A Nation in Distress???

There is a campaign by a group of bloggers to raise Malaysian flag upside down to symbolize a nation in distress and had called upon their readers to fly the Malaysian Flag upside down. The initial call was said to be have been made by Kelantanese blogger Sheih aka ‘kickdefella‘ .

This is indeed a sad thing. No matter how much I hate the political situation, hoisting “Jalur Gemilang” in that manner is total disrespectful and an insult. It only shows our immaturity in distinguishing the real problems in our beloved country.

I feel and sense an emptiness to this year's Merdeka celebrations. There are a few more days before we celebrate our Independence Day but yet there is no “Merdeka Spirit” in the air at this time of the year unlike previous years.

Our distress is due to some political issues and not our country. An upside down flag is the international symbol for distress. I guess the nation needs a miracle to get itself out of the major crisis and problems that are facing us today.

Regardless, I think the flag should be retained as it is , not inverted. It is the symbol of our freedom and be proud of it.

PEACE

Petrol price down by 15 sen

After much speculation, Malaysia will cut petrol prices from RM2.70 to RM2.55 per litre, a reduction of 5.6%. The new rates will take effect on Aug 23. The last we read was that petrol prices will only be reviewed by September 1st!! Unfortunately, I don't think that with the decrease of 15 sen, it will ease the people's burden and further reduce the inflation rate. I suppose the reduction is another sneaky move for the sake of some upcoming by-election??

This insignificant decrease of fifteen sen compared to the much higher increase in many essential items do not mean much now. It is easy to bring down the fuel price but it is an uphill task to bring down the prices of other goods.

Perhaps, a little is better than none. Of course we hope there'll be more further reduction.

Source: The Star

Decreased in petrol price

Effective Sept 1 2008, the retail price of petrol will be based on the average monthly market price of world crude oil, more precisely world gasoline prices, with the subsidy rate mantained at 30 sen per litre.

The present government is messing up everything. In the first place, the petrol price shouldn’t have been increased overnight by 42%. This is hasty and poor planning. It has obviously created severe problems of inflation, economy downturn and untold misery for the nation. A lot of retailers have increased the price of their goods and it will certainly not be that easy to ask them to review the prices again. Don’t expect the prices of foodstuff etc to decrease. We have gotten so used to hearing that the prices keep going up.

Let's just hope that the price will continue to slide down, not only for a greater relief to motorists, but also to further slow down the inflation rate and the rise of prices of goods.

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George Town, Malacca has achieved the World Heritage Site Status

George Town and Bandar Melaka are now UNESCO's World Heritage Site. This is simply awesome! Something for Malaysians to be proud of...... Now that George Town and Malacca are listed as World Heritage Sites, the citizens can look forward to seeing more tourists. With the listing, the two cities join other World Heritage Sites in Malaysia that include the Mulu Caves and Kinabalu National Park.

As a Penangite, I’m proud of this new status of my city. Penang has plenty of good things to offer. It is also well known for being the "food paradise of Malaysia." Nevertheless, there are still plenty of work to be done. The inner city needs renewal badly to bring Penang to a greater shine for foreigners. I hope there are enough local experts to lend their expertise. George Town has been recognised for its largest concentration of pre-World War II buildings in South East Asia and multi-ethnic living heritage. There is a large potential market for heritage and cultural tourism.

It’s time for us, or particularly to the government, to have a comprehensive plan on how to fully utilize this competitive advantage to benefit the people. Otherwise, Unesco will strip George town off the heritage city status. Meanwhile, the state would hold a three day celebration from July 25th to celebrate George Town's success in getting the heritage site listing.

Source: The Star & UNESCO

* Top Tourist Sites In Malaysia *

Lipsticks and High Heels:Encourage Rapes?

The directive issued by the municipal council of Kota Baru, Kelantan forbids Muslim women from putting on thick make-up, like bright colored lipstick. They can’t also move around in high-heeled shoes that gave a tapping sound, news agency Bernama said. This piece of crap revolves around women frenzy again. Obviously, this statement has made Malaysia a world news item , not to mention a laughing stock.

No wonder Kelantan is still going backwards. Most of the smart and progressive Kelantanese have fled to KL or elsewhere, avoiding these bunch of crazy PUS nerds (not PAS) imposing idiotic rules. Their reason for this ridiculous implementation? To prevent rape and soliciting, so it seems.

These guidelines aren’t about protecting women in anyway. They are about limiting their behaviour. I don’t understand the mindset that thinks that women changing their appearance or their dressing will have any effect on whether they are raped or not. It’s another ridiculous attempt to blame it all on the women. I’m not very sure how Kelantanese women will react to this new law implementation.

Please stop degrading women as merely sex objects for men to commit rapes and also please stop highlighting women being attractive leads to rape. All women, regardless of age, appearance, dressing decently, get rape too.

It’s rather difficult to consider PAS seriously as a political party..because it seems that they are more concern about inmoral activities and sex-related issues, nothing else on their minds.

So, what's next, PUS? Don't be surprise to hear more shocks in future!


Source: Council gets a lot of 'lip' stick

Related post: School uniforms encourage rape, pre-marital sex?

Cost-cutting measures For Menteris- Save RM2Bil

Pak Lah announced some measures to cut down on unneccesary expenditures for all menteris to combat rising costs recently. For these cost cutting measures, government would save up to RM 2 billions per year, so it seems. The 10% entertainment allowances cut for ministers and deputys was not enough to prove that the government understood the difficult times faced by the nation.

Looks like the cash rebates , the RM625 and RM150, are not going to be an annual thing and it's only one time deal. It seems that our Government is trying their best to lighten the burden of the public following the fuel price hike. The soaring prices put great pressure, uneasiness and worry on the livelihood of the nation in general. The rebate idea seems good for the day but in the long run it would eventually suck us dry.

On a personal note, I’ll have to review all my travel trips– like going to work, sending my kids to school, the weekend family outings, the list goes on. Perhaps, I now need to drive less and use the car only when necessary. But going to work is a necessity and there is nothing I can do about that.

And I don’t think I’ll give up driving because public transports are inefficient and unreliable. I want to see the ministers take public transport, so we can follow suit. See if they can get to their offices on time.

The good old days are gone. The days of cheap fuel are unlikely to return.

Well, I’m no politic savvy but this is too much. Ever since Pak lah took over, prices have been climbing up and up and never went down…nothing he did was ever right…Vote for 'B.N.' sum morelah!!! Get ready to embrace more shocks in future.

Petrol Price Increased has triggered a public outcry

The Malaysians must be feeling the pinch about the petrol increased issue. It has been announced that the price of petrol will be increased from RM1.92p/litre to RM 2.70p/litre by midnight. This has triggered a public outcry. Everyone is flocking to the petrol station and has caused a massive traffic jam everywhere. Thousands of people are burning petrol to save petrol. Well what to do, Malaysians are very kiasu in a way.

Ironically, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad announced that Malaysia is planning petrol price hike in August two days ago. In early April, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said there would be no increase in the petrol price as this was the wish of the people. But today, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced an increase of 40.6% in the price of petrol. This is insanity! People now have to pay more for everything following the fuel price hike. Besides, electricity rates will be risen by 18% for homes and 26% for business users in July. Life will be tough for fellow Malaysians.

Harga minyak masak NAIK,
Harga beras NAIK,
harga petrol NAIK,
Batang Hidung Pak Lah pun NAIK!
Cuma gaji kite yang tak naik, naik............GERAM BETUL!!!!!

Looks like I'll barely survive after these soaring prices.

Pulau Batu Puteh goes to Singapore

Pedra Branca/Pulau Batu Puteh: SINGAPORE (12 votes - 4 Votes)
Middle Rocks/Terumbu Tengah: MALAYSIA (15 votes - 1 vote)
South Ledge/Terumbu Selatan: WILL BE DECIDED SOON… (15 votes - 1 vote)

BERNAMA

The International Court of Justice here today ruled Singapore has sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh while Malaysia owns Middle Rocks, and South Ledge belongs to the state in whose territorial waters it is located.

The judgment brought to a close a 28-year-old territorial dispute between Malaysia and Singapore over the island which Singapore called Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
Pulau Batu Puteh is located 7.7 nautical miles off the coast of Johor’s Tanjung Penyusuh. Both countries have pledged to abide by the decision of the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, whose decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Malaysia and Singapore have also repeatedly emphasised that whatever decision handed down by the ICJ, would not strain ties between the two neighbours.

The judgment was delivered by ICJ Vice-President Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, who was the Acting President in the case, at 10am Netherlands time and ended reading out the verdict five minutes before noon.

Shawkat and 15 other judges had heard oral submissions by both countries from Nov 6-23 last year.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim regarded the judgment as a “win-win” situation and stated that the status quo remained although Singapore had sovereignty over Pulau Batu Puteh and Malaysia over Middle Rocks.

The delivery of the judgment was televised live by RTM from The Hague, Netherlands, from 10am (4pm in Malaysia).

School uniforms encourage rape, pre-marital sex?

I nearly fell off my chair laughing when I read this piece of crap in today's Star. To say that our school uniforms encourage rape and pre-marital sex is ridiculous. I just can't comprehend what kind of backward thinking this is! This is a humourous remark. Read on.

The school uniforms have been worn for decades. Uniform transparency is not the major reason leading to rapes and pre-marital sex, duh! You have the blue pinafore to cover up the white blouse. Do you think that by 'covering up' can fend of social ills, such as rape, sexual harassment and molest? What about fathers raping daughters, young children getting raped or molested? Those crimes are easily committed anywhere. Why are they always putting the blame of crime on the victim? Women should not be blame if men failed to control their urge. Infact, there are so many other ways to reach out and stop it from happening but this particular proposal is totally out of the question.

I think the whole world must be laughing their heads off while rolling on the floor. Something must be seriously wrong with local men if school uniforms worn by girls turns them on.

If the authorities really review the uniform policy and make changes, will it really helps? Honestly, if they seriously want to proceed with their crazy plan, I think that the baju kurung should be disallowed as it is more transparent than the blue pinafore with the white blouse.