Haze is back?

I noticed that the haze is making its comeback to Lembah Kelang today. Our joy seems to be short lived! But, syukur nevertheless for the rain and clear sky that we've enjoyed these few days. Hopefully it will not be as bad as before.

This haze thing has reminded us all that we should all be grateful for the clean air and the clear sky that God has granted us. That few days when the haze was really bad was, to me, a gentle reminder from Allah that we must always be grateful to Him for the pleasure that He granted us all. But while we suffer from the haze, I noticed one good thing happened - there were no mosquitoes in the house! We normally have to light a couple of mosquito coils outside the house to get rid of the mosquitoes, but with haze, no need for them coils. But of course, we'd rather light the coils than having the haze around.

Now that the haze is gone (well, almost), I can now enjoy my latte at my favourite spot, again.

V-dab vs. Proton, the saga continues

The Proton issues are getting hotter by the day ever since the famous Tg. Mahalel's interview when he bashed the government about the AP. Then the Tun delivered comments which made Rafidah cried. The market reacted positively to Proton's share price after Tg. Mahalel decided to resign from the company. It then picked up paces after the news that VW signalled its interest in Proton.

Paul Tan wrote something about VW renewed interest to take on 50% + 1 shares, which effectively take management control of the company. I seriously believe that if VW is this serious about getting more than 50% interest in Proton (previously they were interested to take 30%), then its primary objective is to capture the Proton's jewel - Lotus UK.

No doubt that Proton will benefit from VW tie up. Their technical assistance will greatly improve the overall quality of Proton cars. Proton has never fully utilised Lotus to improve its own marque. Maybe there is something in Lotus that misses Proton's eye, that VW is focusing on.

At one time, Honda owns 20% of Rover UK. Then the parent company sold the remaining 80% to BMW and Honda was furious. BMW's primary objective was to get the 4x4 technology and what's better than to get them from the best of the best - Land Rover. When BMW sold the company, it took with them the Land Rover technology (which they use to produce the X3 and X5) as well as the Mini Cooper brand - the 2 jewels in Rover marque then. Rover never recovered its glory and time can only tell what Rover will be in the future.

The story is almost similar to what we can see in Proton. Proton is popular in Malaysia and many buy them because it is a Malaysian car. It's almost the same story with Rover then, it was the darling of the British auto industry and the British loved them. Furthermore, the Mini and Land Rover are legendary in and outside UK.

We hope that this will not be the case for Proton.

Whatever was said about Proton, to many of us, it is a symbol of pride that we can do what others have done - the essence of "Malaysia Boleh". Those who are (and was) in the auto industry in Malaysia knows exactly what I mean. Many laughed and some made derogatory comments about the efforts Proton and Perodua have made. It's true that we have not reached that level where we can be a global players, but those efforts are steps that were necessary to take in order to achieve many great things.

Perodua seems to benefit from the tie up. Let's hope Proton can achieve greater heights with this move.


...and for me, I'll keep Proton in my stock-to-watch list, and grab some when the time is right...

That smell of freshly baked bread...

Bread...my favourite. I love bread, almost all type of bread, especially the freshly baked ones - I can 'smell' them now. It's not the same with those commercially packed sandwhich bread. Though I love Gardenia's, but I prefer the fresh ones better. I love Sun Moulin's Queens Bread - but it is a luxury which I can only afford to have once a month.

My mother bakes bread and normally she would bakes like 30 pieces of dinner rolls at one go - which could last for about 2 weeks. One thing about bread is that you can freeze them and stored frozen for more than 2 weeks, without losing its freshness. My mother - she once had her own bakery. She loves cooking (and baking!). Unfortunately, she had to closed down her bakery after a few years operating as there was nobody to help her around (good skilled workers were hard to find back then, and moreover, it's in Kota Bharu).

I didn't realise that bread making was such an easy thing to do. A month back, while discussing on family budget, we decided to try making our own bread. We did and eventhough our first try wasn't that good, it certainly was good to us. We've been making our own bread since then. Now, I can have that lovely aroma of freshly baked bread every Sunday morning.

We have moved on to making savoury breads after trying our hands on normal plain bread several times. The difficult part is getting the fresh ingredient like fresh herbs. A few weeks back we tried baking rosemary and garlic foccacia bread. Turns out O.K. though not as what we're hoping it to be.

Though they're not as appealing as those in Delifrance or San Francisco Coffee's, but they tasted better than them, satisfaction guarantee!

The cannons of Kampung Sungai Pinang

Do you know that there exist are a pair of very old cannons in Kampung Sungai Pinang? Kampung Sungai Pinang is situated about 30 km from Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Located near the Kelantan river, this place holds many historic happenings but mostly unknown to the general public of today.

These cannons were originally placed by the river. They were used way back when Kelantan was still under the Siam government. Their main purpose was to act as an early signal to inform the palace officials in Kota Bharu whenever dignitaries from the Siam government came to visit them.

A closer look at these cannons revealed its 'birth' date. They were made in 1770 and it was believed that these cannons came from a Dutch ship. However, no records are available to determine the actual history of these cannons.

According to my late great-great grandfather, who related the stories about these cannons to my father when he was young, Kampung Sungai Pinang played a big role in the government of Kelantan at that time. The first custom building was built not far from this kampung by the Siam government. The existence of Custom building at that time means that the place was considered economically important to the government.

Visits by the Siam's government officials were also frequent at that time. Therefore, the cannons were the only means to inform the palace officials in Kota Bharu of their arrival. This gave some time for the palace officials to prepare to welcome the visitors.

The cannons were effectively retired after the Bangkok Treaty (Perjanjian Bangkok) in 1909 which resulted in Kelantan being placed under the British administration.

The cannons were then relocated to the compound of Masjid Kampung Sungai Pinang due to the constant erosions of the river banks caused by the frequent flooding in the area.

Today, you can still see these cannons in the compound of Masjid Kampung Sungai Pinang. These cannons are a part of the rich history in our country. So, if you happen to go to Kampung Sungai Pinang, visit these cannons and remember the story of the Cannons of Kampung Sungai Pinang.

Lagi pasal AP

They say one can reap up to RM30k per AP. Now that is a lot of dough for a car! This one was sms-ed to me last night...

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At 12,524 APs = RM375 million, Tan Sri Nasimuddin, one of the richest bumiputra, will co-host a reality TV programme with Donald Trump, called "The AP-rentice"!

Alamanda @ night

My family and me went out for dinner last weekend at Alamanda since they have not been to this place before. I must say, the view is quite nice especially around the lake. Most of the eateries are located by the lake and this provide a breathtaking views for the patrons.

During the day, the view is not that spectacular - maybe because it's too hot outside to enjoy it. I think it's a good place to bring the family for early dinner and perhaps you catch sunset too - sunset dining, that's a romantic idea (provided you don't bring the kids along).

I think Alamanda is a good place to bring family. There are ample parking spaces and it's not too far from the entrance to the mall. But judging from the cars parked that night, it'll soon run out of space.

One thing that Alamanda doesn't have is a cineplex. So folks in Putrajaya still have to travel to IOI Mall (nearest) to catch a movie. I wonder will there ever be a cineplex in Alamanda - looking at the design of the building, it doesn't look as if it was built with a cineplex in mind.

We had fish n' chips at San Francisco Fish Shop. Fish n' chips really brings back memories of my student days when I did my first degree in UK. Ahh... I can still remember that smell of malt vinegar they use back in UK. Somehow I couldn't find that same malt vinegar here in Malaysia. I tried most of what's available here but the taste ain't the same. I miss that fish n' chips with salt and vinegar...

Alamanda is a nice place to go - not too crowded and not too empty. Maybe next time we'll come here again, and maybe we'll catch the sunset, while strolling by the lake.

"It is as near to you as your life, but you can never wholly know it"

I'm sure for those "Sepet" die hard fans, you would recognise the title above the minute you see it! I finally watched the movie last night with my wife. And yes, as some would say, you always has something to say after watching the movie.

It is indeed the best malay film I've ever seen! Kudos to Yasmin and her team for the beautiful film.

Many people have said many good words about the movie. I hope those of you who has not seen this movie to go and watch them - it is worth all the penny spent. Maybe Yasmin would consider coming out with a dvd version (an uncut version maybe) of this movie and include the making of this movie as well. If there is one, I will definitely get one now.

Why doctors get well paid

My friend e-mailed me this joke - really funny..
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A mechanic was removing the cylinder heads from the motor of a car when he spotted the famous heart surgeon in his shop, who was standing off to the side, waiting for the service manager to come to take a look at his car.

The mechanic shouted across the garage, "Hello Doctor! Please come over here for a minute." The famous surgeon, a bit surprised, walked over to the mechanic.

The mechanic straightened up, wiped his hands on a rag and asked argumentatively, "So doctor, look at this. I also open hearts, take valves out, grind 'em, put in new parts, and when I finish this will work as a new one. So how come you get the big money, when you and me is doing basically the same work? "

The doctor leaned over and whispered to the mechanic ........



"Try to do it when the engine is running".

The mind matters

I often hear someone complaining that his/her work is tougher than other person's and that they always gets paid lower than the other person. There are also who complained that they were left behind the promotion even though they did all the hard work.

Most often than not, these people who complained think too highly of themselves so much so that they couldn't understand why good people like them can be so unfortunate. Sometimes they think that they can do what other people are doing, but why they are still not getting what they're suppose to get.

I know a person who keeps on complaining that she had to go through all the 'misfortune' while others, especially her other family members seemed to have all the good luck. I said to her, you will have all the luck when you stop all the complaining and start doing the thing you love to do. She said I had it easy too, so who am I to say these things. Furthermore, she said that she never heard me complained about my work. I told her that that's exactly what it is. When you tell someone that your work is tough and you had to endure it all by yourself, you are actually saying that to yourself. So, you're enforcing your belief on the problems you are facing - work is tough, boss is not appreciative, salary too small, etc. You don't really seek for answer, you merely asking people to agree with you because you keep on giving 1001 reasons to support your statements. Go and seek what you really love to do in life and do it, the money will come.

That stunted her, for a while. That's not what she came for - and I didn't offer the kind of solution she expected. But left she did, with a heavy thought.

Now, she is doing what she really loves doing and she is reaping her rewards financially as well. But once in a while she came to see me just to straighten her perspective in life.

I am no guru in this matter, but I've seen many people, including myself, achieve success in their own ways by tuning your mind to the right direction and constantly affirming your belief in it. It is, to some, trully a common sense. Unfortunately, it is not to others.

Dikir barat and me

A few days back, a friend of mine e-mailed me a mp3 dikir barat song (Kelantan folk song). It was quite a long time since I last hear a dikir barat song and that was the first time I hear it in mp3 format. We chatted about the old times and how I love Seman Wau Bulan's dikir barat songs (Seman Wau Bulan a.k.a. Semae Wa Bule in Kelantan dialect, was a famous dikir barat singer). My friend informed me that he passed away last month due to heart failure. I didn't know that until he told me. Sad...

I still remember some of his famous songs. He was famous for his Wau Bulan song (where he got his nickname). He recorded many albums, but being locally (I mean really local, here) produced, I don't think they were available in many record stores, let alone the bigger ones. His songs are catchy and some are even funny. I still remember the song "Korea" which he penned in conjunction with the Olympic Games in Korea back in the 80's. That was one really funny song - I was laughing my heart out when I first listened to the song played from my friend's cassette player (those days, cassette player was the in thing). I bet anyone who listened to the song would concur to my statement.

His voice was beautiful and captivating - I would say, a cross between Nat King Cole and SM Salim - I bet many people would agree.

I still remember, during my college days, we had to perform a dikir barat during our college's open day (ahh... another nostalgic moments that was... maybe in my next blog..). Semae Wa Bule's songs inspired me as I crooned my version as I played the part of Tok Jogho (Juara).

I must round up my friends for a karaoke session....

It boils down to...

It must be really hard for Proton nowadays since the famous 'parting shot' by the CEO. I first read it in Jeff Ooi's Screenshot and today he also mentioned the bashing by Chips in Motor Trader Malaysia's forum.

As I read the comments and hearing some from the people who had left Proton, as well as those from the Proton vendors themselves, I believe they should have seen this coming long time ago. All the concerns raised in the comments are not new or something that was beyond their control. What I can deduced is that they did not pay attention to their core activity - manufacturing cars.

It doesn't really matter how good their marketing strategies are, or how much assistance the government gives them, they will have a tough time surviving in todays market if they keep on producing shoddy quality cars - both in design and built.

I hardly see any comments on how or why Perodua is getting ahead while Proton is being bashed. A brief look inside Perodua's progress may shed some light on the success Perodua is enjoying. In a nutshell, Perodua's main strength are product quality and models introduction. During Tan Sri Rahman Omar's leadership, he stressed the need for Perodua to produce a high quality standard vehicles. A lot of money was spent for this purpose and the collaboration with the Japanese partners also focused on this matter. It was not just an in-house efforts, but also extended to the vendors as well to ensure that the vendors are able to supply high quality parts. You can see the results from the efforts that were put in practice since then in the quality of cars that are being produced. Though the quality is not at par with Toyota or any other better make, but it is commendable since the company is only 10 years old. Furthermore, what more can you say when Toyota agreed to appoint Perodua as their production house for Avanzza - kudos top their production team.

Perodua also had this strategy to bring to the market a new model or facelift once a year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember any year from 1996 that they missed out - there's always a new model, or at least a facelift enhancement. This created a buzz each year and this buzz stays in the public's mind. This leaves a perception that the company is a dynamic and constantly adapt the changes in the market. This buzz creates sales and the quality assures the public that they are getting a good deal.

Some say that it didn't take long for Perodua to come out with a new model as they are more of an assembler than a manufacturer (like Proton). I say this is a total crap - a really cheap shot. I know for a fact that some new models may take a couple of years in planning and preparation in order to achieve certain standards without blowing too large a hole in the pocket.

Now, after the corporate restructuring exercise a few years back (with Daihatsu Motor Corp. taking a bigger role) and with the new MD in the driving seat, I think they can go even further and perhaps make some in-roads to some lucrative export markets.

Trading in futures

I attended a talk last Saturday on futures trading. All this while I wondered what is futures trading and is it related to commodity trading. It was a very fruitful talk as I learned a lot about the mechanics of futures tradings and it's really not that hard as many people had mentioned to me (commodity - yes, because of its high volatility in price). The presenter also reminded us the golden rule when trading in equities - that you have to be discipline, knowledgeable, prepared and respect for the risks. If we can't handle them, then better not try our hand in this market.

We were talking casually during the break when a lady participant commented that with these many people attending the talk, why then there are not many people who made it in this ventures. I told her that in any program, only a small percentage of people who really go out and do exactly what they have learned and out of this small percentage, only a fraction will be successfull. The difficult part is to maintain the discipline to follow this new "regime" to be in the game.

So, it really boils down to our mental ability and how much we really want to implement change in our lives. Change is what we all have to face and the faster we can adapt to change, the better our lives will and can be.

So, true enough, after the talk session, only about 20% of the participants signed up and I bet only a handful of them will actively trade in this market.

There will be another session - the follow up session - next week. I wonder how many would turn up....

Petrol price increases...

My friend just informed me that the price of petrol per litre just went up another 15 cents! I have yet to get the official news but if this is true, then this is the second time this year that the govt. increases the price. What's going on here??

I am no political pundit nor I profess to be an economic analyst, but doesn't this sounds too much? Surely this increase will creep into the prices of other things as well...

Oh well, guess I have to fork out extra dollar for my latte then...

Under construction

This blog site is under construction - will be back soon.


Update: 30 June 2005 (5:00 pm)
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testing... testing...

Hey... I'm on the air.... HI!