Rapidkl where art thou

Let us wait and see whether SPNB will reply to this letter to the editor which appeared in the Star of 4th June 2007.


'We pay the fare, we expect to arrive on time
On May 29,passengers on the LRT Kelana Jaya line had to wait about 30 minutes in the train just because of an uncertain reason. Yes, we understand that if the management didn’t take any safety measures it might end up with a disaster. A problem will not be a problem if it only appears once in a while, but there had been too many ‘breakdowns’, too many delays and too many letters telling us, we are sorry. I don’t want any letters anymore. I don’t want to know your problems. I don’t want to know the solutions. I pay the fee and I want to use the train without hassle, and without getting to the office late. I hope SPNB will understand that inefficiency in the system will cause a lot of problems, especially to the working population. And if SPNB fails to cater for 16% of the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor population (as per October, 2006) how would it manage to cater for 40% more?
E-DAN RAWA Kuala Lumpur'


Will this be just another letter to the editor that is thrown into the rubbish can? I have a feeling that is the fate of countless other letters and calls to SPNB on the subject of the frequent delays and breakdowns of their trains.
Does the management even have an iota of interest in the long suffering commuter?

Air Asia Express boarding

I saw for the first time how this system works when I took a flight from the LCCT on Saturday, 2nd June 2007. For the aged, infirmed and those with young children, it is a good idea to fork out the extra ringgit to get into the queue. Air Asia seems heartless when introducing this system. The usual group of elderly citizens and those with young children are now at the mercy of the unruly mob at the normal queue.
As a letter to the editor in one of the local dailies suggested, it might be a good idea to have this group as the second priority after the express boarding group. Profits is one thing and making money out of every conceivable opportunity is another matter altogether. The human face of Air Asia should also be taken into consideration. Surely, the management does not want the 'Now everyone can fly' to be changed to 'Now only those with money and the fit can fly'.

Here we go again

I guess by now I sound like a broken record. Ad infinitum complaining about the public transport system in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. I had the pleasure of savouring the excellent, efficient and highly dependable light rail transport system managed by Rapid KL this morning.
As usual, something in me guessed that something was not quite right when I heard the ongoing alarm at the station. My guess was confirmed when I reached the platform and heard that the trains will be running slow and passengers are advised to be patient. All inconvenience caused is very much regretted. Thank you.
Sweet words when I first heard it last year but it has been such a regular occurrence that the impact is lost on me. I don't feel the Rapid KL management are really sorry for the inconvenience caused or else the system would have improved by now.
I'm not asking for miracles but passengers have hopes that the frequent breakdowns could be reduced to monthly affairs instead of the present almost weekly debacle.
As a friend said, why don't Rapid KL just announce that the trains would not be running on a particular day. At least the passengers can find alternative means to their destinations. Stop the service for as long as possible and get to the bottom of the persistent problem. Rectify the problem first and then start the service again.
Fat hopes, huh?

Different approach

When I read the article in thestar of 14 May 2007, the first thing that came to mind was, "Where are the Muslim care givers?" I have seen countless articles on non-Muslims giving a hand to the marginalized but I have yet to see anything similar from the Islamic groups or individuals, either established organisations or voluntary bodies. Maybe the Muslims do not publicise their good deeds.
Hopefully that is the case but a lingering smirk will always appear just picturing that scene appearing. Maybe I have been too jaded by the approach of some who are linked to the Malaysian Islamic authorities or individuals whenever they expound on the virtues of Islam. I hope against hope that there are Islamic organizations or individuals that are taking positive action in helping the forgotten segment of society instead of just focusing on the brim stone and burning in hell scenario.

Sexist remarks

I guess it is to be expected that the recent sexist remark by the ruling party member of parliament was defended by his fellow party members as highlighted in thestar of 12 May 2007. As someone said, it is as if that MP does not have a mother, wife, daughter or a female family member. Some of the comments from the ruling party members seems to suggest that such outbursts are permitted. It seems the remark is a consequence of the heated debate and no harm was meant from the words.

What gives? No harm?

Statements like that are reflective of someone who is utterly devoid of feelings towards the opposite gender. Common decency would have thought a person especially an elected representative of the people that women are not fair game to be humiliated or made scape goats every time something is wrong with the world.

I'm very disappointed that the leaders of the ruling party have not come forward to condemn those words. Another proof of their viewpoint on women.

Related links

sunday star

limkitsiang

A welcome improvement

I am very pleasantly surprised that Air Asia was on schedule on my departure from Kuala Lumpur to Bali on 28^th April 2007 as well as on the trip back on 2^nd May 2007. I've always expected the worst from them from past experiences. Dare I hope this new, at least for me, perfect timing will happen more often?

I was also quite glad that I carried my luggage on the way back as the immigration and customs process took just a few minutes. I almost had a shock when the immigration personnel had pleasant faces and was cordial to those who encountered difficulties with the automatic passport screening machines.

The machines are not superior to humans. They are so sensitive that the whole process of scanning the passports takes at least ten seconds. It is not a simple wave and bye procedure. Interestingly the lines at the machines almost always moves slower than those at counters manned by the officers.

The afternoon saw proactive immigration officers who asked politely those who were lining up at the machines to proceed to other counters so as to expedite the whole process of checking the passports.

It is nice to be home.

Here we go again

The Putra LRT service broke down again for the umpteenth time. As a colleague said, maybe in future, the Rapid KL management should inform the commuters the exact date the breakdowns will occur. At least those affected will be prepared beforehand and can make other arrangements. Better still, shut the whole system at least once a week. That seems to be the current frequency of the breakdowns. Eventually, we could even declare the whole system unfeasible and start from scratch with something new. That way, a new set of opportunists will be able to grease their pockets.

The news report in the thestar of 23 March 2007 says that “Rapid KL apologised to its customers for the inconvenience caused.”. That sounds more like a broken record playing ad infinitum.

Impending Death

Whenever I hear news of an impending death, I get a slight tremble. Knowing a person does not prepare oneself to the final reality that we will part company soon. My only hope is that the ongoing journey would be bearable to those closest to him. The doctors say the prognosis is bad. Maybe another six months. I hope that he would not suffer an agonising death. May it be brief and painless. Suffering is never pleasant.

Passengers stuck inside plane for an hour

Air Asia flight AK901 left Bali on 20th February as scheduled at 1.55 pm. The flight was smooth for most of the journey except for the bumps during the descent to Kuala Lumpur due to bad weather. The passengers were in fact due for a bigger shock when the plane landed on time at 4.40pm.

We were not allowed to disembark due to the rain that greeted us. It seems passengers are at risk since the airport area is prone to lightning. The captain said the wait might be ten to fifteen minutes. Some passengers became more impatient as the wait approached the half hour mark. I even overhead a girl saying that she is willing to sign a legal waiver absolving the authorities if anything happened to her on the tarmac. Alas, to no avail. So we remained seated and endured the forced detention.

Anyway, we had a pleasant surprise when the back door opened and passengers were allowed to disembark after the one hour wait. It was still drizzling and a trolley full of umbrellas were waiting for us at the bottom of the stairs. To everyone's utter disbelief, the distance between the rear door and the covered portion of the terminal was only about five minutes away. I guess we should be thankful to those managing the airline and airport that safety is their priority. Can't have everything our own way all the time, can we?

Moral of this tale, add another waiting period to your list of waits when using Air Asia.

Taken for a ride

The light rail transit system commuters in Kuala Lumpur using the Kelana Jaya line are a hardy lot. Yesterday was the umpteenth time the service had a malfunction during the peak morning hours. The commuters try to heed the government’s call to use the public transportation system in their daily lives and in return are rewarded with the sloppy and shoddy service.

Kuala Lumpur’s traffic headache will never end as long as the so called public transportation system does not rise to the occasion. Most probably those behind the master plan for a better public transportation system have not themselves used the available system at the moment. They would never realize the frustrations and the time wasted for all the frequent hiccups that occur almost daily. No wonder KLites still prefer to use their own cars to go from point A to point B despite the hefty increase in fuel, parking fees and toll rates.

No political will power, no properly thought out plans, every solution seems to be on an ad hoc basis. This saga will never end.

Chick Lit

1984 by George Orwell under Chick Lit. This is a revelation.

Air Asia Flight Delays

Just when I thought I could say something nice about Air Asia, they had to disappoint me again by the latest news item in today'’s the star newspaper. I had a pleasant trip to Bali last month by Air Asia. They even had an in-flight competition for some prizes in conjunction with their sponsorship of the Amazing Race Asia reality television programme.

Alas, my hopes of a sustained improvement in services might not last long. The reason for the delay this time is the extra time taken to check the planes. I do hope this extra precaution is not in vain. The customers do understand the need for safety but being left in the dark with no coordination in dispensing correct and up to date information is a big minus point. There are limits to anyoneÂ’s patience. We do hope passenger feedback will be taken seriously and improvements done to the system.

Hope.

One rule for the rich and another for the rest of us

That is the heading of a letter in thestar of 6th November 2006.

No ground breaking news here. Has it ever been otherwise?

Time to change people’s attitudes

This letter appeared in thestar of 4 November 2006.

Nothing much to add to what has been written in the letter but I do agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of the writer. Needless to say, I should also not forget to thank a certan leader for promoting a certain vision for the country. Today, we get our just rewards.

Pot calling the kettle black

A case of short memory or is it selective recollection. The full details are in the web edition of the sun of 23rd October 2006.

Extracts:

"Q: You said Malaysia has become a police state. Isn'’t is ironic because your critics said the same thing about your administration?
A: I never stopped people from making speeches. In 1987, when Tengku Razaleigh, Musa Hitam and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi challenged me, Abdullah remained as minister. They were travelling all over the country, campaigning with Umno branches and divisions and I never stopped them. But of course, Pak Lah now says he was stopped. Umno branches said they heard him when he came to talk. And I know because when I went to his area to speak, he came up on the stage and he spoke also. I never stopped him from speaking. I never stopped Tengku Razaleigh from speaking, which is why, although I was nominated by 86 divisions and Tengku Razaleigh was nominated by 37 divisions, I barely managed to win because of the intensive campaigning carried out by Tengku Razaleigh, Musa Hitam and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. But now, I am not allowed to speak to anybody. I know I'’m speaking to the Press now. I know some media companies will make some kind of spin about this but fortunately for us that in my time, we have the Internet, so I would advise people to read the Internet and not these newspapers because they are all getting phone calls."

I never stopped people from making speeches??? Duh. ISA, Operasi Lalang, Printing Press Act.

"Q: It seems that you have made a terrible mistake in choosing the Prime Minister.
A: Well I have made a lot of mistakes. I chose people and they all turn against me. I'’m very bad, really. You know when people come to me and cry over something, I think, ya, he is sincere. Although they were stabbing me before, when they come I accept them back."

He is so sweet. Kind hearted. Others stab him in the back. Poor guy. Not that brilliant after all if his anointed successors have been suchdisappointmentent...

Singapore corrupt?

My suspicions about squeaky clean Singapore had some support when I saw this article in bloomberg of 11th October 2006.
Excerpts:

``Actually, Singapore's success came mostly from being the money laundering center for corrupt Indonesian businessmen and government officials,'' Xie, who was based in Hong Kong before leaving Morgan Stanley on Sept. 29, wrote in the e-mail. ``Indonesia has no money. So Singapore isn't doing well.'' ``To sustain its economy, Singapore is building casinos to attract corruption money from China,'' Xie said.

I wonder why someone who works with Morgan Stanley, a renowned international firm, would even speculate about such things. Has not Singapore always pride itself of being above board? Maybe their cover-up job is so good that everyone has been hoodwinked into thinking that what is said is true.
But looking at Indonesia for example, I could see that a certain marginalised group has benefited a lot from their business links with Singapore. When push comes to shove, as in the debacle after Suharto's fall, many seek an escape route to Singapore. It is well known that quite a number have big investments in the city state and vice versa. Maybe the long lasting Suharto regime was propped up by money from the island state. Who knows?

Question Time: The NEP quota hangover

This headline in theedgedaily of 9th October 2006 seems very apt with the current debate on the fate of the NEP. I was particularly struck by this paragraph:

"So why is this misinformation perpetrated? The simple answer would be that there are many bumiputeras, especially the politically connected, who will benefit by it - but not the large majority of bumiputeras, mind you. These bumiputeras are those who benefit from an allocation of bumiputera shares to them at concessional rates and the need to get bumiputera partners to bid for government projects and so on. Many well-connected and politically influential bumiputeras will be affected if the quota system was unwound. That explains a lot of things happening now, particularly the reluctance of the political leadership all this while to do anything about the quotas or to revise the way that it is measured so that it is meaningful. It also explains why former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim supported the NEP when he was in government because he needed the support of those who benefit from it. Now, in opposition, that support becomes immaterial and he can call for the NEP to be abandoned. That would also explain why former Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB - a vehicle specifically set up under the NEP to enhance bumiputera equity ownership) chief executive officer Datuk Khalid Ibrahim now says the NEP could destroy the Malays because of the way it is structured to help only some bumiputeras and perpetuate inefficiency and patronage. And it also explains why young leaders such as Khairy Jamaludin, deputy head of Umno Youth, who was not even born when the NEP was implemented and of whom expectations were high that he would tread a more enlightened path given his youth and idealism, strongly defended the quota system."

These are the facts which those in power would never admit. As the article said, it is to the advantage of those in power to maintain the status quo ad infinitum. The have-nots will remain where they are now and any hopes of changing that situation will require a gargantuan effort from those in power. An enlightened power which the present administration does not seem to possess. Pity the meek and the downtrodden. Their fate in life???

Wherefore public transport

I was one of the thousands of commuters in Kuala Lumpur dependent on the light rail transport system affected by the system breakdown on Friday, 6th October 2006. This letter which appeared the next day in the Star sums up quite succintly how many feel about the system(?).

"Breakdown failure on operator’s part

FIRST-CLASS infrastructure, Third-World mentality. High-tech driverless Putra LRT, bottom-rung maintenance. It's sad.

Imagine this: Thousands of commuters during Friday morning rush hour. And the train system conveniently breaks down, again. Chaos results.

Are Malaysians surprised? No. That’s what makes the entire situation so wretched.

For the past five to six months, the LRT service has been disrupted about once a month. Every time it malfunctions, Putra staff will put up the sign “We are having an unavoidable technical problem”.

Many of us have travelled on the virtually trouble-free Singapore MRT.

It's simple. If you don’t maintain the trains, the system stalls.

I urge the Transport Minister to make the following changes:

1. Fire the top management in charge of Putra LRT. Constant system failure means failure on their part.

2. Fine the company RM1mil for every hour the LRT is down. It's a small sum to pay for delaying the thousands of people who would otherwise be working and contributing to the economy.

3. Display the LRT’s KPI. Show monthly statistics on system failure, late trains, Touch ’n Go breakdown, ticketing gate malfunction, air-conditioning failure in trains and stations. In this way, I'm sure Putra will do more to improve the system to save face.

4. Fire those who can’t meet these KPIs.

Drastic action is needed for a major change.

RADICALHOP,

Petaling Jaya."

I agree whole heartedly with the writer's suggestions but I doubt any of it will see the light of day any time soon. As it is, there will be an inquiry and it would be anyone's guess whether any action will be taken after that. The planners are never the ones who use the system. They are bureaucrats, pen pushers, cocooned in their air-conditioned offices dictating what is best for the rest of city. They must use the system too to see how viable or reliable it is in action. There is a huge difference between that lovely skecth on paper with reality.

Hope

An apt article appeared in thestar 30 October 2006 after the Chinese marginalisation statement by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew.
Those without connections will always suffer in this country as long as the ruling party continues with its present policy of giving the wealth largesse to just a select few. We are just continuing the old feudal system replete with masters and servants. That system seems to be the preferred choice of the ruling class to maintain the status quo. The only hope of a viable alternative government does not seem to have much hope of seeing the light of day in the immediate future. We are so used to the current political set-up that anything which differs from the norm might look so strange to the majority.
Whatever faults the current administration has, the bread and butter issues seems to be a top priority. But the present escalating cost of living is testing the patience of the common people. The opposition might be able to make some headway if they exploit this issue intelligently and gave a better solution than the present government. If people of this country are assured that they at least can make a decent living within the present economic conditions then maybe the other issues such as sharing equitably the economic cake and race relations can be tackled with more vigour.
We do hope the future will be better for the next generation of Malaysians.

Racial polarisation

It is always intriguing whenever the great doctor says his piece. An example appeared in the sun 28 September 2006. Part of his speech appeared in the article on the Second Congress of Leaders of Traditional Religions held in Astana, Kazakhstan on 12-13 September 2006.

The excerpt.

'It would be more effective for heads of religious institutions to convince world leaders to help remove the causes of terrorism, than trying to convince terror groups to stop their aggression. Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, an invited speaker, said this when addressing delegates during the second day of the congress. Mahathir said:"Perhaps religious heads could persuade would-be terrorists not to blow up aircraft and their passengers but frankly, I do not think this will work." He said no matter who talks to them (terror groups), the pain will always be there and these people who threaten international security have no other means to fight their powerful enemies except via terror attacks. He said the anger and frustration of the Palestinian people have reached a stage where "rationality" is no longer possible. "Bereft of other weapons, they resort to blowing themselves up and killing innocent people," he said. Mahathir said the world must realise that the strategy of "out-terrorising" the terrorists by Israel and the United States is not working. "All that we see is an escalation in their counter-attacks and the whole world feels insecure and we are even being haunted by the fear of being blown out of the sky whenever we fly," he said. He called on religious heads to convince leaders of the countries against whom the attacks are directed to try and understand the problem and deal with the root causes. Later, in response to a question by theSun, Mahathir said the fervour of multi-cultural relations in Malaysia is the same as in Kazakhstan. "But, of course, there will be groups (in Malaysia) which will try to promote differences among the races but it is up to the majority to ensure that differences are settled in a proper way," he said. Asked what may have caused racial polarisation in the country and if it will grow to become a "painful thorn on the side" in later years, he said: "It is partly due to political reasons." "Because certain parties play up Islamic issues there will be a tendency for other parties to attempt to also make use of religion to seek'religious justification' by themselves." "In the process they might become more extreme and this will lead to the kind of problems we see among the people today," he said.'

I wonder which political party made the move to be more Islamic than its opposition. Did the leader forgot the decision he made to take into the party's fold an ex-student leader who was known to have strong support among the young and those aligned to the Islamic movement. The worsening polarisation we see in the country is in a way the result of policies implemented by the great doctor in his quest to achieve his vision of a developed Malaysia. He will never acknowledge that he had a part in the current predicament that we face. Not in his character to admit that he had made a mistake. Admitting one's mistake needs a bigger man. That man is not the doctor.