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12/16/2009

Home cooked lunch

I read an e-book that I bought on the web lately on a slimming program called Every Other Day Diet. Basically it calls for one to staggard the type of food intake to full the body while depriving it on carbohydrate.

Anyway, to cut the long story short, alternate days, I am to eat food with high protein, low carbohydrate and high in fibre. Since the food outside mostly contain high carbohydrates and calories ( which is the diet for the next day ), I have decided to test the diet and did some home cooking for 2 weeks.


Fig 1 Black Pepper pan fried fish with vegetable cabage roll
This dish turned out to consume more time than I needed and the effect was not that great. The concept is to use cabage for the wrapping with fillings contain tofu, raw carrot, straw mushrooms, spring onion. Since I boiled most of the vegetables, I prepared a gravy using corn flour (I know this is carbohydrate, but it did state that "low" and not "no") with oyster sauce. As for the fish, I marinate with black pepper and salt, then pan fry with olive oil.

Unfortunately the cabage roll turned out quite big and because it is REALLY HIGH in fibre, it took a while for me to manage. It is difficult to break the cabage using my teeth!

As for the fish, I have put a little too much and the fish is rather salty.


Fig 2 Raw garlic boiled fish and salad with spicy vinegrate

This is the dish that I took today. Again most of the vegetables are boiled, icluding the straw mushroom, Chinese Leaf (cut into smaller size), asparagus. I have also used a 5 spice tofu, sliced thin and boiled to make it softer. As for the sauce, I mix the vinegrate with chillie power to create the taste close to Kimchi. Both Chinese Pasley and Onion are cut into shread but uncooked.

While I consider the salad to be quite successful, it is a little unfortunate that the sourness fall short of my expectation. A little more and it will taste more like KimChi.

I left the cabage roll cold but heated up the fish and sauce.

As for the fish, I boil it with the water I used for the vegetables and tofu and cut it into smaller pieces. I then chop some Garlic and mixed with salt and Extra Virgin Olive oil ( 1 1/4 table spoon ). I place the sauce in between 2 lumps of fish while they are hot. This in effect reduce the pungent taste of the garlic after it was slightly cook.

The whole meal is taken cold.

12/10/2009

Malaysia's policies and judicial screw ups

I have encountered 2 different stories today, one about the judicial system in Malaysia while the other about a policy they are adopting to curb petrol smuggling.

The first article source from the Channel News Asia Forum and believe me this is what they want to implement.

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Foreign-registered vehicles will only be allowed to pump a maximum of 20 litres of fuel when travelling within a 50km radius from the border, said Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Enforcement authorities at the checkpoints were also directed to ensure such vehicles leave the country with no more than 20 litres of fuel in the tank, he said.

Ismail added that the directive would be implemented soon.


Ministry officers were in the midst of issuing a circular on the matter to petrol stations in the affected areas in Kedah, Kelantan, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak, he said.

"This measure is to curb the increasing cases of fuel smuggling, as the prices for fuel are subsidised and cheaper in Malaysia compared to those prices set by neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia," he said.

Ismail said for RON 95, it was sold at RM1.80 (S$0.73) a litre in the country compared to RM4.01 in Thailand, RM4.31 in Singapore, RM2.26 in Indonesia and RM5.42 in the Philippines.

"It is unfair if foreigners get to enjoy the fuel subsidy provided by the Government," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here yesterday.

He said the decision to limit the sale was made under the Control of Supplies (Prohibition of Export) 2000 Regulation.

Ismail warned that petrol station operators caught selling fuel exceeding 20 litres to foreigners risk facing action from the ministry, such as having their licences withdrawn.

In May 2008, the then Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad had barred petrol stations located in border states like Johor and Perlis from selling petrol and diesel to foreign-registered cars.

However, this ban was subsequently rescinded following complaints.


So imagine that Singapore requires its cars to have 3/4 tank of petrol before leaving the country. Let's make it simple and assume that the car actually takes 40L of petrol full tank. So 3/4 tank means 30L. We also assume a model of a car with 10KM/L consumption rate. So if a car enters Malaysia with 3/4 tank, it has to travel a total of 100KM before it can leave for Singapore. The distance travel is as far as Machap!

Further more, in order to pump 20L of petrol AND not get your car confiscated, your car practically has to run out of fuel before refuelling. Of course, I am only making a modest assumption using the Nissan Latio with 40L tank with 10L reserve. Which means that I can only have 1/4 tank left for my car before I can be released to Singapore.

Singaporean therefore can kiss goodbye to weekend shopping, weekend feast in Johore Bahru because believe me, you are never going to see your car again once you enter JB.

The second event a that made me laugh is regarding a lawsuit filed by Anwar on Mahathir. His case was thrown out by High Court and he went to the Court of appeal. Here is the article.

Anwar's suit struck out as document was in English

Hafiz Yatim
Dec 9, 09
2:42pmThe Court of Appeal has ruled that all court documents must be filed in the national language, because the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia is enshrined in the federal constitution.

Justice Abdul Malek Ishak, who on Oct 20 had dismissed Anwar Ibrahim's appeal in his RM100 million defamation suit against former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said the courts are required to strictly enforce the procedure.

In his 31-page written judgment made available today, the judge said failure to satisfy the ruling would result in applications being dismissed.

Anwar's lawyers had filed the memorandum of appeal in English rather than use the normal procedure of filing it in Bahasa Malaysia and English.
His lawyers then sought an extension of time to file the necessary documents when Mahathir's application to strike out the suit was heard, but this too was rejected.

"We have seen the memorandum and it is obvious it is not drafted in Bahasa Malaysia," Abdul Malek said.

"The failure to do so amounts to blatant breach that would compel us to conclude that no memorandum has been filed at all."

Anwar, he said, should have filed the memorandum of appeal in the national language as "no other language will be entertained".

"This is ordained in the laws of this country. The filing of the memorandum of appeal in the English language constituted an injustice to the respondent (Mahathir) and it was a pure and simple abuse of the process of the court," the judge said.

"Article 152 of the constitution, read together with the National Language Act, states all proceedings other than the giving of evidence shall be in the national language.

“The purported memorandum in English must accordingly be rejected outright. What is mandatory, must be strictly adhered to. Otherwise dire consequences will follow.”

Abdul Malik said the failure of Anwar's counsel to file the memorandum in Bahasa Malaysia had rendered the purported record of appeal useless.

“It is our judgment there is no proper or competent appeal before us. Furthermore, the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994 state that, if the memorandum is not drawn up in the prescribed manner, the appeal may be dismissed.

“To add insult, the memorandum in English was not signed by Anwar's lawyers and not dated, rendering the memorandum invalid and to be defective and invalid.”

Deficiencies not rectified
The judge also found that, as early as between Aug 20 and Aug 22, 2007, Anwar's lawyers had been alerted to this deficiency by Mahathir's lawyers and to their proposed course of action.

“Hence there was ample opportunity for the appellant's counsel to rectify the appeal record. For the whole year of 2008, the counsel remained idle.

“In our judgment, Mahathir's counsel did not ambush Anwar's lawyers with respect to the striking-out application. The filing (to strike out) was done without any malice afterthought.”

He noted that everything seems to go wrong for Anwar and that “flagrant breaches of rules seem to be a hallmark of his case”.

“It is rather unfortunate but the law must be strictly adhered to,” he added.

In January 2006, Anwar had sued Mahathir for RM100 million over allegedly defamatory remarks the latter had made on the sidelines of a Suhakam conference four months earlier.

In July 2007, the Kuala Lumpur High Court struck out the suit without hearing the merits of the case, leading to an appeal being filed.

On Oct 20 this year, a three-member bench of the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal and ordered Anwar to pay costs.

Sitting with Abdul Malek were Justice Azhar Ma'ah and newly-elevated judge Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad.

Anwar was represented by lawyer Karpal Singh and SN Nair, while Mahathir was represented by VK Lingam.


What so strange about the event? The judge wrote his judgement in English.

Karpal's jibe: Judge harps on BM but writes in English Rahmah Ghazali
Dec 10, 09
7:45pmKarpal Singh is puzzled. The senior lawyer cannot fathom why Justice Abdul Malek Ishak would want to stress on the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia using the English language.

The DAP MP was taking a swipe at the Court of Appeal judge for striking out his client Anwar Ibrahim's RM100 million suit against former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad based on language technicalities.

The court ruled that all court documents must be filed in the national language, because the supremacy of Bahasa Malaysia is enshrined in the federal constitution.

In his written judgment released yesterday, Justice Malek said failure to satisfy the ruling would result in applications being dismissed.

Anwar's lawyers had filed the memorandum of appeal in English.

However, Karpal wondered why the judge did not pen his judgment in Bahasa Malaysia if the issue was of such grave importance.

"I would have thought there was more than a need for him to have written his judgment in Bahasa Malaysia in view of the strong language he uses in support of it," he said.

Make English official 2nd language

Speaking at a press conference in Parliament, Karpal also urged the government to 'carefully consider' amending the constitution to include English as the second official language of the country.

He said although Bahasa Malaysia was given pride of place in the country as stated in the constitution, the courts are still bestowed "with inherent jurisdiction to ensure justice is not denied to litigants."

"Every effort should be made to ensure that suits are not thrown out on technicalities. In the end, it is the substantial justice of the case which must be given the highest premium," he added.

He also noted that the High Court, Court of Appeal and Federal Court proceedings in point of submissions and arguments are still in the English language.

"This is a necessity in view of law reports being essentially in the English language. The time has not come to completely eradicate the use of the English language in courts.

"The position is further compounded as English has gained recognition as the language of commerce internationally, particularly in view of globalisation,” he said.

"Therefore, the National Language Act has to be considered in the context of this development. Otherwise, the country will be left behind and be deprived of the progress it can attain," he added.

According to Karpal, as result of English not being given prominence in court proceedings, foreign investors, including multinationals, will resort to arbitration instead of referring disputes to the courts.

"This is not a step in the right direction as it reflects the loss of confidence in the judiciary.

"The English language, both in schools and in administration of the country, is perhaps at its lowest ebb, unlike the position in Singapore where English is virtually the national language of the country.

"We should not lose out to Singapore," he added.

12/02/2009

It is not protest that people migrate, but delusion of hope

I putting this entry as a response to Malaysia's debate of brain drain. The official arguement of migration was better life else where. It seems to me that such excuses are lame and only scratches the surface.

I was in Perth for tour during May this year and we went to a town called Mandurah. I was surprised to see that there are 3 Chinese Restaurants there with 2 of them belong to Malaysians. I spoke to one of the owner and noted that he came from Ipoh more than 10 years ago.

I myself remained a Malaysian even when I have stayed in Singapore for more than 30 years, I am a professional, Engineer in training and Manager of a group of Design team. I am married to a Singaporean and children with Singapore citizenship. However, my family's relationship with Malaysia ends with me, unless my children intend to migrate in the future.

The only thing pulling me back from converting is my root as a Malaysian. It is really not easy to make a decision to forego your citizenship, there is always a conflict with the sense of loyalty to the country of your origin.

For one to convert to citizenship of other country, one must really consider hard because he is letting go of his identity. Your new citizenship is definitely not as precious as your original one. Only extremity will drive people to such drastic action. To me, it is only delusion over the treatment by their own countrymen which will lead to such decision.

Malaysia while promoting its multi-culturalism, has always been a country of Apartheid. The worst is that the privilledged group who govern is with such incompetence and yet demand exotic treatment. What's more reason can one give to proof of delusions of hope?

One might say my case is different or exceptional. Well, surprise surprise, I have a few friends who are as exceptional and different as I am. They have studied in Singapore, worked in Singapore ( among the best companies in the world), married to Singapore wife and have chilren with Singapore citizenship. Not only that, the company that I worked in has more than 60% Malaysians, all none Malays.

While the Bumiputra Government may claim that these are of lesser qualification, the market claimed otherwise. I have met with a friend of mine who owned an accountign firm in KL furign 1998. Many Malaysians went back because of retrenchment in Singapore, and he commented that their performance was superior as compared to those locals. Singapore's migration might be negligible, the quality of the people it attracts makes it significant.

What's the minority ( it is now for Chinese and Indians )are asking for is not special treatment but fair treatment with equality. Yet the present Government acted like a lazy SOB yelling at his workers to accept unequal treatment because of their race and religion so that the SOB can drain more from them without doing any work. For those who migrate, they have enough of this and if they can't change the SOB, they make changes for themselves. For those who can leave, they leave.

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Many countries implemented cool off days? Bullshit!

I have been following up on the recent anouncement by PM Lee Hsien Loong to add cool off days prior to election. He has sighted the reason of reducing the risk of disorder for such implementation. All I can say is bull shit!

It has nothing to do with public disorder, it has nothing to do with letting people to be rational in writing their crosses. It is a foregone conclusion that such move is meant to give PAP an unfair advantage. To be honest, Who would in their right mind would think PAP play fair? It is by nature that people would want unfair advantage against their opponents and Lee is just doing what anyone would have done in nature. But the excuses given is really lame and hypocritical.

The ST further quote a few countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia having such policies. It is the first time I heard them having this!!!

In fact, I was in Malaysia the day before their election and RALLIES POPS UP LIKE HOT CAKES EVERYWHERE! Same with their by elections, you don't see a halt on last minute vote pulling.

The same with Indonesia and Australia, our ST faithfully reports on electoral efforts to pull more voters to their side. ST is trying to pull a fast one on the readers.

I think it is shameful for a mass media to do such thing to GIVE SUPPORT to its master through broadcasting of falsehood.Of course, ST's is not a servant of PAP nor Lee, everyone in Singapore knows that. Probably they are mis-informed.

Such moves, the news articles publicity stunts by ST to promote the hardworking PAP MPs while no reporting on oppositions and the "INTENSIFIED" MPs and Ministers home visits tell a chilling fact that the ruling party is panicking on the coming Election, which is drawing closer everyday.

For instance, one of the Minister just made a walk about visit around a month ago to my area with his followers giving me a 2 weeks advance notice, it was to ensure I would be there when he walked through the corridor of my house. I have never seen his appearance for more than 8 years I moved into the area.

Same with my mother-in-law who stayed in Circuit Road for more than 30 years. She has just been visited by her MP followed with an army of assistants. I was more lucky than her because she was given a 10 minute time frame to prepare for it, she was taking her shower when the messenger came to her house. I later asked her when was the last MP visit? Her answer was this is the first time.

The thing is that visiting is one thing, you inconvenient people because you make them wait for you, but as long as there are some benefitial outcome to such visit, it is still fine. I recall the question that the MP and Minister first post is "what problem do you have?" Seems to me that they want to solve our problems, or they are expecting us to want them to solve our problems.

If you believe so, wait till you spill out your problems! It is in fact a formality that they ask such questions. Then they will tell you that this is not their department, they can't help and and they simply wash hands on the matter, most of the time.

Seriously, if this is the answer that they give to the people, I prefer them to stop such visits. It is a waste of time and does not even benefit anyone, primarily themselves. Such are publicity goes wrong and it gives people more negative impression on them. They need to change marketing strategist for better effect ( look for me!!). I think their posters would work better than their visits, at least it gives people illusion that they are standing there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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