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A weblog about life / politics/ impressions of Malaysia through the eyes of a foreigner




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Monday 30 June, 2008
25 Jumada al-Thanni 1429AH

A weblog by Albert. From my home in Yan Kedah. I reside here since 1992. See here to know where Yan is.

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 On a trip - by @lbert
  Posted:27/02/2007 - 17:07 - in category: travel abroad
I will be in Indonesia from tomorrow till 20th of March, so probably no much postings.
I will pass by the new mudlake in Sidoardjo near Surabaya, and will visit Bantul near Yogya where the last earthquake took its toll.
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 Bye bye Gurney Drive - by @lbert
  Posted:27/02/2007 - 17:05 - in category: Penang
Since i am a few days in Penang before going to Indonesia, i though i have a look at Gurney Drive after all the renovations.
Millions spend but the sea in front is now a stinking dirty mud flap without tide.
Rubbish all around strewn all around, a real tourist attraction!
Cause the brainless development in Tanjung Tokong (reclamation) without a proper environmental impact check.
As usual only money counts for Koh Tsu Kun and his clique......the rest they give a shit.
High time they get voted out in the next elections!
And than the development in Tj Tokong, would you buy a house on a seafront that was hardest hit in the last tsunami?
Well i would pass...............
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 KGB in the making. - by @lbert
  Posted:21/02/2007 - 11:56 - in category: religion
Terengganu is going to create 'spy' squats.
These KGB people are supposed to spy on Muslims whether the do anything immoral.
The members can be a waitress, a hotel concierge, or whatever.
They will be rewarded for their efforts if any arrests are made.

What a world.... that wants to call itself a developed nation by 2020?
Yet they have to hire a bunch of illiterate imbeciles to spy on others?
Where the mufti of Perlis said that it is a sin to spy on others......

Well it seems there are more idiots outside Tj Rambutan than inside!
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 Calendars, calendars - by @lbert
  Posted:21/02/2007 - 11:40 - in category: general
The lunar new year made me want to find out more about various calendars. And there are plenty!
Here is summary of the most important once still used.

LUNAR CALENDAR
The beginnings of the Chinese/lunar calendar can be traced back to the 14th century B.C.
Legend has it that the Emperor Huangdi invented the calendar in 2637 B.C.
The Chinese calendar is based on exact astronomical observations of the longitude of the sun and the phases of the moon.
An ordinary year has 12 months, a leap year has 13 months.
An ordinary year has 353, 354, or 355 days, a leap year has 383, 384, or 385 days.
This is why the lunar calendar does not 'deviate' from the Gregorian calendar.
Lunar new year always falls between 21 January and 19 February

GREGORIAN CALENDAR
September 2, 1752, was a great day in the history of sleep.

That Wednesday evening, millions of British subjects in England and the colonies went peacefully to sleep and did not wake up until twelve days later.
Behind this feat was, the British Calendar Act of 1751, which declared the day after Wednesday the second to be Thursday the fourteenth.
Prior to that September evening, the official British calendar differed from that of continental Europe by eleven days.
That is, September 2 in London was September 13 in Paris, Lisbon, and Berlin.
The discrepancy had sprung from Britain's continued use of the Julian calendar, which had been the official calendar of Europe since its invention by Julius Caesar (after whom it was named) in 45 B.C.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the advancement of the calendar by 10 days and introduced a new corrective device to curb further error: century years such as 1700 or 1800 would no longer be counted as leap years, unless they were (like 1600 or 2000) divisible by 400.
The Gregorian calendar year differs from the solar year by only 26 seconds .Accurate enough for most mortals, since this only adds up to one day's difference every 3,323 years.
The gregorian calendar started with the year 1 and not the year 0.

ISLAMIC LUNAR CALENDAR
The calendar is based on the Qur'an (Sura IX, 36-37) and its proper observance is a sacred duty for Muslims. Unfortunately, the cycles of the sun and moon do not synchronize well.
A lunar year (consisting of 12 lunar cycles, or lunations, each 29� days long) is only 354 days, 8 hours long; a solar year lasts about 365� days.
After three years, a strict lunar calendar would have diverged from the solar calendar by 33 days, or more than one lunation.

The Muslim calendar is hence the only purely lunar calendar in widespread use today.
Its months have no permanent connection to the seasons. Muslim religious celebrations, such as Ramadan, may thus occur at any date of the Gregorian calendar.

As the year in the Islamic calendar is about 11 days shorter than the year in the Christian calendar, the Islamic years are slowly gaining in on the Christian years.
But it will be many years before the two coincide. The 1st day of the 5th month of C.E. 20874 in the Gregorian calendar will also be (approximately) the 1st day of the 5th month of AH 20874 of the Islamic calendar.

Years are counted since the Hijra, that is, Mohammed's emigration to Medina in AD 622. On 16 July (Julian calendar) of that year, AH 1 started (AH = Anno Hegirae = year of the Hijra).
In the year AD 2006 we have witnessed the start of Islamic year AH 1427.

Note that although only 2007-622=1385 years have passed in the Christian calendar, 1427 years have passed in the Islamic calendar, because its year is consistently shorter (by about 11 days) than the year used by the gregorian calendar.

JEWISH CALENDAR
The Jewish calendar is based on three astronomical phenomena: the rotation of the Earth about its axis (a day); the revolution of the moon about the Earth (a month); and the revolution of the Earth about the sun (a year).
The year number on the Jewish calendar represents the number of years since creation, calculated by adding up the ages of people in the Bible back to the time of creation.
However, this does not necessarily mean that the universe has existed for only 5700 years as we understand years.
The "first month" of the Jewish calendar is the month of Nissan, in the spring, when Passover occurs.
However, the Jewish New Year is in Tishri, the seventh month, and that is when the year number is increased.
2007 is the Jewish Year 5767.

BUDDHIST CALENDAR
The Buddhist calendar is used on mainland southeast Asia in the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar in several related forms.
It is a lunisolar calendar having months that are alternately 29 and 30 days, with an intercalated day and a 30-day month added at regular intervals.
Its lunisolar intercalation system generally adds seven extra months (adhikamasa) every 19 years and 11 extra days (adhikavara) every 57 years, but this is only a rough guide to the results of the actual calculations.
There are differences in the start of year 0 per country.
The official Thai calendar theyear, however, is counted from the Buddhist Era (B.E.), which is 543 years earlier than the Christian Era (A.D.).
Thus 2007 is 2007 + 543 on the that calendar is 2550.

Sources: various websites + wikipedia
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 Call your overseas friends! - by @lbert
  Posted:15/02/2007 - 19:18 - in category: internet / computers
You want to call your overseas friends?
You can now, from your fixed line to any fixed line anywhere.
To almost all European countries + US + many more you can call for free with a limit of 5 hours per day!.
Where? Here!
They charge you a connection cost of 3.9 Eurocents, if the country is free, the rest is free. Countries like Indonesia cost 1/6 to 1/10th of what Telekom charges!
The quality of calls is good, i even (mis)use it to send faxes!
You will only need your computer to dial, the rest goes to you house phone.
All you need is pay 10 Euro for 1 year connections (5 Euro charge). All calls will be deducted from the 5 Euro's remaining. I have spend hours talking to friends and family in Europe, and use it for business calls to indonesia, where it even works on phonebanking......
Voipbuster is a lot cheaper than Skype which recently raised its prices.
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 Happy New Year - by @lbert
  Posted:15/02/2007 - 19:01 - in category: general
Wishing all of you a happy Chinese New Year, and a very prosperous year of the boar!
Those who do not celebrate new year, enjoy your long holiday.




Please drive carefully already more than enough people dead on the malaysian roads!

I have a nice break and celebrate CNY with some friends and will enjoy all the great food they cook.
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 Pan Asian faces in the news. - by @lbert
  Posted:15/02/2007 - 11:05 - in category: politics Malaysia
Read this article in the Khaleej Times Online, written by Farish A.Noor.
It ridicules the silly ideas of Malaysia's Jozef Goebbels.

After reading that read from the same newspaper Malaysian news agency launched.
The same Jozef G. complaining about misconseptions and perceptions.

The Khaleej Times is a UAE newspaper in English (online).
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 Shame,shame,shame - by @lbert
  Posted:15/02/2007 - 08:40 - in category: general
3 days into Ops Sikap and the number of death on Malaysian roads is 55 !!
Shameful. It simply proves that penalties are not high enough.
Speeding should be penalized according to the speed (every km to fast RM 20 or so)
Overtaking on double lines should carry a fine of at least RM 1000,-. Now double lines are road decorations.
Same for beating red light (in Europe a criminal act) should carry a sky high fine of minimum RM 1000-

Motor bike fines also should be tripled or quadrupled. These monkeys drive like idiots. Overtaking on double lines, overtake left or right no one cares. At night they drive by the hundreds without tail light.

The way police acts now just giving 300- compounds will never solve anything, repeat offenders (say 3 speed tickets in 3 month) should have their license pulled for 6 month.
Educate they government will say, well that won't work they know they are wrong but they still give a shit!
Pain in the wallet that is the medicine, especially if you let them pay on the spot cash!

Please drive carefully and do not turn Malaysian Roads into roads plastered with dead bodies!
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 Spin, spin, spin - by @lbert
  Posted:14/02/2007 - 10:22 - in category: politics Malaysia
Some people say to me why do you stay in this country you have nothing good to say.
Well i said plenty of good things about the country and its people, i love the country, it is just that its leaders and politicians are such a disgrace (not to say a bunch of robbers)!
And the fact that people tolerate this already so long.

Just read the papers they are talking abound a 1 trillion mark? Well adding up imports and exports says nothing....
What sticks is how much money did the country really make, that is what counts the rest is omong k.
NST and Star are doing their best to make the people feel good, but the people feel the crunch in their wallets.
Shops complain about bad business, lots of empty shoplots everywhere. But you have to feel good.
This country has a 2nd finance minister who in his days with Bank Negara was responsible for 27.0 billion losses (that would be now 50+ billion), and no one ever explained anything.
This guy has to let you feel good....mind you.

Another feel good thing...the economy is not growing it is actually thrinking on a year by year basis. Treasury predicts that economy will go down by 5%+ in 2007, do you still feel good?
KLCI is propped up only by buying index linked shares (national service for some?).
But short selling is allowed so they can make a killing when the market crashes!
Low liners on the KLSE all lag behind and dont move. So the whole 'uptrend' to 1200+ is a fake balloon. Do you still feel good?

You want some reading about the feel good factor?
Read Malaysia Unplugged, Reuters,.
Do not forget Aisehman, and a comment in Malaysia Kini.

After reading all this, you still feel good?
Add to all this, polluted rivers everywhere, takes billions to clean up the mess.
Flood problems (and drought) due to unsustainable expansion of cities without any environment impact planning.
Devastation due to over logging, illegal logging and encroachment into nature reserves.
No more available space for rubbish dumping, no planning for recycling, just lip service.
Not a single law in this country is respected, action is only taken when need arises.

Well do you still feel good??
Go and enjoy your Chinese New Year holiday and the entry into the year of the boar (pig).
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 Did you know... - by @lbert
  Posted:13/02/2007 - 15:10 - in category: politics Malaysia
Did you know that this country that calls itself caring, and promotes Islam Hadari, still denies the rights of refugees.
Until now Malaysia refused to sign the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 ("1951 Refugee Convention") and the 1967 Protocol pertaining to refugees ("1967 Protocol").
And Malaysia now is one of the few countries left that did not underwrite the rights of refugees.
Malaysia boleh!
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 Showing off... - by @lbert
  Posted:11/02/2007 - 20:58 - in category: general
Showing off for business.
This is something that always amazes me in Malaysia.
One or other lousy contractor gets a small contract, first thing he does.... buy a new car.
An insurance agent seems to 'need' a 100.000+ car at least to impress his customers.
A small contractor needs at least a Merc of 250.000 or a big fat petrol slurping 4 wheel drive.
Some people can live in a house of wood and zinc but still drive around in a 200.000 car.
I absolutely do not see the sence of all this showing off as it will cost you a fortune and divert lots of money from your business to a bank loan!

In europe if a contractor would show up at my place for an offer and i notice he is driving around in a very expensive car, for sure i absolutely will not pick this contractor, as he must be screwing me in order to pay for his car.
But in Malaysia they say the contractor is successful (what a rubbish!)
The same goes for the real estate agent, the insurance agent and you name it.
You want to get the job in europe? Better drive a 2nd hand, or something simple, your chances are a lot bigger.

But in this country the money seems to be unlimitted.
House on a loan, car(s) on a loan, credit cards 2 or 4, furniture from Courts.
I wonder what is left for food and the children....
Just a loose observation about the life in Malaysia.
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 Palm Oil an Eco-Nightmare? - by @lbert
  Posted:10/02/2007 - 09:32 - in category: environment
I found this article in the NY Times and some interesting data on the mono culture palm plantations.
Of course american write ups on palm oil are allways biased because they want soy bean on to be the number 1.
But this article uses european data.
Read it, it might spell doom......

Photo NY Times/Reuters

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 Another record.... - by @lbert
  Posted:09/02/2007 - 13:54 - in category: politics Malaysia
Great another record set, the exports surpassed 1 trillion mark.
GDP rose by 5.6% they say...
Yes great but all inflated figures!
How much has the REAL inflation been in the past say 3 years?
So all these figures are blown up by inflation!!
REAL inflation without figure-fucking, well i bet it is way above 15%.
Petrol went up by 150%
Food went up by 20-25%
Even cat fish size ikan-kembong costs 7- a kilo.
Tomato's go for RM 5- on the pasar here
Clothing i don't know, i buy in Indonesia.
Now the Ringgit is rising, do we see any reduction in price of imported items like milk, milk powder, cheese and so on?
NO not at all they rather reduce the contents of the packets some more in order to grab more profit.
Where are the figures on the national debt? (Also without figure fucking)
None are available, if some are available they stink just as much as the Bumi share in the economy.
But in Bolehland it is partying again, all is well, come lets have another Airbus to ferry the PM.

Well keep on dreaming and dont forget to use your credit card.
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 War Crimes?? - by @lbert
  Posted:08/02/2007 - 09:40 - in category: general
Dr M's West bashing gala party is to much.
What does he want to achieve? Well he will not achieve anything.
Of course there is a lot of opposition against the American/British invasion of Iraq.
And of course high time these Americans and British go back to their own country.
But "Expose War Cries - criminalise War" is nothing else than West bashing which Mahathir loves.

I have heard nothing about Dafour, where an Islamic regime is killing thousands of its citizens.
I did not hear any condemnation of bin Laden, the mass murderer of innocent people.
I did not hear about Iran who killed several hundred thousand Iraqi people,
and was sending its kid soldiers to the front with the key to heaven around their necks.
I did not hear about Somalia, Afghanistan where mullah's used to kill civilians for the most ridiculous reasons.
Was Sadam Hussein such a noble person, dont make me puke...
Mahathir just hates Bush and Blair and the australian bush man, so he got his chance to show it again.

A few years back Mahathir called Malaysiakini journalists 'traitors' now Malaysiakini and bloggers are getting red carpet treatment, because the present government treats him like he treated others before.

Mahathir only showed that he might lose some hairs, but not his tricks.
All the money spent on this conference is simply a waste.
And in 1-2 month time, the whole thing is totally forgotten.
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 Penang land reclamation. - by @lbert
  Posted:07/02/2007 - 12:53 - in category: environment
The Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) wants the Penang government to carry out a comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) study before land reclamation projects are carried out in the state.

And they are RIGHT!
Land reclamation can have an environmental impact which is sometimes miles and miles away from the reclamation site.

Let me give you a sample:
When years ago the piers of amsterdams harbor entrance were extended by i think some 500 meters, the impact was 60 km (YES 60 km) away in The Hague where the whole beach suddenly disappeared, and now they are forced to suck up tons of sand every 2 years in order to create a beach and protect the land!

But in Penang everything is based on money, no one gives a fuck about impact, just $$ counts. This mentality is going to cost them deer one day.
Furthermore most of the reclamations planned now are in order to build expensive appartments in front of other apartments (so destroy their view), just for the sake of money.
One reclamation is already idle for god knows how long, the one next to chinese boys swimming club, in tj bunga, because the club took the developer to court.
And justice takes ages in Malaysia.

If they are going to build a second link to Penang (God knows why they need one...), they better do a proper impact study, otherwise areas miles away might be affected lateron, and repairworks might cost billions!
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 Anwar grilled on press freedom and more. - by @lbert
  Posted:07/02/2007 - 11:06 - in category: politics Malaysia
Read this interesting piece by Susan Loone on an interview with Anwar Ibrahim, because not a word of it will appear in Malaysia's FREE press.

Go here
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 Deeper and deeper... - by @lbert
  Posted:05/02/2007 - 16:03 - in category: politics Malaysia
This country and especially some ministers are pulling this country deeper and deeper into shit.
Semi Value had the guts to say angry that all the highway contracts belonged under the OSA so the water contracts.
Well these contract are made on behalf of the people, so called for the people, and the people are are paying out their guts to get these ridiculous contracts honored.
Besides the do not fit into the descriptions given in the OSA.
I hope this case will really be fought out to the highest court in Malaysia, to test the OSA, this is a law that limits any transparency.
And well Semi Value is as transparent as you want, you simply can predict what this nut case is going to say. High time for him to buy new shoes and disappear to india, this guy is not a Malaysian, its a moron.
Well if they take it to court the government is going to loose for sure.

On top of that you read that dr M is or will nominated for the Nobel Price for Peace.
The biggest joke ever, this antisemite never uttered a word during the Iraq Iran war, never anything about Somalia or Dafour.......

Malaysia 50 years of Nation breaking.
50 Tahun Negaraku GAGAL Gemilang
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 Thaipusam 2007 - by @lbert
  Posted:01/02/2007 - 12:41 - in category: travel Malaysia
Last night i went to the Waterfall Temple in Penang. Thousands and Thousand were there too. All in all a very colorful spectacle all the Indian woman in their colorful sari's and the small once on their best.
I went up to the temple where all the milk is poured. But to crowded to take any proper picture.
Some pics i took i show here.

Smashing of hundreds of coconuts.


Isn't this sari a great color? + Piercing the body of a devotee, under shouting 'vel,vel!'.

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