Peace of Mind

First of all I would like to thanks everyone who wrote numerous blogs regarding where to get good food in Klang Valley and what type of food for what kind of price and so forth. Because some of their blogs was used as a reference for me to go out and try myself what they have been writing about (and compliment), especially nasi kandar.

As a Penangite, we were born and bred with nasi kandar around. Every road, every short cuts and every corner of a building, there’s a big chance that you might pass by a nasi kandar stall. Before we go on, let me get the fact straight, bar Hameediyah, most of the best and original nasi kandar are sold at stalls, not restaurant. This is fact that everyone should be aware of. In the exception of Hamediyah, which is located in a shop lot, it’s been there for 100 years, so the authenticity cannot be questioned at all.

Most outsiders think that the best nasi kandar Pulau Pinang is Pelita, Kayu or Kassim Mustafa. That is the only thing they know because those names are the most commercial of all. But if you come to Penang and ask the people here where you can find original nasi kandar, I can guarantee you guys that none of the above names will be mentioned. Not even a whisper of it, hehe.

So, as I’ve been staying in KL for a good 9 years now, the search for good nasi kandar goes on. One of the most mentioned nasi kandar outlet that I found on the internet was this Zainul Nasi Kandar in PJ. Numerous blogs heaps praise about their food and some even claim to drive all he way from port Klang to PJ just to get a taste of this original nasi kandar because it tastes so good. I think that it must be something special then. So we went there.

To be honest, I was very very disappointed with the overall taste of the food. It was well below my expectation, considering most of the blogs wrote positive reviews and some claims the food as authentic. Sorry to say, it was all wrong. You may argue that every person has different taste, but in this case, even nasi kandar Pelita seems great if you compare them side by side. In the gravy, there was nothing that reminds me of Penang. There was no bendi, no cabbage and telur rebus for that matter. And then the workers are all white!! Where are those fast-hands mamaks that we all know that’s been their hallmark? How in the world it can called itself Zainul Nasi Kandar Pulau Pinang is beyond me. The only positive thing that can be said about this place is that the long 10- 20 meters of queue does resembles a bit of Nasi Beratoq. But if those in line thinks that this is the original nasi kandar, they have been duped badly. Pity them..

Even Raihan Nasi ‘Ganja’ Kandar at Glenmarie is 10 times better than Zainul, and Mohd Yassin Jalan TAR is 3 times better than Raihan. This is my opinion, but this is a very detailed account of my opinion, after much consideration and choice of words. If you are excited about trying this food, forget it! If you want to try because you want to know how bad it is, then go ahead. But please keep in mind to NEVER think it as nasi kandar Pulau Pinang, because you may want to turn the table over in disbelief later.

I can only describe this food as a good nasi campur melayu, nothing more. If he thinks that his food is original nasi kandar Pulau Pinang, then it certainly is a very bad nasi kandar Pulau Pinang. For my fellow Penangites out there in KL, I advice you better to go to Raihan in Glenmarie or Mohd Yassin in Jalan TAR for far more better nasi kandar. At least if they claim that their’s is nasi kandar Pulau Pinang, I can smile and say “nice try”…

Ridhuan Abu Bakar 2009

• This big banner might be your property! (click on banner for full size)

I think it’s now the 2nd week of the real preparation for the upcoming Penang Free School Class of 1999 1st Ever Reunion Dinner after Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Currently the crew who has been tirelessly attending meeting, doing designs and promoting are:

1. Lee Choo Meng
2. Ridhuan ‘becks’
3. Wan Nor Rashidi ‘Shidi’
4. hazairi ‘Jay’
5. Munies
6. Nik Nazree
7. Mahadhir

and every other individual who has helped in promoting this event and contacting our long lost friend. I can hardly believe we already left school for 10 years now. Somehow the memories are still fresh in my mind.

Our blog can be seen HERE

Organizing an event is not an easy thing, especially if it involves a lot of people and resources. Thanks to the passion of these guys to see it become a reality, things has started to picking up. Promotion has been going thick and fast, programming also has started and finalising of the guest list is almost complete. Hopefully by the day itself, our target of 100 pax. will be met, with God’s will.

To be honest with you, I first got the idea of organizing this kind of reunion in 2005, that was 4 years ago, but it never materialized mainly because work commitment and lack of spirit maybe. So the paperwork has been kept in my hard disk since. But finally this year the proposal came to light simply because 10 year is seen as a benchmark, a decade of long lost memories that needed to re-live at what ever cost.

There are some friends that we meet everyday, some were lost completely, some we met once in a while and some has become enemy. There are also a set of individual who are so passionate and proud of the school and the attachment to it’s history, and some think the school as just a learning place. There are people who, in their school time, defy teacher’s advice and break the rules and now becomes a teacher himself! How ironic! I heard a friend who in school I never saw drawing anything, is now a graphic designer, and some are so clever at school now are just a plain joe because the brain has absorb everything too much too early.

That is why we are the Penang Free School Class of 1999 students. We are different, we are passionate, and finally we are the brave and for the the true!

Fortis Atque Fidelis

THIS is not to encourage road racing or illegal racing in any form. I just want to share my experience traveling and driving throughout peninsular Malaysia for a good 6 years. As some people would’ve known, driving is not just merely going from point A to point B, it is the manner of how you travel between those 2 points is what really matters.

I’ve been traveling a lot since I got my 1st car some 6 years ago. And to be honest with you, I’ve been watching MotoGP (formely known as World Grand Prix) and Formula 1 since I can remember being into life. I love motor racing more than I love football. Even to this date football is second to motor racing in my sporting interest.

If I were given the choice to pick between a professional career in GT racing or a professional football player for Manchester United, the answer will be the former, without second thought.

Racing discipline does not teach you just about speeding. The fundamental aspects of racing are, among others, awareness, reflexes, car control, patience and defensive driving. If everybody on the road applies these aspects on their everyday driving, you can only imagine how safe our road would be.

Let me put a brief explanation on how the above aspects, when applied on the road, can lead to a safer environment.

1. AWARENESS:
- In racing: awareness of the flags, stalled car, radio communication, pit signs

- On road: awareness of other slower cars in front, side and rear. Take notice of all the road signs and warning signs.

2. REFLEXES:
- In racing: how quick you can react in emergency (accident in front of you). The higher the speed, the faster you learn to react

- On road: the faster you react to a situation, the higher the chance you can avoid an accident

3. CAR CONTROL:
- In racing: rear wheel drive and high torque= over steer, wheel spin. Better car control improves your lap times.

- On road: put car into good balance after avoiding a dangerous situation, better handling in rain (u know how fast to go and how hard to brake)

4. PATIENCE:
- In racing: contrary to popular belief, racing driver is more patient than the average Joe on our normal road (including you!). They will always wait for the RIGHT moment to overtake, even if they had to follow another car for 20 laps or more.

- On road: the key to safety! If you can be patient for 20 laps behind a slower car, of course you can wait the right moment to overtake an 80-year-old grandpa on a single busy trunk road.

5. DEFENSIVE DRIVING:
- in racing: racing driver applies defensive driving when they ANTICIPATE what will happen in front of them and take the necessary measures to prevent from being involved in an accident. e.g.: slow the car down or take a different route

- On road: same. If you anticipate something is going to happen in front of you, then you can take necessary measures to avoid it. e.g.: slowing down, take a different route, honk, etc.

REMEMBER! When you took your driving license, they did not teach you the 5 aspects in details, especially Patience. But in racing, these are the BASIC knowledge that every driver has to have to become a pro race driver.

REMEMBER! Racing is not all about speed alone, there are more than just pure speed and gut-wrenching overtaking maneuver. Speed only does not kills, but recklessness and carelessness do. If a racing driver is careless or reckless on the track, he can be punished/ fined/ expelled/ suspension from the race immediately. Speed + careless can kill. Speed + reckless can kill. Slow + careless can kill. Slow + ego can kill. Slow + sleepy can kill.

If you think that speed alone kills, then every week any racing driver that pushes his car 300km/h on a straight line would have died mysteriously.

Take this scenario for instance. If a road that has a speed limit of 110km/h, and EVERY single driver drives at a speed of 110km/h, what you think will happen? Do you think them all going to die? If everyone drives at a constant speed 110km/h, there is much less tailgating and less overtaking because nobody has to push others because they are all on the same speed limit. If you reduce the chance of overtaking and tailgating, you automatically reduce the chance of an accident.

If you reduce the chance of accident, you reduce the chance of fatality. Only those who drive ABOVE the speed limit may have the chance of accident, but driving above the speed limit is speeding + reckless, and reckless driver may get into an accident.

If we all can apply these aspects of driving in our everyday driving, InsyaAllah, our road will be safer and everybody can drive with a smile on their face. I hope this article does educate me and somebody out there, and together we can make road a better place. AWARENESS & PATIENCE is key.

DISCLAIMER:
This is not a conclusive statement and should not be taken as-it-is or applied by anyone on any road in any means purely by reading it. I am not responsible for any mishap that might happen as a result of anybody heeding and applies this article into their driving. But if you benefited from it, that is great! THIS IS JUST AN OPINION THAT CHALLENGES CRITICAL RESPONSE AND FEEDBACK BY ANYONE. I AM TRYING TO EDUCATE FELLOW DRIVERS AND PRODUCE SOLUTIONS SO DRIVING WILL NEVER BE SO DANGEROUS AGAIN.

Rasuah adalah satu amalan yang boleh dikatakan diterima oleh masyarakat kita dan dianggap bukan suatu kesalahan atau dosa untuk mengambil atau memberi. Ini boleh dibuktikan dengan melihat keadaan di sekeliling kita, kawan, saudara mara, ahli keluarga dan teman sepejabat.

Definisi rasuah bermaksud 1 perbuatan yg salah di sisi undang-undang spt menerima atau memberi wang suap (pecah amanah, menggelapkan wang, mencuaikan tanggungjawab dll). 2 sesuatu yg diberikan atau yg diterima sbg sokongan.http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/carian.aspx?cari=rasuah&domain=PRPM

Pernahkan anda dengar ungkapan seperti “Biasala bang, nak hidup“. Daripada pemerhatian saya, saya mendapati individu yang menggunakan ayat tersebut banyak terdiri daripada golongan perasuah. Tetapi bagi mereka, apa yang mereka lakukan bukanlah rasuah, tapi salah satu cara untuk mendapat projek atau kontrak ‘demi mencari rezeki’. Maka, disebabkan dengan perkataan ‘rezeki’, segala amalan yang dilakukan untuk mendapat projek atau kontrak tersebut dianggap halal atau ‘biasa’.

Bagi sesetengah orang, atas alasan ‘mencari rezeki‘, individu sanggup melakukan hampir apa saja untuk mendapat sesuatu projek seperti merasuah. Tetapi mereka tidak mencuri, merompak atau ‘tikam belakang’ pesaing mereka kerana pada mereka, itu semua adalah jenayah dan berdosa. Tetapi mereka tidak tahu bahawa rasuah adalah salah satu bentuk mencuri dan merompak, cuma cara melakukannya lebih ‘low profile’ dan bersifat ‘under table’. Maka individu- individu ini berani melakukan rasuah tetapi takut untuk mencuri atau merompak, walhal semua perbuatan tersebut adalah jenayah dan sama sifatnya. Cuma modus operandi nya sedikit berbeza. Rasuah adalah mencuri. Rasuah adalah merompak.

Rasuah adalah amalan yang diterima oleh masyarakat kita, dan sekarang sudah menjadi budaya hidup kita. Kenapa? kata mereka ‘demi mencari rezeki’, ‘nak hidup’, ‘mencari sesuap nasik‘ dan bermacam- macam ayat simpati yang lain. Saya pasti anda mesti pernah mendengar orang disekeliling anda menyebut ayat- ayat tersebut. Mereka tidak sedar bahawa perbuatan mereka adalah sama seperti mencuri atau merompak kerana niat untuk merasuah bergantung pada beberapa sebab:

1. mendapat projek atau kontrak dengan cara paling singkat/ mudah

2. mendapat kelebihan berbanding pesaing anda dalam sesuatu tender

3. mendapat projek atau kontrak tanpa melepasi syarat- syarat tertentu

Apabila anda merasuah untuk mendapat salah satu objektif diatas, ia boleh dirumuskan sebagai mencuri atau menipu. Anda merasuah untuk mendapat kelebihan yang tidak adil berbanding pesaing samalah seperti merompak, kerana anda tahu tanpa rasuah, kemungkinan untuk anda mendapat projek tersebut amat tipis. Maka bagi anda, perbuatan merasuah boleh dijadikan sebagai ‘jaminan’ untuk mendapat projek tersebut. Itulah mencuri namanya. Mencuri dalam erti kata mencuri peluang pesaing anda untuk mendapat projek tersebut secara adil dan saksama.

Dalam proses tender, client akan memilih satu daripada beberapa pembida projek tersebut atas beberapa faktor seperti sebutharga, bekalan stok dan kualiti produk. Tetapi, apabila salah satu pembida merasuah client dengan wang ringgit, client tidak lagi akan membuat keputusan dengan menimbang 3 faktor tersebut, tetapi akan memilih pembida yang merasuah beliau kerana telah diberikan kelebihan yang tidak diberi oleh pembida lain, iatu wang. Tetapi dalam proses tender tidak ada mengatakan bahawa sesiapa yang memberi insentif wang yang lebih banyak akan mendapat projek tersebut, maka perbuatan memberi insentif wang kepada client adalah ‘mendapat kelebihan berbanding pesaing anda dalam sesuatu tender’. Itu adalah rasuah, dan itu adalah jenayah. Tetapi mereka akan kata “biasala bang, nak hidup” dan orang disekeliling mereka akan buat- buat bodoh dan buat biasa. Orang kita.

Kerana itulah saya menyatakan bahawa ‘rasuah adalah satu amalan yang boleh dikatakan diterima oleh masyarakat kita dan dianggap bukan suatu kesalahan atau dosa untuk mengambil atau memberi’. Kerana disebabkan ‘nak hidup’, ‘mencari rezeki’, ‘mencari sesuap nasik’, amalan rasuah tidak salah malah harus dilakukan. Bangsa kita sudah boleh menerima amalan rasuah sebagai salah satu amalan hidup demi mencari rezeki di dunia. Tetapi mereka memutuskan untuk lupa bahawa rasuah itu sama saja dengan mencuri, merompak atau menipu kerana rasuah memberi jaminan pulangan di masa hadapan. Ingatlah perasuah- perasuah semua, perbuatan anda sama saja dengan mencuri dan merompak. Ini adalah amalan yang keji dan anda berlindung dibelakang simpati orang lain dengan menggunakan ayat- ayat seperti ‘nak hidup’ atau ‘mencari rezeki’. Anda perlu tahu bawaha untuk hidup atau mencari rezeki, rasuah bukanlah cara yang perlu diikuti dan ia adalah satu bentuk jenayah baik dari segi moral dan agama. Itu tidak boleh dipertikaikan lagi.

Saya sedih.

SECTION 1

This thing never attracts my attention at all until recently. A couple of unfortunate ‘friends’ (who they claim to be) thought that I was some guy who just set afoot in KL from a jungle somewhere in east Peninsular, hoping that I would be interested to make some ’side income’. Well, I just let them give it a try.

Some say its ‘business’, some con artist calls it’s ‘networking’, and to the extreme level of stupidity, they say it ‘opportunity’. In those 3 words they think hard to describe about the nature of what they’re doing, the terms ‘opportunity’ is the most laughable of all. Opportunity for what? Becoming a millionaire by your 28th birthday? Let’s get the fact straight, it isn’t business like others nor networking, it is Multi-Level-Marketing, or to be completely honest, it’s ‘The Pyramid Scheme’. It does not get any better than that isn’t it? It gives them massive goose bumps if you mention ‘pyramid scheme’ to them, so let us try to be polite to them by not to mention anything that resembles pyramid or get-rich-scheme. Most of the people that are more likely to approach you with this scam are your friends, relatives or colleagues. I’ve seen how friends become foes because of this shit. I’ve also witness how people fall into the trap because they’ve been ‘possessed’ by the sweet talk of these con artist, and some generous chap simply pay the joining fees just to shut them up. We are not talking about small amount here, the joining fees may range from RM30 to a massive RM3000. I’ve seen them.

Now, on the outskirt, you may want to ask, ‘What differentiate Multi-Level-Marketing and Pyramid Scheme?’ These con artists (CA) will be more than happy to explain it to you if you ask them. But first, they need to gather a group of people (probably between 2-15) before they start explaining to you, so you may feel intimidated by their presence and hopefully prevent you from asking too many questions. It also helps the person who’re explaining to you to tell fake success stories of their counterpart while they are around, so you may feel like some kind of real time experience.

What differerentiate Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) and Pyramid Scheme (PS) can be found in this article at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_scheme

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi_level_marketing

and

http://www.ftc.gov/speeches/other/dvimf16.shtm

CA will tell you that MLM is different because MLM sells product, while PS isn’t. They will also tell you that these items are rare and cannot be found in other market except from them. The product comes at a certain price, usually at an fucking inflated price. Example, a piece of cheap glass with some ‘glowing thing’ cost you around Rm1000. But to get it at that price, you have to be a member of this scam. Now here’s the trick. To join the scam, there is a joining fee you have to pay on top of the mandatory purchase of the Rm1000 shit. The joining fee?, another Rm1000. So, to buy that shit cost you RM2000 alone. What sense does this scam make?

Then the CA will tell you, if you manage to sell these items, you’ll get a commission. The more you sell, the higher the commission. But, who the fuck is going to buy this piece of crap for Rm1000? I’m already broke by buying this shit, how do I expect other people to buy this without asking too much questions? Here’s the marvel of the MLM/PS. Once you get deeper in their organization, meaning more involved in the gatherings or frequently attending the talks, they will tell you EXACTLY what this scam is all about. They will tell that you don’t actually have to sell these things. All you need to do is find another person to join this scam. No need to sell, just ask them to join. The joining fee? RM2000. For every person you managed to sign-up, you’ll get a small amount of commission. The person you’d signed-up is called downline. Then, when the downline managed to sign another person, you’ll also get a share of the commission, until the pyramid becomes bigger and unsustainable. And then they will happily tell you ‘This is how we got rich!’. For every Rm2000 your downline pays to join, they’ll get a product worth about RM200, and you’ll get a commission of around RM500. That RM700 of ‘cost’ the company has to fork out in return of RM1300 to their pocket just from ONE PERSON in the pyramid. Of course you’ll get your share, but compare it to the total amount of the uplines, CEOs, directors, old-timers of this scam get from the thousands of downline that’s been conned, just like you? Think about it. This is a Pyramid Scheme, the product is just a diversion from the real strategy on how they con people.

If this is really business, why the joining fees at the first place? If it is networking, why the product as the core business? Opportunity? What opportunity? Opportunity to become rich? The opportunity is actually for the pioneers, the directors to make millions out of those hopefuls who just came out from a jungle in east Peninsular. If you read the link, it says with mathematics calculation, 88% of the people in the pyramid will loose their money, meaning you, and the 12% will get their return, meaning the directors and the pioneers. Of the probable thousands ringgit you’re going to make if you are really really really lucky , those uplines already made hundred of millions of ringgit from your hard work. For the RM1300 you ‘gave’ them, they’ll return the favour by giving you a ‘box of candy’ of Rm500. WAKE UP MATE!!!

In the next column, I’ll tell you the realities of the pyramid schemes in KL and how to possibly identify a con artist…