Blog, portal owners must reveal identities: Najib- My Thoughts…

Source: http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Malaysia/Story/A1Story20130613-429419.html

By R. Sittaparam
New Straits Times
Thursday, Jun 13, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia will not emulate Singapore's move requiring blogs and news portals to be licensed, but will instead opt for self-regulatory measures that make it necessary for blog and website owners to reveal their identities, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

He said in handling the challenges of a mature nation, the government would ensure social media practitioners are more responsible in disseminating information.

He was speaking at the Malaysian Journalists Night 2013 and Malaysian MPI-Petronas Media Awards 2012 here last night.

Najib said the government would study the proposal for blog and news portal owners to provide information about their identities in their websites.

"No more anonymous writers, as is practised now. This is to ensure that information presented isn't considered libel (fitnah), which can jeopardise unity. It is also to ensure that writers are responsible and accountable for what they write."

He said the authorities would take action against owners of blogs and portals who failed to do so.

Najib said under the Communications and Multimedia Act and MSC Malaysia Bill of Guarantees, there would be no filtering of the Internet.

However, through the implementation of self-regulatory measures, action would be taken against blog or portal owners who spread false and slanderous information, he added.

"The government, for instance, will not move to license news portals, as what has been done in a neighbouring country.

"However, to safeguard national harmony, the government will enforce laws to ensure that anyone attempting to create factionalism using race, religion, language or try to belittle the royal institution or subvert the democratic parliamentary system, will face action."

He said the country's media and news organisation landscape had evolved tremendously, with print and electronic media being complemented by online media.

"Media democracy and the freedom of expression have become a reality. We have witnessed the full use of new and traditional media in the 13th General Election."

Najib said the dissemination of false, slanderous and provocative information that incited hate in social media, which was prevalent during the polls by those who called themselves journalists, did not benefit anyone.

"This will bring a negative effect to the country's future, if it is allowed to persist."

He said it was undeniable that issues of democracy and freedom of speech were being debated by the people, which had resulted in a never-before-seen consequence called the "butterfly effect".

"The demand for freedom of speech is not only due to globalisation, but is also stimulated by greater access to the Internet and improved socio-economic and education status.

"Freedom of speech is important and will bring positive effects to the country's development, but any information presented to the masses must be accurate."

Najib said he believed that the key to success was for the people to reflect and ask themselves whether freedom of speech was suitable for their identities as Malaysians and moral values.

"It is not wrong to disagree and have different opinions. However, do we need for such differences to create distrust among us, which is against our culture?

"For democracy to function, the people and media practitioners must hold firm to their moral values."

Najib said differences in opinions must be within people's identities as Malaysians, and they must not allow it to make them distrustful.

He said being a developing country, Malaysia must also be creative and innovative in managing these new realities as the middle class had become more assertive in its demands for more discussions on government policies.

Najib urged media practitioners to highlight important issues such as unity and development, and that freedom of speech must be practised ethically and responsibly. "The people's voices and opinions are crucial in our aim to be a developed nation by 2020."

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My Personal View

I am against this ruling. Why should we have to register and reveal our true identity? To reveal ourselves to spam, identity thefts and so on? This is crazy.

If you really want to go after those that posted racial remarks (mostly by Pro-BN Cyber Troopers) go ahead. There are many ways to do that. You can track the IP usage to ISP, and from ISP to their office/household.

You can get cooperation from web/blog hosting company to help you trace. You can also trace from cybercafes.

Having bloggers to register our identity is just crazy. I will not support this.

Malaysia Today..

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Putra_Mosque_3370297490_e805040863.jpg

Malaysia is a multiracial country with Islam being the official religion, with approximately 64% of its population Muslims..

In the early seventh century, Arabian traders including the “Sahabas” preached in Malay Archipelago, Indo-China and China, but was not widely accepted. Islam was brought to Malay Peninsula by Indian Muslim traders in the 12th Century, where the first Malay Ruler, Sultan Muzaffar Shah the first, converted to Islam after being introduced to it by Indian traders. Even the first sultan and founder of the Malacca state, Parameswara was converted to Islam after marrying a princess from Pasai (currently part of Indonesia) and changed his name to Sultan Megat Iskandar Shah.

Malaysians were generally a harmonious community with tolerance among religions such as Buddhist, Christians, Taoist, Sikhs, and many more..

But recently, the Islamic religion became more and more aggressive with less tolerance to other religion..

Although Islam on itself is not a bad religion, it teaches us all to be kind to each other, compassionate, to pursue science and technology.. to be tolerant towards other religion and culture. But it is the followers that are bringing havoc, and their deadly interpretation of the Quran (the bible for Muslims).

I would not touch on Islam activities outside of Malaysia, just by looking at Malaysia, there are people throwing Cow heads at Hindu temples (Cow is considered holy to Hindus), demolishing Hindu or Buddhist temples just to build Islamic Mosques at the same grounds. There is even cases where Buddhist temple have to use the Islamic symbolic “Onion shaped roof” in their temple or risk being demolished in Klang, Selangor.

Where is the tolerance that the religion teaches?

Things get worse when Politicians start to use it for leverage in their political career.. Do they not see, using the Religion card and the Racial cards, will bring in-stability to the country? From what i read from local news, online news, I can see there are more extremist in Malaysia now compared to 10 years ago.. and even more so compared to my father’s days in the 60s and 70s.

Is Malaysia trying to mimic Indonesia, in their famous blood bath riots? Indonesia has learned it’s lesson and is now growing fast.. And Malaysia is becoming more and more backward..

The arrogance of the ruling party is appalling.. Trying everything to secure more votes in the upcoming election.. Dirty tactics such as attacking the opposition leader’s son using a photo of a foreign chess champion which is widely distributed on the internet. Come on, do you think we are dumb?

What makes me sad, is our Prime Minister can’t seem to keep his deputy prime minister in control.. the DPM keep making racist remarks and later call for tolerance in the society. The Prime Minister himself trying to improve his image with Facebook accounts, iPhone application and even the 1Malaysia concept, meant to bring harmony and better tolerance among culture and religion, but says the opposite things during UMNO assembly. Publicly showing his snake tongue.

There are photographs and other reports of the ruling party allowing large numbers of illegal immigrants to become citizens of Malaysia, YES, citizens and not PR holders.. as long as they vow to vote for ruling party in the next election. This has been practised for many years in east Malaysia (look at the number of Philipina in Kota Kinabalu) and you will understand. Now this is being practised in West Malaysia as well.

Even Muslims from Indonesia, upon registering, becomes BUMIPUTRA immediately.. the chinese, indian and other ethnic races has been in Malaysia for so many years, some even 4 or 5 generations, was not offered Bumiputra, but those new immigrants are granted just because they embrace Islam as a religion.

All this is never published by mainstream media, which is controlled by the ruling parties. Where is the freedom of speech?

The last time Malaysia held a rally, the famous “Bersih 2.0”, the ruling party came down on it really strong, having closing almost all major highways and roads leading into the city centre for a week! a week before the rally.. why? there certainly isn’t any reason for the road blocks, perhaps 1 day before, but not 1 week, causing havoc and heavy jam on the roads.

Police permits was not issued, but was later issued to similar rally by Islamic groups and an extreme racist organization, which ought to be put in jail by ISA a long time ago for inciting racist remarks and provoking racial riots.

To be honest, I do not have much faith in the opposition ruling the country, i even voted for the ruling party in the last election, based on the performance of the representative in my residential area. But looking at all these recent developments, I have lost ALL faith in the ruling party and will not hesitate to give the opposition a chance to prove itself. It can’t be worse than it is today, with all the corruptions that is draining the country’s reserves dry.

Look at the states run by opposition, they have mass reserves in the bank in just 2 years from last election.. Being able to have reserves and projects to improve the lives of people within the state, this means a lot compared to other states ruled by ruling party, with less projects but reserves getting less and less.. Where is the reserves going to?

There are cases where GLCs which is supposed to breed cows, end up investing in Condominiums in Bangsar. True, the investment may be a good investment, but the point is, the organization is meant to breed cows, which is far from achieving their targets. I would understand them spending to bring in experts in bovine breeding, or in improving their facilities, but certainly not property investments, posh cars for the directors.

Why not let the opposition have a go with the Country? They did a good job in states, I am sure they can do so in the country as well.

Note: This is purely my thoughts and I am not linked to any political party or religion. I am just an Ordinary Citizen of Malaysia, voicing his concerns.

A Very Happy Day..

It has been a GREAT day today, seeing 2 very dear friends of mine, tying the knot and beginning their next stage of life.

I had the pleasure of seeing CW glancing at KW from time to time in the office, when KW first join. Took him awhile before he gathered the courage to introduce himself. I can remember it very clearly, it was in my hotel room, during Ricoh’s Service Ambassador Meeting in Kuantan. At that time, almost everyone was in my room drinking beer, eating peanuts. KW was playing UNO with us. I noticed CW glancing at her from time to time, then finally taking the courage to sit down by the bed to introduce himself to her, which was followed by a romantic stroll on the beach and mountain tracking the next day.

After the event in Kuantan, in the office, i can still remember CW finding reasons to be near KW.. taking up call avoidance just to be near KW (Call Avoidance Desk is very near KW’s desk)

To be honest, when I first joined Ricoh, I do not like CW. I found him to be a Mr. Know-it-all.. But after a few weeks, I found that he is a great guy, knowledgeable in his field and willing to help people when they need assistance.

KW on the other hand, for some reason, from the moment she joined Ricoh, i found it very easy to talk with. She became my listening ear as I release all my frustration when my relationship with my ex is not going smooth, and when I was thinking of how to tackle girls (my current girlfriend). I can still remember seeking your advice on what to give her..

Together with William, we had some great memories.. having lunch together almost everyday, and not to mention DOTA sessions at burger king, McDonald's, William’s house, CW’s house, KW’s house and also my house. These are really sweet memories, of which I will always cherish.

To CW & KW, I wish both of you, only the very best. Congratulations!

嫁給工程師真好!

Original Source: http://www.facebook.com/notes/alex-chou/%E5%AB%81%E7%B5%A6%E5%B7%A5%E7%A8%8B%E5%B8%AB%E7%9C%9F%E5%A5%BD/420639237197

Author: Alex Chou

當你選擇丈夫時，請先把工程師與以下的職業作一番比較︰

一.醫生 幾乎所有女人都喜歡追求當醫生的。所以不要期望你們的婚姻能持續五年以上，因為早晚有一天，他會跟某個護士小姐跑掉的，或是被一個假裝生病的年輕女人勾引走。這種倒霉事還往往發生在你已經為他生了幾個小孩的時候。你的工程師丈夫不會發生這種事。因為他忙得連見你的時間都很少，更別說有機會跟他工作以外的其它女人接觸了。

二.律師 你真認為你可以和一個靠撒謊謀生的人能保持誠實、信任的關係嗎？而你不用擔心你的工程師丈夫，他笨拙的社交能力將無法掩蓋他的謊言。跟律師結婚還有一個危險，那就是離婚時，官司往往他打贏，你將一無所有。

三. 推銷員 他的可信程度比律師還差。另外，他還要常常離家出差，或是到處上課和開會，和那些有著同樣可信度的人混在一起。如果有一天你被邀請出席聞所未聞的千人大派對時，你不要感到驚訝。而你的工程師丈夫卻被公司整天關在那叫做"小隔間"的鳥籠裡,除了回家，那裡都去不了。

四.老師 男人當教師的唯一目的是，他能整天被一大群青春貌美,又盲目崇拜他的女學生團團圍住。于是，他很快就會被抓到監獄，那時你只得琵琶別抱另尋郎。其它危險的職業，如消防員，建築工人等。如果你嫁給這種人，他即便沒有因意外事故死亡，也很可能會因脊椎受損而導致性無能。要命的是，那時正值你的性需求尖峰期。而你那位工程師丈夫要面對的唯一危險是，由於整日盯著計算機，視力將會衰退。這危險其實對 你有好處︰當你變老時，他不會注意到，因為他的視力模糊了。但他的記憶力卻非常好，仍記著你們初次相會時你那年輕美麗的容貌。假如你擔心他在望著別的年輕女人，對他說︰「親愛的，你干嘛老瞧著她呀？」他會很誠實地回答說︰「我根本無法看清那女人的臉﹗」

-----嫁給工程師的好處 [反証版]----

1.男工程師不修邊幅，所以家裡不用保持太整潔。

2.男工程師很難有女朋友，所以他會對目前的這個死心塌地。

3..男工程師呆板無趣，根本不活在人的社會中，只活在圖表的世界裡, 所以你不必花心思去取悅他。

4.男工程師視修理東西為娛樂，在你生氣時大可在他面前摔東西出氣，他會很高興的幫你修好又不必花錢。

5.男工程師IQ都不低，所以嫁給他后可以生一堆這樣的兒子考一堆的滿分讓你去跟街坊炫耀。

6.男工程師待在研究室的時間比在家裡多，所以嫁給他以後還是很自由。

7.男工程師口才太差根本講不過你，所以你可以盡情用言辭凌辱他。

8.男工程師最講求【理】，所以你有理的話他服你；他如果有理，你就不要跟他講理，他對你一點辦法也沒有。

9.男工程師薪水不錯，自己不會娛樂不怎么花錢也很少女人花他錢，所以你可以大大方方的花他錢，並且告訴他這是促進經濟繁榮，他做出來的東西才有人買。

10. 男工程師除了以上之外毫無魅力可言，所以嫁給他不用擔心他有外遇。

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Team’s Ignorance & Arrogance..

Here is a short rant that i have been keeping to myself, and recently seeing an application i really want to buy, i cannot take it anymore..
Being a proud owner of LG Optimus 7, I was disappointed when i first open the box. After a day or 2, got used to the phone and started to love the phone for its simplicity, ease of usage the obvious research and development Microsoft have put in this phone’s predictive input (much better over iPhone, Android & Symbian).

I am extremely disappointed, however, being unable to purchase ANY apps from the market place on my wp7 in Malaysia. This is something i do not understand. I can make credit card purchases online, via MasterCard or visa almost everywhere.. why cant i make app purchase online just because my country is not supported? why do you need to support Malaysia in the first place? Amazon does not support due to shipping reasons (amazon does not ship to Malaysia), its not like Microsoft is going to ship their applications to Malaysia.. so what is the problem with Malaysians (and a lot other 'non-supported nations').


Best thing is, i see from tech forums around the world saying apps developers is unhappy to the low sales of their applications.. WELL, the sales could have been MUCH better if WE COULD PAY for them, rather than relying on trial versions..

first, the delays in updates. This i do not understand, because my phone is not branded, not locked.. and my network operator doesn't even test it unlike many other operators.. so the delays, are solely Microsoft.. WHY THE DELAYS?! i would have received NODO update only 2 weeks ago if i didn't use the Canadian gateway method to update my phone.

Now this.. I am stuck with free apps (i am lucky to be using LG, due to their large amount of free apps for LG phones) and trials. I cannot even enjoy a decent game! for example, PES, NFS.. i love those games.. and would love to buy them.. but i cant. for some reason, when trying to enter my credit card details, the billing address field for 'country' is locked to Singapore!! since my card is Malaysian, it is obvious why my card failed its authentication.

emails to Microsoft fell on deaf ears.. even postings in their forum produced no help, except 'Microsoft's marketplace team is hard at work to bring support to more countries'.. can they be more specific? How long has wp7 been out? I personally have been using since last Christmas.. do i have to wait for the next Christmas? or the one after this?

there is tonnes of great, cool & useful applications in the marketplace, but i cannot use any of them due to being unable to pay for them. Some of those tools are really cheap and wont even cost a dent to my wallet yet I am not able to use them..
In modern days, the sole difference between smartphones, besides the OS (the O/S is all similar nowadays), is the applications and support. Looks like Microsoft has a lot more to improve before it could ever catch up to Apple or Google.. including revenue. It is always bad for business to ignore potential paying customers..
by this Christmas, if they do not fix the marketplace app, I'll b selling off this phone.. no point in keeping it if i cant even purchase proper apps. I love this phone, but the inability to purchase apps is killing me. Android & iPhones has no problems with their payment gateway.. why only Microsoft? and support for customized ringtone comes in 3rd party jailbreak & hacks.. this is nonsense.. unable to play video's sound via BT headsets.. this is another major issue that should have been address in NODO.. not sure if its even IN mango update..

Different types of Poop or Shit.. and how to flush them down.. and how it relates to our workplace..

Today afternoon, as I entered my toilet for my urge to release certain tension build up in my abdomen area, armed with a very good book which I acquired recently, ‘A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’, (ISBN: 9789675997228), I was dawned by a series of rapid release of a mixture of liquid, solids and gaseous secretions which is the direct source of my abdomen discomfort.

Upon flushing, there is one extreme stubborn solid, that just wont go down.. commonly known as ‘Floating Log’ shit.. which just wont go down after 2 flushes.. which started me thinking.. in our daily lives, at work, we encounter all types of ‘SHIT’ and to each type, there is always a way to solve the problem.

Similar to our daily job, the types of shit we encounter, similar to our poop in the toilet bowl, some goes down quietly without argument, some will swirl and move down along with the flushing water.. some will go down after a fight, leaving traces of their struggle along the toilet bowl, and some just wont go down.. after flushing, it will just float right out.

Now, you may think, what difference does it all make? and how will it relate to our workplace? Simple. Everyday at work, we receive jobs or tasks to perform. It may be analytical, physical, last minute or a mixture of all that. For last minute jobs, we tend to be more messy in our handling due to haste and the rush to resolve it. Some tasks, may seem simple but takes a lot of time to complete.

When we go to work everyday in the mornings, and receive tasks for the day, or backlog from the previous day, we tend to solve it in a way we feel is the most confortable. Such as ‘flushing the toilet bowl’. But similar to our toilet experience, this is quite alright for most of the tasks we receive. But what about the more troublesome ones?

Lets start with the types that leaves trail marks on your toilet bowl. It is similar to you completing a task, only to receive lots of comment from superiors or colleagues, we tend to just redo the tasks without fully understanding what is required and what is lacking. The superior or colleague may not fully tell you what you need to know to complete the tasks completely, or YOU yourself might not LISTEN fully to what your superior/colleague has to say, and perform you task. (such as re-flushing the toilet bowl). What will this accomplish? nothing.. just a waste of water resource and the trail is still there, albeit a bit less.. but it is still there. lets treat the water as time.. precious time has been wasted..

What we should have done, perhaps is to understand what happened, what went wrong and why your work is not accepted. Only then, you work on a solution to solve the problem. In the toilet bowl’s incident, you may need to use a strong water gun (conveniently available in most Malaysian toilets) or a toilet bowl scrub (or whatever it is called) to remove the trail before flushing. This will ultimately clear all traces of the tasks on the toilet bowl leaving it clean and hygienic, and to the satisfaction of your superiors/colleagues.

What if you encountered the stubborn floating log shit? that just wont go down no matter how many times flush? You can continue to keep repeating your job without analysis, and have your superior reject your work everytime, OR you can analysis the situation, listen carefully to what your superior wants from you and SOLVE IT.

So how DO I remove a floating shit? There is 3 popular ways to do that.. Either you can remove it via flushing MANY MANY times, the most resource wasting method, or the ‘not-so considerate’ manner of letting it mellow for a couple of hours before flushing again.
The 3rd way, may be the messy way, but fastest and most efficient way of solving the problem. To use the Watergun or the ‘toilet bowl brush’ to whack the floating shit into smaller portions.. before flushing it down.

Similar to many difficult problems, the method of using the watergun or toilet bowl brush, will be the same as calling for meetings, meet all concerned parties and brainstorm on the problem and how each of us could play a role of solving the problem. Of course, this being your ‘shit’ you have to chair the discussion/meeting. This will be similar to the task of breaking up the shit into many pieces..

Then, when everyone agrees to a certain deadline, you flush the toilet at the deadline, that is calling for a discussion/meeting to follow up. This is similar to the flush after you break up the stubborn shit. BUT, this ‘flush’ will not be clean yet.. because there will still be people or parties that have not completed their tasks yet.. thus the toilet bowl will still have some small pieces of ‘debris’ floating around.. after which, upon the conclusion of the meeting, you flush the toilet again.. and this time.. the toilet bowl will be clean.

 

And of course, for all types of shit, there is always the most irresponsible method, to leave it and let someone else solve your shit..

This is how I see my daily work, and how I come to solve my problems. I hope it will bring good use to all my readers.

Thank you.

The Price of Malaysia's Racism

Slower growth and a drain of talented citizens are only the beginning.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704422204576129663620557634.html#articleTabs=article
Date: FEBRUARY 8, 2011
Author: John R. Mallot, U.S. Ambassador to Malaysia, 1995-1998.

Malaysia's national tourism agency promotes the country as "a bubbling, bustling melting pot of races and religions where Malays, Indians, Chinese and many other ethnic groups live together in peace and harmony." Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak echoed this view when he announced his government's theme, One Malaysia. "What makes Malaysia unique," Mr. Najib said, "is the diversity of our peoples. One Malaysia's goal is to preserve and enhance this unity in diversity, which has always been our strength and remains our best hope for the future."

If Mr. Najib is serious about achieving that goal, a long look in the mirror might be in order first. Despite the government's new catchphrase, racial and religious tensions are higher today than when Mr. Najib took office in 2009. Indeed, they are worse than at any time since 1969, when at least 200 people died in racial clashes between the majority Malay and minority Chinese communities. The recent deterioration is due to the troubling fact that the country's leadership is tolerating, and in some cases provoking, ethnic factionalism through words and actions.

For instance, when the Catholic archbishop of Kuala Lumpur invited the prime minister for a Christmas Day open house last December, Hardev Kaur, an aide to Mr. Najib, said Christian crosses would have to be removed. There could be no carols or prayers, so as not to offend the prime minister, who is Muslim. Ms. Kaur later insisted that she "had made it clear that it was a request and not an instruction," as if any Malaysian could say no to a request from the prime minister's office.

Similar examples of insensitivity abound. In September 2009, Minister of Home Affairs Hishammuddin Onn met with protesters who had carried the decapitated head of a cow, a sacred animal in the Hindu religion, to an Indian temple. Mr. Hishammuddin then held a press conference defending their actions. Two months later, Defense Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Parliament that one reason Malaysia's armed forces are overwhelmingly Malay is that other ethnic groups have a "low spirit of patriotism." Under public pressure, he later apologized.

The leading Malay language newspaper, Utusan Melayu, prints what opposition leader Lim Kit Siang calls a daily staple of falsehoods that stoke racial hatred. Utusan, which is owned by Mr. Najib's political party, has claimed that the opposition would make Malaysia a colony of China and abolish the Malay monarchy. It regularly attacks Chinese Malaysian politicians, and even suggested that one of them, parliamentarian Teresa Kok, should be killed.

Ethnic Indian Malaysians protesting in 2007, Associated Press

This steady erosion of tolerance is more than a political challenge. It's an economic problem as well.

Once one of the developing world's stars, Malaysia's economy has underperformed for the past decade. To meet its much-vaunted goal of becoming a developed nation by 2020, Malaysia needs to grow by 8% per year during this decade. That level of growth will require major private investment from both domestic and foreign sources, upgraded human skills, and significant economic reform. Worsening racial and religious tensions stand in the way.

Almost 500,000 Malaysians left the country between 2007 and 2009, more than doubling the number of Malaysian professionals who live overseas. It appears that most were skilled ethnic Chinese and Indian Malaysians, tired of being treated as second-class citizens in their own country and denied the opportunity to compete on a level playing field, whether in education, business, or government. Many of these emigrants, as well as the many Malaysian students who study overseas and never return (again, most of whom are ethnic Chinese and Indian), have the business, engineering, and scientific skills that Malaysia needs for its future. They also have the cultural and linguistic savvy to enhance Malaysia's economic ties with Asia's two biggest growing markets, China and India.

Of course, one could argue that discrimination isn't new for these Chinese and Indians. Malaysia's affirmative action policies for its Malay majority—which give them preference in everything from stock allocation to housing discounts—have been in place for decades. So what is driving the ethnic minorities away now?

First, these minorities increasingly feel that they have lost a voice in their own government. The Chinese and Indian political parties in the ruling coalition are supposed to protect the interests of their communities, but over the past few years, they have been neutered. They stand largely silent in the face of the growing racial insults hurled by their Malay political partners. Today over 90% of the civil service, police, military, university lecturers, and overseas diplomatic staff are Malay. Even TalentCorp, the government agency created in 2010 that is supposed to encourage overseas Malaysians to return home, is headed by a Malay, with an all-Malay Board of Trustees.

Second, economic reform and adjustments to the government's affirmative action policies are on hold. Although Mr. Najib held out the hope of change a year ago with his New Economic Model, which promised an "inclusive" affirmative action policy that would be, in Mr. Najib's words, "market friendly, merit-based, transparent and needs-based," he has failed to follow through. This is because of opposition from right-wing militant Malay groups such as Perkasa, which believe that a move towards meritocracy and transparency threatens what they call "Malay rights."

But stalling reform will mean a further loss in competitiveness and slower growth. It also means that the cronyism and no-bid contracts that favor the well-connected will continue. All this sends a discouraging signal to many young Malaysians that no matter how hard they study or work, they will have a hard time getting ahead.

Mr. Najib may not actually believe much of the rhetoric emanating from his party and his government's officers, but he tolerates it because he needs to shore up his Malay base. It's politically convenient at a time when his party faces its most serious opposition challenge in recent memory—and especially when the opposition is challenging the government on ethnic policy and its economic consequences. One young opposition leader, parliamentarian Nurul Izzah Anwar, the daughter of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, has proposed a national debate on what she called the alternative visions of Malaysia's future—whether it should be a Malay nation or a Malaysian nation. For that, she earned the wrath of Perkasa; the government suggested her remark was "seditious."

Malaysia's government might find it politically expedient to stir the racial and religious pot, but its opportunism comes with an economic price tag. Its citizens will continue to vote with their feet and take their money and talents with them. And foreign investors, concerned about racial instability and the absence of meaningful economic reform, will continue to look elsewhere to do business.

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Now Malaysia is featured on Wall Street Journal.. One Malaysia.. do something.. don’t just talk, but do something.. take some action.. positive actions to improve the situation. The more you suppress, the worst it becomes.

Our Politician Approves of Corruption in Egypt Publicly?!

It is now 5:13pm, February 4th, 2011 and i came across some very interesting twits, from one of our great nation’s future leaders, and youth of our UMNO party (UMNO Youth).

Please have a look at the last 3 twits by Khalid Samad. Allow me to translate.

Posted 26 minutes ago, “UMNO Youth is afraid Egypt will be controlled by China, end up just like Singapore. Request Arabian Egypt provide support to Mubarak. Bribery, Cruelty is alright. Don’t give chinese power!”

Posted 32 minutes ago, “Mubark’s assets RM120 billion. Pakatan Rakyat (opposition coalition party) says is bribery money and Mubark is a national thief. UMNO Youth says now Mubarak is able to get contracts, commissions, AP & Licensing.”

Is this the mindset of our UMNO Youth? the future leaders of UMNO and Barisan Nasional?

To approve of corruption and bribery just to deny chinese being the leaders of the nation? And to prevent becoming Singapore (whats wrong with Singapore? they seem to be doing fine).

I am trully saddened by this news. I am a strong supporter of Barisan Nasional, even in the last election because the representative in my area (MCA) really did a good job in our area. But looks like I have been mistaken. If this is the future of Malaysia, the future is dark indeed.

Indirectly, one will see, that UMNO Youth will do anything to prevent other races to come to power, including corrupted officials. This is a sad day for Malaysia.

Our Prime Minister has been propagating 1Malaysia, wanting our nation to unite and put racial & religion barriers behind us. But is he really serious about this or is he just talking without plans to put things in motion. If he is really serious, he would have cleaned up his own party, as the leader of UMNO & Barisan Nasional.

All this time, I do not see anything done towards 1Malaysia. yes, we have nice things such as Malaysia Day, 1Malaysia Clinics. But all these have nothing to do with Racial Unity & Religion.

If the goverment wants Malaysia to be strong, they have to walk the talk and clean up his own party.

This is all I have to say. I will continue to watch and observe comments and actions by our dear politicians.

Sea Urchin a Delicacy?

Being of a curious nature, and literally a pig when it comes to food.. I was researching on Sea Urchins.. and was surprised to see.. IT IS EDIBLE.. and quite a delicacy..


----------- Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_urchin


Sea urchin (uni) served Japanese style as sashimi, with a dab of wasabi

The ovaries, called corals or roe, are culinary delicacies in many parts of the world.

In cuisines around the Mediterranean, Paracentrotus lividus is often eaten raw, with lemon. It can also flavor omelettes, scrambled eggs, fish soup, mayonnaise, Béchamel sauce for tartlets, the boullie for a soufflé, or Hollandaise sauce to make a fish sauce. In Chile, it is served raw with lemon, onions, and olive oil.

Though the edible Strongylocentrus droebachiensis is found in the North Atlantic, it is not widely eaten, though it is exported, mostly to Japan; in Maine, sea urchins are known as whores' eggs. It was formerly a delicacy in the Orkney Islands, used instead of butter.
In the West Indies, Cidaris tribuloides is eaten.

On the Pacific Coast of North America, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus was praised by Euell Gibbons; Strongylocentrotus purpuratus is also eaten.
In New Zealand, Evechinus chloroticus, known as kina in Maori, is a delicacy, traditionally eaten raw. Though New Zealand fishermen would like to export them to Japan, their quality is too variable.

In Japan, sea urchin is known as uni (ウニ?), and can retail for as much as $450/kg.; it is served raw as sashimi or in sushi, with soy sauce and wasabi. Japan imports large quantities from the United States, South Korea, and other producers. Japanese demand for sea urchin corals has raised concerns about overfishing.

 

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Posted same thing on a local malaysian diving community, there are divers that actually did that, and tasted it.. and their verdict is that it is sweet and fresh.. much better tasting than sushi restaurants..


SOOOO.. my dear diving kakis.. IM BRING SOY SAUCE, WASABI, KNIFE and CHOPPING BOARD in my dry bag in our next dive.. muahahaha..