Mat Rempits, Secret Societies And Their Benefit To Society

Last year, AsiaOne reported that Mat Rempits have gone high tech and are using online networking sites such as MySpace to recruit new members into their gangs.

Mat Rempit gangs, the article said, are rapidly becoming a secret societies or triads, with strong influence with many anti-social pursuits.

One such gang is Apache Sereng. The police said that this group is persistent and active in recruiting students and getting them involved in anti-social activities such as motorcycle theft, illegal racing and alcohol consumption.

Apparently Apache Sereng has a wide network as it is active in many states including Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Johor, Penang, Malacca, Perak, Pahang and Negeri Sembilan.

This is an organised group, with membership fees and membership cards. Fees range from RM10 to RM30 depending on the chapter you join. So this is not mickey mouse gang, folks ! it is a real criminal organisation.

Once a person joins the gang, he is given a membership card and a sticker to be attached to his kapcai or whatever motorbike he is riding to display his affiliation to the gang.

According to the article, people join the gang because it is well-respected among the Mat Rempit community which also promised to protect its members.

According to a report in the Malay Mail a few months ago, the police had detained some Mat Rempits who were suspected of being part of the Red Bull Gang. This gang was apparently robbing people, mainly women, at petrol stations late at night or in the early hours of the morning by using the Red Bull energy drink to temporarily blind their victims before robbing them.

I was told by an acquaintance, who is apparently an ex Mat Rempit, that different Mat Rempit gangs impose different conditions for membership. For some gangs, a person can only join if he owns the same brand of motorbike as the other members of the gang. Other gangs, however, require newbies to pass an initiation test - this typically involves an illegal motorcycle race against other members of the same gang or other gangs to see if the newbies can be an asset to the gang.

My acquaintance joked that if you have a space shuttle you can join the Malaysian angkasawan (astronaut) gang - so far, there are only 2 members and only one actually went to space.

Roti Canai Kaya Gang

I'm setting up the Roti Canai Kaya Gang. The object of the gang is to rob people who go to Mamak stalls late at night or in the early morning. We will blind our victims with kaya and rob them of their money, handphones and other valuables (including their slippers and shoes). The fruits of our activities will help cushion us against the current high cost of living.

Those who are interested in joining this gang must first post a slogan in the comments section, starting with "I want to join this gang because...". If you fulfill this prerequisite, I will tell you the other conditions.

Just post your slogans now ! I am waiting...

The World University Rankings 2008

The THES - QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings around the world, published by The Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) and Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

This year, no Malaysian universities managed to get into the Top 200 Universities.

Is getting a degree from one of the world's top 200 universities advantages when finding a job in Malaysia ? Do the employers recognise and pay more if you get a degree from one of the world's top 200 universities ?

In my opinion, most employers in Malaysia don't care and most don't even know if your university is within the world's top 200 universities.

Even most top executives in Malaysian public listed companies do not have degrees from the world's top 200 universities, and some don't even have degrees.

Sadly, Malaysian employers only care about 5 things:

1. Can you speak and write English (and sometimes also Mandarin).

2. A basic degree (from anywhere also can lah !).

3. What is the lowest salary are you willing to accept.

4. Do you have valuable business / political contacts - who is your father / relatives.

5. Can you bring business to the company.

(and if you're a girl, being pretty and attractive helps a lot)

Thats all folks. Because we have very few world class companies and world class bosses, therefore world class qualifications are not appreciated in Malaysia.

So, if you want to get a job in Malaysia, don't waste your money on acquiring a world class degree, just buy a degree from the internet (nobody knows, and nobody cares - believe me).

This is the real reason for attending University - read this.

Please post your comments.

How To Send Anonymous Prank Emails & SMS

With this tool you can apparently send anonymous emails or anonymous SMS text messages to your friend and make him think its from anyone eg. the tax dept, the police, the bank, his future employer etc. You specify the "From :" field. Where he thinks the message is from, is up to you.

Try this tool - Shapmail and fool your friends or enemies. :)

Please note: This tool must not be used for fraud or in pursuit of any other criminal activities.

Please post your comments.

Business Through The Internet

Interested in doing business through the internet ? The NST has an interesting story about this:

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This festive season opens up a myriad of business opportunities for individuals and companies alike – more so now with the boundless reach of the Internet.

Rozita’s big dream is to have her cookies in all stores and made accessible to all Malaysians.

Rosman says the company’s strength is that its gifts are thematic for each season or festival and never repeated.

Raya delights on the web
Stories by Rozana Sani

HARI Raya cookies have always been in Rozita Abdul Kader’s blood. Her late mother was known for making the home-made delights, and the skill has since been passed on to her.

With encouragement from close friends, Rozita has for some

12 years produced cookies and conducted baking classes from her base in Klang, Selangor.

Initially, she sold her products to friends, colleagues and those who attended her baking classes, which were either held at her house or the students’ premises. Then, earlier this year, she decided to take the bold step of becoming a full-time entrepreneur, with Net presence as a key strategy.

“I got the inspiration to create www.ita-delight.com from the company that I was previously employed with. The company had set up a Web site to introduce its presence to the world. When the company became successful, I was forced to make a decision whether to remain as an employee or to become self-employed,” she says.

Rozita decided to do it alone. But first, she prepared herself by doing some research on online businesses by surfing the Internet.

“Much to my surprise, my Ita-Delight products have already been listed on several Web sites under the Biskut Raya category. I looked around online and found a company which manages Web sites for those who did not have knowledge in IT like me,” she shares.

Soon after, Rozita had Ita-Delight.com up and running, and is now successfully hitting sales in places as far as Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.

“Once I started making sales through online means, I let go of my position in the company and became truly self-employed. I also felt ready with my skills to expand my baking classes to a few States outside Selangor,” she says.

Elaborating on Ita-Delight.com, Rozita says the local company she hired to develop the site also has experience in worldwide Internet marketing.

“I have been using their services for Web site management and Internet marketing solution. The cost of conducting business over the Web is not only affordable, but also easy.”

She highlights with pride that she can now update the baking class schedules in the site’s Calendar feature herself, apart from adding and editing the site’s content, uploading pictures in the gallery and sending newsletters to registered members.

She can also relay short messages and respond to queries through the chatbox.

“The most important feature of my Web presence is the e-commerce system. It is capable of receiving orders of every type of cookies that I have, and can automatically calculate the postage rates according to our local shipping provider based on the order quantity, weight and the customer’s address. The way the system works has really helped me to organise my customers’ orders,” she says.

Ita-Delight.com is now six months old.

“For the first three months, the site had some 120 hits per day. There were more visitors each time we made an advertisement through the e-mail group or local newspaper,” Rozita says.

She continued to retain the services of her Web consultant after the three-month period.

“Now, my Web visits can reach up to 400 in one day. I can say about 80 per cent of my Biskut Raya sales are made through my Web site, either by online order or e-mail. Therefore, the Internet is the main channel of my business now,” she says.

Rozita’s big dream is to have her cookies in all stores and made accessible to all Malaysians.

“My Web consultant is planning to market the Ita-Delight cookies worldwide. This means people from outside Malaysia can also use our Web presence to order Ita-Delight cookies in the near future.”

A GIFT FROM THE HEART

THE act of sending a gift is a sure-fire way to strengthen a relationship, what more in the months of Ramadan and Syawal. And the gift should be chosen with care so the recipient knows it is given from the heart.

This is where Pods & Petals’ Giftlab

(M) Sdn Bhd (PPG) comes in. In its sixth year of operations, the company prides itself as a trend-setting gift and delivery company specialising in hampers, food baskets, gifts and flowers – all of which can be either ordered through the Internet, fax, phone or personally.

“Our strength is that our gifts are thematic for each season or festival and never repeated. We take the time to handpick each item for all our products. Where we are not able to service customers, we are represented by our associates who adhere to our strict quality control,” says PPG’s sales director Rosman Jasmi.

For Ramadan and Syawal this year, the company has gone Middle Eastern with delicacies, hampers and gifts themed as such. Highlights include a certified ceramic Turkish serving plate and embroidered Syrian tablecloths that could be given pre-Raya or during the open house season in Syawal.

“Our whole portfolio can be viewed at our online boutique at www.gift-lab.com. If customers are at a loss as to what they want to pick, they can click on our Gifting Tips button for ideas.

“Our customer service team will call up our customers who have made their orders online or via fax to make sure the gifts chosen are truly what they want and according to their specifications before proceeding with delivery,” Rosman says.

PPG’s delivery area covers all States within Malaysia and countries such as Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, Thailand, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“For Hari Raya, we have for the past years received online orders from Malaysians residing overseas who want to send goodies to their friends and relatives in Malaysia. We are also receiving requests to send hampers to more countries abroad,” Rosman says.

He adds that PPG has secure servers that ensure all payment transactions made on its Web site are safe.

“This means you pay nothing if unauthorised charges are made to your card as a result of shopping at PPG. Any information provided to us will be respected as privileged information and will remain absolutely confidential. Other than credit cards, we provide the convenience of online banking payment and mobile payment.”

According to Rosman, the online channel has been factored in from the day PPG launched into business. To date, the company has spent a sum in the six figures to continuously update and maintain its computer system.

“Our online channel contributes approximately 30 per cent to the total business; the remaining 70 per cent comes from corporate sales. Last year, during the Hari Raya-Deepavali twin festivities, we hit around 1.5 million orders in total,” Rosman says.

Not resting on its laurels, PPG is set to launch mylittletail (www.mylittletail.com) after next month. Mylittletail is a new service for expectant and seasoned parents to assist in baby announcements, full moon celebration giftpacks and birthdays.

“It’s not just restricted to the Chinese community, but can be applied to events like Malay’s Cukur Jambul and such events in the Indian community,” Rosman says.

Bargains aplenty

WHEN it comes to celebrating Aidilfitri, shopping malls are not the only places where you can look for a bargain. Great deals are available online as well, if you know where to go. Siti Syameen Md Khalili offers some clues.

GREETING CARDS

•At www.kreatifaktif.com, you can order custom-made Raya cards at attractive prices starting from RM2 per piece. There are templates to choose from, and you can even add your name or the company logo into the design.

The minimum order is 100 pieces, so you might want to omit details such as year or date so you can use the excess supply next year.

The proprietor of the Web site, Kreatif Aktif Media, is a graphics designer company offering digital fast print services for making business cards, flyers, postcards, wedding invitations as well as customisation of souvenir items.

For Raya, the company is offering over 40 Raya card designs in multiple sizes.

CLOTHING

•At Mawar Aksesori (mawaraksesori.blogspot.com), you can order and buy kebaya, baju kurung and baju melayu of the latest styles. The baju kurung offered are the latest imported from Indonesia while textile offerings include silk and Thai silk. You can order and make retail or bulk purchases.

CAKES AND COOKIES

•Ellie Darus, who sells cupcakes online, offers special promotions for the 2008 Aidilfitri. Through her online business, de HearT Cupcakes (kekcawan.blogspot.com), she shares information such as the types of cakes available for booking, booking date, delivery schedule and delivery service details.

Apart from using the blog, she makes use of her list of contacts to send the promotion materials through e-mail. For the upcoming Raya, de HearT Cupcakes’ offerings include Cupcakes Gift Set, Mini Choc Cake Ball and Chocolate Truffle Tart.

HOME ITEMS AND WARDROBE PIECES

•Members of e-Bay Malaysia who are looking forward to beautify their home can log on to www.ebay.com.my to shop for furniture, bedding and even gardening items.

You can spruce up your lawn before that Raya BBQ session with plants, too. Apart from that, kebaya, baju kurung, fabric and textile pieces are available.

If you are not a member yet, this festive season might be a good time to start.

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Please post your comments.

Top Beef Noodles In Klang Valley

Here is the list of top beef noodles shops in the Klang Valley:

• Lai Foong Restaurant on Jalan Tun HS Lee near Petaling Street KL is the "godfather of beef noodles" in KL.

• Soong Kee Restaurant on Jalan Tun Tan Siew Sin KL (its near Lai Foong Restaurant) is also equally as famous for its beef noodles.

• Ngau Kee beef noodle stall at Jalan Alor, KL. It is located behind Jalan Alor, at Tengkat Tung Shin at the corner opposite Nova Hotel. If Lai Foong Restaurant is the "godfather of beef noodles" in KL, then Ngau Kee is the "godmother of beef noodles" in KL.

• The best beef noodles in Overseas Union Garden (OUG), KL is opposite the wet market/Public Bank in OUG.

• Restaurant Gyuniku , 20 Jln 28/70A in Desa Sr Hartamas also serves good beef noodles.

• A good beef noodle place in KL is at Jalan Peel, KL. It is located next to Queens Restaurant.

• A good best beef noodle place in Puchong is in Three U Kopitiam No 9, Jalan Kenari 7, Bandar Puchong Jaya, Puchong, Selangor.

Those of you who have any other beef noodle places to recommend, please post your recommendations here.

How To Get Rich

This post was taken from Mark Cuban's blog. Mark is a young Amrican billionaire. Here's what he says:

How To Get Rich

Thats what so many want. Right ? I’m certainly not going to lie and say it is not a whole lot better having lots of money. I had a whole lot of fun and loved my life when I was eating mustard and ketchup sandwiches and sleeping on the floor of a 3 bedroom apartment that housed me and 5 buddies.

I have a whole lot more fun now. It doesn’t suck to be rich.

The question everyone wants answered, is how to get there. There are ways to get there. But there is not a template that works every time for everyone. It works sometimes. Getting there requires being ready when opportunity presents itself.

IMHO, change and uncertainty create opportunity. Times like we are facing now, with complete financial uncertainty are perfect times to start on the road to getting ahead financially.

First, here is WHAT NOT TO DO:

There are no shortcuts. NONE. With all of this craziness in the stock and financial markets, there will be scams popping up left and right. The less money you have, the more likely someone will come at you with some scheme . The schemes will guarantee returns, use multi level marketing, or be something crazy that is now “backed by the US Government”. Please ignore them. Always remember this. If a deal is a great deal, they aren’t going to share it with you.

I dont broadcast my great deals. I keep them all to myself. The 2nd thing to remember is that if the person selling the deal was so smart, they would be rich beyond rich rather than trolling the streets looking to turn you into a sucker. There are no shortcuts.

So what should you do to get rich ?

Save your money. Save as much money as you possibly can. Every penny you can. Instead of coffee, drink water. Instead of going to McDonalds, eat Mac and Cheese. Cut up your credit cards. If you use a credit card, you dont want to be rich. The first step to getting rich, requires discipline.

If you really want to be rich, you need to find the discipline, can you ?

If you can, you will quickly find that the greatest rate of return you will earn is on your own personal spending. Being a smart shopper is the first step to getting rich. Yeah you have to give things up and that doesn’t work for everyone, particularly if you have a family. That is reality. But whatever you can save, save it. As much as you possibly can. Then put it in 6 month CDs in the bank.

The first step to getting rich is having cash available. You arent saving for retirement. You are saving for the moment you need cash. Buy and hold is a suckers game for you. This market is a perfect example. Right at the very moment when cash creates unbelievable opportunity, those who followed the buy and hold strategy have no cash. they cant or wont sell into markets this low, that kills the entire point of buy and hold. Those who have put their money in CDs sleep well at night and definitely have more money today than they did yesterday. And because they are smart, disciplined shoppers, their personal rate of inflation is within their means. Cash is king for those wanting to get rich

The 2nd rule for getting rich is getting smart. Investing your time in yourself and becoming knowledgeable about the business of something you really love to do. It doesn’t matter what it is. Whatever your hobbies, interests, passions are. Find the one you love the best and GET A JOB in the business that supports it. It could be as a clerk, a salesperson, whatever you can find. You have to start learning the business somewhere. Instead of paying to go to school somewhere, you are getting paid to learn. It may not be the perfect job, but there is no perfect path to getting rich.

Before or after work and on weekends, every single day, read everything there is to read about the business. Go to trade shows, read the trade magazines, spend a lot of time talking to the people you do business with about their business and the people they buy from.

This is not a short term project. We aren’t talking days. We aren’t talking months. We are talking years. Lots of years and maybe decades. I didn’t say this was a get rich quick scheme.
This is a get rich path.

Now you wait for times of uncertainty and change in your business. The time will come. It may come quickly, it may take years and years. But it will come. The nature of our country’s business infrastructure is that it is destined to be boom and bust. Booms are when the smart people sell. Busts are when rich people started on their path to wealth.

You will know when that time is here for you because you will know your business inside and out. You will be ready because you will have been saving up for this moment in time.

With all the change and uncertainty in the financial markets, there are people right now making more money than they ever dreamed of. They are the ones who have been living the real estate market and the financing behind it and understanding what actually what was going on. They re the one who understood the complexities of the credit markets. When everyone was following the crowd, they kept on saving their money and avoiding the temptation of groupthink.

Boom and busts happen to every industry. The question is whether you have the discipline to be ready when it happens for you ?

If you do, you will find out what it feels like to get lucky.

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What do you think, guys ? Please post your comments.

Teacher By Day, Prostitute By Night

An Auckland primary school teacher is moonlighting as a prostitute, throwing her school bosses into a quandary over her future.

The woman, a mother of two children in her 30s, is new to teaching and moonlights as a prostitute to boost her income.

The Herald on Sunday understands her principal was alerted to the situation by a student's parent.

It is understood the principal is now in a dilemma - prostitution is legal, but he is worried about the reaction of other parents and students if they find out about the teacher - and has referred the matter to the school's board of trustees.

The board will meet in committee shortly to debate whether it should ignore the issue, discipline the teacher or refer the matter to the Teachers' Council to judge.

The matter was raised at a recent Law Society seminar.

The teacher has apparently defended her situation to her principal, saying that what she did in her own time was of no concern to him, that it was a private matter, and that prostitution was now lawful and legitimate work. She told him her moonlighting job was not affecting her performance as a teacher. teacher night prostitute an auckland primary school moonlighting throwing school bosses into quandary over future woman mother two children s new teaching moonlights boost income herald sunday understands principal was alerted teacher night prostitute an auckland primary school moonlighting throwing school bosses into quandary over future woman mother two children s new teaching moonlights boost income herald sunday understands principal was alerted situation

She apparently told the principal he had no right to be the "moral police".

A source said the woman was considered to be a "good teacher".

Employment lawyer John Hannan said he had heard about the case and believed it was still unresolved.

He said schools could have policies to prevent teachers taking secondary jobs, or make sure that they first sought approval from their board.

But even if the board in this case did not have such policies, he believed it could still ask the teacher to quit prostitution and if she refused, it could threaten dismissal.

"It's a case of whether the outside employment is regarded as incompatible with the role of a teacher in terms of role-modelling and in terms of any policies that the board of trustees might have in place," he said.

Another employment lawyer, Patrick Walsh, who also knew of the case, said an issue like this had not been before the Teachers' Council so there would be no precedent for boards to follow.

He said the council could end up being involved if the school deemed the teacher's second job was "conduct that brings discredit to the profession".

Teachers' Council director Dr Peter Lind said the key issue was whether the teacher's second job was having an impact on her professional teaching duties "and there would have to be actual evidence".

He said principals and boards generally tried to resolve issues first. If problems escalated and remained unresolved then the Teachers' Council could be notified.

Prostitutes Collective national co-ordinator Catherine Healy said she knew of several teachers who worked in second jobs as prostitutes and they had every right to do so.

"There is no incompatibility between a woman who's a teacher and who works as a sex worker," she said. "I can't imagine what the problem would be."

She said if the school board needed questions answered about the industry, or advice, members were welcome to call her.

According to the primary and intermediate teachers' union, the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), the pay scale for primary teachers is generally between $42,600 and $66,000. Experienced teachers who took on increased responsibility could earn more on top of their basic salary.

Two years ago, an Auckland policewoman got into trouble with her employers after it was revealed she was moonlighting as a sex-worker at a top massage parlour.

She earned up to $500 a night working in the parlour, on top of taking home at least $43,000 a year as an officer.

Police bosses said at the time the secondary employment would never have been approved because that kind of work was seen to be inappropriate and incompatible with policing.

An investigation was carried out and the woman was able to keep her job in the police.

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Please post your comments