In loving memory of my beloved wife

I am born and grew up in a small town name Kampar. It is a small town with quite a number of housing estates around making a total population of approximately 10,000. I believed 90% are chinese who are mostly speak in cantonese. Kampar is a town where gained its name because of Tin, if I am not wrong. It was once famous of tin mining and everywhere wherenever there was river, you can likely see some ladies will be busy "dulang-ing" Kampar used to have 5 cinemas which could house more than 200 audients. But now, there is none of them still operating. Some years back, Kampar also has one of the highest numbers of banks branches around (almost 15 of them) due to extremely high inflow of foreign currencies. These were all the "jump aeroplane" funds which made Kampar on the top ten list. (Jump Aeroplane = cantonese way of saying illegal work at overseas). There after, Kampar again gets another great name... the old folk town as there isn't jobs for youngsters. All its glory had been gone with the winds.

This is the railway station in Kampar. It used to be a hotspot for morning joggers. But it is now closed. Although it is still maintained but the access road is now full with shoulder-tall weeds. Locals no longer jog here. There was also no train! That is why there is a no entry site at the entrance of the station.

Kampar has added a new work-out facility and had annouced spent over million of ringgit to have this "RAKAN MUDA" sport utility buildings. These will be a great place to visit if you are keen for work out.

I had tried and owned quite a number of phones, be it Nokia (N95, N95-8G, E90, 8800 etc etc..), SonyEricsson (P1i, m600i, P990i,W810,W910,W950, K850 etc etc..), Samsung (U600,I320, I600) and LG (Viewty, Shine etc.) and Motorola (L7, A1200) etc. etc or PDA phones (D810,P800w, 838pro, atom life, ux1000, P525, P535, 818pro etc. etc.) or even the Iphone, but none of these can beat my back up phone in term of its battery life, durability, survivability to drop, throwing etc. etc. Whenever I need, it always function and never fail.

"The death of the National Service trainee on Tuesday was an isolated case, said Perak National Service Supervisory Board Chief Heng Seai Kie..." (reported on Friday 14/4/2008 N36 The star paper)

This is one statement that is extremely irresponsible! How can a person who chair / lead the state level NS quoted such irresponsible statement when there is a lost of precious human life? No matter what are the causes of the death, it is never an isolated case at all! This proven how non sensitive the so called "chief" on the matter. She could have been treating this case as other incident like non functional of some instruments, tools, machines etc. What would you think and say if the loss is indeed your loved one? Will you go on to claim this as another isolated case?

I bet she is only doing her job for the seek of her job to make some quotations as standard replies. This type of character can never be in charged for program where involved human life. It is just like another examples of nurses or doctors who are not ethical and moral in practising their profesion (remember I quote this is profesion but not job) Doctors and nurses are life saver but not just doing job for the sake of job!

What has Heng does except making such irresponsible quotes, visited the camp, "trying to understand" the situation, leave the matter to some hospital folks. I bet she is inside her air conditioned office worrying if she got more pay cut due to such incident rather than worrying how to get extra safety measures, medical program etc for the trainees.

Mr. Lee, what do you say on this? please give a thorough talk to your staffs who are not fit to the profesion at all.
What a shame for such chief!!!

I believed I read this not only in Chinese newspaper but also Malay and English newspaper that ever since BR took over the Perak state, there has been over 100 million of foreign investment rushing in to the states....

Come on, prove it with exact details and figures. Not just with quotations and a "shock-shock" answers during Q&A to please the listeners. We are not dumb! Please do not bullshit and I bet these are the bullshits only happen in Perak state. I will definitely apologize if this is real, but at this moment, I am most skeptical but only believed that this is still a baseless quatation.

Do your job right but not need to showcase in a hurry! Stop the bullshitting but get to works. You do not even has all council and state full in control yet but wanted to show as hero??? I find this is so stupid for some MPs making such "great quotation"

Nonsense is my only reply!

Whenever I am on cars either as driver or passenger, I will always tune to 988. I had been practising this since this radio launched... may be in 1997 or so...

But lately, i felt quite disappointed as it become more like a talk and talk with DJ only with jokes, silly jokes, nonsense games plays etc. which ruined my likes like before. Even worst is that and I hatred the most is the SMS request, where the DJ will simply get some questions and asked for some SMS replies (at a charge) as either yes or no, why or reasons this and that. This is so nonsense but there are even more nonsense always having tens of SMS replies to the stations...This is so ridiculous!

988, you are too overly commercial now and I bet you are making every SMS as your extra earning or either as the DJ bonus. That may be the reasons I can hear this over and over again. every minutes of it if not to be too exaggerated! Please stop it but provide with more music, songs, news that are more meaningful.

You are losing my support now. And it is quite insulting for me hearing your station again!

I believed every salary earners always will make complaints; either their work, their boss, their career leader, gossips etc. And two of the favourite questions some engineers always asked me are "Why I choose to leave Intel?" and "Isn't it Intel pays is always better and with better annual increment?" And most commonly, some even will envy being unable to join this largest chip company in the world.

I provide no answers to these questions. But I always comment that there is no work or work place that no one will not complain off. The grass are always greener else where. I always go on commenting that it is only a brand name effect. Just like girls always enjoy having envy eyes staring on their latest several thousand ringgit LV bags. But little do those envy eyes realize that for the girls to have that LV bags, there are how many struggling days were there with eating magge every days before the save up is enough. Unless the girls have a wealthy BF!

I find there is nothing marvelous about that company even though I had been with it for slightly over seven years. I eyes withnessed at least two times of VSP (voluntary separation program : a term used in Intel) with some friends leaving for no reasons or some reasons. I once joined a HK garment producing firm (which also used to be one of the largest congromolate in the world) for a short period of time but felt the warmest heart touching statements and practises. The company that has never VSP anyone even when there are hard times and the company treasured all its employees by securing their living needs.

Intel, like most semiconductor company will not be mercy to chop its employees whenever there is profit drop (although it is still earning over US$1 billion every quarter) and re-hire again when there is ramping time ahead. It never ashame on doing such practises but yet there are tonnes of people applying and feeling great being Intelliers!

I did not get the VSP as the VSP only announced a few months after I left and this made me lost at least 1 - 2 year pay of "compensation bonus". I am really envy over some of my friends having these bonus of over RM100k or more. I missed this type of fate all the while. First being Western Digital in 1999 announced VSP after three months I submitted my resignation and Intel in 2005.

But I have no regret at all. No doubt Intel did offer some ground works to my career life but I bet you will only see the real world after you come out from it. Only then, you will realize that you are indeed in a world of "simple work" when you are an intellier. Reason being, it is always easy to "nego" with your suppliers etc as being the largest company. People are rushing to offer hands to get business for. You will not learn how to really manage a crisis as there is always a backup already available within the company...

I still remember that I once heard a comment that Intellier is only great with presentations but not really in actual task. It looks good and performs good on paper. Well, may be! Conceptually one who believed and practised every Intel principles and cultures will not survive long enough elsewhere unless one change to adapt. But outsiders to intel will surely survive as the task will get simple after all as there are always at least three guys or more doing the same type of works and just need to be sell great on paper and speak aloud.

When one still inside this company, one will not understand what I had commented here. Only those that left will echo my thoughts. You will not know it when you are seeing it from outside. Once you are inside, you will realize that it is nothing special but again the same type of complaints you will make like before...

This is only the brand name effect...

I have not been going to the General Hospital at least for more than 12 years, either as visitor or patient (no, i never a patient to any hospital, touch wood!) But whenever I need to be there, that is always something that is unavoidable where I will need to adapt to it. 12 years ago, when I was still in my final year of univercity studies, my girl friend of that time suffered a stroke and was therefore admitted to the General Hospital for monitoring after she re-gained her consciousness after a day later in a town called Grik.
I remembered I used to call her at every evening through her landlord's phone at the sundry shop. (no cell phone yet like today..) and I was then informed that she was admitted to the hospital after they found her inside her room motionless... she was then diagnosed with Mitral Valve failure which required immediate replacement through operation.
12 years later now, she again being diagnosed with possiblity of Mitral Valve failure and was admitted to the GH for monitoring before condition gets worsen. I must be felt lucky that we discovered it earlier now before the disaster stroke her again although she had been complaining illness for two weeks. And I felt so guilty as I did not take her complaints seriously although I am always aware she is in these illness.
The cycle repeats as compare to 12 years ago... I was staying in KL and had a daily travel to IJN before the nights... I am now staying in Ipoh and travel daily to GH before the nights. Only different is she get elder now and weaker.

It is always not an easy journey to hospital...

This week has been really a busy week for me... where I need to split myself to office life tasks, doing household chores, taking cares of the kids etc. It is not an easy week after all.
I had been complaining that I will need to find some tasks that do not require brain power... and so I thought that household chores like floor sweeping, clothes washing (with washing machine) etc will be simple tasks that no one should make noise with. Well, after I went through a week with unavoidable exercising of these tasks, I am announcing that I am quitting!
I salute to all the house wives who do this daily non stop without any "noise" (at least my mum do not complain at all)

Today is the "official day" for "Cheng Meng". Cheng Meng is day where most Chinese will pay a respect to the ancestor by visiting to the cementery with some "offering". Most commonly the offering comes in shape of paper-made "gadgets" which could be in the form of "money, handphone, car, video... etc" which Chinese believed that after burning off these offering, the ancestors will be able to utilize such gadgets as needed at another "world". I always reject the idea of such gadget offering as I find this is a kind of tradition which Chinese needs to abandon with. At maximum, I will only agree that to burn those traditional papers. And that's all.

This year, I brought two of my sons together and my elder son poped up with a statement which I find difficult to answer with. He asked that why our ancestor's cementery is so common appearance look as compare to the two close neighbours of "well built cementery"I find it difficult to answer simply because I find that even youngster like him (in the age of 10) is already embedded with the idea of cosmetic appearance appraisal... I find myself failed in providing my kids the basic understanding of basic.

Is this an indication of materialistic world of present society?
Is this a sight of judging the book by its cover?

We had our 12th General Election on 3/8/2008 and now today is 4/4/2008 which is almost 1 month after the results of GE annouced with formation of new cabinet and new ruling state government from opposition party.

I am indeed a bit disappointed with the so called "Changes" as what shown by the "opposition" who take charge of the state government. I still yet seeing any primary policy or direction to development of the states except...
1) keep digging and exposed of the previous government possible scam or corruption
2) free this and that
3) within party or inter party non calibrated version of comments
4) fight of position as state exco or others

If this is what "opposition government" ambition to gain further popularity among the voters, Well I will be hate to say that, I would not have voted you for these type of "changes" Please show what you really intend to do with annoucing a master grand view rather than offering some pieces and pieces of "short sighted happy news"

The government is not formed with the primary intention to unveil previous government wrong doing. All had past and yet I believed that ok there could be some mis-use of power or even corruption. So what you wanna to do with those people or cases? Are you intend to get back the big sum of money or what? Forget it and please do not waste your energy in forming this and that investigation team. Focus your energy and target on how to build us a better state or country.

Tell me what you really have!

在我生命中的每一天,我拥有了什么,渴求了什么或埋怨了什么? 我想自己也懒得去思考.总是会在失去或将要失去时,才心如刀割.
我曾经拥有及现今的所有都是我生命的一切及支持我的动力.
也许我会有少许贫心,但也只是少许...就让我拥有这多一少许.

Finally, after more than 1 week of hassle, political games plays and acts, the new Perak MB sworn in formally on today 3/17/2008. To me, this is somehow is a relief as I begin to see twilight in the new state government in forming a calibrated coalition.

A friend of mine, who is considered a Feng Shui fanatic has commented and provided some statistical data on his success of "prediction" and precise calculation on some of his friends' rags to richness. I remembered that he also has been following Lillian Too's classes and practises a few years back and should have been "graduated" some times ago.

Ever since the new Toyota Camry launched, I had been admiring this model greatly. This is what I called a car. But the price is still too high for my liking.

很多时候,人总会事后放炮,发表炮论,娱人娱己,自吹自擂.不是吗? 那就读读昨天,前天,大前天或今天,明天,后天的报纸杂志,某某华社"精英们"的马后炮!
炮吗?我也会放,可能也会响.马后炮吗?我也懂. 不就是这个,那个,假如吗?
如此这般的华社"精英",真教人敬仰!

老大如此,过气老大也如此.小二如此,不懂从那来的阿某们也学着如此. 一炮响一炮, 炮论连天!

就请精英们高抬贵口,少放炮,真做事.

p/s : I must apologize for writing this in Mandarin, but this is exactly how I feel. These people are "good" at speaking or making claims on Chinese newspapers, manipulating the issue in local Chinese community emotion...

I will make a simple translation but you would not be able to get the fun of the writing unless you understand Mandarin. "... people normally are excellent in after events comments that claims if I were to... All of such after events claims can be found in all newspapers/magazines of all days, be it yesterday, two days ago or today, tomorrow or future. We must respect these greatest comments from the Chinese heads. The bosses behave so and so too for the ex-boss. A few 2nd tier boss follows this practise and even some one who do not know where they are from with all of sudden appearance also giving big mouth comments.

Please, have the sour grape mouth shut, but really work out better for us..."

I once attended a two-day course on situation leadership. It discussed about the differences in responses of our reactions at different situation, position or roles you are playing. Although you are the same person, but because you are acting and representing different roles, the response to a similar issue or question will defer. It will be different in actions when you are a "si-manja" trying to get attention as compare to when you are a "big brother" who give directions

If you are acting the same way as you do in previous model, basically you are demonstrating an pre-mature reaction or protraiting that you are not ready to coach, to guide or to lead. A "si-manja" can manja and "boycott" or walk out of a discussion if there is something that is not favorable to the si-manja or its believes. A big brother well, will definitely cannot just follow suit with walk away as a form of protest or phone all friends to follow the big brother to have a boycott. No matter what or how bad the big brother could not agree, the big brother need to stay calm and demonstrate that he is indeed mature and managing the situation well and controlling the response.

When you are just a small company owner, you can call for boycott and close your company door so as not to trade with so and so. When you grow bigger and actually have a lot of subsidiaries, associates or franchises, you will unlikely want to easily call for a boycott due to a unfavorable trade practise by one of your suppliers or customers. You are not only causing a loss of income to your own company but the rest are affected and will definitely have another thoughts on you. You cannot act on emotionally. It is a different kind of games now.

People are looking at you. What you did previously can no longer be used. Prepare yourself psychological and practically. You are leading now. You do not need to get another attention. You are already the attention of people on what and how you handle the issue

The announcement of the dead of three kids in Hong Kong possibly due to infection of bird flu is indeed a shocking news. But HK reaction on this issue is speedy with immediate re-initiation of last SARS counter strike actions are something we at Malaysia need to learn and practise.
We at Malaysia have no major natural disaster except for the last Tsunami (not politic Tsunami) but I am not sure if we have a master counter strike plan for management of such disaster yet setup here. We are reactive nation and are commonly "letak batuk di balik tangga" and as such I hope the government has the remedy for such possible return of bird flu.
I also remembered that not so long ago, we have coxsackie attack some years back and are we ready?

Are you ready to face the return of the virus attack?

It is really amazing that we at Perak have never ending politic drama. I am losing my heart with such a pre-mature formation.
Get thing done with a decision and move on.

Finally, after almost a week of debate and waiting, the position of Perak MB is finalized and turned up as expected to be held by PAS member. Immediately following by this announcement, some voices surfaces as protests, dissatisfaction etc. And these mostly from Chinese, Chinese led parties, Chinese based societies etc.
Well, I understood the feeling of them. But i am mostly disappointed with the typical Chinese reaction. I surveyed through chats, talks and sms with most of my friends expressed that the MB should be held by the party that has the highest number of the DUN seats as this is democratic practise. I do not challenge this comment. But are you sincerely with such comment or purely because you want to see a Chinese as the MB! I understand why all of my friends commented such as the primary worries are "Islamic State" and "Islamic Practise" but not on Malaysia, economy, unity or whatever more important issue. Haven't you forgotten why you have voted out the previous ruling party? We want a more transparent ruling coalition party that can bring justice, development, less corruption and no more "Barang Naik" to the people.
From such a simple annoucement, it clearly showed that the three parties do not have a consensus understanding on fundamental believes.
I bet immediately I can see tonnes of comments from BN MP on this subject that the new coalition is shakingly weak and laugh seeing the "internal fight"
I also truly understand why Kit Siang wanted to call for stay away on the swear-in event. This is to calm the hearts and feeling of the majority Chinese who has voted them. This is politic and politic is people heart and support. If we can vote for change, why not see the change and wait the new coalition party to demonstrate that they can bring the changes to people. Not on this issue of never ending MB. There are dissatisfaction and upsets expressed and please tell me what is your master plan of development for the 4 newly formed states??? I care more of such rather than MB, MB and MB. Enough!

Let's move on. It is almost 1 week now and I still do not see the master plan of development.

With the newly formed coalition government, I do hope to see that the new government will steer Perak to a new era. Personally, these are my lists of "demands"

1) We need to have a new airport that at least serves several strategy flights. Singapore, HK and Bangkok for international flight. KL, KK and Kuching for domestic.
2) Should the existing airport cannot be expand, at least we must be readily transform it to become leisure based aviation training.
3) Transform the existing airport (if again cannot be used) to radio controlled toys center and start up the relavant industry that focus on the radio controlled aviation engineering field. Langkawi has LIMA. Ipoh will have IATC (Ipoh Aviation Toys Center) and be able to held international base radio aviation festival.
4) We want to have more shopping centers. (this is what my kids want!)
5) We want a new center market.
6) We want Ipoh city center to re-shine with hawker havens at nights.
7) We want new bus services and no more old buses on roads
8) We want more job oppoturnity and be able to compete with Penang and Selangor with more foreign investments. We do not want our friends to work in outstations or be the foreign workers else where.
9) We want more 5 stars graded health centers with moderate costs and attract other states/countries' patients as well as serving local needs.
10) We want some free parking and more parking lots inside the city for disables and elders
11) we want to have Ipoh to become the tourists choice for foods, shopping bargain, health and wonderful limstones hill visits.

I will compile the second list when I come to understand the new government focus when it is finally formed and firmed up.

Stay tune and I will definitely measure if the new government is doing anything good for us, the people of Perak who has given our trust in you (DAP, PKR and PAS)

Among the hot topics my fellow Chinese friends are discussing are still around why Perak Menteri Besar nomination is a PAS member...
It seems to me that majority of them are concern more of religion instead of economical or developmental or strategical reasons.
I myself do not seem to find it as an issue as long as we do not look at this with religion hat but see it in form of "Bangsa Malaysia" Perak overall houses may be over 70% Malaysia and 20% Chinese and 10% Indian and if not a Malay (who also Muslim) that chair the state head, don't you think it is a bit weird? Of course i do not deny that the chair should be given to the one that hold the majority of DUNs but aren't you forget something? It is the unity that more important. The new coalition requires a peaceful power take over without any sensible rioting and conflict between the races. It requires to demonstrate that the power shift will not cause any issue to the country.
Let's look at long term. Of course the arrangement could be upset some but the decision make sense to me. The new coalition needs to demonstrate there is fundamental understanding among them instead of power owning. Well, i sincerely hope the change really make some changes to Perak and Malaysia as whole. Or else, please do not waste our times.

My family has asked me that why would DAP gave way to PAS or PKR in the nomination of Menteri Besar in Perak state seeing that DAP is holding the majority DUNs and more than both combine of PKR and PAS. Why PAS as some of my members of family has been scratching their heads. My family may be able to represent the majority Chinese community on this matter on the question on such decision or nomination.
My members of family have no fear other than declaration or practise of Islamic State in Perak should the PAS head the Perak ruling. This could be the major concerns of most Chinese in the state and I bet there will be tremendous comments by other Chinese community leaders voicing such concerns and demanding explanation from DAP.
I did not answer my family directly but has asked them to look back on Penang previously where the chief minister is led by Gerakan with it always "bow" to the needs of another dominant party. "It is named as chief minister, worked as if chief minister but is it the chief minister in charge!"

I believed I also believed that DAP knew it for sure that the people will definitely reject it in the next election should it did not handle this concerns well.
I had my own formula but I believed that the reason behind was that Perak ruling is not 2/3 majority even with the formation of the new opposition coalition consist of DAP, PKR and PAS. As such, there could be difficulty in implementating "Dasar-dasar baru" without getting some consensus agreement at the DUN. Again the decision of any changes or dasar baru would have been discussed in EXCO which could have been held majority by DAP. Could there already an agreement that PAS would be the MB, but the majority of EXCO will be from DAP or PKR who will be the actual "decision maker"? Well, I could best guess as this could be the formula behind by the intelligence DAP mind. I could be "Bad mouth" even that there could be hardship in steering Perak and as such at the end if all fail...blame it on the MB!!!
Or the other formula could be, "well I gave up on the Perak MB but DAP will affirm on Penang as the ruling party and CM in charge."
Or that could it be giving up on Perak and Selangor MB in exchange of Penang and opposition leader in parliment?
Well, i could be just guess as only the mind at back will know for sure.

I am still shock on the overtaking of power in Penang, Perak, Kedah and Selangor although I had expected Kedah will definitely fall to PAS.

Time will tell.

The general election 2008 has concluded with BN still remain as the ruling federal government. But the people of Malaysia has spoken that the people want some changes in Malaysia where there are more than 80 MPs are non BN and generally are from educated and profesional group of people. The other component parties of BN namely MCA, MIC and Gerakan are generally slammed with the supporters shifted to oppositions. The greatest unexpected losts would be that Gerakan lost the Penang control with its former chief minister being chased out fo the Komtar office in next Monday.
Now, it is a matter of time if opposition, opppss it is the new state government now (made up of DAP and PKR) can demonstrate if they can bring some changes to Penang state. Will the pearl of orient (not sure how many of you still remember such claims) shine again under the new leadership or .... Well time should tell. Remember DAP/PKR, you could only have 1 golden chance of the life time. I am sure BN will be making a coming soon in next general election. Be responsible and demo to prove that "BOLEH"

Now, to my greatest concerns...since i am from Perak. Will there be planes in Ipoh? Will there be more new foreign investment in Perak, how about the health centric airport? Will Perak glory be return? We once used to be the richest state in 60 -70... Will the Benz sight be back on the hill again (at the sam po cave, previously being the mascot of Ipoh). Again, you (DAP,PKR and PAS) you only have a golden chance to show that you really can lead and bring changes. Will Perak be a state of change?

Another concerns that on my mind now are how will the new cabinet be alike? Will Chinese and Indian be "discriminated" of having less representatives in the cabinet seeing that MCA/MIC and Gerakan lost out the defending parlimentary seats. Will there be "Semangat Barisan Nasional" I hope it will, but i bet there could be tremendous resistances and barriers.

Let's wait and see the new cabinet in coming days. It will be a time to diagnose and strategize appropriately for BN. It is a great challenge to the ruling party now.