20090409 - Malaysian New Cabinet

A year has passed. 55 weeks on, and a few by-elections another NEW Cabinet is revealed for the Malaysian public.
Now, for those with multiple portfolios, I wonder if they get multiple salaries also?

Here's the new line up of 25 Ministries (down from 27) sorted in a logical ALPHABETICAL

order (unlike other sites which just copy & paste). This is listed after the PM's Dept.:

*Prime Minister (PM): Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (elected from DPM)

(retired: TUN Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (upgraded from Datuk Seri))

*Deputy Prime Minister (DPM): Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (from International Trade and Industry)

*Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
Economic Planning Unit: Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop (swap from Finance II)

Law and Parliament: Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz
Religious Affairs: Brig. Gen. (Rtd) Datuk Jamil Khir Baharum (Senator)
Unity and Performance Management: Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon (Senator)

{History: Datuk Mohd Zaid Ibrahim (resigned 20080915), Datuk Amirsham Abdul Aziz}

*Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department
NEW: Ahmad Maslan, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, Senator T. Murugiah

MAINTAINED: Senator Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim, Datuk S.K. Devamany,

*1 1 Agriculture and Agro-based Industry
1 2 Minister - Noh Omar {from Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development}
1 3 Deputies - Datin Paduka Rohani Abdul Karim & Johari Baharum (from Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department)

*2 1 Defence
2 2 Minister - Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (from Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department)
2 3 Deputy - Dr. Abdul Latif Ahmad

*3 1 Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs
3 2 Minister -Datuk Ismail Sabri Yaakob (from Youth & Sports)
3 3 Deputy - Tan Lian Hoe (from Information)
{History: Datuk Shahrir Samad}

*4 1 Education
4 2 Minister - Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (2nd portfolio)

4 3 Deputies - Datuk Dr. Wee Ka Siong & Dr. Mohd Puad Zarkashi
{History: Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Datuk Razali Ismail}

*5 1 Energy, Green Technology and Water (was Energy, Water and Communications)
5 2 Minister - Peter Chin Fah Kui (from Plantation Industries and Commodities)
5 3 Deputy - Noriah Kasnon

6 1 Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development [ABOLISHED]
6 3 Deputy - Datuk Saiffuddin Abdullah

* 7 1 Finance
7 2 Minister - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak (2nd portfolio: no change since 2008-09-22)

7 3 Second Finance Minister - Datuk Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah (upgrade from Deputy)

7 4 Deputies - Datuk Chor Chee Heung (from Internal Security and Home Affairs), Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein (Senator)

*8 1 Foreign Affairs
8 2 Minister - Anifah Aman
8 3 Deputies - Kohilan Pillay Appu (Senator) (from Plantation Industries and Commodities) & Lee Chee Hong
{History: Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri (Kudat MP) replacing Tengku Azlan Abu Bakar (vacant from 2008-03-27 til 04-21)}

*9 1 Federal Territories
9 2 Minister - Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin (Senator)
9 3 Deputy - Saravanan Murugan
{History: Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique}

10 1 Health
10 2 Minister - Datuk Liow Tiong Lai
10 3 Deputy - Rosnah Rashid Shilin
{History: Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad}

*11 1 Higher Education
11 2 Minister - Datuk Mohamed Khaled Nordin
11 3 Deputies - Hou Kok Chung & Saifuddin Abdullah
{History: Khoo Kok Choong, Datuk Idris Harun}

*12 1 Housing and Local Government
12 2 Minister - Kong Cho Ha (from Deputy Finance)
12 3 Deputy - Lajim Ukin (from Transport)
{History: Datuk Ong Ka Chuan}

*13 1 Human Resources
13 2 Minister - Datuk Subramaniam Sathasivam
13 3 Deputy - Maznah Mazlan (from Natural Resources and Environment)
{History: Datuk Noraini Ahmad}

14 1 Information [ABOLISHED]
14 2 Minister -
14 3 Deputy -

*15 1 Home Affairs (Was Internal Security and Home Affairs)
15 2 Minister - Hishammuddin Tun Hussein
15 3 Deputies - Datuk Wira Abu Seman Yusop (from Defence) & Jelaing Mersat (from Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs)
{History: Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Senator Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh}

*16 1 International Trade and Industry
16 2 Minister - Mustapa Mohamed (from Agriculture and Agro-based Industry)
16 3 Deputies - Mukhriz Mahathir & Datuk Jacob Dungau Sagan
{History: Loh Wei Keong}

*17 1 Information, Culture, Arts and Heritage (renamed / merged from Information & National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage)
17 2 Minister - Rais Yatim (from Foreign Affairs)
17 3 Deputy - Joseph Salang Gandum (from Energy, Water and Communications) &
{History: Datuk Teng Boon Soon}

*18 1 Natural Resources and Environment
18 2 Minister - Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas [MAINTAINED]
18 3 Deputy -Tan Sri Joseph Kurup (from Rural and Regional Development)

*19 1 Plantation Industries and Commodities
19 2 Minister - Bernard Dompok
19 3 Deputy - Hamzah Zainuddin (from Housing and Local Government)

*20 1 Rural and Regional Development
20 2 Minister - Mohd Shafie Apdal (from National Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage)
20 3 Deputy - Joseph Entulu & Hassan Malek (pending, from Deputy Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department)
{History: Tan Sri Muhammad Muhd Taib}

*21 1 Science, Technology and Innovation (NO CHANGE)
21 2 Minister - Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili
21 3 Deputy - Fadillah Yusof

*22 1 Tourism
22 2 Minister - Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen (from Women, Family and Community Development)
22 3 Deputy - Datuk Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib [MAINTAINED]
{History: Datuk Azalina Othman}

*23 1 Transport
23 2 Minister - Datuk Ong Tee Keat [MAINTAINED]
23 3 Deputy - Abdul Rahim Bakri & Robert Lau (from Housing and Local Government)

*24 1 Women, Family and Community Development
24 2 Minister - Sharizat Abdul Jalil (Senator)
24 3 Deputy - Chew Mei Fun
{History: Noriah Kasnon}

*25 1 Works Minister
25 2 Minister - Shaziman Abu Mansor (from Energy, Water and Communications)
25 3 Deputy - Datuk Yong Khoon Seng
{History: Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamad}

*26 1 Youth and Sports
26 2 Minister - Ahmad Shabery Cheek (from Information)
26 3 Deputy - Wee Jack Seng & Razali Ibrahim

20090307: Sarah Brightman SYMPHONY concert review

So Sarah Brightman's concert came and went in a jiffy!
The concert was not cancelled! Thankfully. I guess it's due to the patronage of the Perak royalty, who, incidently strictly adhered to the highest Malaysian standards of punctuality, i.e. about 15 minutes late!
The concert finally then kicked off at 850pm, instead of the planned 830 pm. Not too bad, considering I waited in sweltering SWEAT in the previous Mariah Carey concert for 45 minutes, (waiting for another VIP) held in the atrocious STADIUM MERDEKA years back!
My standards for concert venues have since elevated, and I am glad that Sarah's venue is in the project which I was involved in, 5 years back with a previous contractor, at the KLCC Plenary hall. Even met some other friends who were fans of Sarah too!

Overall, the performance was spectacular, especially when it was professionally accompanied by a local repertoire of string instrument artistes and also vocals from half a dozen strong choir!

The entire performance lasted a paltry 70 minutes, with Sarah rendering only 14 tracks on her set list. Three of them were duets with Alessandro Safina! An excellent tenor from Siena, Italy, that easily rivals Andrea Bocelli! This repertoire is paltry, compared to her kick off tour in Mexico last year when she had a staggering 25 tracks! Now that's value for money!

The entire atmosphere was quite plain (to my standards). I was hoping for some gala theatherical stage setup, AS REPORTED HERE , citing "Concert-goers will get to witness enormous realistic ballrooms melding into fairytale gardens and then morphing into giant fish tanks, as a backdrop for Brightman’s performance" I didn't see an iota of such a setup, or was I truly blind? I just saw a PLAIN BLACK CURTAIN! Were we short changed again, being Malaysians? I may have to write in to Sarah Reynolds to get an explanation!

What we witnessed was just a blend of a mini orchestra on one side and a modern jazz band in the rear, with a couple of percussion sets featuring the latest Yamaha keyboard synthesizers!

The plenary hall was NOT crowded. The hall was roughly HALF full! Is this a sign of RECESSION or have the tickets been too overpriced?
I'm sure if the tickets started from RM 50, the hall would be full. However, I guess the marketing director didn't really fulfill his/her SAT score for Economics 101 on PRICE * QUANTITY!

Only regret was that I didn't bring a long my super Lumix FZ28 which would have faired SUPERBLY with it's 18x OPTICAL zoom on a LEICA lens.
Loads of other audience were happily snapping away with D-SLRs, compact cameras and the ever ubiquitous cameras! No bag inspections were carried out nor were there any announcements of any prohibition of photographic or recording devices! I guess they were already too dismayed by the paltry ticket sales, and thus, wouldn't be too "diplomatic" if such announcements were made, knowning that it's just a ONE NIGHT STAND!

Being the intelligent Malaysians, after the plane "took off", many from the cheaper seats (RM 250) managed to change to higher value seats FREE OF CHARGE!
Droves of viewers scrambled to nearer seats at the bottom tiers after the second track was rendered! This was in true MALAYSIA BOLEH spirit!

Sorry that no photos were taken, but Sarah's 4 gown changes were utterly gorgeous. Fortunately, my 10x optical BINOCULARS from 1986 was brought along and shared with 2 other friends and 4 other family members!

The entire concert ended with a small encore, "Deliver Me". I was hoping that she would have performed a duet entitled "You and Me" with a Chinese singer, the same one she did at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 with Liu Huan. Well, that didn't happen!

After the 70 minute repertoire, the crowd left the hall to adjourn down to the lobby where a few memorablia were sold. CD/DVD packs at RM 50 and the official tour T-shirt and a large colour TOUR PROGRAMME BOOK sold for RM 100 each (More expensive than Canada, which was only $30)! I guess this was the only way to recoup some of the "losses" from the lack of proceeds!

Now, any signs of Norah Jones coming over?

20090226: Lotus Elise spin

Tested the Lotus Elise this evening.
With the Malaysian alliance with Lotus, we are privileged to obtain the CBU (Completely Built-Up), or FULLY IMPORTED from the UK (United Kingdom) at CKD (Completely Knocked Down) rates!

However, at the current economic turmoil, certain parties are unhappy over this situation (I wonder if Kak Pidah is involved), and as a result, some units are apparently stuck at the customs in Port Kelang (Westport of Northport, unsure).
If you know someone in the JABATAN KASTAM, you could verify this claim.

Neverthess the heart was pounding hard as this baby accelerated from 0-100km/h in a mere 5.1 seconds from its 190 bhp 1.8 litre engine! Check out the performance here!

The super light 800+ kg aluminum chassis sported a cockpit that was super-duper cramped for my body size.
I think I'm gonna settle for the EVORA (not Exora!) since the Esprit is not sold anymore!
Saving my RM10 daily now! (Is that enough, with Kak Pidah still around?)
Well, perhaps enough to get a second hand Elise, which is as cheap as a new Proton Saga!
Remember it's only a 2 seater (like Smart car, and most other sports cars!)
All local dudes can join the club here!

20090222: Macbook Core 2 Duo For Sale

Macbook for sale

Purchase Date: 20 March 2008
Warranty Details: 1+ more month
Condition: USED - pristine condition
Reason for selling: Economic stimulus / Cash for Palm Pre or new Garmin ASUS Nuvifone:
http://www.internetnews.com/mobility/article.php/3801146/Garmins+Smartphone+Strategy+Has+a+GPS+Twist.htm
or here: http://www.garminasus.com/garminasus/cms/
Location: Klang Valley (can meet @ Mid Valley)
Transaction details: (COD) or Maybank 2u
Price: RM 2999 ono
Unit(s): 1
Contact: Ian: cheongit@gmail.com

Details:
Macbook 2 Gb RAM / 80 Gb HD / Combo drive - Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz (can support 4 Gb RAM, unlike the OLDER versions!)
802.11n Wifi - damn strong signal. U can receive signals which 11g can NEVER detect!
Warranty 1+ more month - can extend with Applecare
Power Adapter
All the CD / DVDs in original BOX

System Info specs:
Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MB31.008E.B02
SMC Version: 1.24f2
Serial Number: WQ7439Z0Z62
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled

You can check validity of the Malaysian Serial No here:

PERFORMANCE: Can encode DVDs to iPod m4v format in REAL TIME or slightly faster than real time!

Price BELOW RM 3k!

If u r thinking of getting a Mac Mini! Forget it, get THIS instead, with webcam, LCD monitor and built in UPS, keyboard and trackpad PLUS Sheer portability!

Email me: cheongit@gmail.com if interested to negotiate.

Pictures here

1. CLOSED
2. OPEN - Login / Adapter

3. OPEN - iSight - Combo drive

20090215: Sarah Brightman SYMPHONY concert details

For those who don't know who this diva is, please enlighten your knowledge here

Back on 28th October 2008, Sarah launched her latest Album "A WINTER SYMPHONY"

You can buy this at your favourite record store or sample it first on the iTunes Music Store.
Sarah kicked off her North American tour in Mexico last November until 21st December 2008.

After having a good Xmas rest after her 32 nights of concerts, she will be kicking off her Asian tour in Japan, come forth 23rd February 2009, and ending in Taiwan on 05th April, after performing in Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, China and Hong Kong.
Looks like the Singaporeans fans should be heading up here for the ONE NIGHT affair!
Strangely enough, the ticket prices in HK are cheaper than ours (ranging from about RM 250 to 700 as compare to ours which tops out at a staggering RM1203!) Even in Japan, rates range from 10 to 15k Yen (RM 392 to 587) and in Korea 77 to 220k won (RM 198 to 564)
Does this mean our economy is more ROBUST than Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, even though they earn MORE than us?

More info has been revealed today, upon an email prompt in my GMAIL account this morning.

If you didn't get retrenched and still have wads of moolah swirling in your account, and aim to spur our ailing Malaysian economy, do head over here to splurge more cash for the BACKSTAGE meeting! Get at least US$400 ready! (About RM 1,400 at current rates!)

After managing to secure the discounted tickets via VISA Platinum last week, everyone is waiting for her performance with unabated breath! The Axcess phone hotline was TOTALLY useless. Had to leg it to Mid Valley Rock Corner to sort out the tickets! I hope that Sarah's concert won't be postponed like Rihanna's or cancelled like Peter Cetera!

I doubt PAS would retort on the skimpy outfits of our 49 year old starlet (or would they?)

The costumes during her HAREM (which meant HARAM in Arabic) tour 5 years back would have made many "Nik Aziz's" have many sleepless nights, even though Harems evolved from the Arab folks! (There's no internet during those days in the cold dsesert nights, so what else would one do to pass the time, apart from gazing at stars and keep the camel herds at bay?)

Nevertheless, here's waiting for 07 March 2009 to arrive! And to savour the holographic stage effects in KLCC Plenary Hall which I assisted to build back in 2004 during my Sunway stint!

Somehow, organisers during the Canadian tour weren't too fussy about photography as can been seen here. I'm uncertain if our ocal organisers will share similar sentiments.

If are keen to check out what her previous concerts were like, get a copy of her Las Vegas Harem Tour 2004 DVD.
Info here, here and here with photos from the Amsterdam concert.

20090213 - HYBRID CARs Status - Honda Civic

Finally, after 6 months, the Japanese have agreed with their local counterparts to continue squeezing us with high taxes (no thanks to KAK PIDAH and her ministry)

Click on the title for the article written last September 2008 for some historical review.

The price for the 1.3 litre Civic Hybrid has been revealed at a staggering RM 126k (almost!)
I don't think they'd go for a 0 % interest promotion like Chevrolet (or would they?)

I still can't get the MATH to work out.
The following calculation reveals the OLD price WITH TAXES at almost RM 160k. You can test this in your favourite spreadsheet:
ACTUAL Value: (A) = 63,205.12
100% import duty: (B = A*100%) = 63,205.12
50% excise duty: (C = A*50%) = 31,602.56
Selling price: (D = A+B+C) = 158,012.80

So how does one get 126k? Somehow I think either I flunked my MATHS class for Engineering or the calculation is done by someone whose IQ is less than my waistline.

The ONLY logical equation I can see here, is that the price is ACTUALLY RM63k, but there's this ECONOMIC element called PROFIT.
So just add RM 63k profit to original price of RM 63k, and voila, you get 126k! Now that sort of calculation, I am sure someone with an IQ below my waistline could definitely pull off!!!

Just to jog our memory regarding the tax issue on Hybrids in Malaysia from our very "transparent" Budget 2008, no more taxes for Hybrid cars! Check item # 102. The keyword is EXEMPTION! (But can still add profit mah!) I dare anyone from Honda to REVEAL their calculation!

Get the OBI Index for transparency in PDF format here. Else just view the rankings here!

Thanks to my good buddy Paul, who's got a full write up here.

Obviously you can audit this claim by checking Honda's own site here.

20090213 - FRIDAY THE 13TH - HIGHWAY JAM NIGHTMARE

Most people would associate this superstitious date with realms of horror, previously made popular by the MASKED Hockey Player back in the 80s and his friends such as Mr Freddy KRUEGER.

Fortunately, in Malaysia, we don't share such a fatalistic view.

However, this morning along the Federal Highway, there was a certain Nightmare of a different kind.

This was TOTALLY EXTREME! No blood or gore, but pure TRAFFIC JAM of the highest order!

From the PJ Hilton until the Sunway turnoff, the distance is a paltry 4 km. The time taken to travel this short distance was a staggering 60 minutes, or 1 hour.
For those who have passed Form 3 maths, this means that the average speed between these 2 points is 4 KILOMETRES PER HOUR!

See enclosed map below, marked in YELLOW. (click for larger image)

That same journey, if adhering to the regulatory speed limits, would have taken no more than about 5 minutes. Thus the nightmare this morning was compounded a DOZEN times (5 x 12 = 60!)

See routing table below. (click for larger image)


I would estimate that at least about 3,000 vehicles were affected (typical car is about 4 m long multiplied by 3 lanes spread across 4 km). And that's not including the mish-mash along the LDP. Imagine the time and petrol wasted for this.

So what was the CAUSE of this entire commotion?
Believe it or not, it was due to THIS:

Yeah, the closure of the roads around Bandar Utama, made the ENTIRE LDP Choc-o-bloc until it tailed off at PJ Hilton!

So much for the Tour for Langkawians, 405km up north (by air)!
About 510km from Shah Alam, Selangor to Kuala Perlis, Perlis and then another 25 km by ferry over to the Island!

I can't see the logic of this. Why can't they cycle elsewhere, like Sungei Buluh, where there's much cleaner air quality? Or at least do it on weekends in the city areas?

Only the INTELLIGENT and WISE organisers will know the answer! I'm sure their IQ level is larger than my waistline of 40! If not, god help us!

20090131: New ATEN 4 port KVM Switch

Just got my new ATEN 4 port USB KVM from the poor shrunken FCC (now LENOVO) store in Midvalley today.

Now have to hook up the Tablet PC dock, Powermac G4 Cube, Mac Mini G4 and the MacBook to my Dell 24" HD LCD!

Still hunting for a 2 port DVI switch though!

UPDATE: Returned back to FCC in a week, due to green sync problem. Thankfully Ms GOH, the Manager had a standby 2 port USM KVM on loan (which she used for her server unit!)