Pledge your support!!! Spread the word!!! Switch off!!!

Everyone says that they are worried about the declining state of our environment. Most would say that they feel powerless to do something about it. Fortunately for us, on Saturday 28th March 2009 at 8:30pm, we can do something to make a difference. We could switch off our lights for one hour in support of the Earth Hour global event to express our desire to see a unified action on climate change within our lifetime. It may not seem to be much but with 1 billion people around the world pledging to do the same, our voice will have weight in an effort to change policies that affect the environment that we live and depend upon.

For 1 hour on the 28th March, individual and groups who have pledged to support this event are asked to switch off unused lights in nonessential areas within our houses and businesses. Electrical appliances that are on standby mode should also be switched off for that hour as the still consume electricity even in that state. Supporting the Earth Hour even doesn’t mean that you have a total blackout during that hour. One would not really have to turn off the refrigerator or security lights, for example, during this time to fulfill the pledge. It would be sufficient to at the very minimum to switch off all room lights between 8:30 – 9:30pm to show your support.

Change start with the one person who says that change must happen. Everyone can be that one person to initiate change. For Earth Hour, interested parties need only to register their support by logging on to the Earth Hour website at http://www.earthhour.org.my/ and filling up their details online. Once registered, fulfill your pledge by voluntarily switching off your lights and standby electrical appliances on the appointed hour. Think about ways of continuing message of the Earth Hour after 28th March by changing our consumption habits and ways of making our household more energy efficient as well as environmental friendly. We owe that much to ourselves and our future generations.

Pledge your support today at http://www.earthhour.org.my/
For more info on the Earth Hour 2009 event, browse their FAQs section at http://www.earthhour.org/mediacentre/my:en/article?id=eh1503222967117284609

New Maybank2u.com Portal Interface Woes

The new user interface to Maybank2u.com is really, really ill conceived and planned!

I’ve been a customer of their for years and have been using their internet banking facilities pretty much for most of those year. I have come to depend on that facility for almost all of my banking needs from bill payment, shopping and fund transfers. It has always been a convenience for me especially since banks have stopped operating on weekends which used to be the only time I could do my banking. It is not surprising then that I would be really ticked off to find the very service that made the banking experience with Maybank so convenient these past years so unacceptable with this new user interface.

They have set the bar quite high with their previous user interface. Their customers will have the same expectations that they have before when they login to the new interface. When those expectations are not met, having a screen that pops up apologizing for any inconvenience caused by the new interface is simply not enough. Changing the interface without a reasonable transition period for users to get use to the change also shows a surprisingly short-sighted planning on the implementation team. Were they not expecting the problems that people would have adjusting to the sudden change? I’m fairly sure that the change was done very recently since the last time that I used the Maybank2u.com interface earlier this month, it was still using the old interface.

A saving grace to all of this is that users are given the option of using the old (they are calling it the “classic”) interface on main screen that users come to when they type in the URL. Unfortunately, it is not implicitly clear how to get to the classic interface from that page. It took me a bit to realize that users are suppose to click on the box that tells the user that they could still use the classic interface to get to those pages. The site implementers would do well to have the link to the classic interface defined much more clearer to their visitors to avoid having their customer hunt for it.

Instead of making the new interface the default screens that Maybank2u.com customers see when they come to the site, they should have done the opposite and offer the new site as an option for early adopters to try out. As more people get a chance to get accustomed to the new layout, the better the acceptance of the new interface will get when it is implemented. It would even be better if those early adopters could give their feedback to the site designers that could be incorporated into the final design. If this opportunity was presented to the Maybank2u.com users in the preceding months then I can truly say that I was totally unaware of it. If it was then most probably notification of early adopter opportunities were not prominent enough to get the attentions of those who might want to try it out.

The worse sin of the new Maybank2u.com interface has to be the slow response and unpredictable login stability. It took me nearly 5 minutes to pay 2 bills that would have taken me less than 1 minute in the old interface. It was worse when my login got cut off in the middle of a transaction with only a pop up screen to apologize for the inconvenience of having to login again. While the transaction did not go through and I did not lose any money for the botched transaction, it was not an experience that I wanted to go through if I was in the middle of transferring a large sum through the system. It was really disappointing to note that such bugs in the systems were not thoroughly tested and fixed before the interface was opened to the public. I have to wonder if the project team responsible for the new interface considered all the possible scenarios for the user acceptance phase of their design and implementation project.

I do hope that the implementation team fixes all the problems that this new Maybank2u.com interface has and fixes them soon. It will be a blow to their customer’s confidence in using their internet banking facilities if this were not to happen. I would definitely be much more happier if they reverted back to the old interface and offer the new interface as a link for early adopters to try out while they work out all the kinks in the system. It is not fair for them to expect their users to accept a substandard level of service while they try to get their act together with the new interface.

Bukit Gasing Needs Your Help!

I wrote about going hiking with friends at Bukit Gasing back in January of this year. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to go back and revisit the trail again since then due to other commitment. Now it seems that I may not have much longer before there will no longer be a Bukit Gasing hiking trail to come back to!

A blog reader left me a comment on that particular entry to inform me that the development work I noted earlier on my hike has already commence on the KL side of Bukit Gasing as of 27th March 2008 apparently in violation of a court order by the High Court granting Judicial Review on the matter of the development. More on this case and other information about the threat looming over Bukit Gasing can be found at their Save Bukit Gasing website which is open for public review.

From their website.

We seek your urgent support and actions as follows:

• We need the support of residents and the general public to stop this development before it is too late.
• We need financial funding to pay our lawyers and court expenses. Our long term battle includes getting a public hearing with DBKL, getting a stop work order, then proving the site is too dangerous for any development, reversing the approval for development, and finally gazetting the site as a permanent green lung.
• We also need petition support, meaning your signatures and presence in our public petitions and activities.
• We need voluntary workers to volunteer their time and effort to organize efforts to campaign our cause.
• We need resources such as information and expertise that will support our cause - engineers, geologists, experts, politicians (we already got Hee Loy Sian, Edward Lee, Sivarasa and Elizabeth Wong and Nurul, to support our cause and bring it up to higher authorities).
• We also need contacts with various organizations, bodies and societies that can help support our cause.

The group is also organizing a “Save Bukit Gasing Family Day” this weekend. Unfortunately it looks like that I would not be able to be there but it will not stop me from spreading the info about that event to those who come and read my blog. They could use all the exposure on the event that they can get.

If you like, you are more than welcomed to go and download their event poster from the Save Bukit Gasing website and put it up as an entry on your own blog. The more people know about what is happening in the Bukit Gasing area, the higher the possibility that some change will come out of this show of concern.

Breath And Reflect

It was truly a political tsunami.

The bloodiest general election this country has seen since independence has left casualties in it’s wake. Long standing political figures suddenly found their fortunes sour in the blink of an eye. Sure bets turned out to be anything but. In the race to recapture one, four have been lost in the wayside and the one still prove to be elusive.

Uncertainties abound. Will campaign promises made be fulfill in the coming term? Will there be any major changes that will impact the individual person on the street? Will there be any impact on how outsiders view our country’s recent political development? Will it impact the markets and foreign exchanges?

In the aftermath of great upheavals, it is normal to find oneself in a state of daze and confusion. In this case, it is no different. We have seen how the people have exercise their right as citizens to vote for change in how our country is being administered. Now we are looking for what will happen next.

To the victors goes the spoils of victory but also the responsibility to make right what has been fought for all these years. The sentiment that voters want to vote for change will only go so far if the status quo is maintained. Voters will be expecting to see the plans for change and measurable milestones to look forward to.

To the losers goes the responsibility to review and reflect on the bloody defeat. Arrogance, complacency and hubris have conspired to set the stage for the fall from grace. This time will be best spent to recoup losses, reconsolidate and reassess where things went wrong and what is needed to rebuild the tattered reputation.

Breath and reflect.

That is what the rest of us need to do. Whether we voted for the victors or the losers, the outcome has already been made certain. We will need to give them time to organize and plan for their next move. Till then we continue to live our lives as if nothing has changed and not make plans based on things that we can never be certain will happen.

Breath and reflect.

Time To Stand And Deliver

Most (hopefully) Malaysian eligible voters will be out tomorrow to vote in their choice of representative to administer our country for the next term. I count myself as one of them since this will be the second time that I will be voting for the future of my country. Hopefully I can figure out when I am suppose to go to cast my vote since they have changed the polling station I’m suppose to go to since the last general election. I don’t think that there will be much problems trying to figure that out since there bound to be a lot of party volunteers stationed around the area near my place who would be more than happy to ferry me to the polling station as they did in the last general election.

I am apolitical by choice. I despise participating in any political discussion and have know to leave the table if anyone starts a discussion on politics during meal times which I have always found highly distasteful. Despite professing my apolitical stance, it does not mean that I have no awareness of the political situation that we live in. I actually do know what is happening politic-wise and what is more important is that I make my own personal choice about it. I do not need blatantly desperate TV spots (the product of a whole PR team that will deserve to be fired for the over exuberance use of heavy handed messages) to sway me nor do I need empty rhetoric from people who really wish that they were in power instead of the other person. The more either side try to shove their message forcefully down my throat, the faster the bitter bile within me threatens to spill over.

I do not believe in voting in change for change sake. We need a clear vision and reasonable goals to strive to especially in the face of the global uncertainties surrounding us today. We need track records of achievements and not just people with the potential to do better but later never deliver them after they are elected. We need doers who actually come down to the ground level to do what is necessary to make sure that we continue to prosper as a nation. We do not need sayers who talk the talk but fail to walk the walk when they have received their responsibilities. We do not need leaders who says one thing when they were in the winning side then says the exact opposite when they find themselves out of favor and stranded in the opposite camp.

“With great power, comes great responsibility” - fan’s of the Spiderman comics knows this philosophy by heart. This statement is especially true in light of certain changes made by people in power who sometimes seems to forget who put them in power. You (the powers that be) are responsible for the running of the country to benefit the people and not your individual persons and cronies. Long have we seen how the benefits are not so equally distributed down the food chain down to the level of the people on the street and definite grumblings have already been voiced out in hopes that it would only be heard but also took notice of. We would definitely be watching if those voices have been heard and if those complaints will be addressed.

My dad gave me this gem when I first became aware of politics and their implications on my future. He told me,

“All politicians are pirates. The older pirates have already amassed their
plunder throughout the years, feel complacent and would be less likely to tax
heavily to increase their wealth. New pirates on the other hand would be hungry,
greedy for bounty and would only have gold in their eyes when they see you.
Think about who would you rather have around you and use that to decide who to
vote for”

No doubt it is not hard to figure out who he votes for in every general election! Regardless, I have taken that lesson to heart and have always used that idea when deciding on who I would vote for.

We need balance in our next administration.

We need a strong government who will have to navigate use safely in the uncertain waters of the current world economic and political seas. We do not need an inward looking government with policies that would see the nation contract from it’s position in the world both economically and politically.

We need a strong opposition front who would act as a check and balance mechanism to ensure continued transparency and accountability. We do not need an opposition front more interested in getting personal payback and loudly criticizing without offering rational constructive alternatives to be considered.

We need a stronger sense of ourselves as a united multicultural nation whose differences are recognized and celebrated equally. We do not need to have our nation to become more Arab than Arab just to prove that we are better than other people.

I will not be voting in change for change sake. Nor will I be voting for the continuation of status quo.

I will be voting for balance and moderation.

This is my choice.

Have you made yours?

On The Soapbox: Stray Thoughts On The Malaysian Film Industry

I went into town last weekend looking for either a paperback edition of Christopher Rice’s most recent book ,“Light Before Day”, or the 2-CD original movie soundtrack to “Rent” (or both). Unfortunately the book was out of stock and they only had the single CD package for the soundtrack CD at the Borders bookstore that I went to. I still want to try to get them locally so this means that I would have to make another trip into town in the near future. Normally I would order them online but ordering either books or audio CDs from Amazon.com is surprisingly a more expansive affair (shipping cost-wise) than ordering DVDs from them. I have yet to find any other online retailer who has better shipping rates and product discounts than Amazon.com so if it is too expansive for me to get them from Amazon.com then I doubt I could get it cheaper on the other online sites. Trying to source the book and the CDs locally makes more cost sense to me at this juncture.

Having read about the Movie Carnival 2006 happening last weekend at Berjaya Times Square from SultanMuzzafar’s blog, I decide to drop in to see what it was all about. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed at the layout of the booths that they had since it was a bit too close together and there it was fairly clear to me that little thought about crowd flow went into the arrangement. More than half of the booths there were more focused on promoting movie tie-in merchandises rather than the movies themselves. The worst example of this has to be the “Superman Returns” booth where they were just signing up people for credit cards. They did have caps with the Superman shield on them but I think you only get them if you sign-up for their credit card. They should have at least some other promotional material and a screen running the teaser/trailer for the movie there.

There were a few large screen displays scattered all over the area showing some trailers of the movies that they were promoting at the event but most of them had their volumes turned down to next to nothing. I would think that it would defeat the purpose of promotion if the viewers can’t hear anything from the trailers being shown. They also grouped all the trailers together with little consideration where it would play so that you would see a trailer for say “Garfield 2” at the “X-Men : The Last Stand” booth which I thought defeated the purpose of having a big name film singled out for a booth. It would have been better if they packaged a trailer package for the specific movie to play at the film’s booth and leave the rest to play at screens in the more general areas. I think they only did the trailers package right for the booth setup for the upcoming “Poseidon” remake.

After looking that the day’s listing of events, I decided to stick around for a bit for the “Gubra” cast appearance later that day. They also had the GSC Movie Forum set up before the cast appearance so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to stay around to listen to the panel for a bit. They set up they had on stage was simple for a non-formal discussion and there were no seats for the audience to sit down to listen to what was being discussed. I’m fairly certain that the topic discussed in that forum session was about the future direction of the local film industry which by the way were prominently absent among the films being promoted at the event. I would think that this movie carnival would be a good venue for local films to get early exposure by way of showing potential viewers their trailer/teasers but other than “Gubra” the upcoming local film promotional presence was sadly negligible. Don’t our local films make trailers/teasers that can be shown before the film comes out in the cinemas? Based on the films promoted in the event, the answer looked like they don’t or just don’t care about promoting locally produced films.

Sidebar aside, I have to admit to not knowing anyone on the discussion panel that afternoon. Being just the casual movie-goer myself, I would have appreciated that the moderator could have run through the introductions better so that we know who they were and their background as related to the film industry. Having them tell you how many times they watch movies in the cinema doesn’t make them a credible forum participant. This is especially apparent when they started discussing about their views of the local film production and where they think the direction that it would take in the future. As I was sitting there listening to the discussion, I was astounded by their lack of awareness of the local film industry other than the old P Ramlee films and Yasmin Ahmad’s films. I didn’t really know if I should be insulted or sad to find out that most on the panel have not watch any locally produced films other than the ones they highlighted.

There is such a wealth of films between P Ramlee and Yasmin’s films that they totally ignored in their discussion. The local film industry was not always sappy love stories and happy endings. We had notable horror movies like the “Pontianak” series long before the horror movie influx from Thailand and East Asia. Our local film industry have deftly tackled social issues resulting from the mass urbanization and modernization of the country back in the days in films such as “Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan”, “Matinya Seorang Patriot”, “Setinggan”, “Langit Petang” and “Dia Ibuku”. The cast of the locally produced films were more multicultural back then as evident in the “Jefri Zain” and “Nora Zain” spy films compared to most movies now. One can hardly ignore the popularity of Jins Shamsuddin’s “Esok” series of film in terms of melodramatic tear-jerkers that entertained audiences in the late 70’s early 80’s. Even closer to the current time, movie such as “Layar Lara”, “Kaki Bakar”, “Embun”, “Paloh”, “Rahsia”, “Perempuan Melayu Terakhir”, “Spinning Gasing” and “Puteri Gunung Ledang” would stand out as memorable films produced locally to people who know the local film industry.

I can possibly forgive the panelist for not knowing these films as they have long been ignored by those responsible for the preservation and promotion of these films. Other than the P Ramlee films that they show multiple times on local TV, there was little effort made to restore and reshow the other locally produce films from the past. With such lack of interest and exposure, it is no wonder that a lot of people hardly know these films and could not appreciate how much they added to the fabric of the Malaysia film industry history. More than anything, I personally feel that the local film industry as it stands now has regressed to an earlier standard of story-telling due to the lack of imaginative interpretation of what is happening in Malaysia today. With the exception of a few local filmmakers, most are content to churn out movies that are blind to the reality of what is happening outside of the confines of their camera viewfinder.

One point that I agreed with the panel was that of the need to pull in more audience to watch locally produced film and help generate a more profitable return so that in turn will generate more locally produced movies. I do not agree with the panelist contention that the reason this is not happening is due to the restrictions placed on the local filmmakers when making their films. An imaginative director/writer could find balanced ways to tell their story in subtext if required to circumvent they restrictions without degenerating to a pretentious artsy mess. I truly, hopefully not naively, want to believe that the local movie-goer today would be able to pickup on subtle subtext if done properly. My own personal view is that the reason why most non-Malays don’t come to watch most locally produced films and by extension contribute to the bottom-line ticket returns is because they do not see themselves in these films. For the longest time, there has been no positive representation of the Chinese, Indian and other races including the indigenous Orang Asli in our films. They do not see themselves and their aspirations reflected in what is being shown in local films and that makes the film more like a foreign film than one produced by their fellow countryman. As long as local filmmakers continue to ignore the other half of the population and continue to represent them in less than appealing unrealistic portrayals, they will never get them to watch local films.

I am not a filmmaker by trade or training. Neither am I a person with links to the film industry. What I am is a concerned movie-goer wishing for better and more honest locally produced films. If the panel on that particular day at the Movie Carnival 2006 proved anything to me, it was that we don’t know our own local films well enough to envision how we can produced better films. In the current atmosphere where some (OK .. one in particular) films being blamed for polluting the national culture and impinging on moral sensibilities, are they conveniently forgetting the past films that have more controversial images and subject matter that could have easily be worse than what we see today just for the sake of condemnation? If so then it is surely a sad and despairing time for our local film industry because we have these small-minded individuals trying to tell the whole country what to watch. If we let them dictate what gets produced locally, we will only get locally films that appeal to only half of the population and ignores the reality of what is happening outside of their narrow world view.

Local films would be really boring then.

You Did Ask For My Opinion, Didn't You?

I was just minding my own business at the malls last Saturday afternoon when a smartly dressed young lady came up to me and asked me if I was willing to participate in a market survey that they were conducting. After making sure that I wasn’t setup for some televised prank ala “Candid Camera” (I’m that paranoid when it comes to strangers), I asked for more details about what the survey was about. It seems that a famous food-chain was testing out a new product and was looking for some public feedback about their new product. Having never been in a new product development food tasting study before, I was intrigued enough with the idea to agree to the offer. Although I may look like the type of guy who never turn down good food, I’m actually quite finicky about the food that I would eat so this was not done without a little bit of apprehension on my part.

They brought me over to the area where they have the food testing session set up and started with some preliminary questions. They started off with a few demographic questions and proceeded to get first impressions of the product from the descriptions and photos that they gave me. I won’t actually say here who was doing the product testing just in case it was suppose to be confidential but suffice to say that they were testing out a new pasta dish to add to their current menu. It was all good at that point for me. The product looked appealing, the description of the product was intriguing and pasta just happened to be one of my favorite food to eat in the world.

Once the pre tasting questionnaires were completed, they brought me a single portion to try out. Before I did, I was asked to eat a piece of plain crackers and a cup of plain water to cleanse the palate I’m guessing. My first impression of the dish was the lack of aroma that I was expecting from the ingredients that they said was in the dish from their earlier description. I could tell that they have not had a tester like me before that day since I had to explain why I was sniffing the pasta that was served to me. I don’t know if it’s just me but I do like to savor the aromas of something that I have never eaten before to try to figure out what’s in it and set the expectations of what I think it should taste like. I know that some people absolutely freak out when I do that in public.

The first mouthful was a disappointment because it was so off from my expectation of what it should be based on my first impression. I almost choked on the second mouthful as my throat started to revolt against the vile excuse of a pasta dish that I was trying to swallow. This was the first time in my life that I had to say no to pasta. It tasted like under boiled yellow noodles with some shrimp and vegetables, sprinkled with bits of raw garlic and dried chili flakes and then smothered with uncooked peanut oil. It was criminal to even call it pasta because it tasted no different from the oily instant fried noodle mix that they sell at the grocery shops. I was expecting for a light, tart, clean tasting and healthy dish but ended up tasting the worse thing I have ever tasted this year.

The marketer was clearly surprised at the extent of my reaction that she even called her team leader to sit in to hear out my feedback. I guess that some people can stomach the swill that they were trying to serve more that I could. We proceeded to go through all the questions that they had post tasting and I gave them more feedback of what I thought was wrong with the product. At that point, I felt that it was my duty as a concerned citizen not to allow this half-baked idea of a dish to be consumed by customers of this food chain in the future. I think that I spent almost more than half an hour giving all my feedback to them. It was lucky for me that the marketer team leader seemed very attentive to my feedback and asked all the pertinent questions to get the most of our session.

At the end of it, they asked if I would be willing to be a volunteer in future product testing. I jokingly told them that I would as long as they don’t try to poison me with bad food like this one. I left my business card with them and agreed that they can contact me for future food testing as needed. In a way, I’m doing my part in the civic duty of making sure bad food never makes it to the menu of the eating establishments in this country.

It beats signing up to join the Army at my age.

Funny Way To Do Business

A few days back, my mobile phone service provider sent me a letter informing me that my current mobile post-paid plan has been converted to a minutes plan. Basically what this means is that I would have to pay a fixed amount of ringgit every month for a fixed block of minutes and SMS text messages. Any extra call minutes or SMS that I use above the specific package will be charged accordingly. So now instead of paying a monthly service fee, everything I pay now goes towards my total call minutes and SMS text quotas. My kindly mobile phone company even calculated my average mobile phone bill based on my bills for the past 4 months. From the average, they have recommended me to take the 480 minutes plan with 50 free SMS texts.

“Recommended” is not actually accurate in this case. They basically switched me over to the 480 minutes plan based on the monthly average that they calculated which by the way included the service fee that I had to pay each month. If the people who actually come up with the calculation were to really look at my monthly bill they would surely find that I hardly use more than 30 minutes of calls each month. In fact, my SMS text total is usually 5 times more than my call total. If I stayed with the 480 minutes package that they assigned to me, I could have potentially wasted 450 minutes every month if I didn’t decide to change to a different plan. Instead of making their subscribers go through the hassle of changing to another plan from what they provider automatically assign to them they should have asked the subscriber to choose their own preferred plan in the first place. Imagine the number of calls to the customer service hotline they could have avoided had they did this instead of assigning the plan without the subscriber’s input.

On the bright side, I didn’t run into too many problems trying to switch my current minutes plan to another that has much less call minutes assigned to the block. It took me only a few minutes and a few questions to verify my identity to change my current plan that would give me a savings of RM50 per month on my mobile phone bill. The only downside to this new plan that I choose is that I get less free SMS texts compared to my recommended plan. I wished that the mobile service provider would allow unused call minutes to be converted to SMS text but according to the customer service person I talked to that day this was not part of the plan. Still the low cost for each additional SMS text and the RM50 savings that I’m getting from this plan makes this choice acceptable.

A Scary Thought

It was reported in the local evening news today that the people who organize the National Service Program for secondary school leavers are considering to add weapons training into their program modules. They are saying that this addition to the training modules is prompted by many requests from the public for the program to train these 18 year olds how to handle a loaded weapon to increase their self-discipline.

I don’t think so.

It is scary to think that they are willing to consider to train these people how to handle a weapon when they are not yet even allowed to vote. These people are not even allowed to buy cigarettes from a shop and yet they think that they can trusted with ammunition live or otherwise. No doubt that they would teach safe gun handling techniques as part of the training module but do these secondary school leavers really need this knowledge?

Teach them unarmed combat by all means if they want to instill self discipline but lets consider the wisdom of putting guns into the hands of children. The thought of these trainees leave the programs with knowledge of how to handle a weapon is very frightening. I thought that the National Service Program was establish to prepare these secondary school leavers for either life in tertiary education institutions or the general populace.

Since when did the National Service Program start training these children to be part of the military?

In The News Today

I read an article in one of the local newspaper here reporting that Malaysia will be on a brink of a HIV epidemic if necessary steps are not taken quickly to stem the spread of the disease. It seems that HIV cases are currently in the increase and that the largest group on record living with HIV in the country are the intravenous drug users. With that in mind, the government is considering a free needle and condom program targeted to these people. Of course there are some quarters in Malaysia are up in arms about the program saying that it is a waste of public funding and that it promotes drug usage and sexual activities.

While I applaud the governments plan to distribute free needles and condoms to drug addicts, I am wary of the effectiveness of the delivery system should a government agency be responsible for the distribution. For one, would they be really impartial to those who come to their centers seeking these free items. Would these addicts feel safe enough to come forward and claim these free needles if they fear that they would be arrested by the police if they came to the distribution centers for them? It would indeed be a waste of public funding if this program does not meet its objective just because of faulty execution.

I guess that in these situations, the NGOs like Pink Triangle and the like would be the best avenue for distributions. I’ve read somewhere that they have done something similar with the sex workers before so I don’t think that it would be a stretch to expand the distributions to include free needles. The only limitations that I see here is that these NGOs are mostly concentrated in the urban areas which leaves those who need this program in the rural areas out in the cold.

I hope that they seriously consider the distribution logistics carefully so they can maximize the impact of this program if they really decide to follow though with it. I do believe that this is a good program if done properly and proper awareness provided directly to those who need it. On that note, the article also says that the fastest growing group newly infected by HIV in Malaysia are those who contracted the disease through sexual contact. I am very disturbed by this fact and have personally heard how some people are wholly ignorant of safe sex practices.

I came to age in a time where everyone knew about the dangers of HIV and AIDS. I learn that sex must be practiced in a safe way. No protection meant no sex no matter what. Going for your first HIV test was a rite of passage every sexually active person had to go through. Somewhere along the way, the things that we learned back then are not passed down to the next batch of sexually active people. Where did things go wrong?

Petition on Censorship

GAK ... no Friday Five questions for this week! Oh ... no! I have to be original for my Friday blog entry. The horror ... the horror of it all.

Well ... today is definitely not one of the days that I can think of something original to write. I have a bunch of things planned for this coming weekend. I have to go back to my parents place and spend the weekend with them. I need to do some shopping for new office wear as the ones I have now are practically coming apart at the seams (due to wear and tear rather than me gaining weight). I also need to get a new mobile phone since the piece of crap I’m using now is literally dying on me. Last but not least, I’m taking next Monday off to go to the LHDN office to clear up some problems with my income tax file before they charge me with tax evasion or something. I just hope that I would be able to get everything done this weekend.

I found the following petition from Nizam’s tag board and thought that it deserves to be highlighted to the visitors on my blog spot. Of course, it doesn’t matter if the visitors to my blog spot are actually the same people who visit Nizam’s place. Anyway ... this petition is organized by Artisproactiv to protest the recent theater performance guidelines introduced by KL City Hall. Read through the petition and sign it, if you are so inclined, by clicking on the link provided at the end of this entry. Join the fight against unreasonable and draconian censorship in Malaysia.


STRINGENT GUIDELINES EQUALS CENSORSHIP

"We KLites must be broadminded and liberal enough to accept such shows"
Datuk Bandar Datuk Mohmad Shaid Mohd Taufik, Tuesday 22 July, 2003, Malay Mail

We, the undersigned, are concerned at the erosion of civil liberties we see happening in Malaysia. We are deeply disturbed by the fact that Dewan Bandaraya KL (KL City Hall) has decided to enforce a series of guidelines that severely limits the growth of a vibrant arts community. We are also worried that the application of these guidelines, even though they are limited at the moment to the performing arts, could impact upon the growth of all forms of public expression and the arts: from film-making to visual arts to literature.

This action by DBKL comes without any consultation or negotiation with the arts community. A committee was chosen by DBKL to act as moral guardians by giving them the power to decide what scripts are "doubtful" and should be rejected outright. It also has the power to censor performances as it sees fit.

In addition most art practitioners learned about the guidelines, and the committee chosen to vet scripts, through articles in the local press.

Transparency and openness seem to have been lost.

This process impacts negatively on the aspirations for the art. In his 2003 Budget speech the Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad affirmed that the performing arts was an asset to the country's progressive and dynamic image and allocated RM 80.3 million to develop the arts.

City Hall has shown itself to be out of step with the direction the nation is taking by its latest action. That it does not understand the maturity of Malaysia's audiences was clear from the public outcry in July 2003 when it attempted to ban the work of Instant Cafe Theatre. In response to the public debate the Mayor himself came out in support of the need for more progressive liberal attitudes saying, "We KLites must be broadminded and liberal enough to accept such shows".

The Malaysian public has grown increasingly mature and willing to engage in debate and discussion. It is through speaking about our identity that we feel we belong – it is by encountering different opinions within our society, and recognizing that we remain united nevertheless, that we build a society that is vibrant, exciting and strong.

Audiences who come to see theatre in Malaysia make a choice – to come and be challenged, to laugh, to feel, to remember, to understand. Artists speak about identity – in talking about race or religion, about culture and ethnicity, we engage in a discussion about our true selves – about our memories and our understanding of how and why and where we are. The arts can contribute to a national dialogue, but only if it is not gagged.

We find it difficult to understand why DBKL has taken upon itself to “protect” an audience that does not need, nor want, that kind of “protection.” In fact, the arts audience desires choice and diversity. We may not like everything we see, but that does not mean we wish to see the stories and ideas silenced.

In 1990 The PAS-led state government of Kelantan issued a ban on all forms of traditional performance in that state for reasons similar to those announced by DBKL, signifying a concerted effort by both state and local authorities to increasingly intrude upon the space of cultural experience and illustrating that this attempt at censorship traverses all forms of cultural expression, in all cultural settings and in all languages.

The growth of the arts industry can be seen in increased private sector support for all elements of the arts, and by the flourishing of various sectors of the industry. However, the pattern of increasing censorship negates the growth we see, and creates conformity instead of diversity, and silence instead of discussion.

We feel it important to speak up now, to stem this tide of censorship. We speak not only as representatives from the arts community, but as concerned individuals who are part of a global society. We wish to see in Malaysia the support of all voices. We need the stories to be told, and the histories to be understood. Malaysia is an extraordinary country. We speak up now because we are committed to openness, diversity, discussion and debate.

Sign this petition at http://www.ipetitions.com/campaigns/DBKL/

My ISP and Me

I don’t know if this is a widespread issue but I have been having a hard time getting online lately with TMNet.

I’ve been subscribing to this ISP for quite some time now and for the most part I have been satisfied with them. It has only been lately that I noticed that I could not get connected as easily as I did before. I used to be able to get connected to the Internet within the first 2 or at most 3 attempts. Nowadays I’m lucky to get connected after half an hour of trying. The problem gets even worse in the evenings between 9 to 11pm which is the time I most likely be trying to get online to log in my blog for the day.

I’ve been using the same ISP since 1996 when I came back from the States after completing my studies. At the time, there were only two ISPs that were operating in Malaysia. I choose TMNet because at the time it was easier to pay my internet bills with them as they were part of the main fixed-line telecommunication company serving the country. Their competitor at the time billed their customers separately and their users had to pay for two bills instead of just one with TMNet.

Since then, there have been a few ISPs that have begun offering their services to users in Malaysia. Few are offering their services at quite a premium but with better connection speeds. Since I never had any problems with my ISP before, it never crossed my mind to switch to a new ISP even when they offered me a substantial discount for their services. I was basically with the mind set that if it is not broken, why change it. But the way my internet connection has been acting lately, I have to really reconsider TMNet’s reliability in supporting my needs.

To be frank, I have been thinking of going broadband with TMNet with their Streamyx service but I was thinking of doing that once I move into my new house. I guess that I could report the problem to them and see if they would respond to fix it but I’m not that confident that they would be much help. I do have the alternative of using the internet access provided by my company but I rather not use it for my personal connection as all internet traffic on that line are tracked. Furthermore, the corporate firewall my company has which is protecting that internet connection effectively blocks most sites on the Net. I would rather not have my company track my internet activities especially considering the websites that I sometimes go to when I’m using my personal connection at home. But I guess I have to use them on the occasions I could not get a connection with TMNet and that I have to log in and update my blog before the day ends.

I hope that this problem with TMNet is not as widespread as I think and could be quickly rectified.

School Traditions

One of the big news stories that broke this past weekend was the report on the recent spate of student violence in a few local boarding schools. Of those reports, one that really caught my attention was the expulsion of 20 form five students from a prestigious all boys boarding school up north for their revival of a student secret society at their school. From what I could understand of the issue, this illegal group is more like a fraternity group which provided their members with extra privileges and protection from the school authorities. I have to say that the expulsion of these students are a bit harsh considering that they have to face the stress of changing schools in the middle of an exam year but if they were becoming a threat to other students then their punishment is a wise move. I just hope that they were given proper counseling resources so they could transition into their new situation easier as it would be a shame to have this incident impacting their future.

I did not go to this particular school while I was their age but went to another all boys boarding school of similar prestige. The first thing that one learns upon entering these boarding schools was that for every school rule written there are at least three more unwritten rules that have been passed down from seniors to juniors and that they were as important as the official rules in terms of observance priorities. I remembered a time having to learn all these rules, some by the hard way, in order to fit in with the order of things at the hostels. I guess that these rules were part and parcel of the isolated community that we were a part of during our stay in the school term. We were actually insolated back then as we hardly had any contact with people outside of the school grounds when school was in session. We only had each other to depend on and these rules make the function of the society a bit easier to manage.

Of course some of the rules are really colorful to say the least. I’m bound by honor and tradition not to divulge them to outsiders so I am unable to really provide a detail account of what they were. It would be enough to say that we had rules for almost every conduct of our daily lives from the mundane to the exceptional. Of course, all these unwritten rules are enforced by our peers rather than an overseeing group of selected seniors. You were forgiven if you unwittingly break any of these rules but if it becomes a habit, you’ll find yourself being excluded for most student activities very quickly. If the infraction involves the honor of another student or worse involving the honor of the school, it was not unheard that the person in question would be grilled by some of the student body. I have to admit that we had our share of physical punishment in these cases but we always drew the line against drawing blood, breaking bones or any such serious injuries.

Of course this meant that we became imaginative with how we punished those who didn’t toe the line. One of the most common was to order them to do deep knee squats for hours non stop. Those who have never had to go through can be thankful as it can get very painful after the first hour or so and by the time you reach the end, you would usually have problems walking straight for the next 2 days at least. I know this from personal experience and also as one who have ordered another unfortunate soul to do it. Another method of punishment that was common while I was there was having the offender become a bonded servant of an upperclassman for a certain period of time. The offender had to do anything that the upperclassman asked as long as it did not cause bodily harm. Some of the things that they had to do were a bit humiliating but this had to be taken in stride in fear of invoking harsher punishment. I’ve actually some people break down after a while of having to live under the beck and call of another.

Most of the traditions that we had back then were, in my view, quite reasonable as they helped us adapt to living on our own which for some of us were the first time in our young lives. Even the punishments that we received and later doled out to the lower forms were not as severe as those I hear of today. Rewards and punishment were used to get us to develop a sense of togetherness that we would carry after we leave school. Those who were at the receiving end would always get their chance to give them out to others in return with the same intention of building the sense of community. There was also an unspoken trust between the one punishing and the one being punished that made the system work. Sadly it seems to me that this trust is breaking down nowadays as abuse is reported more often in the papers year after year. It is sad that even in the hallowed halls of our elite boarding schools; lessons of tradition and honor are fast being forgotten.

Those Damned Idiots!

I came to work this morning and found the office abuzz with the news of the suicide bombing that occurred in Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday. Everyone was talking about it because it seemed that it was figured prominently on the news yesterday which of course I missed. In between the work I had to do today, I decided to logon to the Net to check out the recent news about what had actually happened. Internet news reporting has been a bit sketchy at the time I was browsing the Net but from what I gather, it was committed by members from JI as a warning to the Indonesian president not to execute their leader who is currently on trial for the Bali bombings. This latest attack at the Jakarta J.W. Marriot Hotel seem to bear very close resemblance the Bali bombing in terms of MO and execution with the exception that the person behind the wheel of the van which carried the destructive explosion was on a suicide run.

I find it very hard to reconcile the desire for martyrdom by suicide in this instance with what I know about the teaching of Islam. As a Muslim, I have been taught that self-slaughter is a major sin and yet there are those who see themselves as jihad fighters upholding the tenets of Islam believe that suicide runs are an acceptable recourse in their so-called struggle. From what little I understand of the Quran, one is said to be guaranteed a place in heaven in the event of death in the battlefield against an opponent in a holy war defending the religion. As such, how would anyone twist the meaning and intent to rationalize suicide actions that accompanied these destructions of property and innocence? How did they rationalize the innocent people in that hotel as enemy combatant worthy of elimination? What would push a person to willfully agree to participate in such extreme call to action?

A lot of people, particularly those in the West, would point out the fact that being a Muslim has been the underlying pattern that link the suicide “martyrs’ together. By their logic, it is assumed that there must be something in the religion that incites acts of violence against others. The way I see it, their logic is unfailingly flawed and their assumption discriminatory against those who do not prescribe to their own beliefs. It is not the religion that is at fault but truly those who manipulate religious fervor of the ignorant and dispossessed who must answer for the acts of violence. This is evident when we see instances of similar violence happening around the world without any connection to religion so why are they so quick to jump to the conclusion that the religion was at fault? I guess that the fact that humans fear what he does not understand or able to control does come into play in their assessment. I have to also acknowledge that a certain feeling of moral superiority above the rest of the world would also contribute to the erroneous conclusion.

I hold on to the belief that this war on terrorism will never end unless the causes that becomes the rallying points for individuals who manipulate religion for their own agenda has been eliminated. Issues like the welfare of the Palestinian state, continued occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the US’s continued irrational support to the Israeli regime have long been the point of contention of this clash of cultures. I would doubt that those who use these issues to stroke religious fervor would be able to find their audience once these wrongs have been righted. In an ideal world, this simple fact should be obvious to all but it is a pity that we don’t live in an ideal world. Until the powers that be realize this simple fact and act accordingly, future occurrence of the acts of destructions like yesterday’s Jakarta’s bombing are bound to continue. I just hope that those similarly inclined fanatics in Malaysia will realize that there are no reasons for them to follow in the footsteps of these misguided souls and decide to resort to such unnecessary actions to prove their devotion to Islam.

The Silent Objector

I’ve never considered myself as an activist whether it is for social, political or any other causes. I’m too entrenched in my “live and let live” attitude towards issues that surround our fair country today. Activism, by my limited definition, is more the agenda of the upper middle class groups in our society who may have the opportuinity to devote their resources to the pursuit of their passions. It is actually hard for me to be passionate about issues that do not directly impact me when it is hard enough to try to go on with day to day activities. Some may consider me apathetic as a result of my views but I just don’t see myself having the luxury to devote time and resources to change the world one person at a time.

Recent reports in the print and electronic media on gays in Malaysia have given me pause to reconsider my views on social activism. The unbalanced reporting has given cause for many to feel that we have been unfairly singled out and condemned in the broadest terms without proper representations of our views. Some of the mailing lists that I am a member of have been buzzing for weeks about putting our views out to the public to counter these one-sided depictions of the Malaysian GLBT community. Some, more than others, actually have action plans set up to let our voices heard in a public forum which while should be commendable would need the support of those, like me, who would rather be out of the spotlight and run into the deep recesses of our closets.

I believe that with this particular issue, fear of being outed in public plays a major role in my reluctance to throw my support behind their plans. I’ve often told myself that the only way I would be comfortable to come out of the closet is only when I can find the support network that I would need to help deal with the repercussion of my choice. Since that support network is non-existent for me to fall back to, I have to be content in staying in the darkness. Being the only choice that I have at the moment, it wouldn’t really make sense for me to “rock the boat” and risk the exposure of attention. And yet, I feel that I would be perpetuating the lies that I’ve been telling myself by not voicing out publicly my concerns about the unfair depiction of gays in Malaysia.

As a society, Malaysians are open and tolerant of new ideas as long as they do not run counter to religion and deep-seated core values. Since many see homosexuals as the antithesis of those values, the GLBT community here may never be accepted as anything more than a deviant aberration of nature. To get up in arms and call for recognition would be tantamount to walking around with a neon sign on our heads for all to see when all this time we have been trying so hard to hide who we are. So is it really necessary? I have to acknowledge that in an ideal world recognition and representation is very necessary but unfortunately we are not living in that ideal situation. The way I see it, I would be willing to lend my voice to the cause but would never be able to contribute anything more of substance.

Are we actually ready to have our own “Stonewall” in Malaysia? I have to truthfully say that I am not ready to answer that call.

Irresponsible Reporting

Tuesday, July 22, 2003
It seems that the laugh fest never ends.

I managed to catch the segment highlighting STD among gays that was shown during the main news bulletin on TV3 today. At first I noticed how clinical they made it out in the beginning. The funny thing was they were referring to the STD cases as though they are an exclusive gay phenomenon. It quickly became laughable when the report began to link it to the prevalence of gays in the community as if straight people never get syphilis or VD or HIV. If what they say is true that 10% of all societies are practicing homosexuals, who would then have a bigger percentage in the numbers that they bandied about when referring to STDs. Gay people don’t get STDs just by being gay. Stupid gay people who don’t practice safe sex get STDs and they are as likely as stupid straight people to get it. To infer that gay people are more prone to get STDs due to their promiscuous lifestyle is just generalization and irresponsible reporting to say the least.

What was even more hilarious was that they even said that the first AIDS patient in Malaysia was a homosexual person. What about the rest? I can truthfully say that the majority of confirmed AIDS and HIV positive patients in Malaysia are intravenous drug users and exclusively heterosexual people who did not practice safe sex. This is evident from the statistics gathered by the Ministry of Health and yet the report suggests that gays are the root of the AIDS problem in Malaysia! As I have voiced out in my previous entry, it seems that gays are the new “scapegoat” of the month. A new group to be picked on while the interest is still there to divert attention from more pressing issues.

Once done with the clinical aspects of STDs among gays, the new segment continued with so called expert opinion on how to avoid turning into a homosexual. I just had to laugh out loud at the ridiculous notion that one could stay true on the path of straighthood by concentrating on their studies and work. Kinda of reminded me of that movie “Jeffrey” where the main character tried to avoid having sex but concentrating on his work but we know how that ended up. It was hard trying to stomach the malarkey that they were spewing out on TV while I was trying to push down the bile that was rising up my throat.

I guess I should be thankful that they didn’t trot out some religious figure to serve up a dish of cold hard guilt or I would have surely lost my dinner right there and then. I guess that to some the idea of “live and let live” doesn’t mean a thing.

On The Subject of Effeminate Males

I had planned to watch “Paloh” over the weekend since I’ve heard a lot about this local film production through the local media and word of mouth. Unfortunately, when I woke up last Saturday I found myself in a fair amount of pain in my left ankle. It felt like I had sprained it but I could not remember how I would have done so. I had to wear an ankle brace for the whole weekend and until today I don’t really know how I would have sprained my ankle. I’ve never had this experience before so it is kind of unnerving. Anyway … the pain subsided by Monday and I was able to go to work ok. Still, I have some questions on how I could have sprained my ankle and not remember about it.

Another unsettling thing happened over the weekend. There have been more than a few reports in the printed media on the issue of effeminate males in our local universities. More than a few misguided individuals have suggested that there is a need for them to “butch” themselves up for the good of the country. Some have also suggested that the prevalence of effeminate males in universities will lead to an explosion of gay culture and the destruction of the institution of marriage no less. In their opinion, these groups will influence others who enter those universities to be like them though peer pressure and in the long term will contribute to the current moral decline in the country.

For starters, I find everything that have been written about this as pure bigoted bulls*it. It is easier to put a target on a group of people like the “fairies” in the local community than it is to solve other more important problems. As for effeminate men leading an explosion of gay culture in Malaysia, I think that they are a few years bit too late. For what I can personally attest to, not all effeminate males are gay and the opposite also holds true. I would imagine that if only the effeminate males are gays, I would surely have a big problem since I’m not attracted to them in the slightest bit. To be honest, drag queens actually scare the heck out of me.

As for these groups exerting peer pressure to other to become more like them, I find the idea ridiculous especially based on my own experiences when I was in secondary school and after that college. For one, they usually travel in highly exclusive cliques that hardly ever let anyone in unless they are similarly inclined. They don’t go around campus trying to covert anyone into their cause as suggested by these biased articles. If there is a higher visibility of this group of people in the local universities it must be because there are more of them coming out in the open. If so, one must wonder what happened to the so-called “butch” students after secondary school. Or is it just because the effeminate groups are now more visible with their successes that some people feel threatened by them.

Whatever the reason for the recent spotlight on effeminate males in the news lately, I still believe that it is just pure sensational reporting and a scapegoat hunt to deflect the people from other more pressing issue. I’m sure that this may escalate for awhile until people start losing interest and it becomes part of yesterday’s news. I just hope that until that happens, cooler heads will prevail.