where's our hero now?

Tuesday March 31, 2009
Losing battle against cabbies
PUTRAJAYA: The Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) has admitted that it was out of solutions in its war against rogue taxi drivers.

Board chairman Datuk Markiman Kobiran has likened the situation as a “war with no ending like the war between Israel and the Palestinians” despite continued measures to curb the menace.

“Until today, there is no absolute formula to solve this problem. Do we cancel their permits, step up on enforcement and urge passengers to be more proactive in making complaints? We have done all that. You tell me,” he told a press conference at the CVLB office yesterday.

Despite the increase in the number of errant taxi drivers, Markiman said the board was not giving up because it involved the country’s reputation.

In an undercover operation conducted by the board, only 15 of 627 taxis were found to be following regulations.

“Media reports on ‘samseng’ (rogue) taxis, drivers who refused to pick up passengers and those who overcharged were quite disappointing. Upon investigation, we found them all to be true,” he said.

Sixty JPJ (Road Transport Department) officers boarded 627 taxis in the Klang Valley this month and 612 taxi drivers were found guilty of various offences.
The operation also showed that a taxi driver committed on an average of three offences.

“An enforcement officer boarded a taxi from Pudu to a hotel early one morning. He was overcharged and at the end of the trip, the taxi driver told the officer that he ‘dah agak pegawai’ (could guess he was an officer). But yet, he overcharged the officer,” said Markiman.

During the operation, 432 taxi drivers did not use meters, 192 did not display their driver cards, 144 overcharged their passengers and 103 refused to pick up passengers.

A total of 502 taxi drivers were caught for not having driving licences, not wearing seat belts and driving recklessly.

“Five Pakistanis were found to be driving the taxis. We view this matter seriously as foreign nationals are not allowed to drive taxis. We will be calling the taxi operators to explain,” he said, Markiman said it was important for the passengers to be more pro-active in reporting errant taxi drivers as it would help with enforcement.

Meanwhile, a taxi operator said undisciplined taxi drivers would not only tarnish their company’s name but also cause losses in income. “The CVLB may cancel or suspend the licence of our taxi drivers if they keep committing offences,” she said.

She also said the company would seize the taxi or forfeit the driver’s deposit if it received too many complaints from passengers.

******

The piece of news above was reported in the Star on 31st March 2009. That shows how strong our 'enforcements' are....so sad....being in the hospitality industry, I witness so many incidents where passengers, especially tourists are conned and being 'taken for a ride' by these so called Rogue Drivers....it such a pity as it reflects so BADLY on us all Malaysians....and even sadder, the people who we hope can do something about it has admitted defeat.....

So what shall we do now??? Just give in to all these rogue drivers, just like how we give in to those illegal 'jaga kereta' boys???

Teenage Angst Have Paid-off Well...

The Melamines on http://www.web-iac.nokia-asia.com/

Late last nite I just couldn't sleep. This is what technology does to you. In the early days, with the invention of the Radio, our fore fathers would stay up late, some even risking their lives to listen to the radio. Then came the idiot tube - the television. A cult, a must-have item in all households- now one can even watch tv programmes on the move, on buses, in cars, and even on their mobile phones.

And then came the INTERNET. This is what kept me up the whole night! No! Not just the social networking sites, but also the free sites and programmes where you are able to download almost EVERYTHING! For FREE! So what kept me up? Downloading of songs...not just any songs - but songs I grew up to....the ones that kononnya was a symbol of our teenage angst during our high school days....It was really a surprise that you can still find such songs on the net! What songs you're asking? Underground songs from the mostly now-defunct local underground bands of the 90's such as Spiral Kinetik Circus, The Pilgrims, Subculture, Dead Mushrooms and even the Carburetor Dung! Playing back all these songs brought back memories of us trying to fit into the cool gang....going for gigs...visiting one of the biggest supporters of our underground scene (she should get a Datuk-ship or something!) Auntie Campbell who selflessly sold all the latest underground both known and unknown bands' demos....the times where CDs were considered a luxury and walkmans and cassettes were the IN thing

This was a time when everyone wanted to form a band....and proudly I and my buddies did....gosh I really missed those days....

Geng - Jom jam, JOM!

Check your Bill before you leave the cashier!!

This happened to me just this weekend. It was one of those rare opportunities where I got to go on leave for the whole weekend. And being a modern Malaysian, with a bit of extra cash in hand (final distribution of last year end's bonus - Alhamdulillah...) we decided to spend one evening shopping for the monthly groceries. This time, we wanted to try some place new to us, which was a famous hypermarket on the way to Batu Caves....it's so hyper that it even had the word 'extra' added to it's famous name....hint...hint...

So there we were, jostling with the crowd, cris-crossing through a sea of just-got-their-pay families, walking down the endless aisles all full of the "buy me" signs, eyes wide open looking for a good bargain which is just actually a few ringgits cheaper than your normal neighbourhood kedai runcit....actually, we didn't buy much, as our main aim was just to get a fresh supply of baby diapers and baby formula. In the end, we ended up lining yup with just 8 items, among them a Barbie doll toy and an RM2.90 children swimming arm floats (Now that was a bargain!)

So when we finally got to the cashier, we were stalled for a while as the seemingly busy cashier was busy gossiping with her fellow cashier about some cute supervisor who she missed having lunch with. Only when I 'ehem-ed' did she automatically smiled at me and said "you have the (storename) member card?" I handed over the card and she began to 'beep' all my eight items. "RM172.00, please" she said. All was normal till I instinctly started to review the final receipt after she said the automatic "thank you and come again!" I found there was an item 'beeped' in that was not in my list of items but cost RM49.90! I questioned her and she tried to tally up all the items I bought with the receipt but still could not figure what was the item marked as "6ft bla-bla" on the receipt. Then she apologised and ushered me to customer service on the ground floor. So when I went down, the so-called expert took a look at my receipt, and the items that I bought. Guess what - the RM49.90 turned out to be the price of the RM2.90 swimming arm band! Apparently there were 2 bar codes on it, and the 'beeper' accidentally scanned the old bar code! Of course later they refunded me my RM47.00 and said a simple "sorry, ya?"

So guys and gals, the next time you go hypermarketing or any market - just DO double check your receipt.....you'd never know when such simple mistakes may occur! - It almost cost me RM47.00!! So beware!!!

remember to say PLEASE!

So many things have passed and happened to our beautiful Malaisie....
Nude photo scandal (again?) and a re-opening of an old case by a former Minister who was also involved in a err...sexy scandal....oh my! It's more interesting to read the newspaper nowadays than to watch tv! The Drama!

Oh well...whatever it is....life goes on....just recently I read an interesting book while lepakking in a big bookstore downtown (surprisingly I HAD the time to do such a thing!) It was more of a guide book actually, but written so full of wit and humor. It was a book on etiquette for men. I forgot the exact title - 'Mr Jones guide for men' or sumthing like that....It had a lot of advice such as How to suck up to your boss' , How to be a good boss and also How to go through a business lunch etc....I read it till there and then had to leave as my kids started to get bored of the place and kept whining to go elsewhere....But I truly enjoyed it and will definitely buy when I have an extra RM45 in my wallet to spend...

Etiquette lessons....that is what we ALL need nowadays...how to BEHAVE socially....with proper etiquette awarenes, we can relief our society from a lot of current ills such as:

1. talking ever so loudly on the mobile phone in public, as if the other person is in China and you are not using a phone to talk to him.
2. spitting everywhere so freely
3. whistling or making chirping sounds when calling for a waiter
4. cutting queues, be it on the roads or even to pay at a mamak stall
5. walking into a lift or LRT before the passengers get out first
6. and the line goes on and on..............

obviously people will say - this all depends on upbringing....I disagree, as naturally, humans like to immitate....especially among their peers.....so if the huge number of people in one society does the same thing or acts the same way, it is regarded as cool and unconciously it becomes a habit.....so if etiquette knowledge is added in, imagine how a calm and polite society we'll have?

well, that's just my humble, tiny little opinion.....now waiting for payday so I could go buy the book.....

Happy 2009!!??

The beauty of the Petronas Twin Towers on the eve of 2009...sememangnya satu mercu tanda yang indah, yang di pandang tinggi oleh seluruh dunia....bangga bila melihat pelawat2 asing or tourists from all over the world mendongak tinggi untuk melihat keindahannya...seolah-olah tidak lagi memandang rendah kita, bangsa Malaysia....

Tapi sayangnya..masih ada yang menjadikan rosak susu sebelanga....just after the countdown for 2009, I saw with my own eyes a young tourist with his face all full of blood....a local citizen beat him up, just to get his handphone....then, another middle eastern tourist had his head stitched up with 9 stitches...yes - a local citizen beat him too....happy new year? takkan happy sakan sampai pukul orang kot????

anyways....

Happy New Year 20o9!!!

Kagum / Impressed

Kagum...Impressed....

the exact words that came to mind when the house door bell rung around lunch time earlier today..sapa kat pintu? Dari segi uniform merahnya, macam McD punya delivery boy, tapi takde la pulak sesapa dlm household yang ada place an order...Rupa-rupanya, delivery dari MyEG.com...

Yes..recently...to be exact, pada tanggal 28 Dec (Ahad) kita telah me-renew drivers licence online via portal MyEg.com linked through JPJ punya website...paid through credit card and requested for it to be sent to house address...dalam website tu dia mention, delivery dalam masa 5 hari bekerja....so aku click laa ok...dalam hati calculate, Ahad, pas tu, ada Awal Muharram, new Year...kira-kira more than 5 hari la kot, baru dapat slip renewal driver's licence tu.....TAPI! today, 30 Dec, dua hari lepas aku click 'SEND'...dah sampai!!! WAAAAH!!! Cayalaaaa!!! My faith towards the government services have been restored!!

SYABAS!!! Memang 'hassle free' and mudah....keep it up!!!

a tribute to melamines....

Sejak dua menjak ni, kita sekeluarga sibuk pindah rumah....yup...Alhamdulillah, the apartment that we bought around 2 years ago dah siap, and now slowly kita dalam proses pindah rumah....tapi belum official....pindah sikit-sikit...nanti bila dah betul confident, baru lah duduk permanently...

Dalam proses packing and unpacking ni, tetiba, terjumpa la pulak satu kotak penuh ngan cassette lagu-lagu...semua hasil kumpul masa zaman skolah dulu....time tu, mana laa ada download2 lagu from internet...mp3 lagi laa belum pernah wujud lagi....so, kalau nak layan lagu, kenalaa beli cassette. CD bukannya takde time tu, tapi masa tu tak mampu!!!

Tengah seronok belek cassette album2 band-band macam soundgarden, smashing pumpkins (melloncollie - 2 cassette in a set!), Nirvana nevermind, foo fighters...tiba2 terjumpa la pulak beberapa cassette TDK and Sony....terus slot into the player and layan.....guess what I found? my old cassette recordings time jamming masa zaman after form 5 dulu!!!! PERHHH!!!

I sat down in the hall, lying on my front, facing the hi-fi speakers, and was brought back to the good ol' jamming days, with my buddies Arman, Is, Lan, occasionally Ja'a, my bro Mickey...and all those gang who used to follow us ke mana saja kitorang jam.....sambil dengar all the 'beautiful noises' we were making, teringat zaman kitorag naik turun tangga studio. Almost every week, tak kira kat Ampanglaaa, Melawati laaa, Setapak laaa...even right up to Shah Alam!!! memang macam addicted time tu....and macam dah jadi lumrah, kalau jam aje, mesti bawak walkman and at least 2 cassette kosong for recording....

dengar balik cassette2 tu, terasa bangga la pulak....walaupun taklaa orang kata perfect soundnya, tapi taklaa lari beat and at times, kira boleh dikatakan best la jugak...walaupun most of it lagu2 cover b bands like Nirvana, butterfingers, weezer, etc, tapi yg bangganya, ada jugak lagu-lagu yg kitorang wrote sendiri....

bila dengar balik, macam tak caya lak lagu tu kitorang punya....heheheh...masa tu punya la bangga sampai siap buat demo bagai..under our band name: the melamines

well...now sejak memasing dah kahwin, beranak pinak, ber kareer, dah sangat JARANG kitorang jam....sayang rasanya....but that's the way life is....unfortunately...

lately nama melamines di sebut2 di seluruh dunia - tapi malangnya, bukan band kitorang, but isu susu dan makan yang di cemari oleh substance with the same name....but still, whenever I read or hear that word mentioned, my memory always wanders back to all those late night 2 hour jam sessions, making beautiful music with my buddies, the melamines.....long live the melamines!!! you guys rock!!!