Friday, March 11, 2011

The Japanese Spirit


While the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami disaster plays out in real time on TV, I take heart in the fact that the Japanese people have been preparing for this for a long time.

They are a people who have recovered from various earthquakes and tsunamis (though nothing as large as this scale). Their popular culture is filled with monsters and natural disasters destroying cities in movies.

Mentally, I think this one nation that has prepared their people well for such a disaster. If they can rebuilt after World War 2, I am sure they will pull through this within 3 years.

Their earthquake rescue teams are send around the world in any disasters. I'm sure all the experiences they gathered will come in handy now.

The only good that came out of this that oil prices fell by a few dollars, though I suspect this is only a momentary effect.

Japan, my sympathies goes to you but you will pull through this. I know you will.





Corruption Vs. Sexual misconduct


Personally, I think a corruption allegation is more serious than sexual misconduct allegations for politicians. They're elected to manage the country. As long as their private lives don't interfere with their duties, I don't mind.

Only when they abuse their position of authority to get sexual favors (which is the same as bribery) then that is wrong.

A politician shouldn't be a society's role model. Why must we hold them to such high moral standards? We elect them because we trust them to do a good job. They're not saints.

I think politicians make terrible moral role models. To make it as an elected representative, they would have made many compromises behind closed doors. What they are, we can only speculate.




Thursday, March 10, 2011

Whom to believe?

Read the two news article below. One is from The Malaysian Insider, and the other is from Harian Metro. Both are reporting about the same incident. Judge for yourself who is telling the truth and if there is any bias in both reports.

From Harian Metro:

Tiga pelajar samseng


HULU SELANGOR: Tiga pelajar tingkatan lima sebuah sekolah menengah di sini, bertindak samseng dengan mengugut untuk membunuh seorang guru disiplin, kelmarin.
Difahamkan, kumpulan terbabit bertindak demikian kerana tidak puas hati apabila guru terbabit enggan menerima buku teks yang mahu dipulangkan mereka.


Berikutan itu, ketiga-tiga pelajar terbabit ditahan pihak berkuasa sejurus guru lelaki berkenaan membuat laporan polis berhubung insiden berkenaan.


Kejadian itu bermula kira-kira jam 11 pagi apabila tujuh pelajar sekolah berkenaan pergi ke pejabat sekolah bertemu pengetua untuk memulangkan buku teks yang enggan digunakan mereka.


Menurut sumber, tindakan tujuh pelajar itu yang berlagak samseng dengan meluru masuk ke pejabat sekolah tanpa meminta kebenaran bagaimanapun cuba dihalang guru berkenaan.


“Hairan dengan tindakan pelajar terbabit, guru disiplin itu bertanyakan tujuan mereka mahu berjumpa pengetua dan mereka memberitahu mahu memulangkan buku teks yang tidak mahu digunakan lagi.


“Guru itu menjelaskan kepentingan dan salah faham yang timbul mengenai buku berkenaan yang dianggap memberi ilmu pengetahuan kepada pelajar,” katanya.


Namun, pelajar terbabit tidak puas hati dengan penjelasan guru itu dan menganggap dia sengaja menghalang mereka bertemu pengetua dan mula bertindak biadab dengan meninggikan suara.


Sumber berkata, guru disiplin yang tergamam dengan tindakan pelajar terbabit cuba menenangkan keadaan dan menjelaskan perkara sebenar.


“Bagaimanapun, keadaan menjadi kecoh apabila tiga daripada pelajar terbabit mengugut guru itu kerana mendakwa dia menyinggung perasaan mereka,” katanya.


Bimbang keselamatan diri berikutan ugutan pelajar terbabit, guru berkenaan membuat laporan di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah (IPD) Hulu Selangor, di sini.


Sementara itu, Ketua Polis Daerah Hulu Selangor, Superintendan Norel Azmi Yahya Affendy ketika dihubungi mengesahkan penahanan ketiga-tiga pelajar itu.


Menurutnya, semua mereka ditahan dalam tempoh 24 jam bagi mengambil keterangan berhubung insiden itu dan kes disiasat mengikut Seksyen 506 Kanun Keseksaan kerana mengugut dan siasatan lanjut masih dijalankan.


Sementara itu, Bernama memetik Ahli Parlimen Hulu Selangor, P Kamalanathan, sebagai berkata beliau akan mengadakan perjumpaan dengan ibu bapa dan guru sekolah berkenaan esok berhubung isu buku teks itu.


“Saya akan pastikan pelajar menerima kembali buku berkenaan kerana itu arahan kerajaan yang mengekalkan novel berkenaan sebagai teks komponen sastera (Komsas) tingkatan lima,” katanya di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.


Kamalanathan berkata, berikutan kejadian itu, guru berkenaan sudah membuat laporan polis kerana mendakwa diugut abang seorang daripada pelajar itu pada Isnin lalu, manakala pelajar terbabit turut membuat laporan polis kerana perkataan yang digunakan guru itu.



Now from The Malaysian Insider:

Interlok: Polis siasat pelajar tak sah, Putrajaya digesa adakan inkuiri
Mar 08, 2011 KUALA LUMPUR, 8 Mac — Tindakan polis menyoal siasat tiga pelajar tanpa kehadiran ibu bapa atau peguam hanya kerana memulangkan novel Interlok, yang menjadi kontroversi sekarang kepada pengetua mereka, adalah tidak sah, kata pemimpin Pakatan Rakyat.


Ketiga-tiga pelajar SMK Kuala Kubu Baru terbabit disoal siasat oleh polis bandar itu semalam selama 10 jam.


“Soal siasat dijalankan tanpa kehadiran ibu bapa atau peguam.


“Mengejutkan, pihak berkuasa polis atau sekolah tidak memaklumkan ibu bapa mereka bahawa pelajar berkenaan disoal siasat oleh polis,” kata Naib Presiden PKR N Surendran dalam kenyataan dikeluarkan hari ini.


Katanya, pihak berkuasa sekolah dan Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru sekolah itu seolah-olah menggerakkan dan bekerjasama dalam insiden pelajar berkenaan disoal siasat kerana memulangkan novel Interlok.


“Kami dengan keras mengecam polis menyoal siasat kanak-kanak ini dan layanan yang diberikan kepada mereka.


“Soal siasat ini amat bertentangan dengan undang-undang kerana tiada kesalahan dilakukan oleh mereka,” kata beliau.


Novel Interlok kini digantung sementara jawatankuasa khas sedang mengkaji untuk membuat pindaan yang diperlukan.


Malah menurut aktivis sosial dan peguam ini, proses soal siasat itu bertentangan dengan undang-undang memandangkan mereka dinafikan akses kepada ibu bapa mereka atau peguam.


“Pada hakikatnya, sekurang-kurangnya salah seorang daripada kanak-kanak telah dinafikan kebenaran untuk menelefon ibu bapanya meskipun merayu untuk berbuat demikian,” kata Surendran.


“Kami menggesa kerajaan dan Kementerian Pelajaran mengambil tindakan segera untuk mengelakkan kejadian seumpama itu pada masa depan dan mengadakan inkuiri segera berhubung perkara tersebut,” katanya lagi.


Kata beliau, pihaknya mahu tindakan segera diambil ke atas pegawai-pegawai polis terbabit.


“Tindakan disiplin tegas harus diambil ke atas mana-mana guru yang terlibat dalam insiden ini.


“Kami menggesa kerajaan menghormati hak kanak-kanak dan bertindak selari dengan standard antarabangsa hak dan perlindungan kanak-kanak,” katanya.


Mengikut laporan media tiga pelajar tingkatan lima mendakwa mereka diheret ibu pejabat polis Kuala Kubu Baru dan disoal siasat selama 10 jam selepas mengambil keputusan memulangkan novel Interlok kepada pengetua mereka Jumaat lalu.


Kata laporan itu, pada awalnya, tujuh pelajar SMK Kuala Kubu Baru bercadang memulangkan buku teks sekolah mereka kerana mendakwa tidak berpuas hati dengan kandungannya tetapi dihalang oleh guru disipilin yang kemudian mencaci mereka.


“Semua tujuh daripada kami berjalan dengan tenang ke bilik guru besar apabila guru disiplin menahan kami dan mengeluarkan kata-kata yang melukakan perasaan kami,” kata seorang daripada pelajar di ibu pejabat Parti Hak asasi hari ini.


Menurut pelajar, guru disiplin didakwa menuduh mereka sengaja menimbulkan masalah di sekolah itu dan mengeluarkan kata-kata yang menghina mereka.


Menurut mereka, semalam pengerusi Persatuan Ibu Bapa dan Guru Baktiar Md Rashid, yang juga seorang pegawai polis, membawa tiga pelajar yang terbabit itu ke balai polis untuk disoal siasat tanpa kebenaran ibu bapa mereka.


In the Harian Metro report, they do not mention the name of the textbook, Interlok (actually it's a required reading novel). The article comes of as a pro-government report.

Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insider starts their story with a pro-student report giving their first few paragraphs to those defending the students against the police.

Not sure who to believe these days.

damn, this song is stuck in my head

Damn it, this song is stuck in my head! It's damn catchy.



I probably heard it on the radio sometime ago but never caught on to it until recently I've been seeing youtube videos of people singing it. I saw a 3 year old kid in the backseat of a car singing the chorus and a Jennifer Aniston video with some guy singing it too.

Arghh, can't get it out of my head now... and the chicks in the video are cute too.

TM service disruption

Today, I woke up and found the Streamyx internet dead. The DSL light was stable so I figured the fault must have been on TM's side.

I had to look up their number on the iphone's 3G connection as I knew if I called 100 they would just redirect me. When I reached their automated service and keyed in my phone number, the automated voice said there was a service disruption in my area.

me: I would like to lodge a complaint, I can't access the internet.
TM.Net: okay sir, we checked and there is a major service disruption in your area.
me: okay, how long before service is restored?
TM.NET: they would have to lay new cables so it would take about 2 weeks...
me: WHAT?!!!
TM.NET: erm, maybe 1 week like that...
me: okay, I want a rebate. Please give me a complaint number
TM.NET: Okay sir, your number is XXXXXX. Maybe after 1 day the service will be restored. They will call you to let you know.

So from 2 weeks of service disruption down to 1 day? Okay. Their estimates are waaaaay of.

Now I'm down to tethering my iphone to surf. I only have a 1G allowance and I probably used up half of it already. Damn it.

UPDATE:
LOL, this is damn funny. After I wrote this, I disconnected my iphone's tethering and connected back to my wifi and lo and behold, my internet was back up!

So now, the service disruption when down from 2 weeks to a few hours!