Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Malaysia Airlines

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Malaysia Airlines - Official Website

Malaysia Airlines (Abbreviated: MAS,马航 ; Malay: Penerbangan Malaysia; Chinese: 马来西亚航空公司; Hanyu Pinyin: Málaixīya Hángkōng Gōngsī)(in Italian language is Aerolinee di Malesia)is the national airline of Malaysia, operating scheduled services to over 100 destinations worldwide. It also operates domestic network and charter services. Its main base is Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with hubs at Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Penang International Airport and Kuching International Airport.

The airline started operations on 1 May 1947 as Malayan Airways, changing to Malaysian Airways in November 1963 after the formation of Malaysia. With the separation of Singapore from the Federation of Malaysia on 9 August 1965, the Singapore and Malaysia governments took over majority control from BOAC and other shareholders and the airline was renamed Malaysia-Singapore Airlines. On 3 April 1971 the airline was split into Malaysian Airlines System and Singapore Airlines. The new airline began operations on 1 October 1972 as the national carrier of Malaysia. On 15 October 1987, the trading name was changed to Malaysia Airlines.

FireFly

Firefly is a low cost airline which is a wholly subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines but to be managed by Flyfirefly Sdn. Bhd. The airline flies two daily services out of Penang International Airport to Kota Bahru, Langkawi, Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu, plus daily services to Phuket and Koh Samui in southern Thailand.

MASWings

MASWings is a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines. The airline will take over the Rural Air Services in Sabah and Sarawak from FlyAsianXpress. The newly formed subsidiary, MASwings has plans to purchase 10 ATR 72-500 aircraft to replace its 9 Fokker 50. They will also replace the current fleet of DHC-6-300 Twin Otters to the newer "Series 400" model.

Destinations

Africa

* South Africa
o Cape Town (Cape Town International Airport)
o Johannesburg (OR Tambo International Airport)

East Asia

* China, People's Republic of
o Beijing (Beijing Capital International Airport)
o Guangzhou (Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport)
o Hong Kong (Hong Kong International Airport)
o Kunming (Kunming Wujiaba International Airport)
o Shanghai (Shanghai Pudong International Airport)
o Xiamen (Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport)

* China, Republic of (Taiwan)
o Kaohsiung (Kaohsiung International Airport)
o Taipei (Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport)

* Japan
o Nagoya (Chubu International Airport)
o Osaka (Kansai International Airport)
o Tokyo (Narita International Airport)

* South Korea
o Seoul (Incheon International Airport)

Southeast Asia

* Brunei Darussalam
o Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei International Airport)

* Cambodia
o Phnom Penh (Phnom Penh International Airport)
o Siem Reap (Angkor International Airport)

* Indonesia
o Denpasar (Ngurah Rai International Airport)
o Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta International Airport)
o Medan (Polonia International Airport)
o Padang (Minangkabau International Airport)
o Surabaya (Juanda International Airport)
o Tarakan (Juwata Airport)

* Malaysia
o Alor Star (Sultan Abdul Halim Airport)
o Bintulu (Bintulu Airport)
o Johor Bahru (Senai International Airport)
o Kota Bharu (Sultan Ismail Petra Airport)
o Kota Kinabalu (Kinabalu Kinabalu International Airport)Secondary Hub
o Kuala Lumpur (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) Hub
o Kuala Terengganu (Sultan Mahmud Airport)
o Kuantan (Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport)
o Kuching (Kuching International Airport)Secondary Hub
o Labuan (Labuan Airport)
o Langkawi (Langkawi International Airport)
o Miri (Miri Airport)
o Penang (Penang International Airport)Secondary Hub
o Sandakan (Sandakan Airport)
o Sibu (Sibu Airport)
o Tawau (Tawau International Airport)

* Myanmar
o Yangon (Yangon International Airport)

* Philippines
o Cebu (Mactan-Cebu International Airport)
o Manila (Ninoy Aquino International Airport)

* Singapore
o Singapore(Singapore Changi Airport)

* Thailand
o Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport)
o Phuket (Phuket International Airport)

* Viet Nam
o Hanoi (Noi Bai International Airport)
o Ho Chi Minh City (Tan Son Nhat International Airport)

South Asia

* Bangladesh
o Dhaka (Zia International Airport)

* India
o Bangalore (HAL Airport)
o Chennai (Chennai International Airport)
o Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport)
o Hyderabad (Begumpet Airport)
o Mumbai (Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport)

* Maldives
o Malé (Malé International Airport)

* Pakistan
o Karachi (Jinnah International Airport)

* Sri Lanka
o Colombo (Bandaranaike International Airport)

Southwest Asia

* Lebanon
o Beirut (Beirut International Airport)

* Saudi Arabia
o Jeddah (King Abdulaziz International Airport)

* United Arab Emirates
o Dubai (Dubai International Airport)

Europe

* France
o Paris (Charles de Gaulle International Airport)
* Germany
o Frankfurt (Frankfurt International Airport)

* Italy
o Rome (Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport)

* Netherlands
o Amsterdam (Amsterdam Schiphol Airport)

* Sweden
o Stockholm (Stockholm-Arlanda Airport)

* Switzerland
o Zürich (Zürich International Airport)

* Turkey
o Istanbul (Ataturk International Airport)

* United Kingdom
o London (London Heathrow Airport)

North America

* United States
o Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport)
o Newark (Newark Liberty International Airport)

Oceania

* Australia
o Adelaide (Adelaide International Airport)
o Brisbane (Brisbane Airport)
o Melbourne (Melbourne Airport)
o Perth (Perth Airport)
o Sydney (Kingsford Smith International Airport)

* New Zealand
o Auckland (Auckland International Airport)

South America

* Argentina
o Buenos Aires (Ministro Pistarini International Airport)

Terminated Destinations

The following destinations were served by scheduled Malaysia Airlines flights but have been suspended or terminated.

* Africa
o Egypt (Cairo- 2006)

* East Asia
o China (Chengdu- 2006, Guilin- 2005, Macau- Mid 90's, Xian- 2006, Wuhan)
o Japan (Fukuoka- 2006)
o Korea, South (Busan- Late 90's)

* Southeast Asia
o Indonesia (Balikpapan- 2005, Manado- 2005, Makassar- 2001, Padang- 2006, Pontianak- 2006, Tarakan- 2006)
o Laos (Vientiane- 1998)
o Malaysia (Ipoh- 2006)
o Philippines (Davao- Late 90's, Zamboanga- Late 90's)
o Thailand (Chiang Mai- Late 90's, Hat Yai- Early 2000's)

* South Asia
o India (Ahmedabad- 2006, Kolkata- 2006)

* Southwest Asia
o Bahrain (Bahrain seasonal - 2006)
o Kuwait (Kuwait City seasonal - 2006)
o Syria (Damascus- 2006)

* Europe
o Austria (Vienna- 2006)
o Belgium (Brussels- Late 90's)
o Croatia (Zagreb- Late 90's)
o Germany (Munich- 2001)
o Spain (Madrid- 2001)
o United Kingdom (Manchester- 2006)

* North America
o Canada (Vancouver- 2001)
o Mexico (Mexico City- Mid 90's)
o United States (Honolulu- Mid 90's)

* Oceania
o Australia (Cairns- Early 2000's, Darwin- Early 2000's)
o New Zealand (Christchurch)


Travel Classes

Malaysia Airlines offers three travel classes: First, Business (Golden Club) and Economy Class.

First Class

The newer version of First Class was introduced in 2005 is only available on Boeing 747-400 with 12 seats. It features a 180 degree flat bed seat with a pitch of 80" and a width of 20.5" which is electronically controlled that can choose from a variety of positions at the touch of a button. The seat also doubles a visitor’s seat. There is a 115 AC power outlet for the notebook or electronic devices, 15-inch LCD touch screen monitor for entertainment that can be stowed away when not in use and a personal controller unit.

Golden Club Class

Business Class or Golden Club Class is available on all of Malaysia Airlines fleet. The newer business class that was introduced in 2005 can only be found on Boeing 747-400 which has 41 seats and Boeing 777-200 which has 35 seats. It features 171 degree lie flat seat with a pitch of 62" and a width of 18.5" which is electronically controlled that can choose from a variety of positions at the touch of a button. There is a 10.4-inch LCD touch screen monitor, a personal controller unit and a 115 AC power outlet for other devices into. Other business class are available on Airbus A330 series and Boeing 737-400 which only feature recliners. Personal Television are available on those type of seats on Airbus A330-200.

Economy Class

Economy Class is available on all of Malaysia Airlines fleet. The seats feature a pitch of 34" and width of 17" with foot rests and lumbar support. On Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777-200 and Airbus A330-200, it offers a 6.5" Personal TV located behind each seat and footrest located below the seat infront.

In-flight entertainment

Select is the in-flight entertainment system of Malaysia Airlines. There are two types of Select, Select 3000i and Select Mainscreen. For aircrafts fitted with the Select 3000i, passengers can choose over 500 hours of audio and video programming. With 200 music CDs and 50 movies on-demand available, passengers can start, stop, forward and rewind their selected programme at will. A touch screen personal TV is available for First Class passengers and Golden Club Class (Business Class) on board Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

Loyalty programmes

Malaysia Airlines has 2 loyalty programmes, Grads for Students by Malaysia Airlines (Grads) and Enrich by Malaysia Airlines (Enrich). Grads is a loyalty programme with benefits designed for students. Enrich by Malaysia Airlines is a travel reward programme for frequent travellers that comprises a variety of airlines, banks, credit card issuers, hotels and lifestyle retailers around the world.

Enrich by Malaysia Airlines

In 30 September 1987, Malaysian Airline System introduced Esteemed Traveller loyalty programme. In the early 1990s, Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Thai Airways International and Singapore Airlines launched their joint Asian frequent flyer programme Passages. The joint programme was officially dissolved in 1999 and Enrich made its debut after the split from Passages.

Enhanced Enrich

On 12 July 2006, Malaysia Airlines introduced its enhanced Enrich frequent flyer programme. The programme is now known as Enrich by Malaysia Airlines (Enrich), modeled after its more successful loyalty programme Grads for Students by Malaysia Airlines. One of the enhancements in the programme was the introduction of the Enrich Silver membership, which focuses on economy class travelers, while retaining the other memberships – Enrich Blue, Enrich Gold and Enrich Platinum.

Member
Enrich current membership of one million is spread over 240 countries, with the strongest in Malaysia at about 60%, followed by Australia (14%), Singapore, Britain and the US. Enrich membership numbers have been growing at an average of 23 per cent per year, well above the industry’s average of 18 per cent. Enrich members clocked in a total of 2.5 billion miles in 2005.

Benefits
There are four levels of Enrich memberships, each offering various privileges including priority check-in, priority standby, extra baggage allowance, amongst others. Miles can be accrued on qualifying Malaysia Airlines services, as well through a host of partners, including airlines, hotels, car rental agencies and credit card companies. Miles accrued by members allow for redemption for free travel, free upgrades and a host of other complimentary services.

Partner airlines
Members of Enrich are able to accrue miles on qualifying flights on the following airlines:[11]

* Air France
* All Nippon Airways
* KLM
* Northwest Airlines
* Swiss International Air Lines
* Virgin Atlantic

For avid travelers, Malaysia Airlines also run its annual Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair where fantastic travel offers are made available.

Source: Wikipedia

Saturday, January 20, 2007

The eBay way

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There are only about 4,000 Malaysians who trade on eBay, but those who do get on, find online shopping suits them fine.

Zara Mohd Yusof, a former IT project manager and mother to four grown children, is not your typical retiree.

“My daughter Farah calls me an ‘eBay addict’. I don’t know what she means by that,” she says with a hint of laughter, “but I certainly do love eBay.”

“I first bought a handbag on eBay Singapore for S$15 (RM34). I have bought handbags, shoes, clothes, jewellery, shoes, a sofa bed, divans, a sewing machine, collector items like notes and coins, and even an evening gown for my daughter.

“Sometimes I buy things to give away to my sisters and nephew. With eBay, it costs so little to give so much pleasure. When I see a good bargain that matches what they like and need, I just buy it. I have given away a dining set, a microwave oven and jewellery,” says Zara, who gets online every day.




According to Zara, her best bargain to date is a marble dining table with six marble-top chairs (above), which she bought for only S$200 (RM456).

“While unloading the set, my neighbours asked if it cost S$2,000. That made my day!”

The enterprising lady is now starting to sell on eBay.

“Selling is even more exciting. I have sold a couple of handbags, my son’s Xbox and a couple of Oakley sunglasses.”

Having chalked up almost a hundred trades, Zara is pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of eBay members she has encountered have been honest.

“So far so good. I’ve not encountered any online fraud. The only unpleasant experience was a seller who refused to sell me an item after I won the bid. Probably I got it for too low: S$5 (RM11) for a two-month old microwave oven. But it’s not my fault that he set it so low and no one else bid for it!

Other less than pleasant incidences include a few occasions when things arrived looking worse than the pictures posted. Over the years, Zara has also seen some funny things.

“This guy offered a mirror for sale. And I saw his naked image in the mirror.”

Fortunately none of these incidents have put her off eBay.

“The only really bad thing I can think of is that I may one day end up buying things I don’t need. This is far outweighed by the real bargains I find. Who knows, I may even get rich selling on eBay. Already I have a partner who supplies me with Oakley sunglasses. We split the profits 50-50.”

At the end of the day, Zara thinks eBay is great for people with discipline, who know what they are looking for, and have set a maximum limit for the price they will offer for any item. She thinks shopaholics should stay away.

“Compulsive buyers shouldn’t go anywhere near eBay. I think my daughter Farah would be better off staying away, too!”

All names in this story have been changed at the request of the interviewee.

eBay quick facts

# eBay has a global presence in 33 markets
# eBay has 212 million registered users worldwide
# In Q3-06, the total value of all successfully closed items on eBay (GMV), was US$12.6bil
# eBay users worldwide trade more than $1,590 worth of goods on the site every second
# There were 584 million new listings added to eBay worldwide in Q3-06. At any given time, there are approximately 105 million listings worldwide, and approximately 6 million listings are added per day. eBay users trade in more than 50,000 categories of goods and services
# Based on Q3-06 GMV, the following categories delivered $1bil or more in worldwide annualised GMV: eBay Motors at $16.1bil; Clothing & Accessories at $3.7bil; Consumer Electronics at $3.9bil; Computers at $3.6bil; Books/Music/Movies at $2.8bil; Home & Garden at $3bil; Collectibles at $2.2bil; Sports at $2.5bil; Toys at $1.7bil, Business & Industrial at $1.8bil; Jewellery & Watches at $1.6bil; Cameras & Photo at $1.4bil and Antiques & Art at $1bil
# The most expensive item sold on eBay to date is a private business jet for $4.9mil

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Aqmal Hadi Shapee (pic) was probably one of the first active Malaysians on eBay.

“I started in late 2002, when Internet access was mainly through a 56k dial-up modem and you could go make a mug of coffee before pictures fully displayed,” the young IT engineer says with a laugh.

“Nowadays, I go online several times a month to buy camera parts. I bought almost RM10,000 worth of equipment last year.”

It all began in 2002 when Aqmal was searching for a rare camera part. Nobody in the regular shops in Kuala Lumpur or even abroad seemed to have it.

“The only lead I got after googling, was a seller on eBay. So I applied for a credit card, went online, and the rest is history.”

Today, Aqmal gets on eBay regularly, buying an average of five items a month. Some of them are for himself but over half are for “friends, and friends of friends”.

“When my friends found out that I buy and sell on eBay, some asked me to buy things for them too. Once I bought a dark room set for RM5,000 and another time, I bought spark plugs that cost RM75 each. Even my company asks me to buy things for them, like software.”

Usually, Aqmal charges a 30% finder’s fee to cover his time and miscellaneous charges. The search for a product and monitoring an auction can take eight to 10 hours.

“I need to monitor each auction as some people have a nasty habit of waiting till the very last minute and submitting a bid that is 50 cents higher than the last highest bid. In such cases, I have to counter-bid immediately!”

Ever helpful Aqmal explains that a lot of people in Malaysia find it a hassle transacting on eBay internationally.

“There are language difficulties, and sometimes prejudice on the side of the sellers. Some just tell you, ‘We don’t ship to Malaysia’, even though there’s no good reason why they shouldn’t.

“As an experienced seller, I can sometimes get around this situation by getting references from people I’ve bought similar products from. And if they still won’t ship to Malaysia, I have a mate in the US who will accept and forward the item to me.”

Another major problem that Malaysian sellers face is the payment system preferred by eBay: PayPal.

Malaysians who get paid through PayPal cannot withdraw their money via a Malaysian bank account. The nearest alternative is to open a Singaporean account and take out the money through there. Luckily for Aqmal, who is constantly buying and selling, there is no need to withdraw the money. He simply keeps any money he receives in his PayPal account for future purchases.

Despite these problems, and an incident where his account was hacked into, Aqmal is absolutely devoted to eBay.

“It’s not just being able to buy things that are hard to find, it’s also the joy of surfing around and seeing funny things like people who put up US$15mil nuclear warships for sale.”

If you would like Aqmal to help you buy something on eBay, drop him a line at morpheuse@yahoo.com. You can also look him up at http://myworld.ebay.com/aqmal.

The Star

Forrest Gump

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My Rating: Good

Released Date: 1994

Lessons: You have have your best chance if you use your own talents and skills. Not everyone is as lucky as Forrest Gump.

The title character leads viewers through an accidental travelogue of American social history from the early 1960s through the present in this revisionist fable. Vietnam, desegregation, Watergate and more are presented from the perspective of Hanks' lovably slow-witted character as he finds himself embroiled in situations he can't quite comprehend. Academy Award Nominations: 13, including Best Picture, Best Actor--Tom Hanks, and Best Director. Academy Awards: 6, including Best Picture, Director, Actor and Adapted Screenplay.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Women prefer men desired by others

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A woman's assessment of the attractiveness of a man is influenced by how other women view him, according to researchers.

PARIS: Just having a few women smile at a man in public is enough to make other women consider him much more desirable, according to researchers.

British psychologists, led by Benedict Jones of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, have discovered that, when sizing up a man, a woman takes her cues from other women around him. The more females she sees smiling at a man, the likelier she is to consider the guy a good catch.

The 'copycat reflex' is the result of Darwinian pressures, according to experts on evolution. If a female faces lots of potential mates but has difficulties in choosing the best one, or if to do so would cost too much time or energy, she can help herself by taking a steer from how rival females behave.

The research team, which reports their results tomorrow in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, recruited 28 female volunteers averaging about 24 years old. The volunteers looked at photographs of four young men wearing neutral expressions and looking directly at the camera. The men were shown in pairs, and the women were asked to choose the more attractive man, and assign him a score on an eight-point scale.

The same faces were then shown individually to the volunteers, each male face flanked by a female face shown in profile. The female either looked neutrally at the man or smiled at him. The volunteers then took another look at the paired faces, and were asked to give another attractiveness rating.

Where the female faces wore neutral expressions, many of the volunteers revised sharply downward their initial grading of the man, by more than 10 per cent on average. But they sharply revised upwards their grading - finding the man more attractive by an average of at least 15 per cent - if the woman looking at him had a smile on her face.

The reverse was true for men: 28 young male volunteers took part in the same experiment, and their rating of the likeability of the male faces plummeted if the man in the picture was being smiled at by a woman. But if the woman had a neutral look, the likeability rating improved.

The findings tell us a lot about how sexual competition affects our views, the study said. 'Desired' men are more attractive to women but pose more of a threat to other males.

Among females in other species, "mate choice copying" has already been spotted among guppies, Japanese quail and zebra finches, but this is the first time the phenomenon has been confirmed among humans.

Cosmos Magazine

Saturday, January 13, 2007

Networking a skill that pays

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By CHARLES FERNANDEZ
charlesf@thestar.com.my

NETWORKING is a skill that will help you at any stage of your career development.

It can help when you are looking for a job or considering self-employment or just keeping your options open.

The key to success in networking is to stay active and no matter which outlets you choose to tap, the bottom line is to keep your networks working for you.

It may not sound an easy proposition though to build contacts through networking but it is worth a try as the Lions Bangsar networking team has pointed out.

They are a small group of enterprising individuals; each involved in their own individual business and willing to share their knowledge and expertise with those who care to network and exploit their full potential.

Lunch Actually executive director Leng Chan, who coordinates open-networking among her fellow Lions members feels this is an opportunity not only to interact socially but also to stay connected with members while understanding their scope of business.

“Here we have members who are successful in their own right and are willing to share their business acumen with those who want to venture into their own business,'' said Leng Chan.

During a Christmas open-networking event held at the Right 4 U Cafe in Damansara Jaya, both members and new recruits took the opportunity to interact with each other over dinner at the cafe which is also owned by a Lions Bangsar member.

“This is an open concept which Lions Bangsar does on a regular basis, most often over dinner. Those present are willing to pay more for their food and the money collected is then channelled to a needy organisation. This is part of the social responsibility of Lions Bangsar towards the less privileged,'' said Leng Chan.

And also as part of their social responsibility, Lions Bangsar has made visits to homes to lend support in areas where their expertise is needed.

“One of our projects was to take pets along with us when we visit homes as children tend to open up better with animals than people. During our previous visits to these homes, children were either too scared or shy to come out to meet strangers, but it is different when we bring our pets along,'' said Leng Chan.

The Open Networking works on a similar concept, where new members are willing to come forward provided there is something they can benefit from.

The Star

Meeting Malaysia's notorious triads

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As part of the BBC's Who Runs Your World? series, Jonathan Kent in Kuala Lumpur looks at how Malaysia's notorious triad gangs are run.

In my attempt to find out more the triads, I made the ground rules clear from the start.

I didn't want specifics, I didn't want details and I certainly didn't want names. I just wanted to know how the gangs worked.

I have no idea what Ah Hing's real name is, but I do know that he is being groomed to take over as tai ko - big brother (a term triad members use for their bosses) - in a gang that operates in a small town in northern Malaysia.

We had chosen a room in an old shop house in which to meet. Ah Hing looked like many working class Malaysian Chinese, with heavy jewellery, cheap shoes and spiky hair. His minder collected tattoos.

"We do sell some ecstasy pills and that is how we make a living, me and my friends," he said.

"We do take girls for prostitution, and this is much easier to do than ecstasy because usually the government will not bother us when we do this."

I admit that I am a bad guy, and that I'm a gangster
Ah Hing
The triads and Malaysia's other criminal gangs dabble in any number of rackets. Some even smuggle opiated cough syrup.

Dealing drugs in Malaysia carries the death penalty. Hangmen got a pay rise earlier this year - it is an issue the government takes seriously.

Prostitution is easier to get away with, and so is loan sharking or making and peddling fake goods. Malaysia is thought to be the world's largest producer of pirated optical discs.

But Ah Hing runs girls and sells pills. The women cost the gangs between $750 and $2000 each. They are bought and sold like cattle, and the pimps want a return.

"The girls know they have to work to pay back the money we paid to buy them," Ah Hing said.

"We do find girls who refuse to work, and we will keep them in solitary confinement and give them a bad time until they tell me they want to work," he said.

Ancient rituals

The triads have their roots in a 17th Century movement dedicated to restoring China's Ming dynasty to the throne, but over time they degenerated into criminal gangs.

In some places they still have rituals, as Jessica Lau, a well-connected member of the Malaysian Chinese community, found out.

When Ms Lau lived in New Zealand, her neighbour was a Hong Kong triad boss who decided to retire.

"During his very last days as the leader of the triad society, he gathered everybody from his society and in front of leaders from other societies he washed his hands in a gold basin which symbolised that from today onwards he is not going to be involved in the triad society any more, and now he is old and respectable and a free man," she said.

But Malaysia's triads are rather more prosaic than those in Hong Kong. The element of ceremony has gone, and these groups are run as businesses.

Ah Hing referred to his as "our company". It's a pragmatic affair, where deals are reached with the authorities - who set boundaries for crimes they know can never be eliminated.

"If I want to operate on a particular street and ask a politician to ask the authorities not to disturb me, the politician might say: 'It's impossible to have zero arrests, so you can operate on certain hours and we will patrol after those hours' - so it's a win-win situation," Ah Hing said.

If someone crosses him, however, it's most certainly not win-win.

"If someone betrays me personally... I will get a few gang members together and beat him up until he's paralysed or he's a vegetable, but if the matter is really big then they'll be brought before my tai ko for a trial," he said.

"If my tai ko asks us to deal with someone, even if we kill that person, we won't be worried, because if the police arrest us, my tai ko will get me out," he added.

"Last time I was taken in the front door of the [police] lock-up, and right away I walk out of the back door."

Part of society

Most Malaysians have little or nothing to do with the triads. But many poorer people have nowhere else to turn when they need to borrow money.

All too often, Michael Chong, head of public services for the political party the Malaysian Chinese Association, sees what happens when borrowers default on their payments.

"We do have cases where they run away, you know, with the family... and of course we have some cases where they have been assaulted - assaulted in the sense they have to be hospitalised," Mr Chong said.

Ah Hing makes no bones about his world and his life. "I admit that I am a bad guy, and that I'm a gangster," he said.

"So who runs your world?" I asked - to which he gave a simple reply : "The government".

"If the government doesn't want to be a bit lenient with us and if they are strict about everything, then there's no way that I can make a living. There's no work," Ah Hing said.

When the economic downturn of 1998 hit Asia, many Malaysians turned to the triads for work.

It allowed thousand to fill their rice bowls.

That in itself is reason enough for some in power to turn a blind eye to what these gangs do - that and the knowledge that the triads are there to make a living, not to cause trouble.

They may be bad men, but they're also businessmen.

BBC

Friday, January 12, 2007

Are all Bali beach boys gigolo’s?

2 comments
People come to Bali and its seems like paradise. The sun, sand and sexy locals, all sporting a smile and that intoxicating Balinese culture. Its enough to make a sane person lose their head. One of the emails I recieved asked if all the Bali boys were gigolo’s and could any of them be trusted. Here’s what I said.

Thanks for reading Baliblog. Regarding the Bali boys, there is a strange parallel with the Java girls. The Bali boys provide friendship, entertainment, romance for western / Japanese ladies, and the beach is the meeting place. Regarding the Java girls they do the same, although its way more cut and dried. The night scene is their hangout.

With both groups, money is the ultimate goal, although many may be sweet, funny, friendly people, who are actually honest and just trying to get money for their family back home. I have heard all the stories with Bali boys too, about them being married to more than one woman, even taking them both to the village separately, the relatives saying nothing. I’m not saying they are all bad or even gigolo’s. There are probably some okay guys.

I know a French guy who fell in love with a girl who turned out to be a hooker. He rented a big house and old her that her son and mother from Jakarta could live there too. He found out eventually, that no matter how much money he gave her, she always wanted more and actually never intended to stop being a hooker. Its he old saying ‘you can take the girl out of the bar, but you can’t take the bar out of he girl’.

I think on a general level in Bali, you have to adopt the attitude, that its all a bit of a fantasy. Westerners come here looking for fun and romance, locals are looking for good times and money. If all are satisfied, no worries, but when it gets serious you have to watch out.

Here’s a good rule of thumb. Ask yourself, does this guy have a full time job? During the time you have known him, has he asked you for money? Is he a flirt? Is he a drinker? If he is a partying fool, that’s what you’ll end up with. If he has a full time job, and actually receives a wage from somebody, that means he is someone who is somewhat reliable. Like I say, when you’re in Bali its part fantasy / part reality. If you plan on taking this guy overseas, you’d better make sure he’s got some qualities, other than being cool.

When you meet someone in a tourist environment in Bali, they are putting on their best face, in some respect. You are in fantasy mode. When you take them back to Australia, or go back to his village, fantasy mode is over and the ‘everyday’ side of one or both of you, comes out. Maybe the cool surfer, is a little brat, that needs you to wipe his ass and feed him 3 times a day. Maybe he’s also a great guy who you’ll want to be with long term. Who knows.

Take care and factor in the ‘Bali factor’ to whatever decisions you make.

BaliBlog


Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Fuss-free durian moments

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By Ridzwan A. Rahim

POPULAR: The Wai durian stall at SS2/65
POPULAR: The Wai durian stall at SS2/65

Streets continues its durian trail trek and ends up at a ‘restaurant’. RIDZWAN A. RAHIM writes that this place is ideal for those who love durian but hate the mess.


EXPERT AT WORK: Ah Wai opening a durian.
EXPERT AT WORK: Ah Wai opening a durian.
THE durian has such a pungent odour, it actually qualified for reality TV show Fear Factor. For every person who likes its “aroma”, there are others for whom the smell makes them queasy.

Naturally, many city folk do not want the “king of fruit” anywhere near their houses or their cars. They may not necessarily hate the fruit (in fact, Malaysians in general actually like durian) but getting rid of the smell is not easy.

If you like durians but prefer not to have to deal with any of the mess associated with eating them, a place like Wai Fruits and Durian Stall in SS2 Petaling Jaya would be just perfect.

The stall offers a fuss-free durian eating experience. Patrons can come and sit at tables, order from a menu and, well, eat their fill. And wash their hands after they’re done eating. It is effectively a durian restaurant.
Finding the place is easy. Just make your way to the SS2 police station and follow the durian smell in the air. It will lead you to a stall with two red canopies.

Parking around the area is not a problem, and with trees surrounding it, Wai Fruits and Durian Stall has a nice orchard-like ambience to it.

The stall is managed by a group of Ah Bengs led by Cheah Kim Wai or Ah Wai, as he is known among his customers. They are young and friendly and they even have a website — www.durianss2.com.

Ah Wai, who hails from Perak, said he has been operating the durian stall for the past four years.

His customers are made up of all kinds of durian lovers: families, office workers, businessmen in their Mercs and BMWs, college students and the occasional Mat Sallehs (foreigners).

“Most people like to come here after dinner between 8pm and 11pm,” he said, adding that some of the regulars frequent the place almost every day!

Ah Wai said the durians come from his relative’s orchard in Bentong, Pahang.

Altogether, there are 10 types of local durians on offer, including Raja Kunyit which is the crowd favourite, Thraka, Tawa, Hor-Lor, Udang Merah and a few of the “numbered” varieties such as No. 2, 13, 24 and 101.

Newbies who feel pening (dizzy) by the heady variety of choices can just ask Ah Wai and his team for a recommendation.

More often than not, they will be offered Raja Kunyit. The flesh of this durian, which has a smooth texture, is deep yellow. It has a fragrant smell and flat seeds. It is also one of the tastiest.

“We ask the customers whether they like their durian sweet or bitter. We can tell the taste of the durian by the way it smells,” said Ah Wai, adding that many actually prefer bitter durian.

Customers are charged by the kilogramme. Ah Wai charges RM18 per kg for Raja Kunyit while others like the 24 are priced at RM10 per kg.

Apart from durian, Ah Wai’s stall also offers mangosteens and coconut water as side orders. For patrons who choose not to order any drink, plain water is available for free.

A sink with tap water and paper towels allow customers to wash their hands after digging into the tasty menu.

And like many other restaurants, Wai Fruits and Durian Stall offers take-away. Smaller durians are available in front of the stall at RM10 for three.

Wai Fruit and Durian Stall is located along Jalan SS2/65, Petaling Jaya. It is open now till October, from 12.30pm to 12.30am daily.

NST

Advance Fee Scam

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The Spanish Prisoner is a confidence trick dating back to 1588 [1]. In its original form, the confidence artist (con-man) tells his victim (the mark) that he is in correspondence with a wealthy person of high estate who has been imprisoned in Spain (originally by King Philip II) under a false identity. The alleged prisoner cannot reveal his identity without serious repercussions, and is relying on the confidence artist to raise money to secure his release. The confidence artist offers to let the mark supply some of the money, with a promise that he will be rewarded generously when the prisoner returns; both financially and by being married to the prisoner's beautiful daughter. However, once the mark has turned over his money, he learns that further difficulties have arisen, requiring more money, until the mark is cleaned out and the game ends.

Key features of the Spanish Prisoner are the emphasis on secrecy and the trust the confidence artist is placing in the mark not to reveal the prisoner's identity or situation. The confidence artist will often claim to have chosen the mark carefully based on his reputation for honesty and straight dealing, and may appear to structure the deal so that the confidence artist's ultimate share of the reward will be distributed voluntarily by the mark.

Modern variants of the Spanish Prisoner include the advance fee fraud, in which a valuable item must be ransomed from a warehouse, crooked customs agent, or lost baggage facility before the authorities or thieves recognize its value, and the Nigerian money transfer fraud – another type of advance fee fraud – in which a self-proclaimed relative of a deposed African dictator offers to transfer millions of ill-gotten dollars into the bank account of the mark in return for small initial payments to cover bribes and other expenses.

The film The Spanish Prisoner, written and directed by David Mamet, includes such a confidence trick as part of the plot, as does his other film about con men, House of Games.

Friday, January 5, 2007

Million Dollar Baby

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My Ratings: Very Good

Release Date: 2004

Lessons: This movies teaches you about self determination. It also shows you how this far this girl will go for her family to love her. and always...always watch your back !

Released a little over a year after the grand success of his Oscar-winning feature MYSTIC RIVER, Clint Eastwood returns to the director's chair for MILLION DOLLAR BABY. Eastwood also stars, in the role of Frankie Dunn, a down-on-his-luck former boxing manager who spends the twilight years of his life running a small, dilapidated gym in downtown Los Angeles. Frankie's previous career was blighted by an injury to one of his prize fighters, Scrap (Morgan Freeman), who lost the sight in his right eye during a particularly brutal bout; Scrap now wiles away the hours working as a cleaner in Frankie's gym. Wary of similar occurrences being inflicted on the prestigious young talent that passes before him, Frankie lets a succession of great boxers slip through his fingers. But when the brash, confident young boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) strides into the gym, Frankie's life is irretrievably altered. Initially refusing to train Maggie due to her gender and age, Frankie relents when faced with her tenacity, spirit, and burning ambition. The combination of Maggie's talent and Frankie's tutelage paves the way for the adroit fighter to rise steadily through the ranks of women's boxing, with the unlikely coupling forming a genuinely touching bond in the process.

Clint Eastwood has crafted a boxing film fit to stand alongside classics such as RAGING BULL and ROCKY with MILLION DOLLAR BABY. The scenes between Eastwood and Freeman are a delight to watch, with the two old hands pulling off masterfully understated performances as a couple of men teetering on the brink of failure. Likewise, Swank puts in a powerful turn as Maggie, further emphasizing her penchant for unusual roles, and perhaps even bettering her incredible, Oscar-winning showing as Teena Brandon in BOYS DON'T CRY.

Wednesday, January 3, 2007

Job hopping is good

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by Koon Mei Ching

Okay, for the longest time, the words "job hopping" were whispered condescendingly down those HR hallways. Common belief - especially after the dot com bubble burst in our faces - was that it would not boost, but hurt your chances of landing a new job. Well, that time may well be up. Fortunately for us, the corporate world's restructuring in recent years has changed attitudes in favour of switching jobs. Not only has the stigma associated with job hopping disappeared, recruiters say, but executives who have recharged their careers by making logical shifts are even admired as savvy operators. And that's the key, making logical shifts.

Make your chess move
"I should have done what you did. I'm still stuck here at a Graduate position level and you're coming back as management!" That was my friend's reaction to my news that I had gotten a position back with my first employer after a four-year hiatus. It got me to thinking - Could job hopping be good for your career?

In a way, planning for your career is like a chess move. You should not just plan on your next move, but on the next four to five moves in advance. It is incredibly difficult to move to the perfect job in one step, because you likely will not get there.

I have made four career moves in my six-year career life. But each time I did, I was swimming through reams of research about the company, the industry, the management team and my own long-term goals. Today, I am more employable in the market than I would have been if I had stayed at my first job in an international giant. Why? Because I made moves where I chose progressive companies in my field of interest, joined smaller operations and took on greater responsibility in my roles. All this meant that I was able to learn more, make bigger contributions, gain skills I would not have in a more bureaucratic structure and face greater levels of challenge. For me, taking baby steps was not going to help me boost my career, so I took giant leaps.

Hit your target
Regardless of what your career line is, to make smart job hop moves, make sure you address these issues:

  • Do not just go into your next job because it pays more or allows you to leave your current miserable lot in job life. Know exactly what you intend to get out of every job change. Make an explicit analysis of how each new position will add to your skills, experience, mastery, maturity and personal satisfaction.

  • When you job hop and use that as part of your long-term career strategy, you are going to have to defend your moves at some point to new employers. Ensure that your defence will add to your value, not paint you as a fickle-minded wanderer. Fluffy answers like, "it seemed like the right thing to do at the time" won't go down well with skeptical interviewers. Make sure you can stand up for yourself and be ready to sell it.

  • Job hopping does not mean short stints only. How long should you stay in a job? As long as it takes to have learnt something and contributed to your company. Those two factors are key to ensuring that move adds value to your portfolio. Realistically, it will take at least a year to do that.

  • Job hopping can have a double-edged sword effect. You may gain something in a new position, but you may also have to give something up. For example, taking on a managerial position might make it difficult for you to go back to a core line job if you so wished. Sometimes moving upward may jeopardise your ability to return to your original career position. Make sure you are prepared for these effects before you hop.

So, yes...job hopping is good, or rather, it can be good if you know how to use it right.

JobStreet

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

The Deer Hunter

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My Ratings: Very Good

Release Date: 1978

Lessons: You can learn a lot about friendship and working class America.

An epic three-hour tale of lives forever changed by the Vietnam War, THE DEER HUNTER follows the transformation of a tight group of friends from a working-class town, taking its place alongside such classics as ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT in telling a story of war and disillusionment. On the eve of going to war, Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John Savage) gather for Steven’s wedding. Leaving Steven to his wedding night, Mike, Nick, and pals Axel (Chuck Aspergren), Stan (John Cazale), and John (George Dzundza) depart for the mountains and one last hunting trip. The hunting trip is a funny, poignant scene that firmly establishes the characters as they set off for Vietnam immediately after the trip. The scenes in Vietnam, especially the Russian roulette game, are among the most brutal war scenes on film. The characters' eventual return to the States is emotional and gut-wrenching. Michael Cimino's award-winning film is a powerful look at friendship and love in the midst of war.
 

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