Change For The Worse?

Any one using the Penang Ferry lately would notice new chairs have been provided for waiting passengers.

But these modern chairs are disintegrating.

It is not only the cheap and fragile plastic seats that are coming out, even the weldings were not up to the mark.

The old ones could be unsightly but at least they were reliable and had something firm for the posteriors.

Now the usual questions:...who checked and approved it, who was the contractor, any tender called, and kickbacks involved...etc?

The moral of the story is if change is needed make sure its for the better and not the worse.

Further if change is necessary, make sure the people benefit and not the contractors recommending such lousy facilities and the officials approving them.

Even a kid will know that fragile plastic chairs can only serve the public for a while which means another chunk of taxpayers' money down the drain.

Another Scam? ...this time MBF (WEe Choo Kiong's Favorite?)Credit Cards

Received this in the email.

1. Why are you unhappy?

Because during the last Got 5 Samsung LCD TV promotion organised by MBFCards, I got the required transaction slips and yet I didn't win the prize.

2. Why did you not win?

I don't know as MBF Cards never bothered to tell me and I have checked thewinner list and my name is not in it.

3. So how?So I am going to tell my sad story to everybody that has an emails vianormal emails, facebook, frendster, myspace, yahoo group, Malaysia Today,and every other means that can receive my sad story to inform them to avoidexperiencing my sad story.

4. What is your sad story?

The story begun as I started to swap my MBF card to purchase books,groceries, CDS, DVDs, etc to obtain the 3 transaction slips with approvalcode ending with '5'. I finally managed to get the full set of 3 by 17August 2007 and called up MBf Cards to register my entry. In total, I spentabout RM3,000 plus.When the result is published, my name is not in the winner list. (I noticedthe same person managed to win it twice in 2 months).If on the 17 of the months, I already can't win the prize, those whocontinue to swap and try to get the slips with approval code ending with '5'after 17 were really being cheated.

5. What would you do?

I still keep the card but maintain it at zero balance to make sure my recordsit in MBF Cards system and to ensure it incurs cost for MBF Cards to keepthis record. (This card has free for live feature, if they ever want tocharge me fee, I will cancel it immediately).

6. What is your advice to other cardholders for this new GotHalf-a-Million Cash (Got 500,000 program)?

Once burned, twice shy. And what better way to help people from beingcheated by educating them about this similar cheating Got 500,000 program bydistributing this FAQ.

Signed
Malaysia Boleh

EPF MEMBERS BEWARE

Someone has sent me a warning about EPF's latest ruse.

Members' nominations done manually on a card may not be included into the members' file when the whole system was computerised.

What this means it that such members have not made any nomination and as such their money will be unclaimable.

After some time then it is listed as "unclaimed".

Read on the email from a Ms Lim:

Please take the trouble to check your EPF to make sure that your nominated beneficiary is in the record.

These guys in their work are trying to cheat whenevr they can. Its very profitable and easy money for them.

This is a scheme to cheat our hard earned money.

When EPF migrated to the computerised version, the simply THROW AWAY ALL OUR NOMINATION CARDS.

They are TOO LAZY TO MANUALLY ENTER OUR DETAILS into the computerised system..

They claimed that the data is lost. In computer migration from 1 system to another, you will get back all your data.

EPF must have asked a monkey to do it, that's why data is lost.

But interestingly, only nomination data is lost.

When there is no nomination and a contributor dies, no one forward a claim.

After some years, the some one diverts the money to another account and eventually sapu the money into their own pockets.

This is true... Pls have it check out! I went to KWSP and found out my benefiaries gone too! So I have to provide a new nomination.

Some even have all their datas missing! Better check it out before it is too late.

For easier process, pls bring along a photocopy of IC and this could be done immediately with a confirmation copy for ref.

No wonder there are a lot of " Unclaimed " over past 10 years ! Suggest we better random check every year ... please check your EPF norminations!

EPF change new system on 31/12/2006 , guess the conversion missed out the beneficiary file.

I went yesterday with my wife and shock to find out that both our a/cs do not have any beneficiary.

We are very sure that we had personally gone to EPF office together and updated our record and now all the records are gone.

Reason given by the officer was " Saya pun tidak dapat jawab lah,munkin sudah sampai masa kamu check sendiri".

Two of my friends went to check after receiving my e-mail also found the same answer - No record.

Great Women Leaders After Menopause

I posted comments in other blogs over DAP’s “chilli padi” Ms Fong quitting the coming general election as she said she could not tolerate the internal power play.

In reads:

“It would appear that women only make great leaders after menopause. Eg Indira Ganhdi, Margarette Thatcher, Golda Meir etc.

This is because many of human and animal behaviors are dictated by the homones.

As for Ms Fong, I would advise her to overlook nitpicking individuals and issues and look at the greater pictures.

But then her action could be none of the above. We shall see.”

One commentator dismissed it outright as “crap” and branded me a sexist in the category of “bocor”.

At no time have I made a sweeping statement on the gender as I qualified it with “It would appear” and an observation. “Great leaders” ,the words I used for those after-menopausal women, does not necessarily mean good leaders. The Sikhs would never like Indira and the Palestinians Golda Meir. These after -menopause women could rule their volatile countries pretty well as they were more stable.

If Ms Fong was in her fifties, instead of quitting she would probably handled it the way of the 50 something Chong Eng.

According to The Star Chong Eng said

“I am very saddened by Fong’s move. On the whole, society is not supportive of women in politics. It is still very much the domain of men.”

“And being in the Opposition, it’s worse. A minority in a minority is even tougher.”

“Men and women are very different. Women are not as good as men in power play."

“But this does not mean they (women) are not capable. It just means that women are different in handling such power play,”

“There must be a more supportive system for women in politics. Here we are trying to increase women representatives but the system is not supportive of them.”

But then Ms Fong is in her 30s and just got married.

My observation is only a hypothesis. Einstein established hypothesis first and then explore and gather the evidence. Likewise more evidence would unfold to support my hypothesis as events roll by.

The Sleep Walking Prime Minister at Malaysians' Expense...

Someone has commented that what Malaysia now has is a sleep-walking Prime Minister in the form of Datuk Badawi who has managed to sleep-walk through his first term in office.

For us Malaysians, PM’s sleep-walking has resulted in the following occurances:

• Roofs of government buildings somehow fall/leaked;
• The crime incidence is increasing to the extent that one is not even safe in the vicinity of one’s home;
• Temples being pulled down even those had existed magnificently during the British time (are the present government less tolerant than the British?);
• Protest demonstrations by many groups including Hindraf and Bar Council:
• The Lingam Tape which was suppressed during the previous administration now managed to resurface after 10 years;
• Land frauds with the connivance of those in charge;

…just to name a few.

I think the moral of the story is that if one is an ineffective leader, just don’t try to flex his muscle to launch jihad/crusades such as anti-rasuah and anti-others. If one is a lame duck, just let the sleeping cats as they are.

However, the sleep-walking Prime Minister, flushed by his landside election victory had to ruffle feathers and they just released the floodgate. As the saying goes if one can’t do the job, let go and let others take over. Along the same vein if the Malays can’t do the job, give the other races a chance. After all we are all Malaysians and we live and die in Malaysia. The other Malaysians are here to stay come thee what may.

May God has mercy on all of us.

One of South Korea's richest businessmen, Kim Seung-youn, has been jailed for 18 months for abducting and assaulting workers in a karaoke bar.

Kim, 55, chairman of the Hanwha Group, was convicted of attacking the men with the aid of his bodyguards, to punish them for scuffling with his son.

He admitted responsibility for much of the violence, but said his bodyguards took over when he "got tired".

The case has generated intense public interest in South Korea.

Heads of family-controlled business conglomerates like Hanwha - which has interests in petrochemicals, finance, insurance, construction and retail - wield huge power.

Courts have often been lenient with these business leaders, but correspondents say the ruling in Kim's case shows that the judiciary is becoming more even-handed when sentencing the rich and powerful.

Serious injury
Passing sentence at Seoul District Court, the judge, Kim Chul-hwan, said Kim Seung-youn had used his position to take revenge on the workers, carrying out the attacks in a "systematic manner".

"The violation of the law is big and is serious," said the judge.
During the trial, prosecutors told the court that this was a revenge attack after an incident involving the defendant's son, Kim Dong-won, a Yale University student.

Kim Dong-won, 22, was reported to have needed stitches for an eye injury sustained in a brawl with bar workers at the Seoul club.

Kim Seung-youn was said to have mobilised his bodyguards and local gangsters to take the off-duty bar workers to a mountainside construction site, where the revenge beating occurred.

The judge found the tycoon guilty of "beating the defenceless victims with a metal pipe, and threatening them with a stun gun," although none of the workers sustained serious injuries.

The court ruled that a jail sentence was inevitable.

Before being taken into custody, Kim Seung-Youn apologised, saying that he had lost his temper and hoped that foolish fathers like himself would think twice before following his actions.

Heavier penalties
Traditionally, senior Korean business leaders have enjoyed favourable treatment by the courts in consideration of their contributions to building the country's economy.

More recently, however, the courts have started to hand down heavier sentences on the business elite.

In February Chung Mong-koo, the chairman of Hyundai motors, was sentenced to three years in jail for breach of trust and embezzling company funds.

Mr Chung appealed earlier this year and prosecutors reacted by asking for his sentence to be increased to six years.