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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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Blog category: all categories. - November 2003
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 Nice retirement package - by @lbert
  Posted:28/11/2003 - 16:53 - in category: politics Malaysia
Dr M has been made advisor of Petronas.
Probably the pension money of the goverment was not big enough.
How many 100K does it bring a year??
If we talk about opening books, will it appear in the Petronas balance sheets?
Or will it be hidden.....
KLSE a job awaits you!
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 My Ramadan/Raya thoughts... - by @lbert
  Posted:28/11/2003 - 14:32 - in category: general
As an observer Ramadan always leaves me as a non Muslim with some open questions.
First of all, I thought that Ramadan was all about moderation and self-cleaning.
Than why are the markets loaded with piles of all kinds of luxury foodstuff?
Is simpel food not enough for buka puasa?
At buka puasa people stuff themselves so afterwards they even can fast for 2 days without any hunger.
Than the need for religious police chasing Muslim people who do not fast.
Isn't it so that not fasting is playing truant with once own religion?
Should this not be a personal decision. In Indonesia i have never seen or heard about this.
And in case Muslim people eat there during fasting times, no one even takes offence.
They just say that the person is a bad Muslim.
Than i see the support for the poor during the Ramadan, why are poor people only supported during Ramadan?
Don't they need any support when the Ramadan/Raya is over and the hard life starts again?
Than the run after 'duit raya' by the children, they used to be happy with 20 sen or 50 sen.
Now adays if they get less than one ringgit they don't even show gratitude.
This has turned into a greed, and has nothing to do with a small token anymore.

These were some of my observations of a fest where to my observation the moderation has disappeared, and consumerism has overtaken all.
You might say its non of your business, you are a non-muslim, but this blog is about observations...
It is more or less the same as the awfull commercialisation of Christmas, to a level where nothing is left of the Christmas thoughts and only greed remains.
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 Selamat Hari Raya - by @lbert
  Posted:24/11/2003 - 15:36 - in category: general
Wishing all Muslims a Selamat Hari Raya.
All other an ejoyable holiday!
Drive carefully and dont over eat.
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 Malaysia sales carnival... - by @lbert
  Posted:17/11/2003 - 18:50 - in category: general
Now that the prove is there that even the economic pages of the newspapers are manipulated (as if i did not know that already),
one really wonders.....
Is there anything in this country that is printed or aired that we can trust?
It seems to be all bull, and manipulated by either goverment or some people who buy editors or others.
Why do those industrial criminals go free? No one dares to grab them?
How about the KLSE? Or are they scared too, or are they on the paylist as well.
Than on top of that they buy their own datuk titles.
A datuk goes for RM 50K. How much for a Tan Sri or Tun?

Can't they sell the titles by tender? Maybe they fetch an even higher prices.
Or maybe not, they already have been devaluated to something no one respects anymore.
Why do ministers have to be a Tan Sri, or Datuk?
They are paid for the job they do and are elected too, so they better do a good job or get lost!

Well 10 more years from now and half the nation is Datuk, and the other half a Tan Sri.
Maybe than it will be fashion to be a human being again.
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 prices of palm oil - by @lbert
  Posted:12/11/2003 - 23:41 - in category: general
Just by accident i noted ceiling prices of palm oil for cooking.
500 g RM 1.85 that is per 12 kg 44.40
1 kg RM 2.50 that is per 12 kg 30.00
2 kg RM 6.25 that is per 12 kg 37.50
12 kg RM 42.00

Something is funny here 500 g is bloody expensive!
But the rest you better buy per kg as the more you buy the more expensive it is.
So leave the big bottles on the shelf!
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 The first victims... - by @lbert
  Posted:11/11/2003 - 22:41 - in category: politics Malaysia
I was hopefull, but the first ISA victims are there.
Students returning from Pakistan were arrested under the ISA. What can't they be arrested normally? If they did something wrong bring them to court!.
I know, for what reason do you go to an islamic school in Pakistan, but to my idea someone is innocent unless proven guilty.
This is just as rediculous as the Americans with their prisoners in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
They make it even worse, they think that it is rightful to hold people INDEFINITE on suspicion of terrorism.
This is really the limit, they can put people away for life because they THINK that they are terrorists.
What are the rights of a human being? Are we all subject to the whimps of goverments and their leaders?
What happened to the human rights convention Malaysia, US and a whole bunch of other so called democratic countries? And not so democratic countries (Myanmar,Laos to name a few) but from them you cannot expect else.
But those who claim to be democratic, well its a claim and thats all!
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 Malaysia not save?! - by @lbert
  Posted:09/11/2003 - 10:05 - in category: politics Malaysia
That is what Malaysia is according to the americans.
Well can we state that the US is absolutely NOT save.
In any big city muggers can put a knife in your back in order to grab a few $$.
Thats safety in the US.
And because some philipinos raid a tiny island in the northern tip of Borneo does not make the whole country unsafe.
I can imagine the American goverment wants to warn about dangers abroad, but they always have to generalise everything.
And most of the problems they create themselves by trying to be the policeman of the world.
Malaysia is definitely more save than many European and Asian countries, let be the US!
So let the US be fair and stop nagging.
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 Some shots... - by @lbert
  Posted:07/11/2003 - 15:33 - in category: Yan Kedah
Today i just want to show some nice photo's.
The first one taken during the floods a few weeks ago.
This one was taken around Teroi, 5 km from Yan. It was like danau Toba, one giant lake.













The second one was in Penang and is one of the oldest houses in Georgetown. It is part of the Mosque in Lebuh Acheh. There are several very old well preserved very old wooden houses there.









The last one is a beautifull woodcarving below the roof of a delapidated house in lebuh Armenian. Really fantastic craftsmanship!.
And please save it!

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 jack'm up loh! - by @lbert
  Posted:06/11/2003 - 21:04 - in category: politics Malaysia
Its close to raya again, and everybody starts hiking prices again.
Not even close to hari Raya and eggs already up from 18-19 sen to 22-23 sen.
Cooking oil up, because the price went up they say.
Ha ha... when the prices of minyak were rock bottom did they lower them?
No they just filled their pockets.
Surprise that no one came on the idea to create another sugar shortage.
Nice way to make some extra money.
Even the big boys (supermarkets) only know how to fill their pockets.
Carrefour / Makro are they cheap? No way, some items even more expensive than the kedai kampung.
Look in Thailand there Tesco is a real fighter.
What they need in Malaysia is a good price war between supermarkets.
One like they have in Holland at the moment.
Top's mother company Royal Ahold is trying to outdo the competition with lowering prices.
And they really slashed prices, things went down 20-30% !!
That�s what they need here, a good price war and just kill of some of the overcharging ridiculous expensive supermarkets.
I don�t have to mention their names.
And they should finally start selling first class products.
Last time i was in Carrefour the salad was half rotten and still sold for full price.
Potatoes rotten, and wet because of that and still ask for RM 2+ a kilo.
Roti peranchis used to be RM 1.00 now RM 1.60.
This is all pure highway robbery, does nobody complain?
Or do Malaysians accept this as normal.
On our local pasar where they love to sell things per 'piring' they cheat you even harder.
I checked and sawi was sold at RM 3+ a kg, tomatoes at RM 4-5.
Wow even kobis is crazy. And it looks like something on the plate, but the weight is nothing.
Some time ago i wanted to buy salad, when i heard the price i calculated, a whooping RM 10- per kg!
Only fish is reasonable because Yan has fisherman.
Seems that in the festive season everybody is walking around with $$$ eyes.
Emperor Nero was right �. Pekunia non olet��(that was when he imposed tax on public toilets J)
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 Reactions, reactionaires... - by @lbert
  Posted:05/11/2003 - 13:53 - in category: politics Malaysia
My blog bye bye dr M., drew flak from certain people.
Varying from hatemail (which i dont read) to fierce reactions.
After reading the reactions, i still have to conclude:

a. People don't read or don't read properly.
b. Certain groups can not be critizised and live in a shell.
c. Certain people are 100% brainwashed by RTM and the local newspapers and refuse to look around.

I totally cannot see when a tennure of 22 year has cost the country around 20 billion in damage, you still can say it was a great job.
Do they realize that 22 billion is more than RM 1100 per citizen (of any age)??
And it is probably just the tip of the iceberg!

Dr.M has done a perfect job in the beginning of his tennure.
But when Umno was declared illigal, and dr.M had to save his neck, he turned into an enlighted dictator.
Trusts nobody, and cannot be critizised, laws are made and recalled.
Policies make U turns in no time and so on.
Well he is gone and i consider it end of story.
Look in the future that is more important.

BUT, this is the 21st century and there is no place for soft dictators anymore.
You cannot mum the voices of opposition for ever, they are citizens as well and have their rights too!
This whether you agree with them or not.
And critics must be alowed, as critic is for the betterment.
If someone tell you what you do/did wrong you can learn from it.
If they only lick your boots, nothing changes, and that is what happend in Malaysia in the past 10+ years.

I hope for this beautifull country that the new pm will be open for critics.
And i hope on more transparency, because the carpets in Putra Jaya already have tons of dirt under them all sweeped under the carpets.
I also hope that there comes an end to all the development money going to KL/Selangor.
Up here the roads still have giant potholes.
Come to Sungai Petani and enjoy a ride there. your car is finished!
I also hope for strickt enforcement of environmental laws.
The country is everywhere slowly poisoned. The way construction is done is a hazard.
Golf courses are an environmental disaster! Factories are hazarts for the citizens.
Now Tioman needs a bigger airport, for what? Cant the tourists enjoy a boatride from Mersing?
Tioman is gonna be another Langkawi, over developped and not worth visiting anymore.
That is why Thailand draws 10x more tourists than Malaysia.
They know how to preserve (more or less).
At least tourist areas have an atmosphere.
I will make a blog about that one day.
Garbish is a hopeless problem in Malaysia. It is everywhere around you.
People just throw it out of the car window, tak apa...
It is this tak apa culture that is the biggest rot.
See a market place when the market is finished, terrible!

KL has enough towers and toll roads/monorails and whatever.
When do we get pothole free roads? A connection to streamyX, and permission to watch TV via a parabola (not the Astro shit)
And i have to say, that my area Yan is under PAS now.
Well they are not my piece of cake, BUT in the 3 years they run the daerah Yan if have seen more improvement than i have seen in the 8++ years Barisan did it.
Drains are cleaned, grass cut, roads maintained, garbish collected, proper street lights, new market area.
Of course everything within the limits of the budget.
At least the money goes where it has to go.
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 Whats cooking - by @lbert
  Posted:01/11/2003 - 23:53 - in category: TV
Tonight i watched the Iron Chef on NTV7.
Amazing what those people can cook in one hours time.
Decorations are really fantastic.
A worthy replacement for The Naked Chef which was unjustified banned by TV3.
Jamie's cooking was not halal so cannot be shown on Malaysian TV even after banned to 00.30.
And than to think that the naked chef is amazing popular in Europe, and Jamie's books are selling like hot cakes.
But you cannot show spare ribs on Malaysian TV.
Well i just hope that they 'censor' the iron chef on the cooking ingredients, before they ban it too.
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