Everyone's got one... So here's mine!!!

Vol II: The Mis-Adventure Continues
Funny stories, witty encounters and serious reflections from Malaysia as experienced by a vegetarian struggling to understand the world.

Visit my new home at
www.adriantai.com
for more comprehensive updates.


Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Wedding update 1

To be honest, till right now, I still don't know if I have got all the things ready for the wedding. Yes, in case there are a few of you regular visitors who some how missed out on this... I am getting married.

So far, the cards are already printed and currently being distributed. We've also reserved the tables at the restaurant for the big day. Vegetarian dinner. Kinda disappointed with myself for not taking up the whole place when we first reserved the tables. We took up only about 2/3 of the place and now we can't invite all the people we had wanted to. So my advice to couples planning to get married soon... Think about who you want to invite, make a list and then only do you look for a place. For our case, the restaurant already 'gave' the 1/3 to another couple.

The photos came out quite nice. I guess our worries were unfounded. We were quite nervous about how the photos would turn out since there were some minor issues with the studio. I guess they lived up to their reputation and I will be more than happy to recommend any of my friends to them. I will write more about them later on.

Hmmm... What else is there to do, anyway...? Oh well... I might as well share this one studio photo.

Can you honestly say I don't look good? ;)

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On 10/31/2006 09:42:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
congratulations!

u look good enought !

but b ready for de unexpected !

b coz there will b many.......
On 11/01/2006 08:10:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
xinhun kuaile! It will be the beginning of a new chapter of your life. Wishing you a blissful marriage.
On 11/01/2006 09:07:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
thanks taiko...

tonixe... err... many what...?!? ;)
On 11/01/2006 01:37:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
where is Xiao Fen's pic? should not there be one of her too?
On 11/01/2006 04:26:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
well, i dun mind if i get a few more loyal female fans. heh heh...

after all, so many others do it (camwh0ring) till can even get best blog award... yucks. at least i think my blog got slightly more substance leh...
On 11/02/2006 11:54:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
adrian did not answer why he dun put his wife's pic. and WHY?
On 11/05/2006 05:09:00 AM Blogger juliamoh said:
ooh, leng chai.

where was it taken? nice house!
On 11/06/2006 06:09:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
julz...

its actually a backdrop. i'm kinda amazed by the outcome too.

during the photoshoot, i had asked the photographer if it will come out ok. i guess it did. :)
On 11/06/2006 11:05:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
Ahh... The wonders of Photoshop... I'm not saying that you're not handsome... But that flawless skin is so unreal lah!
On 11/07/2006 09:05:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
eh... when we meet up, remind me to bring my face close to your eyes so u can examine my smooth, flawless face... heh heh...

perasan la, i... :)
On 11/09/2006 12:43:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
Kuku Kaku...Congratulations...
Tak sangka my lover so leng chai 1.
On 11/09/2006 09:28:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
huh...?!?

anon...?!? errr... *blur*

but tq, tq... yes, lengchai... kekeke...










Thursday, October 26, 2006

A turn into memory highway

The long Deepavali and Raya weekend was a good time for me to catch up with a few friends from Singapore and also to continue cleaning up my room.

Since the new bedroom set will only come early November (second delay which I am glad), I still had ample time to s-l-o-w-l-y go through my stuffs. It is always nice to look back at stuffs from long, long time ago. So from Memory Avenue, we move onto Memory Highway. And one of the stuffs I found happens to be the grand-daddy to Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering card games.

Some of you might recall having played these cards long, long time ago. I still have mine. In mint condition! Think these are too macho? What about...

"Hello. Is son of Dr. Dose in the house? May I have the son of Dr. Dose? Thank you"

Before card games became complicated, expensive but highly collectible (with re-sale value), all we had were these rm1 card games (55 sen, if you bought them from outside Selangor - I got mine in Penang). You do NOT need to customise the deck. Just deal one deck equally among the players.

Next out of my treasure chest were cards again. This time, they are the 20 sen cards that honestly, I don't really know what they are for. Anyone?


For me, I used to play these with a few guys. We would wager cards, put them on a stack and then using quick hand motion to generate 'wind' that will overturn the cards. You get to keep cards that you overturned. There are variations to this game. But the idea is that you keep the overturned cards. At least that's how I play it.

My wife says she used to play with these cards as well. She and her siblings used the back of the cards as your normal playing cards. But I wonder... 1 'set' is usually made up of 21 cards (three rows of seven cards. I wonder how many sets she needed or had. :)

But sometimes, I keep the sets 'intact' just to keep them in a set. One set usually consist of pictures from a movie or cartoon. Any of the movie scenes and cartoons look familiar? Hmmm... I see... Automan. Thundercats. M.A.S.K. Conan. A-Team. V (the TV series about mice-eating aliens). Transformers. Star Trek. Rambo.

Besides cards, I also found some really interesting books.

One of Ian Livingstone's gamebook together with a book from the "Be An Interplanetary Spy" series

These are what I call grand-daddys to Computer Role Playing Games (CRPG). Back in those days, Role Playing Games (RPG) were quite hard to find. Even if you managed to get the books, starting a campaign may not be easy. So these gamebooks were simply heaven-sent!

The more complicated ones required the roll of dice. The simpler ones just resorted to optical illusions and puzzle solving. There were even a few of these adventure books based on The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries (anyone remember them?).

As we become more advanced and computers become more affordable, these books, unfortunately, have become 'extinct'. I don't think I can find these books in bookshops anymore. So sad... Then again, who wants to read these black & white books when they can have everything 'told' in full motion and coloured animation?

Oh well... It's back to cleaning my room again. I still have lots of things to clear and this weekend seems like it's going to be another weekend where I travel back in time...

I wonder how much all these are worth on eBay?

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On 11/01/2006 09:10:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
hahaha hahaha! i had the same playing cards! :D use to trade tanks and what not with my brother heehee... so nice to see a pic of it again. i think my bro probably still has them, hidden somewhere... and yes, i still have my hardy boys and nancy drew... hmmm...time to spring clean i suppose!

by the way, atai ~~ i tink we more interested to see couple pic laaaa yoooooo~
On 11/01/2006 12:35:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
wah... u also into tanks?!? hmmm... what else your bro got la. maybe can lelong together in eBay.

couple pix. that one have to wait till later la. later la... will sure put up a few, but they will mainly be at my main site - www.adriantai.com.

blogspot will remain more of 'my' site.
On 11/05/2006 05:08:00 AM Blogger juliamoh said:
u gonna sell? :(

i miss old maid, snap and happy family. the rm1 cards look familiar but dun thk i played a lot.

i know the cartoons! but i've always thought thundercats were boring cos my bro loves them and refused to let me watch MY kind of cartoons. :P
On 11/06/2006 10:55:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
hahaha... nar, i will be keeping them.

your kind of cartoons? dun tell me jem, my lil pony and friends, smurf, etc...
On 11/06/2006 11:18:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
Adrian,

Don't you dare sell those card! I can't believe you still have them, esp. the cars, warship and planes!

Why not we play this on the night before your wedding ceremony? I don't mind staying up playing...

Wah... memory overload...
On 11/07/2006 09:08:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
i also have those chinese 'war game'. the one with admiral, corporal, hand grenades, etc... and your mission is to capture enemy flag.

did you play that back in secondary school? i know i did. and i still have that set. :)
On 12/14/2007 03:26:00 PM Blogger User said:
Surprise + glad to see that someone else who having the same collection as mine.

Will you pass all there toys for your children as their toys? :)
On 8/26/2008 06:31:00 PM Blogger irvincheah said:
Adrian,
I wanna play the cards :)
When got gathering please bring it out !!










Friday, October 20, 2006

Hero


I wonder...
The authorities will not hesitate to confiscate or tear down a illegally setup 'mamak' stall. The authorities will not think twice about demolishing illegally renovated or extended houses.
What will the authorities do if they find out about a four storey house (more like a palace) built without permit (illegal la)?


We live in a place and time where brutality and greed is a norm. We read in the papers everyday of deaths, kidnappings, murders, war, mass shooting. You name an evil and I am very sure it is reported in the papers somewhere...

So it is always a nice change, especially for me, when I get to read in the papers about heroes. Yesterday was one of those days. But unfortunately, it was a story without a happy ending.

The hero was non other than a Labrador Retriever and German Shepherd mix. From the newspaper reports, it seems that Jesse, the hero, had pulled her handicapped owner to safety. Before that, she had brought her owner's artificial leg and phone to allow her owner to escape and call for rescue. Jesse had already pulled her owner to safety when she heard her owner's cat cry from inside the burning home. Jesse then rushed back in to try and rescue the cat. However, shortly after going back in, the owner heard Jesse whine. Jesse never came out.


At a time when we read in papers of passerbys not lifting a finger to help snatch theft victims, it is truly wonderful (but sad) to be able to find such heroic act still existing.

I can only imagine the pain the owner had to go through at that time when she heard Jesse whine. I have a pet dog as well and sometimes when I play with her, I may accidentally step on her leg. She would let out a short cry. Or when she feels lonely, she would also whine and cry for attention... They can be really sad sounds.

Jesse was selfless and did not even care about her own safety when she went back to safe a cat. Jesse did not care that the cat was not one of its 'kind'. Jesse only knew that to help others was a good thing.

Princeton University defines humanity as having the quality of being humane (pertaining to or concerned with humanities). I would assume that both 'humanity' and 'humane' comes from the word 'human', which means something really 'good'.

Yet we see more humans behaving like one. We read of parents abandoning their newborn babies, torturing their child to death, etc... We hear of threats to wage war on one another. We see the polution we cause to the world.

But where is the human hero...?

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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Video game console

I have always enjoyed console games. I believe this is mainly because I am a huge fan of Role Playing Games (RPGs) and there are many of these on the video game consoles. I used to have a PlayStation 1. And last year, I got myself the slim version of PS2. However, much as I like console games, I suck at it.

Close friends who have played with me, watched me play or even played against me will know that while I enjoy console games, I have practically no hand-and-eye co-ordination. That is why I never play fighter games. I can never master moves that require me to press UP --> LEFT --> BOTTOM (in 'circular' motion) followed by [SQUARE]+[CIRCLE] then [TRIANGLE].

And I can't drive cars on those PS2 controls. I can drive. With steering wheels. Call me cheapskate, but I just can't bring myself to part with rm100+ for a PS2 steering wheel.

I still recall one time when I was playing God of War on the PS2. There was a section in the game that required the hero to walk on a very tight wooden platform. Try as hard as I could (more than 5 hours of gaming spent on that section), I could not master and complete that section. I had to actually get 25kid to help me out. I stopped playing God of War after that.

So it came as a wonderful surprise when Nintendo announced late last year that they will be launching a revolutionary video game console next month (November 2006). What is unique about this new console from Nintendo is it's controller. The controller will be using motion sensors to control the game actions. Quoting Nintendo website on their new controller:
In a tennis game, it serves as your racket you swing with your arm. In a driving game, it serves as your steering wheel. For first-person shooters, the remote acts as your weapon that you point at an enemy. The list of potential uses goes on and on.

Wow! I am beginning to think this may be the video game console I want to get. With its expected price tag of USD250 (about rm1k), I guess it is still within my reach (hint: It will also make a nice wedding, Christmas or even birthday present).

Oh wait, I just remembered... I suck at racquet games too. I still can't drive with a remote control shaped controller. And I've never tried hacking a goblin to death with a remote.

But at least with Wii, I'm guessing that playing console games will also be considered 'exercising'. You no longer sit down and just work the fingers. You work you arm (or arms?!) as well...

For more information on this new console from Nintendo called Wii (I wonder why they renamed it Wii since it was originally known as Revolution) and images of the soon-to-be-release video game console, check out Wii's official websites:
http://wii.nintendo.com/
http://wii.com/

For juicy Wii news and games, you should check out these sites:
http://wii.ign.com/
http://www.gamespot.com/wii/index.html

I'm sure most of us in Malaysia will probably be waiting for the mod version. :)

This is one interesting site on the Wii modchips. I'd stay clear of the mod since it looks like some website from the future... It is written as though Wii has already been around for a long, long time... Yikes!

WAS?! December 2006 is still 2 months away. And PREVIOUSLY? Wii is not even out yet, so what do they mean by 'previously'?

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Monday, October 16, 2006

Cruising along memory avenue


I wonder...
I have a pair of shoes - left and right. But how come the shoelace on the left side gets un-tied so many times in a week? The right side seems to just stay... tied. Can't be that I walk more on the left side. Maybe smaller left leg? And to think I always tie the left side extra tight.
And yes... I use the lazyman's way when I take off or put on my shoes (no need to untie the shoe laces, just squeeze through la).
Why?


Getting ready of the wedding includes cleaning up my room (for the new bed and cupboard). My room is a total wreck. Everytime I see news footage of bombings or hurricanes, I am reminded of my room. Yes, it is that messy. Heck, I won't be surprised if the National Geographic team discovers a new species of mold or spider in my room. Not that I'm that proud of my messy room.

The thing is, I keep lots of stuffs. I still have stickers from primary school. I keep toys that I no longer play. Yes, I still hold on to the notes my secondary school clasmates pass around in class. I think there is a medical condition to describe what I do. But to me, the past is what makes me the me that you know today.

Anyway, over the weekend, I took time out to try and clear out some of the stuffs in my room. First thing to go into the trash was my colleague reference books.

I don't know why I kept them since I never used them after my college days

I still keep them. But I realised that after my college, I have never actually taken out the books or even looked at them. So conclusion - waste of space. Can't really donate the books since some of them were on PASCAL and BASIC. Yes, I'm that old. I dun think PASCAL or BASIC is still around anyway. Next best thing - recycle. Yup, they will go to the 'old newspaper' man.

But the books were not the thing that brought back memories. It was the scribbling I did when the lecturer was going on and on about one thing or another. It was also the little notes and test papers that I had 'filed' between the pages. Yes, that's how I do my filing back then - put the relevant papers between the pages of the book (same subject, of course). Didn't realise I answered some business papers that good. In fact, if I had not seen in between my pages, I would have thought it was written by some business guru. OK, it's not THAT good but still good.

Next were the CDs and DVDs. Hmmm... They are all still good. So they are NOT going to the garbage bin. The problem? The jewel case (CD casing) is there. But where's the CD? Then there's the other problem. The DVD is NOT in the right case. Then there's another problem - DVD is the sleeves when I am vert sure it used to have a jewel case. Luckily my wife (we are after all, legally married) has offered to help me sort it out.
Thank you so much, darling...

Hmmm... What is in this box? What the...?

This is my jotter book... I jot, I scribble and I doodle. But I am no Leonardo Da Vinci.

Needless to say, I spent the next hour taking a ride in this time machine.

That is the gaming tips I got from classmates for the classic PC game - Ultima IV

And a few weeks back, I wrote about some cartoons I used to watch back in my school days. One of them was Visionaries. I still remember copying down the 'words of power' (not sure what they are called) and sharing it with friends in school.

I am no poet either...

Those were the days.

I called the furniture guys earlier this afternoon and they said that since this weekend is a holiday, there will be no delivery. My new bed will only come in month end. I'm ok with that. It gives me more time to go through the rest of my treasures.

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On 10/17/2006 03:36:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
hey! long time.. so getting married? congrats man.. and wish u all the best in the new "status" ;)

yeah, being 30 suddenly hits you.. u r an adult. time to be serious. haha.. i'll be hitting the 30 tr mark in Feb. wedding o'coz has a longer road to take :D
On 10/18/2006 09:07:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/

they may have something about your shoelace problem

you probably have a 'granny knot'
On 10/18/2006 12:40:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
adrian tai, you remind me of me! haha. i still have my junk from srk kelana jaya... :P :P and junk from seaport, and junk frm college, junk from uni, junk from 1st job, junk from part time job, junk from 2nd job... hahaha... neverending...
On 10/18/2006 10:32:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
hahaha...

wait till i dig out more stuffs and cruise into 'memory highway'.

i think i still have my kalkitos somewhere... then there's the my autograph book (also known as the biodata book), the 'clubs' book (clubs here referring to IGC, FFF, TBS, etc)...

they will come... soon. :)
On 10/18/2006 10:35:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
amyth,

aquarius?! :)

well, u never know, my friend. u will never know. 3 years ago, i told myself wedding bells will never ring for me...
(coz i was very happy enjoying my single life back then)

but guess what? :)
On 10/20/2006 02:37:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
Wahlao... saw some books I'm very familiar with... :D
On 10/20/2006 02:56:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
if i did not dig those books out, i won't have realised i did (or can do) assembly programming. well, i'm gonna add that to my CV... heh heh...

taiko, when you grad?

happy, i still have the 'make your choice' rpg books... the one where they say if you wanna do this, go to page 20...

did a quick check in my room and i can't find my kalkitos!!! :(

if i find it, wonder how much i can get if i put it on eBay...
On 11/01/2006 08:07:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
Tai: taiko, when you grad?

My last education with Informatics was in year 2000. After Advanced Diploma, I took my degree elsewhere.
On 11/01/2006 09:10:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
i finished my ADCS with them in 1998. then went to UCE in 1998 and came back in 1999...
just in time for y2k... stayed at home worried abt doomsday for computers back then. hahaha...










Friday, October 06, 2006

Pets

Having pets can be fun. Pets like dogs can really make my day. I always look forward to coming home everyday because my pet dog, Gerger, will be waiting for me at the gate (maybe I perasan case... Maybe she is just waiting for her boyfriend gua?!).

Gerger, the lovely mongrel I adopted a year ago

This is Gerger when I first adopted her...

Aiyah! How come so different wan?!

Gerger will jump up and down and run back and forth while waiting for me to walk towards the gate (I normally park outside the house). Even when it is raining... I guess she must enjoy it even more when it rains because she just loves water! Everytime when I wash the porch, she would cry if she is chained. When she is not, she would just run in front of the hose and get sprayed with water.

About two weeks ago, I had a scare when Gerger started to vomit and purge. As it was already quite late, I was not able to take her to the vet. Luckily Eu Jin's sister is a vet. Managed to get hold of Eu Jin and he was then able to advice me on what to do. Could not really sleep well that night.

Before going to bed that night, I checked on her. She looked so weak. She was just lying down on the floor. It is just not her. She will never lie down on the floor when I'm around, unless she wants me to scratch her.

I remember waking up two more times that night. Once at around 2am. That time, she started to be able to move and walk about when I called her. So I told myself it is a good sign. At abour 4am, I checked on her again. This time, she was able to run. I knew then that she is getting much better... And I was able to sleep better after that.

My wife was of course not too happy when I told her about me waking up twice to check on Gerger. She claims I am not even that concerned when she was not feeling well...
Darling, where got la...?! I am very caring wan... When you are sick, must rest more ma. So never call lor... heh heh...

Many thanks to Eu Jin and his sister, Ai Lin.

I see lots of pets on websites as well. Every now and then, I will find bloggers who have got virtual pets. I like to play with these pets too. Play in an evil way...

Wah... This one looks like Baby just jumped off the window


So sad... Can see the food but cannot eat it cause I poured it outside

I don't do that to my pets la... OK? And my apologies to Shin and aNgeLic JuLiA for making fun of their pets. What to do...? So happen I was passing by your site when I saw the pets. Anyway, relax-lah... It's Friday!

Besides Gerger, I also have a few hamsters. The winter gold hamsters started off with just one pair and now I have eight of them. These are the latest three. They are over six months old now.

They have no names and they always hang out together


We're hamsters! We're NOT rats!

And they are all part of my family... I love my family!!!

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On 10/07/2006 12:08:00 PM Blogger Jojo said:
Hello, we are married at the same year.. haha. anyway, congratulation and you won't know how happy we are when we can see the rescue pups grown up photos. Thank you for good taking care of ger ger, she looks very different now, but she looks beautiful and clean, I am very happy to see her again. Wish her bring more luck to your family and happy always. Keep in touch.
On 10/11/2006 09:28:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
ger ger looks so cute now :) one day i show you my Bobby ok? he was lost and we found , advertised, .. but no one came so we adopted him .. my family loves him!
On 10/12/2006 09:08:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
shin... yeah, i do recall your 'lost and found' post on your blog. is he the one i saw that day?! no, right...? bobby in your mum's house...?

jojo!!! yes, we love gerger very much! she's naughty but she still ok la. she is still very, very playful and very fussy when it comes to food. if not nice, she dun really wat alot!
On 10/14/2006 04:04:00 PM Blogger backStreetGluttons said:
hey since u so love pets want to catch a pregnant monkey to give cute baby or not ?

we go Malawati K Selangor sure got one.

baby orange colour one. bet no dogs are orange !
On 10/16/2006 06:58:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
tonixe...
orange dog...? i m speechless. :)
On 11/06/2006 01:16:00 AM Blogger Ben & Darling said:
hi, i was attacted by ur gerger & wanna find out more bt her coz she looks like my baby boy...haha
On 11/06/2006 07:16:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
saw ben ben's photos... wah... gerger and ben ben really look alike lar.

both also seems very active (more like hyperactive!)










Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Malaysian prison

About one year ago, I wrote about how easy it was to enter the Malaysian prison...

'Klik untuk masuk' means click to enter. You only need to click to enter our prison

I revisited the Malaysian Prison website recently just to see if there have been changes to the website. As most of us would know, most of the time, govertment and corporate sites seldom get a facelift (or even updates). A pleasant surpise was in store for me when I checked them out...

You still only need one click to enter but at least the site looks nicer now

Wah... Nice design!! But wait... I know it is really nice to support our government efforts such as Visit Malaysia 2007. But seriously, I wonder who is the target audience when it comes to the prison websites? Would the audience be even interested in Visit Malaysia 2007? Hmmm... Where did they get the Visit Malaysia 2007 logo? I wanna have one on my site!

Anyway, on my last trip to this website, I did not actually bother to check out what was in this site. So this time around, I decided to poke around and be a busy body...

Some interesting facts and figures (based on 2004 statistics). Did you know...
  • we have quite a number of prisons all over the country? And all this time, I've only heard of Pudu Jail.
  • more than half of the convicted prisoners (remember that this is based on 2004 statistics) are foreigners? What?!? Let's think about this a bit. Assuming that each prisoner is given 5 meals a day (human rights thingy, perhaps?) - breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner and supper. And assuming the 2 main meals will cost rm3 (they can't be eating better than our policemen, right? Click here to read about the underpaid policemen) and the rest will cost rm2 per meal. That adds up to rm12 per day per prisoner. Or rm4380 per year (at the moment USD1 = rm3.7). In 2004, there were more than 30000 convicted foreign prisoners, meaning we spent about rm144million just for their food alone! We have NOT even taken into account medication, water and electricity usage, etc...
  • there are 59 death row prisoners.
  • 26 convicted prisoners earn rm3000 and above per month (wah, they earn more than our policemen?!?). Of this figure, 6 are convicted foreign prisoners. No wonder we have so many foreign workers coming to Malaysia and then commit crimes. They can earn better and decent money in the prison!
  • the prisoners make some really nice products like tables, CD racks, etc...
This reminds me of an interesting news article I read in the papers just last week. The prison authorities will be launching an in-house brand for goods designed and produced by the prisoners. I think that is a good idea. Really! Maybe our next national campaign will sound like this "Beli barangan buatan penjara Malaysia".

Also featured recently in the papers was the case of a deathrow inmate who is still waiting for his 'day'. The inmate is taking court action to set aside his death sentence, imposed for drug trafficking and substitute it with life imprisonment instead. The prisoner claims that the delay in executing his execution (pun intended) is unconstitutional.

Huh? Just when you thought people try to avoid being executed, this one wants to be executed. But I guess we can understand the mental torture he is going through.

From what I have read, death row inmates will only be informed of their execution day on the night before. I guess going through your life daily and not knowing when you will be executed can be a real torture.

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On 10/04/2006 04:17:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
I'm speechless... Dem good article Adrian - you opened up our eyes...
On 10/05/2006 12:11:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
according to Star Online (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/9/29/nation/15577468&sec=nation), government is spending rm1.2 million daily. that's even more than what i posted!

did you check out the prison site? they have a guestbook! :)

anyway, i think the link to Star Online above may not be available after 1 month or so...










Monday, October 02, 2006

The underpaid heroes

Everyday, they risk losing their lives while performing their duty. Their job is 'to serve and to protect'. Yet, it has been revealed in a news report recently that some of them are only paid about rm650 per month. They are the Polis DiRaja Malaysia (PDRM) or the Royal Malaysia Police.
Note: A quick check on PDRM website shows that a Konstabel starts with a minimum pay of rm530.46 and they get elaun khidmat of rm65, insentif PDRM of rm100 and elaun perumahan semenanjung of rm230. I am not too sure what 'insentif PDRM' on the website means. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Considering that an average lunch will cost rm3 per day, a 2-piece chicken meal at KFC costs rm5.30 (excluding tax), the cheapest McValue meal costing rm6.95 (again, excluding tax) at McDonalds (where else la?!), a frappuccino at Starbucks is about rm10 each and renting a 3 room mid-cost apartment will set you back by about rm450, I truly respect our selfless heroes who put the security and safety of the country and its citizens before anything else.

It is therefore quite sad to hear that the government had recently decided NOT to look into the salary review of these heroes (and the other civil servants). The reason is that a salary review will affect not only the police but all other civil servants and such an exercise will be a huge burden to our budget.

Perhaps I can offer a suggestion...

Have an incentive scheme for the police. Plough back a percentage of the summons collected by PDRM back into development programs, system upgrades, bonuses, etc... I know this will probably seem unfair to the other civil servants, but we have to look at it this way - how often do we need to risk our lives when performing our duties?

Every policeman (I will use this to mean the men and women) is given a set of KPIs or quotas (depending on the nature of the job). For example, field officers must achieve a minimum of 365 summons a year (about 1 summons a day -- very little considering that I'm able to spot at least 3 traffic offences when I drive to work and back) while deskbound officers will have to complete all reports, summons follow-up, etc within 72 hours. Failure to achieve these KPIs or quotas would mean no incentive or even salary review. Five successive bad marks and 'You're fired'. But achieve them, and you get a sum of say rm500 extra per month. I am sure the incentive can be more! Each round of Ops Warta, there is always a few hundred thousand ringgit collected (with many more summons not issued due to 'duit kopi').

I believe that with such a scheme, it can also help fight the 'duit kopi' disease. After all, the policemen have families too. They too want to provide the best education for their kids. At rm650 per month, can they even afford to start a family?

When the policemen have to issue more summons and make their case hold in court (can also be part of their KPI), they will perform their duties even better. The policemen will need to be very professional and well-versed in what they uphold - the law. They must back up each summons with evidence (and not just say I am 'Tuan Polis').

When the public realise they cannot bribe their way through anymore, there will be a tendency to be more careful and obedient. We will have less of expired roadtax, beating the red lights, speeding, etc...

The PDRM will also attract many more people to join too! Then we can have more policemen patrolling and keeping the country safer.

The above is not so easy as it seems, of course. If it is, I would probably be a minister or some big shot business guru by now. There are many issues to iron out... Issues like incentive payout for those involved in criminal cases, etc... But I believe that nothing is impossible. There is a solution to everything - It is just that we've not thought of it yet.

Actually, this can be done in other government departments as well. I am sure that if this is implemented, productivity will improve.

Sometimes change is required. Maybe it is time the government start to re-examine their policies and operations. Everyone knows that the goverment does not terminate the services of their civil servants. And everyone knows that in the civil service, regardless of whether you do extra or not, your pay and your increment is still the same (and guaranteed too!).

Perhaps it is time that this is changed. Not overnight but definitely over time.

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Please leave your comments. There are 7 comment(s).

On 10/03/2006 09:28:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
You know, I don't mind paying extra tax if the gahmen is kind enough to increase the wages of these men and women in blue.

I reckon that their starting salary should be around RM3,000, NOT including other perks like housing allowance, OT, insurance coverage and special field allowances.

Then and only then could you nip the rampant bribery in the bud and restore confidence in the police force.

These men and women would then take pride in their job and discharge their duty with honour and integrity.

And more people would be dying to join the force too, and PDRM could handpick the cream of the lot and absorb them in special branches/taskforce a.k.a. 'Gerak Khas'. Haha!

In return, the public would look up to them and give them the true respect that they deserve.

Do you still remember the blue 'Kad 001' back in primary school?

I used to put "Polis" as one of my ambitions (how silly) as I was so impressed with the force when I watched Tony Leung in 'Police Academy'.

Haha, anyone remember this cantonese series in the 80s?

But I grew it out of my mind when I found out from my uncle, who's a cop, that the police were (and still are) overworked and underpaid.

On top of that, their welfare are often neglected and most of the time, put their lives at risk when battling the bad guys, ironically having more advanced weapon!

He used to tell me that it's very sad to see his men in the force.

Some of the men had to be "a bigger thief to catch a thief" and a real drug addict to catch the dealer and crime kingpins.

You see what they have to go through?

I'm very sad indeed that Pak Lelah just pulled the hand brake and said NO.

I guess that the welfare of the police are not as important as the welfare of his family members and cronies.

Over-inflate the prices of government contracts so that only selected few Bumis could enrich themselves under the banner called NEP.

Who cares about the government coffers, they are the people's money for these jackals to plunder anyway...
On 10/03/2006 07:19:00 PM Blogger adriantai said:
i think we have collected quite a bit of tax (and there's still a lot more un-collected ones as well!). speaking of tax, i think the tax people do get incentives for the tax collected. again, not sure of true or not... if true, can this not be applied to the summons as well?

back to the tax thingy... the thing is... where did all the tax money go la?

my guess... a lot went to the failed projects or road repairs that costs so much (when in the first place, a properly done tender and monitoring would have avoided all these).

yes, i remember the cantonese series... i think its police cadet la... :)

anyway, the point is... there should be a better salary for the police (and other civil servants). there should be carrots and sticks. i think at the moment, there is NO carrot and NO stick. that's the problem!
On 10/04/2006 08:28:00 AM Anonymous Anonymous said:
AHHHH... Police Cadet! That's it...

Police Academy pulak... Otak sudah karat!
On 10/04/2006 08:36:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
bad apples are everywhere. this world of ours is not perfect.

maximum fine for summons is rm300. let's assume no one will offer a bribe equivalent to the maximum sum. so instead, lets use rm200.

if you offer this amount to an office boy who earns rm500 per month, would the office boy accept this bribe? chances are, he will since its almost half is salary. now, imagine you want to bribe say... Donald Trump or Bill Gates (for whatever the reason). Do you think they will want to take your rm200?

as for the belly, well... blame that on lack of exercise la.

why would i need to support then during this Raya season if I'm not committing or planning to commit any offence?
On 10/04/2006 08:37:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
dean, police academy is the blue oyster one... heh heh...
On 11/15/2006 10:09:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said:
So this gives them an excuse to do " side business " ? How much does it take to make sure one has gone " missing in action " ? You see, the idea of having a police force is to have a group of GOOD people. If a police cannot live up to the ideals of a police, we might as well pay the gangsters to what ? protect us ?
On 11/16/2006 10:17:00 AM Blogger adriantai said:
u r right, anonymous. there is NO excuse for any side business. our heroes are supposed to be GOOD and nothing else.

but point is that we need to understand that as long as we live in this world, we all need $$$ to survive. So perhaps the call for an increase in their salary should be seriously looked into. I used the KFC price as comparison.

How can we expect our heroes to live in this REAL world where everything costs $$$ (not to mention expensive as well).










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