Time For Bumiputeras To Compete On Level Playing Field

Suria KLCC - which proudly carries the tagline "Always Something New" That's why tenants are required to remodel their premises every 2 to 3 years to give the swanky mall a fresh look. Do we want Suria to turn into an Arked MARA if bumiputera tenants had their way?

I’m a Malay. A bumiputera. Naturally, I would like to see my people succeed in whatever they do, to be at par with other races especially when it comes to business and getting a bigger slice of the country’s economic pie.

But I’m really sad. I’m sad because after 50 years of independence, my fellow Bumiputera Malaysians still require the virtual crutches provided by the powers that be, to survive in a world which is becoming more and more globalised.

Take the recent outcry by Juhaidi Abdullah, the owner of Kelantan Delights Restaurant whom formerly traded at Suria KLCC, the nation’s premier world class shopping establishment, as an example.

He claims that Suria KLCC’s management enforced Draconian policies which “squeezed” and “intimidated” bumiputera tenants at the mall. He claims that he was forced out of business from Suria KLCC because he refused to agree to the ridiculous rental rates increase imposed by the mall and also for not agreeing to renovate his premises as required in the new tenancy agreement. He claimed Suria KLCC did not give room at all for negotiations. And the list goes on and on.

First, his predicament was highlighted and championed by a major Malay daily which created the issue as follow-up to a previous similar case also involving another bumiputera tenant who claimed they were “victimized” by Suria KLCC (the frachise holders of Levi’s / Dockers). And then the issue cooled down after 3 or 4 stories were published by the newspaper.

Apparently, Juhaidi was not satisfied and decided to seek the sympathy of another media organization – this time around, a major private television station. The first story was aired on 31st August 2007, the day we celebrated our 50th year of independence. And true enough, the station decided to angle the story of Kelantan Delights’ plight in the direction of bumiputera entrepreneurs whom were still being “colonized” by a foreigner running the shopping mall.

The story was so lame, if you ask me. If I was the producer of the news bulletin, I would have angled the story like this – “After 50 years of independence, why do bumiputera entrepreneurs still require special treatment? Can’t they now survive on a level playing field? Don’t they think it’s time to put away the crutches for good?” Something like that. But no, they just had to angle the story in a manner which would make other races in this country look down on bumiputeras, on the Malays.

What does Juhaidi expect Suria KLCC to do? To give him a discount on rental rates and exempt him from doing renovations on his restaurant? What would the other tenants say? Juhaidi should bear in mind that Suria KLCC is not Arked MARA or Kompleks UDA or some such premises established with the sole purpose of helping out bumiputera entrepreneurs. Suria KLCC is a world class shopping mall and it must be managed in a manner which befits its status as an international shopping establishment at the bottom of the world’s tallest twin towers housing one of the seven most influential oil and gas companies in the world.

To me, the success of Suria KLCC mirrors the success of its parent holding company which I need not mention here. Doesn’t it occur to us that this particular company in question has achieved what it has achieved today, being the only Malaysian company in the Fortune 500 list, because of excellent management and best business practices, without fear or favour? And let’s not forget, the people at the helm of the company are bumiputeras. The success of that company is also the nation’s success and we as Malaysians actually get the benefit through billion ringgit repayments back to the government which in turn distributes the wealth back to us. Only we don’t realize it.

So, to Juhaidi and his supporters, please think again. If you’re not up to it, then you don’t actually have what it takes to be a global champion. Not yet.

Let Everyone Read Or Don't Blog At All

Folks, I'm back after a "I lost track of how long" hiatus. Hehehe. First and foremost, I must apologise to my regular readers - Sab of Australia, Cheekysmile of Kajang and Raffie of Ampang for the rather prolonged absence from my blog. Bukannya tak nak post new stuff, I just didn't have the time with all the events which I was involved in, one way or another, organised by my Fortune 500 company in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th Merdeka celebrations.

Ini pun there is one last event before the fasting month which is gonna happen next week, on 12th September 2007. The official prize giving ceremony of a major contest organised by my company in conjunction with what else, Merdeka.

Anyway, since I'm back in the saddle, I thought I'd discuss about what I'm doing right now - blogging. It seems more and more people, I mean, people that I know (friends, colleagues relatives, acquaintances, enemies) have started their own blogs or I discovered that they do actually have blogs. Which is a good thing actually.

But here's the thing. Kalau nak blog tu, let everyone read. If not, don't waste your time. Bloggers who actualy "block" certain people from reading their blogs are cowards. That's why I hate bloggers who use Multiply as their blog interface. Multiply enables bloggers to determine who can or cannot read their stuff. Most of the time, for bloggers like them, they require you to be in their network. And to be in the network, you are at their mercy. Meaning, if he or she allows you to be in the network, then you can read their blog. If not, you can carry your sorry ass to other more accomodating blogs.

To me there's no such thing as "eyes only" or "for private viewing only" in cyberspace. The fact that you chose to blog means that you should be prepared to let other eyeballs read your musings. The impression people get if you block them from reading your posts is that you are high and mighty. Poorah, ingapoo!

Okaylah, maybe I'm a bit prejudice on one or two individuals. Heck, make that one individual. Some of you may say - "So, what, it's his/her blog, he/she can do whatever he/she wants to do." Yeah, I guess there is a certain spark of truth to it. Like the 60s song by Lesley Gore "It's My Party". You know, the song that goes like this : "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to."

Yeah, yeah, point taken.

But still, I firmly believe, bloggers should make their writings public property. Have the balls like Ahiruddin Atan (Rocky's Bru) or Raja Petra Kamaruddin (Malaysia Today). Kalau tidak, setakat syok sendiri aje buat apa, betul tak? Tak ada maknanya!!!

Park Properly, Please!

I went to Suria KLCC with my wife and kids today, just to spend some quality time with them before another tough week at work begins. I bought a pair of new shoes (50% off), and my wife got some stuff as well, namely Adidas, Converse, Seed and Cultivate from Isetan. (Sigh..) Surprisingly, my daughters didn't demand anything. My eldest daughter just bought some Barbie stickers and my youngest daughter was happy enough exhausting all my coins for the Barney, Bananas In Pajamas and Thomas & Friends rides.

Anyway, after spending close to 4 hours there, I was just relieved to go home and spend my remaining Sunday hours lazing around (zzz zzz to be more precise). But when we reached our car at Level P2 of KLCC's basement car park, we were suprised to see a metallic silver BMW 3 series parked next to my Honda Civic in a very, very uncivilised manner / position. The Beemer took up a quarter of my parking bay and it was about an inch apart from the port-side (left side) of my car. It was almost impossible for my wife and kids to get in from that side. In the end, we had to put the kids in the car first from the starboard-side (right side) of my car before my wife entered, and that too after I moved my Honda out of our bay (even that took an effort and extra careful maneouvering to ensure my car didn't brushed with the Beemer). Anyway, once my wife was safely in the car and the kids buckled up safe and sound in the rear seats, I disembarked to put in my youngest daughter's Graco stroller in the boot. The stroller was still in my parking bay. I folded the stroller neatly and expertly, something which I've done for the past 6 years. And at the last possible moment, before I put it away in the boot, I swung the rather bulky stroller towards the Beemer's left side mirror, shattering it to pieces. The Beemer's alarm immediately came to life and the whole of Level P2 car park was given a free car alarm recital, compliments of me. Even my wife was suprised. "Was that necessary?!," she exclaimed. I said "Yes. Dah parking macam celaka, itu aje ubatnya." ("Yes. Since it's parked like shit, that's the only remedy.") I drove off without even a pinch of guilt. I see it as leverage. You see, for far too long, me and my wife have become victims of such ignorant and irresponsible drivers. Twice my wife's car was dented as a result of a hit and run - once at our very own housing area and the other at Mid Valley Megamall. My Honda Civic's right side mirror was nearly damaged because a speeding motorbike (kapcai) which was in the midst of zig-zagging (ciloking) its way through KL's afternoon traffic. Enough was enough. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

You see, this is exactly the problem with Malaysian drivers. I'm not saying that I'm a saint or a vicar when it comes to driving, but at least I try to be a good, considerate and responsible driver. Let's take parking for example where Malaysian drivers are famous for being notorious. I'll give you a classic example of how kiasu they can be. Ever noticed the forever jam-packed Jalan Ampang near Menara Citibank because of errant drivers double-parking (sometimes even triple-parked) their cars while they run off to pay their Citibank credit card? I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I simply don't understand why they must contribute more congestion to the already traffic-choked Jalan Ampang by illegally parking at the bank's kerb when they is AMPLE, I REPEAT AMPLE parking space at the basement of the building???? And it would only cost them RM1, again I repeat, RM1. And these people are actually driving Mercedes Benz, Beemers, Toyota Camry and even Porsche!!! Cheapskate and kiasu - hook, line and sinker. And they are actually suckers for not parking at the basement because if you park less than 5 minutes, it's free of charge. I know because each time I go to Menara Citibank to pay my credit card, I don't have to pay because I spend less than 5 minutes at the banking hall - Citibank makes available so many cash deposit machines, you hardly have to queue. By parking your car illegally at the kerb outside, you risk your car being towed away by City Hall's towing contractors. Now that will cost you RM300 to reclaim your car and you have to go all the way to City Hall's Car Pound in Jinjang. My friend who drives a Beemer painfully learned his lesson. Padan muka!

Another kiasu car parking scene is at Giant Supermarket Bukit Antarabangsa which is attached to a PETRONAS service station. To me, PETRONAS has built a well-planned and well-designed service station complete with basement parking to serve its customers, mainly because of Giant. But suprise, suprise, everyone wants to park at the roadside and even triple park in the service station area (most of the time near the petrol pump islands) just because they want faster and easier access to the main entrance of Giant! Now, how stupid can that be when all you have to do is cruise down to the huge basement parking, park nicely and just take the bloody elevator one floor up to Giant? Kenapa lah dia orang ni semua bangang sangat, hah??

Sometime I just wish my Honda Civic came factory-fitted with a GAU-17 Gatling machine gun and Side-Winder missiles so that I can blow these "inconsiderate parkers" to kingdom come. Such idiots. If they had their way, they might even want to park their cars inside the supermarket. My fingers are itching to pull the trigger already....

Price War Always Good For Consumers

The Much Anticipated, Much Awaited 7th and Final Instalment of the Harry Porter Saga

I simply don’t understand why the four major bookstore chains in Malaysia – MPH, Times, Popular and Harris are crying foul over Tesco’s and Carrefour’s move to sell the much-awaited “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” novel at RM69.90, a discount of RM40 from the recommended retail price of RM109.90.

This is actually a major triumph for Malaysian consumers whom were forced to content with over-priced imported books by such bookstore chains for far too long. This is a lesson to the bookstore chains. A tight slap to their face. Even the Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal lauded the move by the British and French hypermarkets respectively. Enough said.

And to those who say they were disappointed and upset at the hypermarkets’ move to sell at RM69.90 which they claimed devalued the book – get a brain scan. Something is really wrong with your heads. Who in their right frame of mind would want to pay more when they know they could get the same stuff at RM40 cheaper?

To the bookstore chains, welcome to the free market. Let us hope this trend of price war would continue for the benefit of all consumers. May the best retailer win. Bravo Tesco and Carrefour!

Friendship Fallouts - Dealing With It

For those of you who have been following this blog from day one, you may have noted in my very first post that I promised this blog (which replaced "Oh For Crying Out Loud") would not have any lovey dovey, kissey smoochy, sappy soapy tales.

But just for today, I want to discuss something which most of us may have experienced before - friendship fallout.

Nothing prepares you for the day you realize a close friendship is over. Whether it's been suddenly destroyed by an act of betrayal or dies slowly of benign neglect, few life changes are as unforgettable and regrettable as learning that your main girl buddy whom you just knew you could count on, no longer regards you as one of her top ten companions in her list. In fact, you're out of the list. For good. There is no list anymore.

Often the hardest part is accepting it and moving on. There's no shortage of smart advice on how to recover when a love affair ends. But how do you process the pain when a best girlfriend breaks your heart? Who do you turn to for advice when your ace boon and number one confidante--who always had solutions for you--has now become the problem?

"Developmental issues are the main reason for friendship fallout," explains Marlene F. Watson, Ph.D., Director of Couples and Family Therapy at Drexel University in Philadelphia. "What you used to have in common changes. Maybe your friend gets married, or she becomes a mother, so the two of you no longer socialize because she doesn't have time for that sort of thing anymore."

Funny and ironic that I stumbled across Dr. Watson's views on this issue while Googling in the Internet. What she said was what I actually experienced. Only difference was that my girl buddy was already married with a kid and she started giving me the cold shoulder when she was pregnant with her second kid. Eventually, the friendship fell apart. Well, what to do. You win some, you lose some. I'm done weeping and mourning over this. I'm over it now. I think. I hope.

Anyway, I still bump into her occassionally because we work in the same company. Most of the time, she just looks away and avoid my stare at all cost. I must have done something really bad to her to be accorded such treatment. If she happens to read this - I still think you're wonderful.

Well, que sera sera, whatever will be will be. In the meantime, here's Rossa's Terlalu Cinta for all of us who had to face friendship fallouts.

Terlalu Cinta - Rossa Music and Lyrics

Terlalu Cinta - Rossa Jangan dekat atau jangan datang kepadaku lagi Aku semakin tersiksa karena tak memilikimu Kucoba jalani hari dengan pengganti dirimu Tapi hatiku selalu berpihak lagi padamu Mengapa semua ini terjadi kepadaku Tuhan maafkan diri ini Yang tak pernah bisa menjauh dari angan tentangnya Namun apalah daya ini Bila ternyata sesungguhnya aku terlalu cinta dia… Tapi hatiku selalu berpihak lagi padamu Mengapa semua ini terjadi kepadaku Tuhan maafkan diri ini Yang tak pernah bisa menjauh dari angan tentangnya Namun apalah daya ini Bila ternyata sesungguhnya aku terlalu cinta dia Mengapa semua ini terjadi kepadaku Tuhan maafkan diri ini Yang tak pernah bisa menjauh dari angan tentangnya Namun apalah daya ini Bila ternyata sesungguhnya aku terlalu cinta dia… Aku terlalu cinta dia… Get other lyrics, and HTML code like this. Click here.

I'm Back! And With A Cool Gadget Too!!

My sleek and sexy O2 Xda Zinc, hoo, hoo!!!

Goodness gracious me! It's been almost a month since I last posted anything in this blog. I guessed the tag by Cheekysmile gave me a wake-up call, hehehe. Kinda cute actually her tag - "Achoo! This blog is dusty."

Well, to be honest, I became discouraged to blog for the past month or so mainly due to my internet connection at the office which was very slow, even after office hours (I blog after work, okay...). I finally got the problem fixed today and it was actually a teeny, weeny problem which was easily rectified by the IT guy. It seemed that all I had to do was change the proxy setting at Internet Options and walla, I get light speed internet connection again. Apparently, the company purposely set the default proxy setting to a snails pace which prevented us from downloading mainly foreign websites. No wonder it took me forever to load pages from Wikipedia, Blogger etc. Only local websites loaded on a normal pace. Anyway, thanks and kudos to the IT guy for fixing the problem. He was kind enough to give the superspeed proxy setting which ensures bullet train internet speed, hehehe.

Anyway, a lot happened to me in the past 3 weeks. I was practically buried with work. My major project was producing a handbook for distribution to the company's top and senior management, and also to the press. The handbook actually outlined our company's plans and activities for Malaysia's 50th Independence celebration. Our company, as a major player in a very lucrative industry and major contributor to the nation's economic wellbeing, was of course expected by the country's leadership to play a huge role in this year's Golden Jubilee independence celebration. Whatever. I have to admit, it was the toughest assignment so far eversince I joined this company 2 years ago. I lost count how many times I had to face my Senior GM during the content reviewing process. Rewrites upon rewrites upon rewrites. Most of the time, I ended up working until midnight and at one time, even until 2 am to meet the printing deadline. I hardly saw my kids during that time and I missed them terribly. Most of the time, when I reached home, they were already asleep. Anyway, last weekend was the best weekend ever. I think I spent sufficient quality time with them, and of course, with my wife too. ;-)

Oh, I finally gotten around to buying myself a new cellphone, after 4 long years of using my ageing ever faithful Nokia I-Don't-Even-Remember-The-Model-Number. My youngest brother, who's a gadget crazy dude, managed to drag me to Low Yat Plaza in Bukit Bintang last two weekends in my quest to hunt for a new phone. I ended up indulging myself by spending close to RM3,000 for a cool, sleek and state-of-the-art Pocket PC instead. The O2 Xda Zinc. I can't believe I actually did that. But it was worth it. The apek who sold me the thing also threw in a Toshiba 2GB Mini SD storage card and screen protecter. I love my new Pocket PC. It is a PDA, computer, phone, camera, camcorder, organizer and audio/video player all in one. It runs on Windows Mobile 5.0, complete with Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) and whole load of other cool softwares. The apek at Low Yat even installed a supplementary software called SPB which is commonly used by PDA users. SPB has nice 3D icons for your programme shortcuts, hehehe. I chose the Xda Zinc because it's the only O2 PDA with a QWERTY keyboard. Other O2 Xdas such as Atom, Atom Life and Flame does not come with one.

Whatever it is, I'm finally mobile, I mean truly mobile. I can check my office e-mails via GPRS, surf the internet, listen to my favourite songs, take pictures of my bubbly kids and lovely wife and a million more tasks which I've yet to explore with my new baby - the O2 Xda Zinc. I like!

Well, I think that's enough blogging for one day. Catch up with you guys in another post tomorrow, I hope. Now, back to my O2 Xda Zinc.....

ASTRO Fee Hike : Unsubscribe Or Just Pay Up and Shut Up

Wow, I think this is the longest time I didn't post anything new in my blog. 13 days to be exact. Two reasons actually :

1. I was buried with work, hehehe (still am)

2. Internet connection (or server?) at my office was really slow for the past two weeks or so, preventing me to even log in to blogger.com to update my blog

Anyway, now that the Internet connection is up and running again as it should be, I thought I had better take advantage of the situation (before the server becomes slow again - it always happens here in this great multinational because the ICT company engaged to maintain all computer related matters are doing a lousy job) and post something new in my blog.

And thanks to all of you who still find time to visit despite nothing new being posted. Appreciate it.

Anyway, today, yet another letter from another disgruntled Astro subscriber published in the New Straits Times. This time, it's Mr. Azmi Atan of Petaling Jaya. He feels that it was time for the government to issue more satellite TV licences to other companies, in light of recent unilateral moves by Astro to expand its revenue. (For international readers, Astro is the sole satellite television service provider who has enjoyed a monopoloy in Malaysia for more than 10 years now. It had a potential rival in the form of MiTV a couple of years ago but easily whacked the pathetic upstart which is now as good as dead eventhough it's still around). Back to the issue, Astro created another controversy a few weeks ago by announcing that it would increase its monthly subscription rate between RM5 to RM15, depending on the existing packages subscribed by its more than one million customers. Of course, being typical Malaysians, majority of Astro subscribed sweared and curse the satellite tv provider and hurled all sorts of accusation, claiming Astro to be the mother of all bloodsuckers and short-changing them by adding new channels which they don't even need.

Yeah, yeah, we have every right to complain and fight for our consumer rights. But then again, what choice do we have? What possible good would giving out more licences to operate a satellite tv service do to Malaysian viewers? The government already gave that opportunity to MiTV which may I remind you, is back by another strong tycoon - Mr. Vincent Tan and his Berjaya group. (Astro is owned by Malaysia's richest man - T. Ananda Krishan). But look what happened to MiTV. It's already dead but they decided to keep the body to rott until a proper funeral could be arranged, so to speak. In a nuthshell, MiTV got whacked big time by Astro due to poor marketing strategies and poor choice of channels being offered. So, come to think of it again, Astro must be doing something right, kan? Why didn't people like Azmi Atan shifted allegiance to MiTV back then? No one forced us to subscribe to Astro. It's all in our hands.

So far, I have no problems with Astro. I pay my Astro bill on time so that I can be assured of uninterrupted service. In fact, I have two Astro decoders - one for my viewing pleasure with my wife, and one for my kids to watch their Disney Channel. No complaints at all because as of now, Astro is the only source of multiple entertainment which the existing 9 terrestrial tv stations could not offer or match. I want my HBO, my Star Movies, my AXN and my ESPN. My wife wants her Astro Ria, E! and StarWorld. My kids want their Disney Channel and Playhouse Disney. And for 6 years, Astro has delivered to our expectations, since we first subscribed in January 2001. I can still remember because the Astro subscription was part of a package offered by EON when I bought my first car - the Proton Wira.

To Azmi Atan and all other whining Astro subscribers - just de-subscribe if you don't want to pay the additional RM5 to RM15. Otherwise, just pay up and shut up. The choice is yours....