Flasher

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

BookSmart or StreetSmart?

SPM results are out, STPM results are due too. Major newspaper has highlighted that numerous students done extremely well scoring a string of A1's. Some not so pretty news are those of depressed students that didn't do well for the exams, some jumped off buildings, some broke down emotionally, some took it very hard. This doesn't end at the students themselves, most often their parents are also emotionally involved during these times. Parents of student that gotten a string of A1 and a less grade for a subject would ask how come so careless and not work a bit harder etc... But is it that important?

In the past, getting straight A's is indeed an amazing feat but today, its just a norm or nothing great to shout about. Why is that so?
Are out future generation getting smarter?
Has the standard of education dropped?

Education minister of Malaysia is sending his children to other countries for further studies!!!
What has the above statement meant? Even our very own education minister do not believe that local education is good enough for his children what more for the public. Education no doubt is the very first stepping stone to securing a well paid job/career but is it the utmost important thing in one's life?

I do believe that everyone is born for a reason and we are equal. nobody is more superior that others. Everyone of us has their own distinctive qualities that make us unique. No two individuals are alike be it twins or strangers. We should not compare with each other but instead to learn from one another of their better qualities. Some people might be good at learning thru books but others are good at learning thru hardwork. One must not be despair because of some standard that is man made to gauge our intellectual.

I'm sure by not doing well in studies, one can excel in life once you've decided on what you're going to pursue in your life. There's a saying 'Every line/occupation has their own masters' meaning that no matter what industry/thing you do in life, you can be a master with sheer hardwork and motivation.

Take a moment to think about this given scenario in recent environment. Companies can only afford to pay so much for a job opening that has such a vast market of graduates.
Applicant A: PHD holder.
Applicant B: Cert holder.
If a company were to hire someone for a given job that both qualifies, who do you think the company will hire?
I'm sure most of you will say Applicant A.
Why? A is much more educated than B, thus making A a more suitable candidate.

Let's think from the company's point of view.
By hiring A, how long will A stay in the company? No doubt A over qualifies but in the long run, B will be more subtle to leave compared to A since other company's are also looking to take in better Applicants. Company nowadays aren't willing to part with a large salary just because you're good but because the market is overflooded with graduates that will be more than willing to gobble up the offer. Graduates are always looking for their ideal starting work thus are more demanding than their less educated counterparts, thus the unemployment rate of graduates rises.

So to those that didn't do well in their education, don't worry. You still got a lot of future in front of you...

Love II

Learn to love the people who are with you at present. Forget the
people in the past and thank them for hurting you, which led you to love
the people you have right now.

When you love someone, you'll do crazy things you can't explain, you'll
deny the truth and believein lies. When you love someone, you sacrifice,
give everything you've got and don't think twice. You risk it all no matter
what. Everything in life is temporary because everything changes. That is
why it takes courage to love, knowing it might end anytime...having faith
will make it last.

Friends are not the one who laugh when you laugh and cry when you cry. They
are the ones who make you laugh and stop you from crying. Love is the
feeling we fall in and out of, and everytime we fall off, we learn to hold
on tighter...hoping that next time, we may never have to let go.

They say when love knocks at your door, open it. But do you know that
sometimes love enters through the back door and before you begin to notice
it, it's on it's way out.

Have you ever loved only to let it go?..
Have you ever hated someone and loved him so?..
Have you ever missed someone so bad it made you cry?
Have you ever seen someone left alone without knowing why? ..

True: Lucky is the man who wins the first love of a woman but luckier is
the woman who wins the lastlove of a man.

Love is not the right word to say when you feel guilty nor the right word
to say when you like a person but love really matters when we share our
thoughts, our minds, and our hearts...

Life has a way of changing things but not the joy that friendship brings,
for friendship is like the shining moon, makes each night a brighter one.

Love is not for beauty or color of the skin, but for a heart that is loyal
within, for beauty fades and the skin would grow old but a heart that is
loyal will never turn cold.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them for
they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious
to whom you open your heart.

A love is easy to feel, so hard to explain; so easy to get, so hard to let
go; so easy to spell, so hard to define...and yet everyone is still taking
the risk.
That's love !

We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find
someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and
fall in love in mutual weirdness and call it LOVE!

Never be afraid to fall in love. It may hurt a lot, it may give you aches
and pain, but if you don't follow your heart; in the end you will cry even
more for not giving love a chance.

Don't run ahead of God. Let Him direct your steps. He has plans and He has
His time. God's clock is never one minute early nor one minute late. It
always strikes right on time.

If someone loves you, love them back not only because they love you, but
also because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes
to things you have never seen or felt without them.

The past is meant to be used as a tool for the future. Bad experiences
indeed make you bitter but the lessons learned should make you better.

On letting go: it hurts to see someone you love happy with somebody else;
but wouldn't it hurt you more to see that person unhappy...with you?

When you find arms that will hold you at your weakest, eyes that will see
you at your ugliest, lips that will kiss you in both instances, and a heart
that will love you at your worst, then you have found true love.

Someday, someone might come into your life and love you in a way you always
wanted.
If your someday was yesterday.. LEARN
If your someday is tomorrow.. HOPE
If your someday is today.. CHERISH.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Cost of Dying?

Everyone's been all hyped out about how our daily living expenses has gone up, petrol increase, inflation etc, but has anyone given any thought of the cost of dying? Death has been a taboo to a lot of people but to me, its just another path that all of us are bound to take be it early or late. How prepared are we all to face death?

Little known to everyone that the cost to die is rather expensive. Yes although its a ONE TIME COST :P but we still have to prepare for it. What will happen to your loved ones after you've departed. Will they be all right? Who's going to feed them? Are they capable to survive without you? So many questions are there to be answered.... Some might think that having an insurance policy would be enough to cover or will it? To my understanding, a typical chinese funeral would cost from a few thousand into the 5 digit zone depending on how lavish and how many nights of ceremony is being held, burial land/altar space, coffin money, etc.. all adds up to a lot. If we were to utilize lavish service for example Nirvana Memorial Services, these cost can reach the sky if you can afford them.

With those thoughts in mind, are we truely prepared to die? Some people might think that by dying, mortal problems can be solved just like that, but don't you think that these people are selfish? They only think of themselves and not those around them. They not only burden their loved ones with these cost but also left them without any reasoning. Everything in life has a solution be it great or small, hard or easy. Why choose the easy way out and burden everyone else?

So before opting for an easy way out of life, try thinking of the above before DYING!!!

Monday, March 13, 2006

Love

If you're afraid to love a person because of friendship, you have two
choices: either tell what you feel and let the love take place or hide the
feeling under a friendship full of pretensions.

It's hard for two people to love each other when they live in two different
worlds but when these two worlds collide and become one, that's what you
call magic! Love can never be so beautiful without friendship. One leads to
another and the process is irreversible. The best of lovers is the greatest
of friends! I like you because you're my friend, and because you are my
friend I care, and because I care, I love you.


I don't love you because you are my friend, I love you because I do.
Sometimes I've asked myself, what would make me happy? To think that I have
everything else, I get what I want. Then I realized it was YOU, too bad
'cause it's you I can't have. I can't choose who I'm gonna love, but I also
can't just love who chooses to love me. And you can't blame me in choosing
to love you as much as I can't blame you for not learning to love me.


I'm sorry if you can't love me the way you loved the one before me, so I'll
let you go find him/her and hope someday you'll see that the one true love
you're looking for was the one who set you free.


"How can I say goodbye to someone I never had? Why do tears fall for
someone who was never mine? Why is that I miss someone I was never with and
I ask why I love someone who's love was never mine? "Isn't it funny we're
trying to catch the attention of the one we think we love; we hardly notice
the one we're really looking for was just there. You don't notice them
'till they are in the arms of someone else.


Food for thought, think of this: Have you really cared for someone more
than you expected? Have you ever tried to love him/her despite of all the
pain? Will you keep on loving him/her as he/she whispers someone else's
name? Will you? It's better to lose your pride with someone you love rather
than lose that someone you love with your useless pride.


When you love someone, don't expect that person to love you back the same
amount. One of you will be ahead, the other behind. It's either you catch
up or the other waits. When you love, you must not accept anything in
return, for if you do, you're not loving but Investing. If you love, you
must prepare to accept pain, for if you expect happiness, you're not loving
but using. True love hears what is not spoken, and understands what is not
explained, for love doesn't work in the mouth, nor the mind, but in the
heart...


Love is like standing on wet cement, the longer you stay the harder it is
to leave and you can never go without leaving your prints behind. Don't
love a person like a flower, because a flower dies in season. Love them
like a river because a riverflows forever.


Love doesn't have to have a happy ending, 'cause love doesn't have to end
at all. Never be afraid to fall in love. It may hurt a lot, it may give you
aches and pains, but if you don't follow your heart, in the end you will
cry even more for not giving love a chance.


Love may leave your heart like shattered glass, but keep in mind that
there's someone who'll be willing to endure the pain of picking up the
pieces so you could be whole again.

Friday, March 10, 2006

Reasons for the RM0.30 pertol increase

Taken from forwarded emails.
Harga minyak sepanjang zaman.. (dalam masa 16 tahun - sejak 1990)


sebelum 90 - RM 0.89
tahun 1990 - RM 1.10 (kenaikan RM 0.21)
01/10/2000 - RM 1.20 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
20/10/2001 - RM 1.30 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
01/05/2002 - RM 1.32 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
31/10/2002 - RM 1.33 (kenaikan RM 0.01)
01/03/2003 - RM 1.35 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
01/05/2004 - RM 1.37 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
01/10/2004 - RM 1.42 (kenaikan RM 0.05)
05/05/2005 - RM 1.52 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
31/07/2005 - RM 1.62 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
28/02/2006 - RM 1.92 (kenaikan RM 0.30)

Nota : (ayat2 standard)
1. Kenaikan minyak masih rendah berbanding mana2 pun negara ASEAN.
2.Kerajaan akan pastikan kenaikan tidak membebankan
3. Kerajaan tidak mampu lagi menampung subsidi.
4. Kerajaan memberi jaminan harga runcit petroleum tidak akan dinaikkan lagi pada TAHUN INI...."

seorang muslim wrote:
Saudara,

Pertama sekali abang Perdana Menteri kita ia itu Ibrahim bin Badawi menerusi syarikatnya SkyChef menjadi supplier makanan kepada syarikat penerbangan MAS yang sekarang mengalami kerugian RM900 juta untuk sembilan bulan pertama 2005. Abang PM kita jual sebotol air mineral kepada MAS dengan harga RM30 setiap botol. Kenapa kita hairan MAS rugi ?

Menteri Besar terengganu Idris Jusoh telah mengadakan lumba kapal layer Monsoon Cup yang menelan duit rakyat sebanyak RM300.0 Juta. Duit ini di bayar kepada seorang taukeh bernama Patrick Lim dan kekawannya termasuk Khairy Jamaludin menantu Perdana Menteri. Perlumbaan kapal layar tak sampai lima hari makan duit rakyat RM300.0 Juta. Sudah tentu duit RM300.0 Juta itu ditelan oleh orang yang sungguh bertuah dapat kontrak RM300.0 Juta itu.

Untuk menutup kehilangan duit sebesar ini sekarang sabsidi minyak di potong dan harga minyak nail 30 sen satu liter.

Telekom Malaysia pula rugi lebih RM700 Juta duit rakyat sebab terpaksa bayar ganti rugi kepada syarikat telekom German ia itu Deutsche Telekom. Terpaksa bayar ganti rugi RM700 Juta sebab Telekom Malaysia tak tahu buat kontrak.
Nak tutup rugi ini pula kerajaan potong sabsidi minyak.

Sekarang lebih murah naik kapalterbang Air Asia pergi balik dari Kuala Lumpur ke Kuala Terengganu. Tambang pergi balik Air Asia dari Kuala Lumpur ke Kuala Terengganu tak sampai RM300 bagi tiga orang sekeluarga.

Air Asia diurus oleh orang yang tidak rasuah dan yang tahu buat bisnes tanpa menyusahkan rakyat.

Sekarang dengan harga minyak yang sudah naik, belanja minyak sahaja nak pergi balik dari Kuala Lumpur ke Alor Setar sudah naik hingga RM220 (kereta Proton Waja). Bayar tol pula lebih RM120. Belanja makan dan minum (nasi campur dan teh kosong) bagi sekeluarga enam orang tambah lagi RM40. Ini bermaksud jumlah belanja minyak, tol dan makan minum
pergi balik dari Kuala Lumpur ke Alor Setar hampir RM400.

Negeri lain bukan macam negara kita. Walaupun harga minyak di Thailand lebih mahal daripada harga minyak di Malaysia tapi di Thailand tak ada bayar tol.

Dari Bukit Kayu Hitam ke Bangkok jauhnya lebih 1,100 batu (bukan kilometer) naik lebuhraya enam lorong tanpa bayar TOL (bukan empat lorong macam Lebuhraya Utara Selatan kita).

Di Thailand tak ada rasuah AP. Harga kereta Honda Civic 1.5 di Thailand tak sampai RM40,000. Lebih murah daripada harga kereta Perodua Kelisa 1.0 di Malaysia. Inilah kelebihannya di Thailand- tak ada AP di sana.

Di Malaysia pula ada AP. Sebenarnya harga AP yang perlu di bayar kepada Kerajaan (MITI) tak sampai RM250 sahaja. Tapi AP boleh di jual sehingga RM40,000 sekeping kepada Dato Dato yang kaya yang di kenal sebagai "AP King". Rasuah AP ini telah berlanjutan selama lebih 30 tahun. Akhir kata rakyat Malaysia yang terpaksa tanggung rasuah AP ini.

Oleh yang demikian kereta Honda Civic 1.5 yang dijual dengan harga RM40,000 di Thailand naik harga sehingga RM110,000 di Malaysia. Rakyat Malaysia rugi. Kerajaan pun hilang wang. Bila kerajaan tak cukup wang – maka potonglah subsidi minyak. Maka naik lah harga minyak 30 sen satu liter.

Malaysia Boleh!!!!

Sekian. Salam.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Racial discriminations in Malaysia

List of racial discriminations in Malaysia, practiced by government as well as government agencies. This list is an open secret. Best verified by government itself because it got the statistics.

This list is not in the order of importance, that means the first one on the list is not the most important and the last one on the list does not mean least important.

This list is a common knowledge to a lot of Malaysians, especially those non-malays (Chinese, Ibans, Kadazans, Orang Asli, Indians, etc) who were being racially discriminated.

Figures in this list are estimates only and please take it as a guide only. Government of Malaysia has the most correct figures. Is government of Malaysia too ashamed to publish their racist acts by publishing racial statistics?

This list cover a period of about 48 years since independence (1957).

List of racial discriminations (Malaysia):

  1. Out of all the 5 major banks, only one bank is multi-racial, the rest are controlled by Malays
  2. 99% of Petronas directors are malays
  3. 3% of Petronas employees are Chinese
  4. 99% of 2000 Petronas gasoline stations are owned by malays
  5. 100% all contractors working under Petronas projects must be bumis status
  6. 0% of non-malays staffs is legally required in malay companies. But there must be 30% malays staffs in Chinese companies.
  7. 5% of all new intake for government police, nurses, army, is non-malays.
  8. 2% is the present Chinese staff in Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), drop from 40% in 1960
  9. 2% is the percentage of non-malays government servants in Putrajaya. But malays make up 98%
  10. 7% is the percentage of Chinese government servants in the whole government (in 2004), drop from 30% in 1960
  11. 95% of government contracts are given to Malays
  12. 100% all business licensees are controlled by malay government e.g. Taxi permits, Approved permits, etc
  13. 80% of the Chinese rice millers in Kedah had to be sold to Malay controlled Bernas in 1980s. Otherwise, life is make difficult for Chinese rice millers
  14. 100 big companies set up, owned and managed by Chinese Malaysians were taken over by government, and later managed by malays since 1970s e.g. UTC, UMBC, MISC, etc
  15. At least 10 Chinese owned bus companies (throughout Malaysia, throughout 40 years) had to be sold to MARA or other malay transport companies due to rejection by malay authority to Chinese application for bus routes and rejection for their application for new buses
  16. 2 Chinese taxi drivers were barred from driving in Johor Larkin bus station. There are about 30 taxi drivers and 3 are Chinese in October 2004. Spoiling taxi club properties was the reason given
  17. 0 non-malays are allowed to get shop lots in the new Muar bus station (November 2004)
  18. 8000 billions ringgit is the total amount the government channeled to malays pockets through ASB, ASN, MARA, privatisation of government agencies, Tabung Haji etc, through NEP over 34 years period
  19. 48 Chinese primary schools closed down since 1968 - 2000
  20. 144 Indian primary schools closed down since 1968 - 2000
  21. 2637 malay primary schools built since 1968 - 2000
  22. 2.5% is government budget for Chinese primary schools. Indian schools got only 1%, malay schools got 96.5%
  23. While a Chinese parent with RM1000 salary (monthly) cannot get school-text-book-loan, a malay parent with RM2000 salary is eligible
  24. 10 all public universities vice chancellors are malays
  25. 5% - the government universities lecturers of non-malay origins had been reduced from about 70% in 1965 to only 5% in 2004
  26. Only 5% is given to non-malays for government scholarships over 40 years
  27. 0 Chinese or Indians were sent to Japan and Korea under "Look East Policy"
  28. 128 STPM Chinese top students could not get into the course that they aspired i.e. Medicine (in 2004)
  29. 10% place for non-bumi students for MARA science schools beginning from year 2003, but only 7% are filled. Before that it was 100% malays
  30. 50 cases whereby Chinese and Indian Malaysians, are beaten up in the National Service program in 2003
  31. 25% is Malaysian Chinese population in 2004, drop from 45% in 1957
  32. 7% is the present Malaysian Indians population (2004), a drop from 12% in 1957
  33. 2 millions Chinese Malaysians had emigrated to overseas since 40 years ago
  34. 0.5 million Indians Malaysians had emigrated to overseas
  35. 3 millions Indonesians had migrated into Malaysia and became Malaysian citizens with bumis status.
  36. 600000 are the Chinese and Indians Malaysians with red IC and were rejected repeatedly when applying for citizenship for 40 years. Perhaps 60% of them had already passed away due to old age. This shows racism of how easily Indonesians got their citizenships compare with the Chinese and Indians
  37. 5% - 15% discount for a malay to buy a house, regardless whether the malay is rich or poor
  38. 2% is what Chinese new villages get compare with 98% of what malays villages got for rural development budget
  39. 50 road names (at least) had been change from Chinese names to other names
  40. 1 Dewan Gan Boon Leong (in Malacca) was altered to other name (e.g. Dewan Serbaguna or sort) when it was being officially used for a few days. Government try to shun Chinese names. This racism happened in around year 2000 or sort
  41. 0 temples/churches were built for each housing estate. But every housing estate got at least one mosque/surau built
  42. 3000 mosques/surau were built in all housing estates throughout Malaysia since 1970. No temples, no churches are required to be built in housing estates
  43. 1 Catholic church in Shah Alam took 20 years to apply to be constructed. But told by malay authority that it must look like a factory and not look like a church. Still not yet approved in 2004
  44. 1 publishing of Bible in Iban language banned (in 2002)
  45. 0 of the government TV stations (RTM1, RTM2, TV3) are directors of non-malays origin
  46. 30 government produced TV dramas and films always showed that the bad guys had Chinese face, and the good guys had malay face. You can check it out since 1970s. Recent years, this tendency becomes less
  47. 10 times, at least, malays (especially Umno) had threatened to massacre the Chinese Malaysians using May 13 since 1969
  48. 20 constituencies won by DAP would not get funds from the government to develop. Or these Chinese majority constituencies would be the last to be developed
  49. 100 constituencies (parliaments and states) had been racistly re-delineated so Chinese voters were diluted that Chinese candidates, particularly DAP candidates lost in election since 1970s
  50. Only 3 out of 12 human rights items are ratified by Malaysia government since 1960
  51. 0 elimination of, all forms of racial discrimination (UN Human Rights) is not ratified by Malaysia government since 1960s
  52. 20 reported cases whereby malay ambulance attendance treated Chinese patients inhumanely, and malay government hospital staffs purposely delay attending to Chinese patients in 2003. Unreported cases may be 200
  53. 50 cases each year whereby Chinese, especially Chinese youths being beaten up by malay youths in public places. We may check at police reports provided the police took the report, otherwise there will be no record
  54. 20 cases every year whereby Chinese drivers who accidentally knocked down malays were seriously assaulted or killed by malays
  55. 12% is what ASB/ASN got per annum while banks fixed deposit is only about 3.5% per annum

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Malaysia's Most Idiotic AD goes to.....

Has anyone seen the advertisment on TV of the nestle Inferno where there's this guy holding a HandPhone on 1 hand while a drumstick of the so called Inferno ice-cream on the other?

After taking a bite, the person ask an innocent bystander to help him take his wallet out of his pocket but surprise surprise, the ice-cream guy shouts "Hey what are you doing" drawing attention to the innocent person.

What's the point of the ad?
Is that an ice-cream ad or an ad that will give pickpockets an idea of how to 'scam' people.

Imagine this.. You're faced with this situation and then an accomplice of the culprit agrees that he saw you trying to pick his pocket. They would make a fuss out of it and some of us might want an easier way out by giving compensation thus indirectly helping these crooks out. If we didn't opt for easy way out, and police were to be in the picture, it will still look bad for the innocent victim as he's really caught 'red' handed.

So what is the point of the AD?