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An open letter to ALL Malaysians... A change that you can participate in

2008-03-07T00:57:00.001+08:00

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Subject: An open letter to ALL Malaysians...
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Thursday, Feb 28 2008
Former Bar Council president Yeo Yang Poh wrote an open letter to ALL Malaysians, to discharge our responsibilities as a voter and make those elected candidates to be accountable for their promises made during the election campaign.
He believes that change and betterment are not empty dreams, if all of us play our respective parts.

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Dear Fellow Malaysians,
It is true that there are things that we Malaysians should be proud of,
and be thankful for. It is equally true that many things are not well in
our country. They have not been well for some time now. Matters of
safety and security, price hikes, education, issues of equal
opportunities and equal treatment, constriction of various forms of
freedom, marginalization of several segments of society, the failing
justice system, corruption in the public sector, the rising denial
syndromes, the arrogance of wrongdoers nourished by their repeated
ability to get off scot-free, and the numbness of the public reaction
towards misdeeds and the lack of accountability, just to describe a few.

Many of the ills that we complain about in our society are the symptoms of the underlying causes. Some of the major root causes are:

(a) epidemic corruption in a system that does little to prohibit or redress it,

(b) lack of a system of transparency and accountability,

(d) a Government that is more interested in commanding than serving,

(e) a Parliament whose overwhelming majority cares more about power-consolidation than nation-building, and

(f) a weak "last bastion" in the form of a failing justice system.

Can things be allowed to go on this way? Can we afford to do so? Should our future generations suffer the consequences of our permissiveness? It is quite obvious that we need a better Government and a better Parliament.

But that will not happen if we, the citizens of Malaysia, do little more
than blaming the Government and criticizing our Members of Parliament. It is we who put our MPs in the Parliament. It is we who must take the ultimate responsibility. The buck stops at each and every one of us.

My earnest appeal to everyone is therefore as follows:
* discuss the need for a better Parliament and a better Government, with your family members, colleagues, friends and persons close to you;
* make it a point to go and vote in the next election, and to vote for
change and for betterment;
* discard the notion or excuse that your single vote will not matter;
* discard the notion or excuse that politics is dirty and all politicians are the same, and therefore that there is no point in voting;
* influence and encourage as many of your family members, colleagues, friends and persons close to you as possible, to come out and vote for change and for betterment in the coming election.
It is meaningless for us to complain about our Parliamentarians and the Government, if we do not first discharge a simple but sacrosanct duty of choice.

Let us all take the time to look into the beautiful but expectant eyes
of our children, and of the children of many others for whom we care.
The future of our nation is meant for them. But millions of them cannot vote. They put their fate in our hands. They rely on us not just for their present living and support. They rely on us, too, to vote for a better future for them. And after discharging our duty to vote, we must continue to be vigilant, and ensure that our elected representatives account for their actions, and make good their promises.

I humbly suggest to you that change and betterment are not empty dreams, if all of us play our respective parts. I invite you, and I urge you, to answer my appeal as set out above.

Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Yeo Yang Poh
Advocate & Solicitor,
& a concerned Malaysian
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To reply to this message, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=11081948342

Stand with the Burmese people!

2007-10-01T02:58:00.001+08:00

A friend of mine send me a email containing a link to sign a online petition with regard to the latest development in Burma.

Hi, have you heard about the crisis in Burma?
Burma is ruled by one of the worst military dictatorships in the world. This week Buddhist monks and nuns began marching and chanting prayers to call for democracy. The protests spread and hundreds of thousands of Burmese people joined in -- they've been brutally attacked by the military regime, but still the protests are spreading.
I just signed a petition calling on Burma's powerful ally China and the UN security council to step in and pressure Burma's rulers to stop the killing. The petition has exploded to over 200,000 signatures in a few days and is being advertised in newspapers around the world, delivered to the UN secretary general, and broadcast to the Burmese people by radio. We're trying to get to 1 million signatures this week, please sign below and tell everyone!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php?cl_tf_sign=1
Thank you for your help!

Liar!

2007-09-26T12:11:00.001+08:00

PC-Fair 2007 (II)

2007-08-06T17:46:00.001+08:00

Went to PC-Fair 2007 (II) last saturday. To avoid having to pay for extreamly expensive parking rate at KLCC parking, i parked my car in one of the outdoor parking space! Cheah, this cost me RM10.00. I think the parking space management try to make more money with PC-Fair. Normal rate, if i am not mistaken, is like only RM4-RM5 only!

Hmm... Looks like the merchants at PC-Fair like to hire girls with some "sexy" & "weird" uniform as promoters. Are they beautiful??? Err.... check it out yourself!!

Trying to buy myself a 1GB DDR2 SODIMM RAM and perhaps a DVD Writer for my wife. But, all of the merchants do not accept credit card! And even they do, they will charge you extra 2% of the transaction. And they will say to you with an innocent smile and face, "not us that want to charge you, it is the credit card company that charge us in the first place!". Heck!! Even the PS2 DVD Games seller near my house, let customer pay with credit card without any bottom limit and extra charge!!

So i ended up did not buy anything for myself, except a digital camera for my mom. I promised to look-out a digital camera for her, long long time ago. Nikon CoolPix S200, RM799.00. Well, this is not exactly the lowest price. I have heard from friend that got this camera at RM750. But, nvm la, i have been talking and talking to get a camera for my mom. I just think to grab this oppurtunity to do so!! And, most important thing is, after a few rounds of negotiation, the guy let me swipe credit card without extra charges. haha, feel so good already!!

:: RM799, free 1GB SD Card, 1 really mini tripod, 2 Li-Ion batteries, and a soft camera case.

:: Here come the Nikon CoolPix S200.

Introducing Windows Live Writer (Beta)

2007-07-28T15:15:00.001+08:00

I get to know about this Blog Writer software from 小鱼博客. Without any delay, i downloaded it to give it a try. Well, this blog entry was written and published using Windows Live Writer.

After the installation, i have to go through some very simple steps to setup my weblog setting. No problem at all at this stage.

Windows Live Writer will then download the weblog style so that when you write your blog entry using Windows Live Writer, you will see immediately the look and feel.

In terms of editing functions, i would give Windows Live Writer a thumb up. I have to be honest with the fact the i never use any Blog Writer software before. But the user interface of Windows Live Writer is very simple and straigt-forward. It makes editing and formatting you blog entry extreamly easy with WYSIWYG. You no longer need to write your own HTML.

Some of the features:

Easily format text: color size weight italic underline ~~strike-through~~
Spelling Checker
All other elements which you can do it with WYSIWYG, wihout have to switch to HTML code, like table, insert picture.
If you are using Windows Live Space, i think there are a lot of custom plug in that you can use with this Windows Live Writer.

One downside i found is, Windows Live Writer doesn't support uploading images for BlogSpot. However, if you have a FTP server, Windows Live Writer can upload image to the FTP server and display the image from the Server.

So, what are you waiting for?? Go ahead and download and try using it.

Download Windows Live Writer from http://get.live.com/betas/home
Plugins for Windows Live Writer - click here!

Demolishing a school??!!

2007-07-06T12:16:00.000+08:00

A 8 years old girl call to a demolition company, asked to demolish her school, and explicitly say that it should be done when the teachers are inside, because the teachers give her too much homeworks!!!

I was wondering, what the hate was so much, that a 8 years old innocent girl would think of demolishing her school, while the teachers are inside. Sounds not only Malaysian school children have too much homework problem!

Yahoo!! I got the car back!

2007-06-30T11:29:00.000+08:00

Finally, the Kelisa, after two weeks of repairing, it is finally finished!

I was so happy, until that the moment i got back from work yesterday, i washed the car. Wow, as good as new!

Although i said all the repair cost is claimable from the insurance company, but i still have to fork out RM 400.00. OMG, the coming month is going to be a poor month! From the RM400, RM100 goes to the summon (the actual amount of the summon is RM300, but A Fai said he will settle for me the RM200). And the rest of the RM300, goes to the insurance company!! I do not really understand how this work. We already paid the insurance company for the policy, but when it comes to insurance claim, they charge 1% of the insurance premium. The premium for the Kelisa is RM30,000.00. So 1% is RM300. They call it access fee, or something like that! :(

Anyway, as long as i got my car back, and luckily i do not need to pay the repair myself. All the repairs cost near to RM3000.00.

Law of Attraction :: The Secret

2007-06-28T20:32:00.000+08:00

Watched a DVD video called The Secret. The theory in the video, which is Law of Attraction, got me thinking a lot. I even watched it over and over again.

According to the Law of Attraction, things do not just happen to us, or around us. Things happened, because they are attracted to us. So for example, when we stuck in long queue in the bank, we would normally complaint either to other people, other to ourselves. This action actually release a negative energy to the universe. If we keep doing that, sooner or later, the universe will reply with more and more queue for us. Traffic jam, long queue at supermarket counter, and etc. Those things are actually attracted to us, because we release that kind of emotion, or energy to the universe.

In contra, if we always tells the universe the positive emotions, or feeling, the universe will simply reply with more and more good things to us.

Try a search for "Law of Attraction" at the web, you will probably find a lot of arguments whether this Law of Attraction is a true Law of Universe, a myth, or to some people, they said it is a scam.

Let's not having too much debate whether the Law of Attraction really exists or not. After all, i do not really care whether it is true, a myth, or just a scam. In my opinion, if because of this Law of Attraction, i learn how to think more positively; i can hold on to my dream, and looking forward to it; or when i stumble with my life, i can be inspired by it, then i say it is very good.

What do you think?

More info - Law of Attraction

Incredible Talented Connie Talbot

2007-06-20T22:47:00.000+08:00

I can't believe this is real when i first watch this video clip. She is only 6 years old! It is really touching when listening to her lovely voice.

Check more of her video clip on YouTube.
Good job, Connie!

Online Petition for Safety in Johor Bahru

2007-06-17T14:58:00.000+08:00

The Online Petition, in Bahasa Malaysia as below, organized by Persekutuan Tiong-Hua Johor Bahru:

Pihak kami serentak merasai keadaan keamanan dan keselamatan di Johor Bahru semakin tergugat dan rakyat hidup dalam situasi yang bimbang dan gelisah. Bersama ini kami menurunkan tandatangan sebagai satu penyampaian citarasa kami kepada pihak berkuasa, kami berharap pihak polis akan menfokus dan berusaha dengan sepenuhnya bagi membanteras jenayah untuk mengembalikan keyakinan kehidupan yang aman kepada rakyat semua.

Kindly support the petition by signing it at:
http://www.jbtalks.cc/petition/index.php

Innovative Design Chair/Sofa

2007-06-16T16:44:00.000+08:00

My colleague from Kwerkus Six forwarded this video clip to me. I do not know exactly the origin of this video. But the people are talking in chinese, so i guess it must be from either China or Taiwan.

Anyway, in my opinion, this is really a very very cool chair! Bravo and good job to the inventor and designer. Would really want to have one of the chair some day!

Bad day

2007-06-14T13:03:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was a bad day for me. On my way home from office, 11pm, i involved with a car accident, near to the Shell station, on route from Dataran Sunway to The Curve. I hit a black Proton Iswara on its back.

Almost immediately, i open my car door and jump out from my car. OMG, my car bumper, left front light and the bonnet were broken while the Proton Iswara has only some scratches on its back bumper. The angry driver get off from his car, seems to cool off after i say sorry and that i will take responsibility on what ever happened to his car. His name is "Monser". I am not sure whether i spell his name correctly. He just got back from UK 2 weeks ago, and is borrowing his cousin car to hang out with friends.

Then suddenly a Chinese man with his walkie-talkie approach us and offer help. Yes, don't be surprise. These people are fast. The moment an accident happened, your will see them arrive on the scene, before any other first responder, like police or ambulance. I explain to him that i have friend who is in the same business as him. He insisted that he wait and see whether he can get the business to fix the Proton Iswara or not.

After making a few calls, my friend's trailer is on its way. Monser contacted his cousin, and she is on her way too. "Dude, you are going no where until my cousin arrive...", he said.

After waited for about half an hour, finally my friend's trailer arrived at the scene. Spent a few minutes to hook my car on the trailer, and we all went to police station at Petaling Jaya to lodge a report. By the way, the owner of the Proton Iswara, is a young and caring girl.

The lodging process surprised me. After the police officer at the counter punch in my details into the computer, he asked me to go to another table with 2 other computers. Guess what? They will give you the report number to log into the system, and ask you to type the details of the incident out yourself!!! And, they have a cardboard with template on how you should type the details.

"PADA 13/07/2007 11.00 MALAM, SAYA MEMANDU KERETA BERNOMBOR .... JENIS PERODUA KELISA ........"

After that the police at the counter will review and make changes as needed to the report and print it out. With the printed report, i was interviewed by a investigator ranked sergeant. Surprise!!!! He uses Google Earth to pin point the exact location of the accident. He asked me a few questions, how many lanes were there ? Where did you learned your driving skills? ( i suppose this is a relevant question???), etc.... Lastly, he said he has gift for me. A summon!!!! :(

After all these thing, it was already 2.30 in the morning.

Despite it is a very bad day for me, but i would like to say thank you to whoever has helped me after the incident. Ah Fai who drive the trailer, Ah Hing (No-12) who help me to lodge the police report, and Ah Fui (my friend) who send me back home at Seri Kembangan, thanks for all the helps rendered!

And Monser, nice meeting you too. I know it is not exactly a pleasant atmosphere we met yesterday, but still, i must say: nice meeting you, and sorry for all the trouble caused, although I'm not so sure why you would suddenly hit the brake so hard!! :)

Work from Home

2007-06-12T12:33:00.000+08:00

This is the 7th month since i join a partnership with friends opening a company. Most of the time i work from home. A lot of people will ask, and has asked me this question : "Are your business SOHO?" "No", i answered. In fact, i have a office at Kota Damansara.

"Then why don't you go to office?" Well, the reason is that i have everything i need in my house to do all my job. My laptop, broadband internet access and my mobile phone.

Able to work from home, is a very attractive offer from a company to its employee. A lot of people would want to work from home these days. Imagine you can work right in front of your desk at the comfort of your own house. No traffic jam, no people problem with your colleagues, etc... And in my case, i get to cut down a lot of my expenditure when i work from home. Simple maths, if i go to office:

Car petrol : 90KM x RM 0.13 = RM 11.70
Toll fee : RM 1.60
Lunch at office : RM 3.00 (economic rice + 2 veges + don't ever think to have curry chicken/fried chicken/anything that is meat)
(i take oat/milo + biscuit/bread for lunch when i work from home)

All these added up to RM 15.72 daily. For people that has "negative" balance in bank account every month, spending RM 15.72 daily + 2 hours driving to get to office, is obviously not a good idea.

But, there are some drawbacks when you work from home

Communication with partners will have to via online chatting, emailing or sometimes phone calls (a surge in your mobile phone bill).
When you work from home, you are utilizing the utilities such as electricity and waters. So expect some increase in your utility bills.
The synergy of working together with partners is not strong.

I guess the third problem is a major problem in the long run, and could jeopardize the relationship between you and your partners.

So what you guys think? Working from home? Think again, and discuss with your partners first!

Buddhist Cultural & Arts Festival 2007

2007-06-07T11:11:00.000+08:00

The Buddhist Cultural & Arts Festival 2007 is finally here at MIECC (http://www.bovis.tv/bcaf/).

Hoping that the first day ceremony would not attract too much crowd, me and my wife went there. Everything is fine, the Exhibition is spectacular, featuring some very fine arts of Buddha & Bodhisattva Statues, the Buddha's Relics which are considered national treasures by many countries, and many others. As i observed yesterday, they even have special ceremony to bring the Buddha's Relics to a more secure place when the exhibition close for the day. There is only one problem, i do not have a camera!!!! While everyone have at least a compact digital camera if not DSLR, going around the compound to shoot, i hold a tiny Nokia 6280. Hahahaha.....

Giant 40-feet footprint replica - bear unique designs symbolizing the various qualities of the Buddha.

Public bathing the little buddha - the real meaning behind this is not to bath the statue, but for us to remember to clean our inner self.

A beautiful statue of Buddha

We then went upstairs to have a dinner while waiting for the cultural performance to start (after the opening speech). There are some food and drinks stall upstairs which are doing charitable sales. The vegetarian food is ok, both taste and price. But I guess the price for drinks is a bit expensive. RM 3.00 for a small cup of mango juice! Anyway, charitable sales what, so nevermind la....

The cultural performance featuring Hand Gestures performance by Tzu Chi, The Lost Relics (Musical Drama), Hymns Performance by Messenger of Dharma, and also the one most people enjoy, the Shao Lin martial arts by Shao Lin monk from China.

Start Blog

2007-06-06T15:29:00.000+08:00

Yeah, finally got myself a blog space. Some would say, "Now only you start blogging? ". Yes, i know it is a bit late, but at least i got started. :)

I hope this blog will become a place to share my thoughts with the rest of the world.