understanding of a progressive society. We SEE a government operating in a style closer to dictatorship than democracy. We EXPERIENCE the lack in freedom of speech. We KNOW that ideas are not welcome.

We NEED a change.

It doesn’t really matter who the government of the day is. What matters is how our country can move forward. I watch in dismay as our opposition fall into the traps of dirty politics. The current government reigning in the police to force a dismount of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s bid for a formidable 2-party system in this country in which we all call home.

I dread to think what my kids or my kids’ kids will go through when their time comes. Hopefully by then, they can enjoy a little more freedom than you and I did. Hopefully by then, some change would have taken place in the right direction.

I hope that we, as citizens of Malaysia, as potential shapers of a better tomorrow, we can throw our weight forward and let our voices be heard and our actions be acknowledged that no one within all of us walks alone. Isn’t that how we set ourselves free to begin with 51 years ago? Isn’t that how we grew ourselves into what we are today?

I remember the days when I was a child growing up on a little island off the west coast of Malaysia called Penang. Those were the days whereby I would drop by the local kampung and ordered mee goreng from an Indian who speaks fluent Hokkien while the Malay “Ah Pek” would make me my favorite ice-ball and was always generous by adding extra syrup and corn free of charge. I still remember his name – Pak Din. Still thirsty, I would order a small packet of coconut juice from the Chinese uncle who happens to live next to Pak Din.Those were the days where kids of all races, colours and backgrounds would play in the fields in a kampung area called Tajung Tokong.

I don’t remember politicians using us as sticks to divide wealth, rights and privileges. With youthful foolishness, it seems clear to me that this country was beautiful at that time and I wish that it will return to being the land of many promises again – hopefully not empty ones.

Just a little change.

Maybe not for you or me but for all of us, for our kids, our friends, our loved ones. I am but one voice but with you we have 2. There could be more so let’s not give up, especially now when we’re so close and especially when others have fought for us – even behind the bars of solitude.

If you can’t beat them. Arrest them.

RPK and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

March with your chins up for we all know better.

More info:
The Star
Malaysia Today
MalaysiaKini

and all over the internet…

Protectionism breeds incompetence and stupidity

Ahhh…. Friday is here. Last day of the week and of course time to let your hair down and relax for I felt like as though I just came out of a battlefield after a week long of many happenings at work. Anyway, I was just walking around the mall while waiting for a bunch of friends to arrive so that I can get my much-deserved share of beer and I came across a booth with a few guys giving out leaflets and brochures on the latest TMnet Streamyx promotion.

Let’s start with the fact that I was already tired and all I wanted was just a cosy seat where I could just sit down and switch off. So finally my buddy arrived and we proceeded towards the exit to the nearest bar. Little did we know this little oversized chump from the TMnet booth snuck up on my friend and quickly handed his wife a brochure on the latest broadband promotion.

Right when the little fat chump gave her the brochure, in a not so subtle tone I blurted out, “TMnet is lousy my friend, don’t ever use them.” The fat chump of a salesman heard it of course and proceeded to approach us even closer this time and asked why I had such an impression on their company.

So I went on to explain that my household had mistakenly applied for 2 lines which we are only using one right now and we would like to cancel the other and upgrade the original line from 1Mbps to 4Mbps. Apparently the chump didn’t hear me well enough and said that I had to have a good reason to cancel. The conversation followed as such:

Me: Since when does canceling of a broadband line requires a good reason? Anyway, tell me what is the best way for me to cancel my line without going to the nearest TMnet point or Menara Telekom (both which are way too inconvenient and a sheer waste of time as any Malaysian would know)?

TMnet chump: Oh. You’d have to go to the nearest TMnet point or Menara Telekom to do that. There’s no other way to it.

Me: Why? Why can’t you guys just allow us to do it over the phone or online? Aren’t you guys supposed to be providing BROADBAND service thus, everything should be done over the internet without any hassle? Don’t you have a dedicated site for renewal, cancellation or application-oriented issues?

TMnet chump: Aiyah… You use Maxis* also the same la… you also have to cancel in their outlet.

Anyway, few reasons why I am pissed. Make that VERY pissed.

1. You are the salesman, is that how you sell?

2. Customers are ALWAYS correct. If for some sheer miracle you (the chump) are reading this, let me give you a tip on Sales101 – Never Ever argue with your customer moron. If you disagree just shut your gap and nod. Don’t forget who actually pays your wage.

3. (This is the dumbest part) The part where the TMnet chump mentioned that “Everywhere also the same la” disgusts me. So what if Maxis does a lousy job? Does that give you the right or the benefit to provide lousy ass service as well? Pardon my language but YOU ARE A FUCKING MORON. No wonder we’re still struggling to provide good broadband service in this country.

I should have a taken a photo of that chump and posted it here so that if anybody in TMnet reading this and have half a brain would fire his sorry ass. More importantly I am utterly disappointed at what protectionism for our GLCs has bred.

Sheer incompetence and stupidity.

Look TMnet. If you have the privilege of monopoly, at least give out quality service. Is this a sign of arrogance spilling down all the way to even your sales people? Honestly this is a textbook example of how protectionism is detrimental to ANY market.

TMnet has such a stranglehold in our local broadband service that they have now completely disregard the fact that the quality of the entire TMnet experience pales in comparison with most countries. I’ll spare TMnet the embarrassment and shall refrain myself from naming any names *cough* *Singapore* *cough*

Oh! Did I stutter?

Change we can believe in! Stop being stupid.

* Mind you for those of you who are not in Malaysia, TMnet is actually a Government-Linked Company which has quite a monopoly on the local broadband reach due to obvious reasons.

**Maxis is a big time phone operator but small time broadband due to the above reason.

Nature’s Best Photography Awards 2008

In trying times such as these, I suppose it is good for us to sometimes stop and take a step back and learn that if nature can relax, we should too. Depicted quite perfectly by the following photos, it goes to show that while we are fighting over economic and political turmoil around the world, busy chasing dollars & cents, life goes on for those who embrace the best things in life – which are free of course.

Little cubs seeking refuge

Weathering the storm

David & Goliath

Shoulder to lean on

Parents' Love

The grass is greener

Leap of faith

Sunday snow

Reach out

I only posted selected pictures from an entire album I’ve gotten through email. If you’d like to see more of such photos you can go to Nature’s Best Photography, Windland Smith Rice International Awards.

In a nutshell

The Economist published a very brief but informative article on the global economy and the stock market entitled “Bearish battalions” with emphasis placed on the US as well as its European counterparts. I especially found this part of the article very concise in highlighting the chain reaction of the current global financial scenario:

“But when banks stop lending, buyers are unable to purchase assets. Some investors are forced to sell to pay off loans. The value of collateral falls, making banks even more reluctant to lend. Markets freeze up, as neither buyers nor sellers have the confidence to do business.”

You should take the time to read the entire article here.

Turning the tide: Nadal rises to the occasion

Besides writing about nothing at all, I like watching sports and this year has been one hell of a year for my 3 favorite sports – Formula 1, Tennis & Golf.

Anyway, in an epic Wimbledon final, Nadal finally seizes the opportunity to win his first Wimbledon title by defeating Roger Federer. Possibly the best tennis final I have seen so far although honestly I was rooting for Federer. Disappointed yes but you just have got to give it to Nadal for a jaw-dropping, heart-thumping display of tennis virtuosity.

Well done Rafa and you weren’t that shabby either Roger.