Friday, September 10, 2004
For the time that I spent on the net, it didn't seem to turn out as productive as I wanted it to be. The sense of productivitity, of course, doesn't mean how much it is worth in any monetory nor career improvement terms. Yet it doesn't mean spiritually as well.
Though I can make myself comfortable in any of the circle I am in now, but there is always this awkwardness that I strongly felt when I am in a community, it confirms me that I might not belong to any part of the world that I am attach to nor the one that I am alongside with it at the moment. Solitary echoes in me when I thinking in English. English is the community that makes me feel like an alien. I am one.
Cruising in Ginza or in Shinjuku doesn't fulfill my materialistical lust. Instead, it magnify the capability that I am available. Have I no money? I have though not in such a big quantity to turn my home into a castle.
May be I need a big ego to get myself going for the "making more money" mind. May be that's what I need.
Going Back for Holiday
Sunday, September 12, 2004
I have got my ticket back to Kuala Lumpur for 2 weeks holiday. 4 of us will be back to KL on 19 Sept, Sun, which means this weekend.
I have not planned for where to stay, most probably at the hotel in KL central. There is this lateststay.com (http://www.latestays.com/) I just found the other day. Looks okay. So many of the hotel names have changed. And the internet access is still not that popular, apparently.
Want to have pool everyday if possible. And planning to go to Hyatt Kuantan again. Got to find out more.
4 of us, er 4.5 of us, actually.
Preparation Before Landing
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
I am taking my summer holidays plus a few annual leave to go back home to KL. The last trip was 2 years ago. I am trying to recall things I should remember and yet the memory is rather blur. Well things have changed, so I don't have to stick to whatever I know, just let it be, may be.
Am still trying to check out which hotel should stay. As this time we will be staying long, so I don't want to make myself feel uncomfortable with the rooms and facilities. Of course rate is another problem. My wife suggests don't spend too much on that as we don't really use the hotels, and most of the time we will be out. I don't trust the word cheap. Of course the best is those hotels that I stayed before. We used to stay in hotels when we were newly married. There is always on promotion for weekend at that time because lots of hotels were rushing for opening.
Another thing I just found that, internet access is such an issue. Should I bring one Airport Express? May be I should. This is the time I need pen and paper.
I want to walk around those areas that I used to go before. Oh, my camera and films. All the things that kids need as well.
Hey friends, if you have read my email, please reply soon. I want to see you all and your kids.
Seeing You, Seeing Me
Thursday, September 16, 2004
I have got my hotel booked for a week near Twin Tower. So, now it's time to have my schedule filled in from time to time.
If you are in KL, and would like to meet up with me, do let me know. Pikey is arranging a meet up on 26th Sept (Sun) evening. Grace will be joining us. Agnes, and potatoe as well, I presume. Who else is coming? Oh, of course, our princesses and the queen will be there as well. And talk about BB area, I wonder if the kids are okay. Got to check again with pikey.
As my wife is pregnant now, I don't think we will be doing much moving, most probably cruising the malls, spending lots of time drinking coffee and tea in town. Really, just relax. Isn't that what we wanted?
Got to buy things back home. That's really not an easy job always.
Applying International Driving License for Malaysian
Saturday, September 18, 2004
I have been wanting to apply this, and I didn't manage to do it. This time I really need to get it done.
The first thing I search for Malaysia International driving license, most of it came out for UK nationality usage in Malaysia. Change the word to applying International driving license for Malaysian, and I got this, http://www.jpj.gov.my/malay/plesen16.htm which I needed (in Malay).
I recalled all the governmental departments have moved to PutraJaya, the above related one is in PutraJaya now. But it says it can be applied through, Persatuan Automobil Malaysia, the English name is as below, and the address.
Automobile Association of Malaysia AAM - Persatuan Automobil Malaysia. Block E-7-4 Megan Phileo Promenade, 189 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur. Tel: 03 2162 5777 (General), 03 2161 0808 (24hrs breakdown assistance and towing service)
Postscript: AAM has moved to Jalan Semarak. 03-2162-5777. Go to AAM directly if you want, with two photos and your driving license and IC, they can do it on the spot for you. The cost is RM150. Easy and fast. No form needed to fill in as mentioned above, just a simple card which it can be done on the spot as well. Lots of the info at the above url needs update.
The Virtual Friends With Real Faces
Sunday, September 26, 2004
Met the guys on the blog, Agnes, Grace, Pikey, and Potatoe. We had a good time. They were having a good time with my kids, I think.
Agnes, sorry that we didn't have dinner together. Your "sahabat" is always my good company and good entertainer.
Grace, I want all your recipes! Sambals and the chicken rice chillies, we sure will give it a try.
It's always nice to meet people. Having chatting online with Pikey all the while, it's the first time we ever met. Thanks for the arrangement.
What sort of parents we were! Having Potatoe running for our kids, falling here and there and we still trying to convince him "never mind, it's okay" when the kids were marathoning on the whole floor of KLCC and at the restaurant. Thanks Potatoe, you will be a good baby-sitter and a good daddy, I am sure.
On the way back to hotel, Karin suddenly repeated "nebar mine nebar mine" continuiously in the car. She is catching English fast.
Making My Mykad, My my my, Long Story
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
I do know Malaysia loves IT thingy like crazy, but I didn't know that all cards have to be so SF-like.
The IC that I am holding, which made of plastic but with bar codes and two finger thumbs info on it, needs to change to a co-called Mykad nationwide-ly within this two years. It not only contains one's basic info like IC number, bod, and address, it can includes driving license info and as well as your passport number, etc., supposedly. What one needs is just take the old IC and go the any of the Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (National Registration Department) they will do everything including taking the photos digitally on the spot, that's what I was told. Well, I am not coming back home to do all these things, but might as well to get it done once for all.
So, I went to Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, the one near University Kuala Lumpur (what univ is that??) located in the Majujunction shopping complex on the 6th floor in the morning for the change at 8am (they open at 7:30am), and what an experience it was!
Took a number, and the lady asked if the address on my IC is the same as the current one, I said yes as that's my brother's house address that I used for correspondence in Malaysia, so she just gave me a number asked me to wait till the number will to be called. Otherwise, I will have to fill in a change-of-address form.
My family told me, get a number and check out roughly around what time the numbers will be called then come back before the time. I thought of doing that too if my number will to be called in the afternoon, but as the number looked as if I had about 80 persons in front of me, but for the first 10 minutes, 4 to 6 persons had been called, this is fast I said to myself, so may be I will do some meditation, perhaps read there and just wait there to kill time instead of going back to the hotel and came back again.
But, things happened. The queue suddenly became slow. And I saw at each counter there were two plastic signboards put on the side, one is closed, which I think this is useful when no one is working on the desk; two is, Sorry system interrupted. Wow, they need a signboard for the system downs on a regular basis??? Which means it is rather often they experience it, huh? (The lady told me, it's everyday!) I didn't see any counter using the sign, must be embarrassing to put that on. But definitely the queue was not moving fast as what I saw in the first time. Something went wrong.
Never mind, so I went for my breakfast at the 3rd floor, the numbers were displayed on the TV screen, so I could wait there. After went for my breakfast and still the number appeared didn't seem to get closer to mine nor getting faster, so I just had my morning tea, teh tarik and waited again.
That took awhile, but at last I was called. Tried to be helpful, I gave her my queue number, IC, and driving license together. The next second she got a "Oh, not again!" look on her when she tried to key in something. I asked her what's wrong. She said, her pc got hung-up when she tried to access to JPJ, the department she wanted to check my driving license. For a while, I knew why the queue had been so slow.
I started to think.
Which company is handling this data exchange? Do they really know how the integration works? And how much data exchange do they simulate every minute when they took the project? Do they really figure out the population in the country? They sure are on the dedicated line for connection I presume, are they? Are they on the national internet provider jaring's backbone? Does anyone know why Malaysian websites are slow because jaring is scanning every and each website?
I saw a guy who seemed like from the outside, came to each counter and did some not-so-important-conversation with the pics who were trying to figure out also what was the problem with the pcs or may be the system.
The lady who was trying to do my turn, was she mad! She was trying to write a complaint note. I guess she knew the people are angry too everyday. It gave me a thought that governmental officials have become the commoners. They are the same consumers like all of us. For example, she has to learn how to scan thumbs, and also how to slot credit card! I wanted to know if she says thank you. And if the printer is run out of papers, my, she got to refill that herself! She has to be one perfect superman capability worker! When she got the job, did she expect the country will have to go so far? To get the whole nation to scan thumbs and she needs to slot credit card? Of course, she is not going to verify my signature if I were have to make some payment, will she? What happend if the signature isn't the same? Will she call to the Citibank to verify? Or are they trained already what to do? All the convenience that this country wants are some ego or satisfaction of the top people, she and others are just working there.
When the system got back to normal, she said, I can have my driving info put in my Mykad later. Today "let's do the basic IC" only. It took less than 5 minutes actually.
And when the second she asked me to go to take my photo at the next counter at the far end, my name was called before I fully stood up. That was fast! That's really IT, isn't it? And the lady who supposed to take my photo asked me to, er, verify myself with my left-hand tumbs. So, they do verify.
While looking at the camera, I was wondering what brand was the mini-size studio light stand, which worked like one in a real studio, and how much it costs. I presume it is some European brands, the old and dark design doesn't look young. And who is the one who sells it to the department?
What I wanted to know is, the Mykad is not an original idea from Malaysia. So, someone must have consulted the department or the Minister to implement the system. Knowing Malaysia is not creative, those thumb scanning or system integration must have been coming from some consulting firms which they might know where to get those appliances or someone tried to sell it to them. And when the whole project falls into some consulting company's trap, that's how the taxes go to some specific guys' pocket.
I am not interested in how governmental officials corrupt story. Those who believe the whole world should have no corruption are some stupid idiot who don't know how the real world runs around. Corruption is everywhere. The one who gives money is also wrong, which most probably is the one who compliant later because he is the one who knows the other side's story and most probably provided to someone to write about the inside stories. The corruption system is a give-and-take game. There is no one-side-wrong-all-the-way-down-to-hell like a bad guy story.
I am just curious how the money flows. If possible, I want to know how the person(s) who have the idea of selling it to the country. Who are they? This is not just a "when at the party, someone came up the idea" that sort of thing. It's a well planned strategy game. You can say it is a conspiracy. It's a big money game. And I want to know who is the real winner at the back stage too.