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The first time I saw the name was through this article from The Star. Wow! Such a generous person! Just over RM 1 billion for the establishment of a cancer research centre and hospital. Makna (Malaysia’s National Cancer Council) must have been delighted when the offer was made. And all the good doctor wanted in return was for the centre to have the following ridiculously long name: The Farinnie Elie and Makna’s Children Cancer Treatment and Research Centre and Hospital.

Even in acronyms this would be a massive eight lettered deal: FEMCCTRC. Well anyway, I tried to Google this guy out… and to my suprise it yielded zero results. Furthermore, I read this article which shows how proud he is of his riches, something very rare for high profile Muslim multi-millionaires. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, mind you! I’d (probably) pimp my blings all the time if I’m damn rich… but it’s just fishy. There’s something not quite right about this Dr. Elie Youssef Najem guy.

Today, this article was published in The Star. Hmm, but still, someone who’s that rich surely couldn’t escape Google’s tentacles in one way or another. But hey, I guess I’ll benefit from his name (via the search engines specifically) by being among the first to blog about him

I can’t wait to see how this saga unfolds.

First of all, here’s my disclaimer: This write-up is related to Malaysian Malay newspapers and is purely 100% my personal opinions on them.

To me, important indicators of a printed material’s target audience are as follows:

Read the rest of Why Malay Newspapers Suck »

Hutan Bandar is one of the rare places of green tranquility in Johor Bahru. It spans over 32 hectares and is maintained by MBJB (Johor Bahru City Council). Translated to English, Hutan Bandar means “City Forest”. In the deeper parts of Hutan Bandar, you would literally feel disconnected from the hustle and bustle of JB. It’s a really strange, yet calming feeling to have, especially over the weekend after a full week of corporate battles and mental drain.

Some of the facilities available at Hutan Bandar are:

• Lots of lush green flora.
• Seven scenic lakes.
• Children’s playgrounds.
• Jungle Trek.
• Exercise facilities.
• Camping site.
• Children’s swimming pool.

Here are some pictures I’ve taken during my last visit to Hutan Bandar.

Read the rest of Pictures of Hutan Bandar »

Yeah, yeah… By now, every Malaysian and their cats/dogs/guinea pigs would have heard about Malaysia’s Squattergate issue. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such tremendous activity on one issue in the Malaysian blogosphere.

Everyone has opinions on this issue, and many bloggers make their opinions heard. What I find funny is that at the same time of posting whatever criticisms they had for the Malaysian government, many moan and groan that human rights in Malaysia is non-existant, racism is rife, and tons of other bullshit.

While China and Chinese tourists are seen as the “victims” in this particular issue, and rightfully so might I add, please don’t forget that at least in Malaysia, we’re guaranteed uncensored internet access. I doubt we can say the same for the poor citizens of China.

Just be thankful that you can write, even however irresponsibly, one-sided, shallow or plain stupid things on your blog, and it won’t “suddenly” get clamped down, like they often do in China (suprise, suprise!).

Just reflect on this for a while, if something similar were to happen to a Malaysian in China, do you think it will get as wide an exposure as this “Squattergate” issue is getting? Would it even get out at all? Are you sure it hasn’t happened?

And sections in the Chinese media call this issue worse than Abu Ghraib. Well, sure, our cops cocked up big time in this issue, but hey, at least we didn’t kill, let alone torture thousands of Tibetans.

Talk about the black hole calling the kettle black.

For the past few days, one of the popular news items to appear in Malaysia’s English and Chinese dailies was the allegedly poor treatment being dished out by some policemen towards Chinese nationals, particularly the women.

It seems that our cops has been getting really bad press recently, and guess what… probably deservingly too. I’m sure many Malaysians have had bad experiences when dealing with the police. Mind you, I’m not necessarily talking about “sinister” things like bribery and corruption… I’ll just let others do that… I’m talking about other suposedly routine stuff dealt by all police forces all over the world. You know, routine things like lodging reports, etc.

The PM recently lambasted government bodies for their inefficient bureaucratic ways despite the millions of ringgits spent on office automation and IT.

I believe that a huge part of the problem is not due to hardware nor software, but peopleware. To be more specific, the human nature of being resistant to changes. I’m sure those in the IT line are very familiar with this issue.

Before this post goes way off-topic, let me bring it back on track. The problem with the Malaysian police force as I see it is lack of investment in peopleware. A large majority of people joining the public sector is for all the wrong reasons; having a “stable” job for life where layoffs are almost unheard off, where appraisals are virtually meaningless, where lots of perks are available (pensions, discounts on housing and transport purchases, tax reliefs, etc.), to name a few.

It is very rare to see someone joining the public sector (especially the uniformed forces) to make a difference… changing the nation positively. Most in the public sector just want an easy life, or feel “in power” doing even the most mundane of tasks. There’s just way to many examples of this happening in the Malaysian public sector.

Permits take ages to get approved or rejected. Nobody bothers about customer service. Lackadaisical approach to getting things done. And these are undisputed facts. Just look at the many issues highlighted in the news with regards to dealing with government bodies. Coupled with the fact that enforcement of rules and regulations are poor, to say the least, in Malaysia.

Now with all the negative press that the Malaysian cops are getting, it’s no coincidence that this issue is getting prime time attention from everyone including the people on the street to the Prime Minister himself.

Things definitely to change… and quick.