Tuesday 29 July 2014

About EDL, haze and Empress Ki

First, let me write a bit about the Eastern Dispersal Link (EDL) issue in JB.

You can read the news at Bee Kim's blog here,

New Toll Fee System at CIQ



There has been quite an outcry over the new toll charges at the Causeway,

One of the complaints was that the BN government had before the last general election promised to buy the EDL highway from MRCB and make it toll free.

The promise was made despite the initial proposed toll charges being meant only for vehicles coming from Singapore.

As far as Malaysians are concerned, the toll hike primarily affects those who everyday drives to work in Singapore from JB.

I don't think others who occasionally drives through from either sides of the Causeway are going to really feel it too much.

It's a fact that this group of people who can afford to drive into Singapore to work there instead of riding a motorcycle or took the bus are mostly Chinese with relatively good job in the island republic.

Bear in mind that the promise by BN was made at a time when the ruling coalition was bending backward to please the Chinese community.

The outcome of GE13, however, suggested that no matter what BN do for the Chinese community will never be appreciated by them.

All 14 Chinese majority State constituencies in Johor went to DAP.

BN leaders such as former MB Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman who had done a lot for the Chinese community in Johor got burned at the polls. That despite promises by his old Chinese friends that he would get their support.

Now, I guess the Malay-dominated BN government has become smarter. Enough of trying too hard to please the Chinese community.

Just be fair to them. That is good enough.

After all, it was silly to spend so much money to buy a highway and make it toll free just to please a handful of well-off people who could afford to drive to work in Singapore.

Really, if you drive along the EDL in JB without going into Singapore, it's free.

So, I don't know what the so much fuss is all about.

Pulai MP DS Nur Jazlan Mohamed was among the angriest.

You can read about it at Outside the Box's,

Jom Menyusahkan Manusia : Raise Toll Ok But Why 400%?

What's wrong Jazlan? So many of your constituents drives to work in Singapore is it? Do you think they will appreciate you and BN if there is no toll at the Causeway?

Well, I don't think so.

Anyway, if you think the toll charges at the Causeway is now too expensive, I would like to suggest for you to try going through the Second Link instead. I think it's about the same, plus it's not so congested there.

Okay, enough of that. As if MRCB or BN pay me to defend them....

Today is the second Hari Raya.

Someone actually asked me out but I declined.

Why the hell would I want to go to Sunway Lagoon with him on a day like this.

I rather continue sleeping at home.

Anyway, the haze is so bad here that I don't really feel like going outdoor.

I think the haze has become a permanent feature of our KL environment.

Whenever I go outside these days, I put on a surgical mask.

Almost every weekend now, I would drive out of KL to get a proper breather.

My favorite is either Cameron Highlands or the East Coast.

But today, I think I just want to rest at home and continue watching some Korean drama.

I am a bit hooked on these Korean dramas.

They got the winning formulae, especially for girls.

Most of the story line have it that there is a beautiful girl whose love is being sought after by at least two men.

Girls love to fantasize about that sorts of nonsense. Myself included....hahaha.

At the moment I am watching Empress Ki at Episode 22. The serial has more than 50 episodes.

It's about this girl who had the emperor of China and king of Korea, both dying for her love.

Well, what more could a girl ask for isn't it?

And the girl was not even that pretty.

I think the guy who played the Chinese emperor was prettier and more girlish than her.


All not so pretty girls like myself would love to watch this drama.

You can actually just watch it at YouTube.

Okay....enough of my nonsense rambling.

I need to go to toilet now for big business.

It's all those Hari Raya spicy food that I have been eating since yesterday.

See you all later.....

15 comments:

  1. thanks annie for this side of story.
    otsb has been angry lately.. hehe..
    padan those cina jb!

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  2. Sabina Altynbekova Is Too Beautiful To Play Volleyball, Critics Say

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/27/sabina-altynbekova-beautiful-volleyball_n_5625530.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

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  3. A morning spent with a money changer friend recently at his shop near the JB CIQ was an eye-opener experience for me.

    There was a constant stream of mid to old aged men, invariably wearing T-shirts and Khaki shorts and slippers, holding plastic bags, coming to change SGD to RM. It was not in thousands or even hundreds that they change. It was SGD 10, SGD 8 and even SGD 5. For that amount they would get like RM25, RM20 or RM12.50.

    My money-changer friend told me that these are regular customers who would come almost every day. They are either Singaporeans or PR in Singapore. The RM changed are for their food and drinks for the entire day in JB, where they will stay for the whole day until late evening whence forth they would return to Singapore.

    And they will come the next morning.

    They must be those referred to by DAP and Dato Jazlan as foreign tourists who prosper Malaysia with their kind visit.

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  4. One day I was traveling in a Singapore SMRT bus 950 from JB Kota Raya terminal to Singapore.

    It was a very hot day. Perhaps due to the long wait an old Chinese man upon boarding the bus apparently was very angry and complained to a Mat Salleh passenger in very loud voice that in Malaysia even the dogs were better treated than the people, referring to the non air-conditioned bus stand.

    I don't know if this Chinese man is a Malaysian or Singaporean. But the fact is that in JB you see very often a Chinese would despise everything in Malaysia, yet every morning those who stay in Singapore would brave the terrible traffic controlled-jam to come to JB, a place providing freedom and feeding to these people and to allow them to vent their insult and anger which they must keep deep within themselves when they are in Singapore.

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  5. Often we heard about some Malaysian Malay politicians chided about the ill fate of Singaporean Malays in Singapore.

    Of course Singapore will retaliate. The Malaysian Chinese is their target audience.

    Who needs traitors when you have DAPs around? Their service is free.

    Some Chinese newspapers in Malaysia, too, are known to provide this kind of service. In Mandarin, Malaysia is called Ma Lai Xi Ya. Singapore is the first and only country in the word that changed the Malaysia Mandarin name to Ma Guo (Negara Kuda), and thereafter the Chinese newspapers in Malaysia, too, adopted this name-calling campaign for and on behalf of 'you know who'.

    And recently Singapore invented a name 'Ma Lao' for Malaysian workers in Singapore. 'Ma Lao' means 'Buruh Kuda' but sounded like 'monkey' in Cantonese. Surprisingly the Malaysian Chinese working in Singapore are happy to accept this title and the Malaysia Chinese newspapers, too, are quick to 'menyahut seruan' of 'you know who' to use this word.

    I cannot imagine what will be the Malaysian Chinese' reaction if the term was invented by anyone in Malaysia.

    With 'Malaysia Malaysians' like these, who needs a traitor?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Photo in today's Singapore Straits Times with the title "Singapore Ministers visit Johor Sultan".

      Quote from the report (on page A6 of the ST): " Mr Gan (Singapore Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong), Mrs Gan and Mr Wong Singapore Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong) had a joint audience with Sultan Ibrahim and his wife, Raja Zarith Sofiah, and were also hosted to lunch by the royal couple, and joined at lunch by the Sultan's family.

      "The ministers' visit continues the longstanding tradition of Singapore's representatives attending the Sultan's Open House, and symbolises the continued warm ties between Singapore and Johor."

      And on page A3 of the same issue of the ST: "S'pore will match any Causeway toll charge: LTA"

      Quote: "If Malaysia increases or introduces new tolls at the Causeway, the Singapore Government will follow suit, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said yesterday, in response to reports that Malaysia is raising charges.....

      "" If there is indeed a new toll, or an increase in toll charges at the Causeway, the Singapore Government will match the new toll and increase in toll charges in due course," said the LTA in response to media queries.

      "It has been the Singapore Government's practice to peg tolls at the Causeway and the Second Link to those set by Malaysia, according to the currency exchange rate, it added......"

      Hopefully this isn't a game of "chicken" where each party waits to see who will blink first.

      And it's not about "traitors" or "tit for tat" or whatever metaphor excites the bloggerati.

      It's about what's in the best interests of Malaysians and Singaporeans and their respective economies.

      It's strange that there's so much bonhomie and cordiality at the highest levels, when in the trenches, it's very much "tit for tat".

      Of course, Annie may have her own unique take on the situation.

      But, maybe, she should take a long, hard and unprejudiced view of the Johor economy and see where exactly it is now and where it should be.

      And that goes in spades for bloggers who ride off to tilt at windmills a la Don Quixote.

      And we all know what happened to Don Quixote, don't we?

      Delete
    2. JalanStraitsview29 July 2014 at 17:42

      Really, dude? Are you at all familiar with the situation on the ground?

      Do you know how many Johoreans commute on motor bikes across the Causeway to work in Singapore and reverse commute back to JB in the evening, or at night, or in the early mornings?

      Estimates are in the thousands, with some reports saying that about 50,000 Malaysian-registered motor bikes travel across the Causeway into Singapore daily.

      And those who commute on these bikes aren't PMET "brains" ("brain drain, geddit?), but "normal" skilled and unskilled Malaysian workers - Chinese, Indians and Malays (oh, yes).

      I wonder if you have the guts to call them "traitors" for earning a honest living in Singapore for their families and themselves?

      Delete
  6. I love this pre-emptive measure to curb brain drain. This will weed out indiscriminate joy riders into the island state on a whim. If you can afford it, by all means work and study in the Republic. If not, stay in Malaysia where you can contribute to developing the country of your birth. If you are not patriotic enough for that, then options are open for you to find another country that will readily accept you as a first class citizen with no preconditions.
    The Chinese in Johor must be taught that there's a price to be paid for their treachery. If they want to show their loyalty to Malaysia, then prove it with their actions and not words. Dont wait for the next General Elections for Kit Siang and gang to open the borders to their political masters in the PAP

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    Replies
    1. Sometimes brains can create environment, but most of the time it's the environment that creates the brains.

      Malaysia have the right environment to create the brains. That's why Malaysia exports brains. It's called 'supply', not 'drain'.

      The fact that some Malaysians do better overseas doesn't mean anything special. It's the timing, the environment, and the needs that made them succeed.

      In Malaysia, the mountains are still green, rivers still flow, and the best generations are still to come.

      One Tangkak ah long hoarde his wealth in Singapore, and with that he became a Singapore citizen. The main players of illegal marine fuel in Pengerang and Tanjung Pengelih are notably from Singapore, illegal sand miners, loggers, illegal 4D taukeh turn developer in Johor some of whom are former Malaysians now Singaporeans. Chicken farmers in Johor who supply to Singapore are Singaporeans formerly Malaysians, and they like to get datukship for themselves.

      These are not brain drain but 'money drain'. It's a different issue altogether.

      Delete
    2. In Malaysia everyone is treated equally. The EPF policies, for example, treat everyone equally.

      In Singapore, a PRC who forgoes his Singapore PR can get his CPF balance back in the same day, not so for the 'Ma Lao'.

      If the Johorean Chinese want to show their loyalty to Malaysia, they need not do anything special. All they need to do is to refrain from asking to be treated as a first class citizen. Everyone is equal in Malaysia.

      For instance in Kota Tinggi recently, a Chinese temple built a huge 36 feet high Sam Tai Chee statue without any approval. It was built partly on government land. It breaches many laws and regulations, and the temple itself was illegal, and not sure if the millions collected and spent for statue and temple have any tax related issues?

      So the government wants it removed. But the local Chinese assisted by Malaysia Chinese newspapers sensationalized the issue making headlines suggesting Islamic persecution on freedom of religion.

      The Chinese must know this: "OBEY THE LAW".

      There is no 'First Class Citizen' in Malaysia. Everyone needs to obey the law. Don't sensationalize issue for ulterior motives.

      Delete
    3. Got laws in Malaysia, mah.

      So, why aren't the tax avoiders, tax cheats, smugglers etc arrested and charged?

      You mean to say that the authorities are so clueless as to not know who these people are?

      Of course, that never comes into the picture. The fair, transparent and rigorous enforcement and implementation of laws and regulations already in place.

      It's easier, and less challenging, to "whack" the "towkays", " ah longs" etc. Why bother about enforcing the law?

      Delete
    4. For the last three months, we have seen in almost every other days the smugglers at the vast coaster areas and throughout Malaysia were arrested by the Polis Marin, APMM and KPDNHEP enforcement units. The enforcement effort has indeed been increased.

      Gambling centers disguised as family entertainment centers were clamped down. It's widely reported.

      Illegal massage parlors, whorehouses, karaokes and nightclubs, were raided one after another.

      Who said the enforcement units are clueless, except some who are trying to paint that wrongful pictures just to stir the people's hatred against the authorities?

      Chinese towkays doing illegal business are getting smarter now. One employs Chinese graduates operating on-line gambling trades from overseas. Chinese smugglers from Selangor employing Indonesians and Burmese to smuggle and sometimes committing piracy. When their kretek arrives at Pulau Carey, the towkay attends philanthropic dinner in Kuantan. The towkays don't dirty their own hands, that's why they are called 'towkays'.

      Please ask ourselves how much have we contributed to the law and order of this country? Can you please don't buy illegal 4D? Can you refrain yourselves from eating the food bought from illegal gains? Can you cease befriending the ah longs and people known to live from illegal means? Can you come to the authorities if you suspect any illegal activities, and you are protected under the Witness Protection Scheme?

      Yes, we got laws in Malaysia. But we cannot rely on the authorities only for enforcement. Let's start by refraining from illegal parking, don't visit those illegal temples operate from terrace houses, don't eat at hawkers whose tables and chairs illegally occupying the roads under the protection of idiotic 'ahli-ahli majlis' who had prevented the penguatkuasa from performing their duty, like in MBJB.



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  7. Ghani also lost because the "cat bloggers" hired by him offended powerful enemies in the social political blogging world such as Pirates, Another Brick, etc.

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  8. Ok lah big business aside and castles in the air, kalau Cik Annie is pretty as a mermaid then join me at DLagoon chalet Pulau Perhentian Kecil pada Hari Raya keempat for freediving ok? Can compare notes on sense of adventure in a Malaysian wonderland!

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  9. I was in Penang on 1st Day Raya and the skies were clear thanks to the rain that fell in the wee hours of the morning. Cars and people in the surrounding areas were not many so no traffic jams...yeh! Even with local tourists (many Singaporks) places to visit were still bearable as compared to the weekend which saw many out of towners and (kiasuland) parking haphazardly by the roadside...wish the Pg govt can hand out traffic ticket on the spot and detain those who don't pay the fine just before they leave the island..see if they berani to park like they own the road or drive like idiots on the road over the limit.

    Returning to KL was even better on the 2nd day, no jams on NSE and NKVE. Most of the inhabitants on holiday...and returning later in the week.

    Truly enjoyed my local excursion, no need to fly off like some fatcats!

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