tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18696658496795877092024-03-05T21:47:09.570+08:00Wacana Minda MalaysiaIlmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-61530739066518010392016-09-06T08:26:00.001+08:002016-09-06T08:26:43.593+08:00WSJ: Najib Razak is still InnocentThe latest WSJ (see <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_cgh7sEouCCODQ5WVhPbWwxNTg/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">link</a>) article gave the clearest details on Najib's personal 1MDB-related accounting:<br />
<ul>
<li><em>...a flood of cash—about $1 billion—that flowed into Mr. Najib’s personal bank account</em></li>
<li><em> As a tight general election approached, Mr. Najib sent hundreds of checks to ruling party politicians to help fund his campaign...</em></li>
<li><em>In all, Mr. Najib wrote more than 500 checks totaling about $400 million</em></li>
<li><em>After the election, Mr. Najib closed his main account at AmBank and sent about $620 million back to the offshore company it came from...</em></li>
</ul>
So if I did my math correctly, $400 million for the sake of UMNO plus $620 million returned is equivalent to about $1 billion, no? Did I miss any zero somewhere? Then why the juicy yet irrelevant details of what a husband bought for his wife?<br />
<br />
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-63816502026794894382016-01-01T14:18:00.000+08:002016-01-01T14:18:24.332+08:00Najib Razak is InnocentThe latest investigative <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-money-network-of-malaysian-politics-1451355113?mod=WSJ_article_EditorsPicks_2" target="_blank">piece</a> by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on 1MDB actually imparts the opposite effect of its original intentions. Instead of exposing the so-called money politics in Malaysia and implicating Najib Razak, the article to some extend absolves the Prime Minister. How ironic! <br />
<br />
While admitting Najib's political spending is not illegal in Malaysia, WSJ portrayed the Prime Minister as a leader who would do anything to ensure he and his party stay in power - not unlike any other politicians either in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Washington or Timbuktu. Election campaign contributions or donations and special-interest lobbying are acceptable in the West. The only major difference, something Malaysia should adopt moving forward, is full transparency. <br />
<br />
Najib may have committed a lapse in judgement in his strategy and management of his party's financial machinery. However, given all the prima facie evidence including the transactions and interviews unearthed by the WSJ investigation, Najib deserves the benefit of the doubt to entangle himself, and move on to lead the nation to face what is expected to be another global economic turbulence in 2016.<br />
<br />
Yes, I have a change of heart towards Najib. I also respect and have empathy on Tun M's perspective - UMNO is weakening and Tun has a valid concern. Whatever the outcome of 1MDB or continuing Najib's resiliency, UMNO should not be complacent. In fact, one important lesson is throwing money to the haves will not win you the election, to the have-nots <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CNAghHwWEAA-ok9.jpg:large" target="_blank">maybe</a>.<br />
<br />
Related past articles: <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://goo.gl/7oD3lH" target="_blank">1MDB: Imprudent or Fraudulent?</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://goo.gl/2WoqJ4" target="_blank">Racial Dynamics & Politics in Malaysia</a></li>
<li><a href="http://goo.gl/itDE5U" target="_blank">Transformation Continues</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
</div>
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-54912694177083113462015-08-31T03:47:00.000+08:002015-08-31T03:47:25.915+08:00#SehatiSejiwa 2015It's hard to feel excited with Merdeka 2015 with the current political climate. However, there is indeed a fine line between patriotism and politics:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>Patriotism - devoted love, support, and defense of one's country, national loyalty</em></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>Politics - the science or art of political government, use of intrigue or strategy in obtaining any position of power or control</em></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: right;">
- Dictionary.com </div>
</blockquote>
I pray for Malaysia's keamanan and kesejahteraan, politically and economically. I continue to hope for a day when we are all interdependent Malaysians:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>Dependent citizens always depend on government assistance for basic and other needs through subsidies, preferential treatment, etc. On the other hand, independent citizens does not need any government assistance to live a comfortable life. The final stage is when all independent citizens, regardless of skin colors, are working together to effectively compete in global economies for the betterment of the country.</em></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: right;">
- <a href="http://wacanamalaysia.blogspot.com/2013/05/ge13-racial-dynamics-politics-in.html" target="_blank">Racial Dynamics & Politics in Malaysia</a></div>
<br />
Remember Tun. M's wise words:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>Bukan kecil tugas kita<br />meneruskan perjuangan kemerdekaan kita<br />kerana rupanya selain memerdekakan,<br />mengisi kemerdekaan itu jauh lebih sengsara.</em></blockquote>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
- <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHUzSNMUSew" target="_blank">Perjuangan Yang Belum Selesai</a></div>
<br />
Semoga Tuhan mencucuri rahmat pejuang-pejuang kemerdekaan. (Note: the following is UMNO's propaganda, but does capture the sacrifices of our forefathers):<br />
<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iHWx2H44FoQ/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iHWx2H44FoQ?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div align="center">
<em>Atas Nama Perjuangan (Part 1 of 3)</em></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4rzoYCV3XFM/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4rzoYCV3XFM?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div align="center">
<em>Atas Nama Perjuangan (Part 2 of 3)</em></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OucO3wapznk/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OucO3wapznk?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div align="center">
<em>Atas Nama Perjuangan (Part 3 of 3)</em></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<br />
Last but not least, check out this Tanah Pusaka song:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pQ4s4yeQ9Sg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pQ4s4yeQ9Sg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-14998339459477447632015-08-10T14:49:00.000+08:002015-08-10T15:24:05.399+08:00Najib Razak's Popularity Plunged by 61% Since Last Year?My 35th birthday is coming up in a few days. My 3-year old girl has been leaking some secrets about the kind of cake my wife has ordered. I'm sure I will get some wishes from my closest friends and colleagues. Some people whom I may have wronged directly or indirectly in the past year will probably not going to waste their time to wish me well this year.<br />
<br />
It occurred to me that I could do some birthday-related data analytics to estimate PM Najib Razak's popularity since his birthday was a few weeks ago. I didn't remember the date, just saw a few tweets wishing he well (I did have to memorize the birthdays of all PMs when I represented Perlis in Kuiz Perdana, but that was before Najib and Pak Lah). Anyway, I thought I should compare how many birthday wishes Najib received last year versus this year, you know after the 1MDB brouhaha and all. This could be a proxy metric to compare his popularity before and after the 1MDB scandal.<br />
<br />
Granted, Twitter users may represent only a slice of Malaysian population, some wishes may or may not be sincere, and like other surveys, the results are subjected to sampling errors. However, this is a controlled, non-random, approach using the same methodology in identifying birthday wishes in English and Malay (original tweets and retweets) to @NajibRazak within the month of July in 2015 versus the same month in 2014. As such the relative percentage difference is more important than the absolute numbers (raw data <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_cgh7sEouCCVjN5MExIOUtEb0U/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
<br />
The verdict is not good. Najib's birthday wishes dropped by a whopping 61% this year as compared to that in 2014.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwo75apH9LvCHn0RHd6zZxQ23EWm4OuooTIKIUdNs7X7FT-3nsB032ggJC43wjX2KJ_Zyxz8Gn4tbxA7pF9aeKC7aVl2VuuY-7e7qDduTYX3Xgkx4Z147S7fQNODspNPQij4nHN_D3eA/s1600/NajibRazakBirthday4_ilmuialahkuasa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwo75apH9LvCHn0RHd6zZxQ23EWm4OuooTIKIUdNs7X7FT-3nsB032ggJC43wjX2KJ_Zyxz8Gn4tbxA7pF9aeKC7aVl2VuuY-7e7qDduTYX3Xgkx4Z147S7fQNODspNPQij4nHN_D3eA/s400/NajibRazakBirthday4_ilmuialahkuasa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
I was hoping to compare the result with the Merdeka Center's survey, but the their latest result (January 2015) is quite outdated for comparison.<br />
<br />
Although this is a proxy estimate, I would argue that it is much better (indirect, revealed preference) than asking a room full of UMNO Ketua Bahagian and Majlis Tertinggi (direct, stated preference) as people tend to lie when been asked directly in a survey to protect their interests.<br />
<br />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-12807790469224357842015-08-07T12:57:00.004+08:002015-08-07T12:57:46.856+08:00Bullshit is Everywhere<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Bullshit is everywhere. There is very little that you will encounter in life that has not been, in some ways, infused with bullshit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Not all of it is bad. Your <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">general, day-to-day, organic, free-range bullshit is often necessary, or at the very least innocuous</b> - "Oh, what a beautiful baby. I'm sure it will grow into that". That kind of bullshit in many ways provides important social-contract fertilizer. It keeps people from making each other cry all day. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">But then there is the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">more pernicious bullshit</b>. Your <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">premeditated, institutional bullshit, designed to obscure and distract</b>. Designed by whom? The bullshitocracy. It <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">comes in three basic flavors</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">One, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">making bad things sound like good things</b> e.g. organic, all-natural cupcakes because factory-made sugar oatmeal balls doesn’t sell, <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Act" target="_blank">Patriot Act</a></span></span> because “are you scared enough to let me look at all your phone records” Act doesn’t sell. So whenever something has been titled "<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;">Freedom", "Family", "Fairness", "Health America"</span></span>, take a good long sniff. Chances are it’s been manufactured in a facility that may contain traces of bullshit.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Number two, the second way, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">hiding the bad things under mountains of bullshit</b>. Complexity. You know, I would love to download Drizzy’s latest Meek Mill Diss. Everyone promised me that that made sense. But I’m not really interested right now on reading Tolstoy’s iTunes agreement. So I’ll just click agree, even if it grants Apple <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Prima+Nocta" target="_blank">prima nocta</a></span></span></i> with my spouse. Here’s another one: simply put, simply put. Banks shouldn’t be able to bet your pension money on red. Bulshitly put, it’s hey, this <span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act" target="_blank">Dodd Frank</a></span></span>. Hey, a handful of billionaires can’t buy our elections, right? Of course not. They can only pour unlimited, anonymous cash into a 501(c)4 if 50% is devoted to issues like education, otherwise they’d have to 501(c)6 it, or funnel it openly through a non-campaign coordinated super PAC.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">And finally, it’s <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the bullshit of infinite possibility</b>. These bullshitters cover their unwillingness to act under the guise of unending inquiry. We can’t do anything because we don’t yet know everything. We cannot take action on climate change, until everyone in the world agrees gay-marriage vaccines won’t cause our children to marry goats, who are going to come for our guns. Until then, I say it leads to controversy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Now, the good news is this. <strong>Bullshitters have gotten pretty lazy, and their work is easily detected</strong>. And looking for it is kind of a pleasant way to pass the time. Like an “I Spy” of bullshit. So I say to you tonight, friends. The best defense against bullshit is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something.</span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">- Jon Stewart, <em>The
Daily Show</em> final episode<o:p></o:p></span><br />
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-35097441101277080522015-08-07T08:27:00.000+08:002015-08-07T08:31:33.347+08:00Potential Silver Linings Behind Ringgit's DeclineThere are opportunities in every crisis. The Star <a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/Business/Business-News/2015/08/06/Ringgit-weakens/?style=biz" target="_blank">reported</a> that Ringgit fell through the 3.9 support level against the US dollar on Thursday. <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-06/ringgit-weakens-most-in-asia-as-psychological-reserves-mark-eyed" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> yesterday reported that Societe Generale cut its third-quarter Ringgit forecast to 4.10 from 3.80, and the year-end estimate to 3.90 from 3.70. It appears that there is a chance for a prolonged period of undervalued Ringgit. What does this mean to our competitive advantages in the region, and globally?<br />
<br />
Ringgit's continuing decline is such an instance that should require the country to revisit its transformation agenda and strategies. With more than 10% decline this year, all Malaysian strategic arms and think tanks should regroup to address the potential negative repercussions as well as strategies to take advantage of the situation, especially in revamping certain exports. In plain language, how do we take the advantage when Made in Malaysia products are cheaper in foreign markets. Below are some relevant industries and strategies that can be considered:<br />
<ol>
<li><strong><em>Palm Oil</em></strong><br />In 2011 palm oil accounts for <a href="http://extra-virgin-olive-oil-c.eu/OLIVE_YOUR_C_extra_virgin_oil_extra_virginity.html" target="_blank">33% of global market share</a> of cooking oil. Can the production be significantly increase for export? A WSJ <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-green-light-for-red-palm-oil-as-health-aid-1438621978" target="_blank">article</a> this week discussed red palm oil as a superfood - packed with healthy antioxidants and good for the heart. Perhaps we can start riding a new food revolution with red palm oil, MPOC? <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://www.carotinousa.com/wp-content/themes/buro/functions/thumb.php?src=wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Carotino-bottle-group_v1.jpg&w=1180&h=&zc=1&q=90" height="201" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sample red palm oil from Malaysia. Source: <a href="http://www.carotinausa.com/">www.carotinausa.com</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
<li><strong><em>Petrochemical</em></strong><br />Lower Ringgit and lower crude oil price should be a double-bonanza for oil and gas downstream industry. In particular, should the Pengerang project be expedited? The project is intended to add value to imported crude oil by producing "<a href="http://www.mprc.gov.my/our-businesses/pengerang-integrated-petroleum-complex-pipc" target="_blank">new high-value and high-demand products and by-products, such as polymers, pharmaceutical products and plastics</a>". <a href="http://www.mprc.gov.my/sites/default/files/PIPC%20%282%29.jpg" target="_blank"></a><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mprc.gov.my/sites/default/files/PIPC%20%282%29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.mprc.gov.my/sites/default/files/PIPC%20%282%29.jpg" height="232" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC). Source: <a href="http://www.mprc.gov.my/">www.mprc.gov.my/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.mprc.gov.my/sites/default/files/PIPC%20%282%29.jpg" target="_blank"></a></li>
<li><strong><em>Electronics </em></strong>How about supporting local electronics productions for export especially by Malaysian companies that have been organically developed by Malaysians and through Malaysian government and private equity support. A case in point is Quantum Electro Opto Systems Sdn Bhd (QEOS) to “pioneer the commercial development of high speed, low-cost and power efficient fiber optics communication solutions”. Disclaimer: QEOS' CEO, Dr. Gabriel Walter, covered in <a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/01/18/From-janitor-to-serious-innovator/" target="_blank">The Star</a> in January, was my housemate while studying together in USA.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Optical Modules" src="http://www.qeosystems.com/img/products/product1.png" height="320" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="184" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">QEOS' high-speed optical modules. Source: <a href="http://www.qeosystems.com/">www.qeosystems.com/</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
<li><strong><em>Halal Food</em></strong><br />What happen to the goal to make Malaysia as the international halal food hub? Perhaps this is the time to rehashing the strategies to reach the goal?</li>
</ol>
These are just some example of industries and/or sectors that can be expanded to increase export to take advantage of low Ringgit in global markets.<br />
<br />
Related article: <a href="http://goo.gl/itDE5U" target="_blank">Transformation Continues</a>Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-25715555874188906302015-08-01T12:03:00.000+08:002015-08-13T16:25:31.200+08:00WhatsApp Chat re Najib, 1MDB etc. with Malaysian Like-Minds<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Disclaimer:
Real names, phone numbers and locations are not disclosed to protect privacy.
All are 30 something Malays with either UK or US higher education.</span></i></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
This article really made me thinking: <a href="http://bit.ly/1I6nsRZ">http://bit.ly/1I6nsRZ</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
It was pretty sloppy of Najib to allegedly channeled the money to his account,
but if he actually used the money for political campaigning, not personal use,
has he done anything wrong? It's definitely wrong and unethical in the U.S. In
Malaysia?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Gosh: in
Malaysia, nothing is wrong sbnrnya<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Wan: @ilmuialahkuasa,
good article..i thot in US it is okay since everything must b declared?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Wan: Tp in
najib's case sbb the source tied to 1mdb, which is very3 suspicious..being a
glc etc<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: 1st, Let
us be clear that donation for political means & corruption are totally
seperate matters.. Ex in US, donation is legal, but corruption is not..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Yeah political donation is legal and have to be declared. But x leh pi personal
account candidate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Wan: Oh..i
see..patut gi the party's account<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Han: Yup malaysia
mmg political donation legal<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: 2nd Yes
in Malaysia, startng from Dr M, all PM/head of Umno has access to undisclosed
fund.. But this fund is controlld by 3 person, normally d President, d
Deputy& secretary general..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Han: To
expense out, u need to give to political parties<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: U can
read about this is Malaysian Maverick bu Barry Wain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Han: Tulis
check ke akaun umno malaysia or political parties lain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: But
never b4, such a huge fund is act being channel to an individual account that
even the deputy president doesnt know the transaction details..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Kat US big companies donate to both parties, democrats and republican. To some
extend its some sort of hedging coz dua2 kuat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: And
somehow this transactions has been made known to the international media, and
this has affectd Malaysia international standings politically &
economically..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Najib has a tendency to built separate teams to handle stuffs. Tu style
leadership dia which might be very efficient in some cases like PEMANDU, but
not in election spending apparently. This approach alienate some people like
specific ministries, and apparently his own deputy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: And
never b4 too such a huge enterprise as RM40bn 1mdb has been used as a channel
for this dirty money.. IMO, if this goes unpunishd, who knows that even a
bigger scandal will be cooked up, in excess of trillions RM.. And who says all
d biggest institutions in Malaysia such as Petronas, PNB, TNB & even
Khazanah will be safe from this corrupt approach???<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Sham, perception is one thing truth is another. Things are grey for sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Coz all
these organisations's BOD are being chaired directly by PM or his trustee..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: No, its
really wrong.. Even in Malaysian Law, that's why d previous AG was dismissd..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Najib is
really just buying time.. To clear all d records i think..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tan: Okay Wak
masuk masuk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tan: Jangan
type sket2 je<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tan: </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">😂🏃💨💨</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Are you saying a Malaysian court would actually find Najib guilty for receiving
large amount of money for political campaigning? Remember even WSJ article not
sure the source of the money and how it was spent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: From
Political Science, we know that a leader cannot rule effectively if his
influence<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has been eroded, in d case of
Najib, extensively..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Unless
he became a dictator..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham:
@ilmuialahkuasa, i suggest he can be chargd in court for corruption, not for
donation..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tan: Good
discussion.. Let's continue it with makan2 </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">😁</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Whethr
he will be found guilty, that's depends whether the court is truly independent
or not..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tan: Tak best
tengok screen je<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
But the proof for corruption is weak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: For a
PM, it is enuf for him to be charged in court to justify he cannnot continue as
PM anymore, in this case of national importance..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Haha Tan
aku ok ajer.. Anyday after 10pm.. Lpas budk2 tido<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
He's indeed buying time. As long as he can shut up Ahmad Maslan and let people
like Rahman Dahlan to speak, he might be winning the perception war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham:
Perhaps.. I just hope Malaysians is able to see beyond d cloud of
deceptions& media play..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Tan: Syukur
Malaysia masih aman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Yup, sib baik TSMY x rile up people cam Anwar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Ramai
org taye siapa bleh gnti najib? I would suggest KJ.. Walaupn i dun know him
much, but act time Paklah i power, a lot of gud things happnd..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Nyaris2 kita pi join reformasi time dulu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: D new
khazanah was establshd in 2004, whn Pak Lah jst jd PM.. It introducd
transparncy & business acumn into GLC that brngs many gud things to
Malaysian 10 yrs later..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Unifi,
4G from Celcom, new highways from PLUS, relatively stable & cheap
electricity from TNB etc etc..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Umno has quite a hierarchical system sham. Kalau TSMY retire, Vice Presidents
are the only options, practically between Zahid and Hishamuddin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Its not
prfect but much better than 1mdb for sure..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: That 's
my daydream tp i dun think much changes will come from both d deputy &
vice..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Aku suspect all those things are Tun's brainchild but peaked time Pak Lah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Perhaps
2x<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
KJ is sure cool to the youngsters but among pros he's being seen as playing it
too safe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Ketua Pemuda kena buat scene cam Zahid time Anwar, Hishamuddin dgn keris<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
He's wasting a crisis IMHO<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Nobody
has gut.. Najib is very much in control 4 now..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Wan: Kita
tukar lah sekali...60 thn party sama je </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol";">🙊</span><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Wan: I think
this is partially why leaders act in such way...knowing they'll be there no
matter what<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Wan: If people
can show they cant tolerate nonsense from both sides..they care, they r
watching..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: My
cousin who is a kontraktor kelas D in JB once told me that he need to markup
40% for donations for any govmnt project that he bids..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Tambah
dgn profit margin 30% that any businessman will do, that leave only 30% for the
actual project cost..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Pip: The
problem is systemic. I believe we need to impose campaign financing
requirements to address the issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Otherwise tukar gov pun sama je.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Susah opposition nk survive pip kalau nk kena declare. Malaih aku nk clarify
takut cia ketuk umah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Pip: All
political parties must declare all their financing. Kalau US, there is a limit
on how much an individual can donate. Dulu USD 2000. Corporation I'm not sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Pip: Both
sides pun susah sbnrnya. Aku ade kenal tukang bwk bag full of cash masuk pst
penamaan calon. Kalau ade legislation BN pun susah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Satu lg,
we dont grow statesman, but rather politican cum biz man.. Stateman like d old
Tun Razak, Tun Dr Ismail, even Dr M..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Our
talents go wastd doing backdoor work that nobody noticed..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Agreed pip. Lagi bnyk pros than cons with transparency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Or they
went to greenr pasture like u guys..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
I'd prefer doing work behind the door sham, low profile. Politics is not for
the faint heart<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: D best
of d best shud go to politics.. At least accordng to Plato..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Tp if u
go to any Umno grassroot meetings, they r dominatd by those rent seekng small
time traders that wud not be competitive<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>without connection..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Maybe in
PR, but IMO they r still a longshot to Putrajaya..<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">@ilmuialahkuasa:
Money politics is a turned off. Aku balik jadi perwakilan umno zaman Pak Lah
dulu depa dok bagi duit sepah2 cam air. Penat aku mengaji tinggi2 tgk anak2
depa lps spm pakai 3 series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Han: Hahah<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px 6pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">Sham: Hahaha<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</blockquote>
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-27421320635691709752015-07-11T00:40:00.000+08:002015-07-11T00:40:05.107+08:001MDB: Imprudent or Fraudulent?
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For foreign investors, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and The
Economist are among the most trusted sources of information to guide their
decision makings. Their thought process in evaluating their direct or indirect
investments in Malaysia, vis-à-vis 1MDB and its impact to Malaysia’s economy, and
their perceptions, might be as follows:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<ol>
<li>
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Was 1MDB imprudent? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes</i> - There made consistent irrational business decisions to buy high
and sell low (sources: WSJ – <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2Ffund-controversy-threatens-malaysias-leader-1434681241&ei=MPKfVaneHoWQyASn_YWIAQ&usg=AFQjCNHvtay_OjTgVJlbJ02unSV-0fvWIA&sig2=TMK1bqw9ODmg0LTURySw8Q&bvm=bv.97653015,d.aWw" target="_blank">Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader</a>, The
Economist – <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21645842-problems-state-investment-fund-are-bad-news-malaysias-prime-minister-gathering-steam" target="_blank">Gathering Steam</a>).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Was 1MDB fraudulent? Was it used illegally to
enrich certain individuals? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Quasi-Yes/Quasi-No</i>
- There are money trails to the Malaysian PM’s personal account, but there is
no evidence that the transferred fund was used for personal use (source: WSJ – <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wsj.com%2Farticles%2FSB10130211234592774869404581083700187014570&ei=h_OfVdXpCIeCyQS80o1Q&usg=AFQjCNEL2wrM9E1bLv0ZP6K1qzZOoVhpyw&sig2=WSSBO-D7QzMMUoX022nZ-g&bvm=bv.97653015,d.aWw" target="_blank">Investigators Believe Money Flowed to Malaysian Leader Najib’s Accounts Amid 1MDB Probe</a>). For what it is worth, the PM may invest it politically
to stay in power so that 1MDB could still be in life support until its full
turnaround.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Was 1MDB and the PM, for that matter, unethical?
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Hell Yes</i> – WSJ presented proofs of
the money trails from 1MDB-affiliates to the PM, and at this stage, there is no
proof or denial that the PM did not receive the money. The only denial was the
PM emphasized he’s not using it for personal use.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Verdict: 1MDB will not survive, but the PM and
Malaysia’s economy may. As such, reduce, but not eliminate all investments for
potential up swing.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My verdict: Imprudent? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Yes</i>.
Fraudulent? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Maybe</i>. Unethical? <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Who am I to judge?</i> Maybe politicians
skimming or raiding money from government-linked companies is as acceptable in
Malaysia as my buddies accepting invitations from suppliers to “berbuka puasa”
(break the Ramadan fast) at lavish hotels. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The problem with people of faith like us, we perceive that we
could commit any sin today because we could always repent tomorrow or the day
after or the day after the day after etc. The rule of ethics is simple – what is
wrong is wrong, no matter how you spin it.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">p/s: I haven’t been blogging for a while, but have been tweeting
to share my quick thoughts or things I read via @ilmuialahkuasa. Regardless,
here are some things that crossed my mind that I may never further tweet or
blog about:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Suing WSJ is playing with fire for Najib. He may
get counter-sued or worse indicted by Attorney General in New York <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ala</i> FIFA scandal because in both cases
financial transactions passed through banks in New York. Plenty of people need
a trophy before the next election season in the States. Be careful the next
time in attending UN meetings in Manhattan Mr. Najib!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PKR, DAP and other oppositions, you have much better
chance to capture Putrajaya if Najib in power. Shut-up and get your ducks in a
row instead. Life in Selangor and Penang is not bad at all right, besides the occasional
water shortage problems?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PAS, stay put in Pakatan. You could be the
Trojan horse to protect the Malays/Muslims when (not if) Barisan lost the
general election.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">UMNO, oh UMNO. It’s the party not a person! And don’t
be ungrateful SOBs towards Tun!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Malays/Muslims, rest-assured, the kings are there
to protect our rights post-UMNO demise. Daulat Tuanku!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ahmad Maslan….don’t even get me started!<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-62971688770132739202014-11-06T01:01:00.000+08:002014-11-06T01:05:22.923+08:00River Commuter Service in KL?<img alt="http://www.moviecomps.com/feelgoodbritain/prizes/thames_clippers.jpg" class="decoded" src="http://www.moviecomps.com/feelgoodbritain/prizes/thames_clippers.jpg" height="176" title="" width="400" /> <br />
<br />
In my recent trip, I was fortunate to stop by London and rode the river commuter service along the Thames, about 10-km ride in approximately 40 minutes (average speed 15kph). It struck my mind that why can't we have such a river commuter system in Kuala Lumpur (KL) areas with Sungai Klang, Sungai Gombak and Sungai Batu as key river-ways?<br />
<br />
A similar river trip on Sungai Klang between hypothetical docks near Plaza Tol Puchong Barat and KL Sentral would take about 50 minutes or so (peak-hour driving could easily exceed 90 minutes). The operational cost to transport per passenger would be much lower than other modes. The capital cost to deepen the rivers and increase clearances at bridges and locks could potentially be lower than building new highways or rail routes.<br />
<br />
Technical and environmental impact analyses are needed to determine the feasibility of a river commuter system in KL. Historical water level along specific water routes need to be reviewed. Can a similar, high-capacity, catamaran ferry used in London be used on Sungai Klang? Or a lower-capacity, but more versatile <span id="goog_398740173"></span>hovercraft-like vehicle<span id="goog_398740174"></span> is more applicable (see example <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21629224-ground-effect-vehicles-are-clever-idea-whose-time-has-never-comeso-far-phoenix" target="_blank">new technology from South Korea</a>)? <br />
<br />
Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) would certainly has the competency to lead such a feasibility study (note that the federal and state Jabatan Pengairan and Saliran - JPS are also key stakeholders). However, SPAD probably need a new mandate to include not just land transport (and drop the "D").<br />
<br />
There are certainly benefits to adopt integrated multimodal transportation planning. In the context of intercity travel, a similar planning would determine the optimal mode(s) of transportation (for both passenger and freight) between different cities. For example KL-Ipoh or KL-JB can be better served by rail, so airlines could reduce or eliminate the short, but costly routes. The government can also allocate limited resources more optimally.Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-18357283576336436722014-06-14T08:31:00.001+08:002014-06-14T08:31:43.609+08:00How to Reduce the Cost of Any 4-Year University Degree by Half<strong>Executive Summary</strong><br />
<div>
Imagine that you could take a Physics MOOC or free online course based on the same course and contents at MIT, take a proficiency exam administered by Stanford at a cost of $150 USD, and earn 4 hour credits to be used anywhere. Now imagine you could do that to take 18 courses, pass the associated proficiency exams, and earn enough academic credit hours to transfer as a junior (3rd year student) to the top Civil Engineering program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. All at a cost of less than $3,000 USD to learn from the best experts in the world, and pass the exams from the best universities on Earth. In addition, you could do all these in your hometown, be it in Chicago, Chengdu, KL, Kodiang, Jakarta, or even Timbuktu. </div>
<br />
Impossible? The key ingredients are already out there. Take a look at the list of online courses with complete video lectures from MIT below – this alone could support and satisfy the requirements for an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree. Also, some online and small colleges have experimented with the independent study plus proficiency exam concept for a few courses. The next bold step is to offer the whole package (as shown below as an example) equivalent to the first two years of any 4-year university degree program at efficient, ultra-low cost, but high in quality. This concept could truly be a new disruptive innovation in higher education.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strong><em>Example Free Courses to Support Independent Study Based <br />Associate of Science Degree (A.S.)</em></strong><br />
<div align="center">
</div>
<div align="center">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 399px;">
<colgroup><col style="mso-width-alt: 12982; mso-width-source: userset; width: 266pt;" width="355"></col>
<col style="mso-width-alt: 1609; mso-width-source: userset; width: 33pt;" width="44"></col>
<tbody>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl65" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 15.75pt; width: 266pt;" width="355"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">FOUNDATIONAL
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; width: 33pt;" width="44"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl65" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 15.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">(All Required, Total 32
Credit Hours)</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl67" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 15.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Course & Link</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl68" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Hours</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/biology/7-01sc-fundamentals-of-biology-fall-2011/index.htm"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Fundamentals of Biology*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/materials-science-and-engineering/3-091sc-introduction-to-solid-state-chemistry-fall-2010/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Introduction to Solid State Chemistry*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-01sc-single-variable-calculus-fall-2010/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Calculus I (Single Variable)*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-02sc-multivariable-calculus-fall-2010/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Calculus II (Multivariable)*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-06sc-linear-algebra-fall-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Linear Algebra*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mathematics/18-03sc-differential-equations-fall-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Differential Equations*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-01sc-physics-i-classical-mechanics-fall-2010/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Physics I (Classical Mechanics)*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-02sc-physics-ii-electricity-and-magnetism-fall-2010/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Physics II (Electricity and Magnetism)*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl71" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px; height: 15.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl65" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 15.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
ELECTIVES</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl65" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 15.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">(Minimum 12 Credit Hours)</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl67" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 15.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Course & Link</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl68" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Hours</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-00sc-introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-spring-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Introduction to Computer Science and
Programming*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">2</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-01sc-introduction-to-electrical-engineering-and-computer-science-i-spring-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Introduction to Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science I*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-041sc-probabilistic-systems-analysis-and-applied-probability-fall-2013/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Probabilistic Systems Analysis and Applied
Probability*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/mechanical-engineering/2-003sc-engineering-dynamics-fall-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Engineering Dynamics*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/8-03sc-physics-iii-vibrations-and-waves-fall-2012/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Physics III (Vibrations and Waves)*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/chemistry/5-60-thermodynamics-kinetics-spring-2008/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Thermodynamics and Kinetics</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="21" style="height: 15.75pt; mso-height-source: userset;">
<td class="xl69" height="21" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 15.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-002-circuits-and-electronics-spring-2007/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Circuits and Electronics</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-042j-mathematics-for-computer-science-fall-2010/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Mathematics for Computer Science</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl71" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">HUMANITIES, ARTS & SOCIAL
SCIENCE ELECTIVES</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">(Minimum 24 Credit Hours, 1
Course per Category)</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">HUMANITIES</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl67" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Course & Link</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl68" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Hours</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/literature/21l-448j-darwin-and-design-fall-2010/index.htm"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Darwin and Design</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-24-00x-introduction-philosophy-god-888#.U4qnJvldXbM"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Introduction to Philosophy**</span></span></a></td>
<td align="right" class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-21w-789x-building-mobile-1310#.U4qm4PldXbM"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Building Mobile Experiences**</span></span></a></td>
<td align="right" class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More as new courses become
available</span></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl71" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">ARTS</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl67" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Course & Link</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl68" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Hours</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl72" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt; width: 266pt;" width="355"><a href="https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-4-605x-global-history-architecture-884#.U4qhifldXbM"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A Global History of Architecture**</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More as new courses become
available</span></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl71" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl65" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">SOCIAL SCIENCE</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl67" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt; height: 12.75pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Course & Link</span></strong></td>
<td class="xl68" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext black; border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 0.5pt;"><strong><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">Hours</span></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/14-01sc-principles-of-microeconomics-fall-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Principles of Microeconomics*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/brain-and-cognitive-sciences/9-00sc-introduction-to-psychology-fall-2011/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Introduction to Psychology*</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/14-73-the-challenge-of-world-poverty-spring-2011/index.htm"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Challenge of World Poverty</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl69" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px blue; height: 12.75pt;"><a href="http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/sloan-school-of-management/15-031j-energy-decisions-markets-and-policies-spring-2012/index.htm"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 9pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Energy Decisions, Markets, and Policies</span></span></a></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">4</span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">More as new courses become
available</span></td>
<td class="xl70" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl71" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
<td class="xl71" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: black windowtext windowtext; border-style: solid none none; border-width: 0.5pt 0px 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl73" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><em><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">*OCW Scholar Course
(recommended among electives)</span></em></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">
<td class="xl66" height="17" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext; height: 12.75pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;">**MITx Archived Course</span></td>
<td class="xl66" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px windowtext;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> </span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></colgroup></table>
</div>
<div align="center">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hypothetically, a student could choose to pass and combine any different system. One could choose to pass all the science and technology requirements from top engineering schools (e.g. MIT, Berkeley, Illinois etc.), and all general education requirements from top liberal arts school (e.g. Harvard, Columbia). The universities may also employ different strategies to address different objectives to target the underprivileged groups or attract hidden, young talents. Caltech may make its Ph.D qualification exam in Physics available at all test centers around the world – one exam could waive all Physics-related requirements, and offer a non-traditional route to a Ph.D. before even completing the Bachelor of Science degree.<br />
<br />
<strong>Motivation & Goal</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
In a long flight across the Pacific last April, I was intrigue by <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21600131" target="_blank">an article in the Economist</a> regarding the return on investment of higher education. Since then I've been thinking about different ways to improve the ROI, especially from the supply side to address the cost element.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
Here is my hypothesis: Combining high-quality, free online courses with a rigorous proficiency exam system available at low cost will revolutionize the higher-education landscape in the U.S. and globally by making higher education more accessible at more reasonable cost.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
I believe a 50% cost reduction of any 4-year higher education degree program in the U.S. and around the world is an attainable goal. I describe this concept in more detail below using an example strategic plan including the vision, mission, objectives, key initial activities and potential risks (e.g. brand dilution) for a hypothetical university interested to implement the concept:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong><em>Vision</em></strong>:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Pioneer and leader in promoting rigorous online academic independent study.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong><em>Mission</em></strong>:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
To advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship worldwide, and help everyone attains a higher-education credential effectively and cost-efficiently.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong><em>Objectives</em></strong>:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Offer opportunities to everyone to earn an Associate of Science (A.S.) degree effectively and cost-efficiently to transfer to any 4-year degree program in science and engineering.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Develop and administer proficiency-based online Associate of Science (A.S.) degree programs.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Identify and organically develop high-quality course materials online and make them available to everyone.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Reduce the cost of any 4-year degree program in the world by at least 50%.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong><em>Key Initial Activities</em></strong>:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Discuss with the Faculty and Board of Trustees to get approval to offer an online Associate of Science (A.S.) degree.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Solicit and secure private endowments especially from large educational foundations e.g. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to support the effort.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Work with related academic consortiums or networks (e.g. Transferology™) to ensure academic credit transferability to other universities.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Develop and manage a proficiency exam system and collaborations with test centers.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Identify and collaborate with international university partners to accept transfer students from the online A.S. program.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Develop communications, publicity and marketing plans.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong><em>Potential Risks</em></strong>:</div>
<ul>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Granting an online degree, let alone an online associate degree, may dilute a top university's brand. To mitigate this risk the proposed program could be led by an independent entity supported by the top university e.g. a virtual Global campus. The benefit of being the pioneer and leader to revolutionize higher education in the U.S. and globally may outweigh this risk.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Different universities could develop a proficiency exam system, come up with a list of approved online study materials, administer the exams, and confer the associate degree. A big-name university may be required on the supply side to induce market confidence and ensure the success of the program. So there is a risk of being left behind by other institution peers.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
The online associate degree may not receive as wider acceptance as expected for admission to degree programs worldwide. This risk's mitigation strategies may include identifying and partnering with championed universities including existing partners, and to guarantee admission to home campus to students with above 90% or 3.75/4.00 overall grade at the completion of their associate of science studies.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Proficiency-based model is exam oriented. Students can cram to study and pass a proficiency exam for a course with an intensive 2-3 week schedule. It's not clear if the students would actually learn, and can survive more dynamic and rigorous technical courses in their following two years to complete their degrees. An alternative is the competency model e.g. by College for America/SNHU that requires students to complete various competency tasks. The competency-based model might not be financially sustainable as it is expected to incur high costs to implement such a subjective assessment system. The proficiency-based model would be more objective in assessing students' performances, and its low cost would enable an implementation over wider market globally.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: left;">
Independent learning requires high self-discipline and basic technical skills, hence not for everyone.</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<strong>Path Forward</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As with my other articles, this is me thinking out loud. Large financial and intellectual champions are definitely needed to hash out the concept. If this idea do have merits, it will be realized sooner or later. I prefer to let the market decide, ideally with some government's encouragement. If not, well, it doesn't cost much to be thinking out loud.</div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-83871962498094679382014-06-13T00:41:00.004+08:002014-06-13T00:43:05.519+08:00How to Pass the PMP Exam in 10 DaysThe summer is officially here. I'm afraid I won't have what Seinfeld's fans called the summer of George - doing nothing and taking it easy for three months. The heavy travel earlier this year from Calgary, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Paris and Colorado Springs in a 5-week period for some reasons let me to conceive several new ideas, mostly related to my career and some revenue-generating business activities. It must have been the frozen cold Calgary, or most probably the Zen time during long flights when I was not bombarded with emails and phone calls.<br />
<br />
One of my new projects involve some new ideas to improve my students' job marketability upon graduation. Besides getting their advanced degrees, I will now encourage my students to sit for professional engineering exam and get a certification as Project Management Professional (PMP). I was a guinea pig to test the PMP idea. I started the summer with a 10-day intense journey to prepare and pass the exam. I think it's worth it. I don't need another 3-letter after my name, but my students, or anyone working on project-oriented work should get the PMP credential. In my opinion, it symbolizes the capability to bring calm to chaos (especially to big projects). It signifies a methodical and systematic person capable to work on any project in any field anywhere in the world.<br />
<br />
A follow-up project I've been working on over the long weekend is to offer a short-course at Udemy.com to share my 10-day experience to pass the PMP exam. My employer sponsored me to a $1,000 4-day bootcamp to learn about the PMP exam materials. I then found out about a better-quality, on-demand video lectures that costs much less. Nobody should repeat my mistake by wasting $1,000-$2,000 to attend those bootcamps. My Udemy course will offer some guidance to prepare and pass the exam in 10 days at a total cost of less than $300. With a membership to the Project Management Institute, and a fee to take the exam, you could get a PMP credential for less than $800. Since the <a href="http://www.pmi.org/Professional-Development/Career-Central/10-Countries-with-Highest-Salaries-for-Project-Managers.aspx" target="_blank">median annual salary</a> for PMP holders in most countries are well within the 6-figure level in USD, the benefit to cost ratio is tremendous. The course is now available <a href="https://www.udemy.com/pm-prep10days/?couponCode=pm-prep15" target="_blank">here</a>. As a preview, the 10-day especially the first 4 and a half would be hell. My study plan would require you to read a pretty dry 400+ page guidebook not only once, but twice. You would also solve at least 1,000 multiple-choice questions to prepare for the real exam with 200 questions in 4 hours. I implement the following SATU ("Sedia-Awal-Tumpuan-Ulangkaji) study technique which I've translated to English and renamed to PrepARe:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qtc3DahVJQU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span id="goog_1021097591"></span><span id="goog_1021097592"><br /></span>Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-33919753768709105282014-04-20T05:33:00.002+08:002014-04-21T01:52:32.500+08:00Give and Take: A 3-Minute Speech for 2014 Malaysian Graduation Dinner<ul>
<li>Assalamualaikum and a very good evening to everyone!</li>
<li>First, I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate all graduating students. </li>
<li>You should be proud of yourself. </li>
<li>I know how hard it is to reach this point in your life.</li>
<li>It’s a job well done!</li>
<li>In previous years, I talked a little bit about the virtues of working hard and dreaming big.</li>
<li>This year, I'll briefly discuss the virtue of working together. </li>
<li>In a highly competitive world, compounded sometimes by our Asian values, our world is thrived with competitions.</li>
<li>We could easily get trapped into the thinking of <em>zero-sum-game</em>; if someone else gets all the pieces of a pie, we'd get nothing.</li>
<li>In fact, if we work together, we could actually expand the size of the pie.</li>
<li>We could get a larger amount, even if the percentage might be lower. </li>
<li>For example, 1% of 1 million dollars is bigger than 10% of 1 thousand dollars.</li>
<li>I'd like to close by sharing some key ideas from a bestselling business book from last year entitled "<em>Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success</em>”:</li>
<ol>
<li>Helping is not the enemy of productivity or success</li>
<li>Helping others could increase our productivity, creativity and innovation.</li>
<li>Last but not least, nice guys can indeed be number one (I'm putting my bet on Shao Shen)</li>
</ol>
<li>With that, congratulations and all the best!</li>
</ul>
Sources:<br />
<ol>
<li><em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/magazine/is-giving-the-secret-to-getting-ahead.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0" target="_blank">Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?</a></em></li>
<li><em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Give-Take-Revolutionary-Approach-Success/dp/0670026557" target="_blank">Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success</a></em></li>
</ol>
<br />
<div>
</div>
Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-45079440116907622392014-03-26T17:20:00.000+08:002014-03-26T17:27:51.426+08:00MH370: May God give us strength and guidance in difficult timesMy stopover in Malaysia this time around coincides with the most difficult time for the country - the MH370 event (I'm hesitant to call it a crash yet). I'm afraid the large gloomy cloud will linger for quite some times over the previously, relatively unknown nation (I don't have to explain that Malaysia is between Singapore and Thailand anymore to people who has never been to this region).<br />
<br />
Tun Mahathir was perplexed that no modern technology could detect the plane. I'm more disturbed with the fact that in this modern era people could vanish after taking a large commercial airline. I'm not alone. I've heard about a number of cancellations to attend international meetings due to the MH370 event. Though, being a Muslim, I believe in fate - we can work hard to change our conditions (God promises to reward hard working), but life and death cannot be changed. When, where and how we die are already predetermined. Being a transportation risk expert, I also take comfort that flying is much safer than driving or walking for that matter.<br />
<br />
MH370 will remain a mystery for a long while. The three leading theories and my opinion are as follows:<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>Hostage</strong>: The level of expertise in evading the radar requires a very smart group and unprecedented level of secrecy, to a point that I think only a state-sponsored organization is capable. Also, if they are so smart, they would not just let the plane crash. However, if they have landed somewhere the CIA should have already heard the chatter of an airplane sighting or a large group of people being fed in a remote location. </li>
<li><strong>Sabotage/Suicide</strong>: A crew would simply dive down en-route to Beijing. It shouldn't be any turn back or radar evasion. </li>
<li><strong>Catastrophic Accident</strong>: A rare condition (<em>Black Swan</em>) led to multiple failures that resulted in a catastrophic event <em>(Perfect Storm</em>). A lost of pressure and oxygen would caused a "ghost plane" after all crew and passengers incapacitated.</li>
</ul>
I still believe the most likely theory (99.9%) is the catastrophic accident.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23MH370&src=hash">#MH370</a> Stanford undergrad's theory is the most technically sound so far. We are not looking wide enough <a href="https://twitter.com/H2OComms">@H2OComms</a> <a href="http://t.co/cgbJ6pA6YQ">http://t.co/cgbJ6pA6YQ</a><br />
— Dr R (@ilmuialahkuasa) <a href="https://twitter.com/ilmuialahkuasa/statuses/443830796340563970">March 12, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Without any confirmed debris, I'd still put a 0.01% likelihood of a hostage. I wish the whole technical report of the satellite data analysis is being made public for scrutiny. It took me more than two years to get a new technical engineering methodology published in a distinguished academic journal. They completed the satellite data analysis using a new methodology and review in less than two weeks. A simple error in using a minus sign would give a wrong conclusion. <br />
<br />
I'll leave the country this weekend with a heavy heart. However, I'm truly grateful that I have my love ones. The MH370 is also a reminder that we should always try to have a proper goodbye as you never know if it would be the last one. Ironically, my itinerary back to the States will include a Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing at 12:25am - the newly numbered MH318. Life must go on. <br />
<br />
My thought and prayers to the affected MH370 families and friends. May God give us strength and guidance in difficult times, Amen.<br />
<br />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-78688247959837771392014-03-13T13:55:00.001+08:002014-03-13T13:55:48.382+08:00Interpretation of Jamal Abdillah & Malique's Aku Maafkan KamuAt the age of 12 I was quite obsessed with reading my sister's textbook for SPM's Malay Literary - Bunga Gerimis, Hari Kemerdekaan and Hikayat Umar Umayyah. The first was my favorite with a collection of high-quality modern Malay poetry. It was up to a point that I seriously considered to be a seniman like A. Samad Said.<br />
<br />
Anyway, I overheard this song by Malique featuring Jamal Abdillah on the radio. I checked out the lyrics, and it's quite deep and beautiful (this link contains the song and lyrics in Malay: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAsVtswC4Zg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAsVtswC4Zg</a>).<br />
<br />
The first stanza describes a place or more precisely a group of narrow-minded idiots who like to make noise about different issues. <br />
<br />
The rest of the song expresses anguish and disappointment to these idiots who are lacked of knowledge, but quick to judge people, or "mengkafirkan" fellow citizens (there were even some religious enthusiasts, regretfully involved some with honorable educated title, who blamed the ignorance to some religious practices in the MH370 tragedy). <br />
<br />
<div>
Specifics advice from the song includes:</div>
<ul>
<li>We should think before we speak</li>
<li>Be quiet (Miranda rights) sometimes is an intellectual virtue</li>
<li>Sometimes we just have to pretend listening to some idiots</li>
</ul>
The song keeps repeating that those idiots are forgiven, but without any prejudice I doubt the sincerity to forgive. I'd question the need to forgive in the first place anyway.<br />
<br />
Here is the literal translation of the first stanza:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>There is a small house at the end of a village<br />In the house there is a box under a broken mirror<br />Inside the box is a coconut shell<br />Under the shell a frog is shouting like hell</em></blockquote>
So it's not just describing a frog under a coconut shell, a euphemism for a narrow-minded person. It's more like a triple narrow-mindedness - the frog under the shell inside the box inside an isolated house!<br />
<br />
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Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-1395084392237485312014-03-11T13:24:00.001+08:002014-03-11T13:24:27.973+08:00MH370: Imagination running wild, hoping for a miracleI'm back in KL again for a few weeks after my first stint giving an expert legal testimony at the maple leaf country.<br />
<br />
Like most Malaysians, I'm saddened by the MH370 missing. I couldn't imagine how the family members of the passengers and crews are feeling. My thoughts and prayers for them. May we get whatever is the best from God soon, insyaAllah.<br />
<br />
My tip of the hat to Datuk Azharuddin for trying his best to lead the whole SAR and public relationship efforts. I bet he didn't realize these fall under his job description. You'd agree that he's much better now in handling the situation and questions as compared during his first day.<br />
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We should give him and other government agencies and personnel involved the benefit of the doubt. Strategically located geographically, Malaysia is very fortunate to not have frequent mass disasters. Everything seems ad-hoc in responding to the MH370 missing. Basic crisis management such as being transparent and frank, and the need to dummy down technical information was absence (no need to throw in C-170, Orion etc).<br />
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Other countries like the U.S. have tornadoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, snow storms etc. almost every few months. Their government agencies are well experienced to react lo massive emergencies. Malaysia could learn a thing or two, but still deserved the benefit of the doubt in the MH370 case - no one could ever be prepared enough for a major air disaster. The fact of the matter is aviation accidents are very rare.<br />
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Wearing my transportation risk expert's hat, considering all the facts, I'm afraid it's just a matter of time before we find the debris.<br />
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Wearing my spy-and-war-movie aficionado's hat, I'm hoping for a miracle - the plane could be forced to land somewhere. If you watched "Zero-Dark Thirty" and the old movie "Firefox" you know (at least you think you know) you could duck the radar if you fly a plane very low (that's what the fisherman saw, right?). Not all airports operate 24-hours, so it could be diverted to those small airports, or any large man-made or natural landing strip.<br />
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If someone care to investigate this, please don't waste the limited resources, but put a small team with access to civilian and military satellites in the region, identify the appropriate radius based on the plane's available fuel at the last detected location, and look for suspicious activities (or debris, unfortunately) inland.<br />
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Unlike the U.S., Malaysia doesn't have the no-negotiation-with-terrorist policy (right?). In addition, I'd be surprised if reinsurance brokers didn't already provide more than USD1 billion to cover the cost of such unlikely event. In theory, one could ask for the moon.<br />
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I know my imagination is running wild, but please don't blame me for hoping....<br />
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p/s: Alhamdulillah, just landed safely from a MAS Boeing 777-200 in Hong Kong for a short business trip. Happy to report the flight was quite full. Life must go on, and some things are predetermined, insyaAllah.Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-58975161219240505822014-01-01T13:14:00.000+08:002014-01-01T13:14:00.866+08:00Ramblings on the First Day of 2014 - Holiday in Malaysia, High Cost of LivingHappy 2014! I'm glad to escape the zero degree Celcius weather in the Midwest USA and have a short break in Malaysia. It was a non-stop, busy second-half of the year since late May. I overstretched myself in the summer by organizing a summer internship for a group of undergrads in my lab, extra-curricular teaching in Hong Kong and Beijing, and various research projects with my grad students. I returned to the States in mid-August, just on time to teach a new class that I didn't have time to complete the contents over the summer. I ended-up working on the class materials over every weekend. I'm glad the semester has ended, went to present some papers in Sydney, and meet my extended families in KL. BTW, Sydney trip was nice, but everything seems to be very expensive. Although the US and Australian currencies are at parity, the food and stuffs are twice more expensive there.<br />
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On the new year's eve, my soon to be 2-year old daughter was discharged from a hospital. It was for a high fever. Last July when we were in KL, she was hospitalized too. The last time was at Gleneagles, and this time was at Prince Court because they running out of beds in pediatric ward at Gleneagles. Small kids always get sick I guess. A 2-3 night stay cost us about RM3,000, that's slightly below USD1,000. When she was hospitalized in the States for the same reason early in 2013, the total bill was USD10,000. We are not rich, but grateful to have a health insurance to cover almost all the expenses.<br />
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Talking about high prices, we were nervous last night to drive home as a major street demonstration was allegedly planned to complain against the high-cost of living in Malaysia. The people want all the subsidies back for sugar, gasoline, toll roads etc. Yet again, opportunists are using some faction of the public to rile up. Let's step back and entertain the idea of continuing subsidies the way things had been done before - we'd end up subsidizing rich people, millionaires, billionaires, the guy who has just gotten an S class Mercedes as a new year gift, Singaporeans who drive to JB every weekend to buy gas and groceries etc. My two cent - remove all the subsidies, and increase direct cash to the needy, probably using the same <a href="http://www.br1m3.com/syarat-br1m-3/#" target="_blank">criteria for the Br1M</a> allocations. By the way, if you have so much time to demonstrate or bitching against the authorities day in and out, instead of working, you are probably not qualified.<br />
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The government is really in hot water. The new announcement to reduce government spending is good, but not enough. Let the market decide the fair car and house prices. Expedite transportation infrastructure projects so that it's possible to not own a car, and buy a reasonable house in Jasin and Muar but can still affordably commute to work in KL within 45 minutes (say with me, high speed rail!). Remove all the tax to protect Proton. Generations have been suffering to champion the brand. We don't have the competitive advantage to produce and sell 8-10 million cars annually. Governments should focus on infrastructure and education. Other artificial attempts to increase salary, control prices, champion fancy new industries etc. are doomed to fail. See my other <a href="http://wacanamalaysia.blogspot.com/2013/05/transformation-continues-open-letter-to.html" target="_blank">two-cents on transforming Malaysia</a>.<br />
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I wanted to ramble more especially on politics. I see that the so-called revolution some people are urging in Malaysia is eerily similar to lead to a political gridlock as in Thailand instead of the success in Indonesia. Let me discuss this hypothesis next time. I need to do some data collection to assist my research sponsor in the aftermath of a big freight train derailment you might saw in the news. <br />
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p/s: At the hospital, I was able to complete Daniel Kahneman.s <em>Thinking, Fast and Slow</em>. My <a href="http://wacanamalaysia.blogspot.com/2013/12/incomplete-list-of-decision-traps_31.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> is a summary of some typical biases that may influence our decision makingsIlmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-61019205628657198302013-12-31T19:20:00.000+08:002013-12-31T19:20:17.587+08:00Incomplete List of Decision Traps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">“The
situation has provided a cue; this cue has given the <u>expert</u> access to
information stored in memory; and the information provides the answer.
Intuition is nothing more and nothing less than <u>recognition</u>” - Herbert Simon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Intuition is not always wrong or right. Intuition could be based on experience and practice. A chief firefighter directed his team to get out of a house after a fire was put down in a kitchen, just before the floor collapsed. His sense and intuition detected the original source of the fire at the basement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 107%;">Decision makings are prone to biases and other traps. In this post we will review some of them and identify possible strategies to
avoid the traps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Law of Small Numbers</b></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Making generalization or decision based on insufficient evidence</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Big Data may help – use of large data from multiple sources may provide stronger evidence</span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyL9vM0NkM8SSndzaqBsgChC_-66oEJmqVw1KlWEhL1mrUoZfwHhPPj4PH8oRXrSnxOau_mw_LwbzwciGJ4wbKqpRb58ZucUpbK3t0pjnPhXMbSHak-fQKVkgigNyz-2DXMoI4cO2dt-Y/s1600/image002.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyL9vM0NkM8SSndzaqBsgChC_-66oEJmqVw1KlWEhL1mrUoZfwHhPPj4PH8oRXrSnxOau_mw_LwbzwciGJ4wbKqpRb58ZucUpbK3t0pjnPhXMbSHak-fQKVkgigNyz-2DXMoI4cO2dt-Y/s400/image002.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Anchoring</b></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Using an initial piece of information to make subsequent judgments</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">It could be part of an adjustment process from a baseline condition one is familiar with or priming/suggestion</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Baseline example: Investment decision to avoid a certain type of accident may be influenced by the most recent, high-cost accident (error in baseline definition)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Priming example: Decision makers will be willing to spend close to the value suggested in the first question to answer the second question below:</span></li>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Would you spend $1 million (replace with $1 billion in another occasion) per year to avoid human factor accidents?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">How much would spend annually to avoid human factor accidents?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">“<i>Thinking the opposite</i>” e.g. different perspectives, opportunity cost, comprehensive cost-benefit analysis may reduce anchoring effect</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">In team discussion, requesting a short memo (1 paragraph or so) from each member before the discussion could avoid group anchoring on the more vocal, opinionated or influential members </span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhba2DA8IO-GUb_j0qvipgsqP6lrqbosbeLsfWQDvndJXi0DMOcYrSuoZz5k91_0x_IcNBvDJYFCmT0uWJQYPZ88fkVL3ONFTfFNjEv5Ej_prvWEacwtXivSE_TTKmWxJ_SYzXhZoxdN7o/s1600/image003.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhba2DA8IO-GUb_j0qvipgsqP6lrqbosbeLsfWQDvndJXi0DMOcYrSuoZz5k91_0x_IcNBvDJYFCmT0uWJQYPZ88fkVL3ONFTfFNjEv5Ej_prvWEacwtXivSE_TTKmWxJ_SYzXhZoxdN7o/s400/image003.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Availability Effect</b></span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">The tendency to overestimate the likelihood of events with greater "availability" in memory, which can be influenced by how recent the memories are or how unusual or emotionally charged they may be.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Other than frequency, factors causing availability bias include high-profile or dramatic events and personal experiences</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Eg. A commuter train ridership may drop after a major train accident, resulting in more highway traffics and car accidents </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;"><i>Availability cascade</i>: a self-sustaining chain of event that leads to irrational fear and reaction to a minor issue</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Similar strategies to reduce anchoring effect might be relevant to reduce availability effect</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMn9zmm_tRc4aK-ijSBO5d9EOeYWyBti3QrhN9QRbNQ2t9E-zzwADm4XTr6HE8Vg16Zh62C7v6aD78ulbV0fTqEJ5KkUPhCvZUg94HBWQN5nBY73sZU06sDe-yfDitvsqRTBEqgJGRkkc/s1600/image004.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMn9zmm_tRc4aK-ijSBO5d9EOeYWyBti3QrhN9QRbNQ2t9E-zzwADm4XTr6HE8Vg16Zh62C7v6aD78ulbV0fTqEJ5KkUPhCvZUg94HBWQN5nBY73sZU06sDe-yfDitvsqRTBEqgJGRkkc/s400/image004.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Statistics Over Causality</b></span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Emphasizing abstract statistics e.g. percentage distribution of different accident causes without explaining the causal relationships</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Presenting statistics with causal interpretations has a stronger effect on decision makers’ thinking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Data from unreliable sources could be treated irrelevant</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Bayesian inference that combines a base rate with a new evidence and the reliability of the new source will improve decision makings</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYndFo4gKmEr8lAV2UuPaU_8VFeV757lO-Wt4G3Gete2sjl1bIzf6rN27G6ky2jqMdr8sAA7F0ZTbZnFHX-j4ZkNjsa57MQlExSnwrqRrCPnmSwWeyjLi2WbrxZxgSJSqAx9K9NW4f4E/s1600/image005.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYndFo4gKmEr8lAV2UuPaU_8VFeV757lO-Wt4G3Gete2sjl1bIzf6rN27G6ky2jqMdr8sAA7F0ZTbZnFHX-j4ZkNjsa57MQlExSnwrqRrCPnmSwWeyjLi2WbrxZxgSJSqAx9K9NW4f4E/s400/image005.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Hindsight or Outcome Bias</b></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Assess the quality of a decision not by whether the process was sound, but by whether the outcome is good or bad</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Use the best information available to determine and act for the best expected outcome</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDt5yTm7_Ge6Q-4YG-rsjV7PgQsEafzyWqf7RdpHCdnzp6aougsyuC6YlIIb70Bh-dBry2NIOARSfoma3vzrG544u3GzqvMSi2jzhsBLI10ip0wKSNOIUQZq5NI-IDZMdfBpC3eliqHhg/s1600/image006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDt5yTm7_Ge6Q-4YG-rsjV7PgQsEafzyWqf7RdpHCdnzp6aougsyuC6YlIIb70Bh-dBry2NIOARSfoma3vzrG544u3GzqvMSi2jzhsBLI10ip0wKSNOIUQZq5NI-IDZMdfBpC3eliqHhg/s400/image006.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Narrative Fallacy</b><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Flawed stories of the past shape our views of the world and expectations for the future</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Identify real causality, use data to debunk fallacies</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTysAt6Hc26YuuiweOzJ6h-8cQYYONKBbHzUY2UwDWyaZ1Ezd_9wVPdeYJzeAle8TFFYFYaxIT9iu9b-R-7NgQ9rWbcliV704sbZCRoFR-CeqE8n41_guQ5hi4yxwYYJVpVkX8xncoBn8/s1600/image008.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="123" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTysAt6Hc26YuuiweOzJ6h-8cQYYONKBbHzUY2UwDWyaZ1Ezd_9wVPdeYJzeAle8TFFYFYaxIT9iu9b-R-7NgQ9rWbcliV704sbZCRoFR-CeqE8n41_guQ5hi4yxwYYJVpVkX8xncoBn8/s400/image008.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Planning Fallacy</b></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Plans and forecasts that are unrealistically close to best-case scenarios</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Relevant during the initial phase of planning for a risk management process and during implementations of specific risk reduction strategies</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Could be improved by consulting the statistics of similar cases</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;"><i>Premortem</i>: a brief mock post-mortem to discuss the causes of the failure after a decision is made (hypothetically after a year of implementation) to consider all the threats </span></li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79RiLLLO7xyZl9Lw31MRfJ95gyYpXOYP92EOIqIHPjJR_pAA76tcCY4oTJ-NcyGR80DBrVt0N-xwDbeXfmKjmDFasdrXcb0mlqR80L8Gd4IWrLyT4tvOyWXt8gtkoI6VSdXkIQJyuAHQ/s1600/image009.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg79RiLLLO7xyZl9Lw31MRfJ95gyYpXOYP92EOIqIHPjJR_pAA76tcCY4oTJ-NcyGR80DBrVt0N-xwDbeXfmKjmDFasdrXcb0mlqR80L8Gd4IWrLyT4tvOyWXt8gtkoI6VSdXkIQJyuAHQ/s400/image009.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Sunk-Cost Fallacy</b></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Decision to invest additional resources in a failing endeavor due to irrational consideration of the costs previously invested</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Similar strategies to reduce anchoring and availability effects might be relevant to avoid sunk-cost fallacy</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIUycVXtZq7Wgbw-MHT5VRdhUKb7cVk5HNbVq5wMUBnmX0pMqDOKv94j8YZ_XO8x1-NTLW5X5y1oCNh9z2rY3KHH2nAWxziRHqke71O00XM5_r3BQtA_dUyTjgl50RZPxqVOwe7M1-jU/s1600/image010.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="122" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTIUycVXtZq7Wgbw-MHT5VRdhUKb7cVk5HNbVq5wMUBnmX0pMqDOKv94j8YZ_XO8x1-NTLW5X5y1oCNh9z2rY3KHH2nAWxziRHqke71O00XM5_r3BQtA_dUyTjgl50RZPxqVOwe7M1-jU/s400/image010.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 13px;"><b>Acknowledgements</b></span></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 13px;">Dilbert by Scott Adams</span></li>
</ul>
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<br />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-79712607341629893512013-12-11T09:38:00.000+08:002013-12-11T09:38:38.636+08:00"You'll know only if you try"Sometimes, a death could be inspiring. Reading Augusto Odone's <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21589838-augusto-odone-world-bank-economist-who-derived-lorenzos-oil-treat-his-son-died-october" target="_blank">obituary</a> would certainly do that. He was an economist, persistent father and <u>self-taught</u> biologist to save his son's life. He invented the Lorenzo's Oil. He spent nights reading research journal papers and reports to find the cure for his son's rare genetic disease. Initially treated with cynicism, his invention was later embraced by the scientific community, and saved lives. The above-mentioned title was his motto.<br />
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Long live the virtues of persistence and hardworking! "Verily, after harshness there will be ease, after harshness there will be ease".Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-62782035252812608812013-10-26T05:12:00.000+08:002013-10-26T05:15:27.604+08:00GST: What's Not to Like?It's been a while since I last wrote. I'm still playing catch-up with things, but the GST issue beg me to write something. I'm not an economist, but one of my expertise is in decision analysis - the basic goal is to strive for the clarity in action in any decision to make.<br />
<br />
With regard to GST, we need to look at a larger perspective related to the <u>long-term</u> quality of life while also taking into consideration the government's current unhealthy fiscal conditions. Moving forward, Malaysia needs to increase its revenues. Taxing is one approach, and GST is the fairest option as it is a consumption tax - you got tax on what you consume (basic food products, public transportation, government services, etc. will not be taxed anyway). <br />
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Otherwise, this is the part most people on the street don't realize, the government need to further cut its spending, subsidies, level of services, investments etc. that may impact general public's quality of life in the long run. You can't have cake and eat it too - you can't have both low tax and high government support at the same time.<br />
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GST, what's not to like? I might have been missing something, or it's the typical sensationalization by one faction against progressive efforts by another faction to make Malaysia a better country. For those who are truly confused, here are the keys -<u> think long-term and get the big picture</u>.<br />
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Why there is no GST in the U.S.? For those who are curious, IMHO, the U.S. is like 50 different countries - all states are different. 45 of them actually have sales tax, in essence similar to GST. Most states also collect income tax on top of the federal income-tax. No state income tax in some states like Texas, but there is limited state funding for education and social net to help low-income people there. Interestingly, one state, Alaska, actually give money or dividend to their residents - I could live with 24-hour daylight there in the Summer, but 24-hour darkness in winter? No, thanks.<br />
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<br />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-78355422675436909352013-08-29T11:23:00.000+08:002013-08-29T11:23:21.121+08:00The "I Have a Dream" Speech and Tun Mahathir's "Perjuangan Yang Belum Selesai"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> - MLK Jr.</span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">I was on an in-and-out trip this morning to Washington DC, without realizing that today is the 50th anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech. At the airport, I saw a black leader talked about the reality of today where the journey to the top of the ladder is getting higher and higher. I cannot help but to think about the same reality faced by my own race in Malaysia - the Malays.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">The </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">"I Have a Dream" speech somehow reminded me of Tun Mahathir's </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">"Perjuangan Yang Belum Selesai" poem. Perhaps in 50 years or so, after Tun was long gone, his poem will be remembered by the Malays as the greatest speech of hope for the race. It's still vivid in my mind when I recited this on the eve of Hari Merdeka in 1996 at MRSM Perlis.</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>PERJUANGAN YANG BELUM SELESAI</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Sesungguhnya tidak ada yang lebih menyayatkan<br />dari melihat bangsaku dijajah.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Tidak ada yang lebih menyedihkan<br />dari membiarkan bangsaku dihina.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Air mata tiada ertinya<br />sejarah silam tiada maknanya<br />sekiranya bangsa tercinta terpinggir<br />dipersenda dan dilupakan.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Bukan kecil langkah wira bangsa<br />para pejuang kemerdekaan<br />bagi menegakkan kemuliaan<br />dan darjat bangsa<br />selangkah beerti mara<br />mengharung sejuta dugaan.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Biarkan bertatih<br />asalkan langkah itu yakin dan cermat<br />bagi memastikan negara<br />merdeka dan bangsa terpelihara<br />air mata sengsara<br />mengiringi setiap langkah bapa-bapa kita.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Tugas kita bukan kecil<br />kerana mengisi kemerdekaan<br />rupanya lebih sukar dari bermandi<br />keringat dan darah menuntutnya.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Lagi pula apalah ertinya kemerdekaan<br />kalau bangsaku asyik mengia dan menidakkan,<br />mengangguk dan membenarkan,<br />kerana sekalipun bangganya negara<br />kerana makmur dan mewahnya,<br />bangsaku masih melata<br />dan meminta-minta di negaranya sendiri.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Bukan kecil tugas kita<br />meneruskan perjuangan kemerdekaan kita<br />kerana rupanya selain memerdekakan,<br />mengisi kemerdekaan itu jauh lebih sengsara.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Bangsaku bukan kecil hati dan jiwanya<br />bukankah sejak zaman berzaman<br />mereka menjadi pelaut, pengembara<br />malah penakluk terkemuka?</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Bukankah mereka sudah mengembangkan<br />sayap, menjadi pedagang dan peniaga<br />selain menjadi ulama dan ilmuan terbilang?</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Bukankah bangsaku pernah mengharung<br />samudera menjajah dunia yang tak dikenal?</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Bukankah mereka pernah menjadi<br />wira serantau yang tidak mengenal erti takut<br />dan kematian?</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Di manakah silapnya hingga bangsaku<br />berasa begitu kecil dan rendah diri?</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Apakah angkara penjajah?</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Lalu bangsaku mulai melupakan kegemilangan<br />silam dan sejarah gemilang membina empayar…</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Tugas kita belum selesai rupanya<br />bagi memartabat dan memuliakan bangsa<br />kerana hanya bangsa yang berjaya<br />akan sentiasa dihormati.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Rupanya masih jauh dan berliku jalan kita<br />bukan sekadar memerdeka dan mengisinya<br />tetapi mengangkat darjat dan kemuliaan<br />buat selama-lamanya.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Hari ini, jalan ini pasti semakin berliku<br />kerana masa depan belum tentu<br />menjanjikan syurga<br />bagi mereka yang lemah dan mudah kecewa.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Perjuangan kita belum selesai<br />kerana hanya yang cekal dan tabah<br />dapat membina mercu tanda<br />bangsanya yang berjaya.</i></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<i>Tun. Dr. Mahathir Mohamad<br />Mei 1996</i></div>
</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; padding: 10px 0px 0px;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">With regards to racial dynamics in Malaysia I do have a similar dream as MLK Jr's that one day every Malaysian will look at each other beyond race. This is nothing new to the haves - the educated middle and upper class. For the have-nots, sadly the majority of the Malays in rural areas, the concept of 1Malaysia or anything along that line is still a far fetched. Without </span></span><span style="background-color: #fff9ee; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">individual paradigm shift from being dependent to independent as I discussed <a href="http://wacanamalaysia.blogspot.com/2013/05/ge13-racial-dynamics-politics-in.html" target="_blank">here</a>, the dream will remain a dream.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fff9ee; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;">Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan ke 56!</span></span><br />
<img height="135" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSxM1QjAozb-UYKC9YI4dIBd84vFUT0-_FYIOe8EtaYWb9MBm8IzQ" width="200" />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-29936963782527182892013-08-19T01:41:00.000+08:002013-08-19T01:50:34.777+08:00Using Reddit and Smartphones to Reduce Crime in Malaysia? It's pretty rare for news in Malaysia to get into global newspapers, but there is <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21583695-spate-killings-may-signal-escalation-gang-violence-drive-shooting" target="_blank">one short article</a> in the Economist this week that talks about the rise in gun and gang violence in Malaysia. Recently, PEMANDU reported that the crime index is down for Jan-June 2013 compared with the first half of 2012, but the number of murders and robberies with firearms has risen.<br />
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I wonder if we can use basic technologies to prevent crimes in Malaysia? The use of smartphones is on the rise - more and more people can take pictures and record short videos if they happen to see on-going crimes such as snatch thefts or road rages. What if there is a specific Reddit Malaysia's subpage where redditors can submit a link to those pictures or videos? Other redditors can then vote them up or down with respect to the seriousness of the crimes or bad behaviors and the likelihood to capture the culprits. Ideally, the authority should also be part of this campaign.<br />
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There is definitely some privacy concern that needs to be addressed. Submit your comments or vote this idea up or down at <a href="http://redd.it/1km451">http://redd.it/1km451</a><br />
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Disclaimer: I'm not a police or an expert in criminology. I'm an engineer by training - we always strive to use off-the-shelved tools and technologies to solve new problems.Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-14156410640858107472013-08-18T10:45:00.000+08:002013-08-18T10:54:39.651+08:00Selamat Hari Raya AidilfitriIt's still Syawal, so I'd like to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all. The raya season seems to skip me this year. By the time my wife, my child and I recovered from jet lag after returning from Malaysia, we didn't have time to make a 3-hour road trip to replenish our meat supply. I then had to leave to a conference in Louisville in Kentucky (where KFC was originated). As such, no open house this year.<br />
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My first raya in the States was 14 years ago during a winter break in January 2000. Fasting was easy then as Maghrib was around 4:30pm. I remember my buddy and I made a point to make sure that we were not going to be sad during our first raya away from our families - we made a big travel plan to Florida. To cover our expenses, we both worked from 9am to 5pm during the first two weeks of the break at an animal lab to feed and clean the areas where the university kept guinea pigs, rats, frogs etc. for medical experiments. With the money we saved, we bought air tickets to Orlando, DisneyWorld tickets and rent a car there. We stayed at a cheap hotel every 3 days or so and slept in the car at a rest area for the rest of the nights. We brought some serunding (dried beef) I cooked for the trip. After two weeks of travel and eating the same thing except 2-3 fish meals at McDonald's, I started to hate serunding, and until today I've not eaten it anymore.<br />
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I was able to celebrate raya in Malaysia again last year. This year, my summer schedule didn't permit me to stay longer in Malaysia, so I had a simple raya celebration in the States. My wife cooked rendang ayam and I cooked kuah kacang and nasi impit from scratch using ziploc (I forgot to buy the instant one). We went to the mosque for solat raya, and my child had some games with other kids and received some gifts there. That was it.<br />
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The night before raya, I happened to catch a rerun of a documentary <i><a href="http://video.pbs.org/video/2363162206/" target="_blank">Eat, Fast and Live Longer</a></i>. It talks about the scientific benefits of fasting and introduced the FastDiet concept where ones fast for two nonconsecutive days every week and eat whatever they want for the rest of the week. Its fasting concept is not necessarily the same as what Muslims do in Ramadan. In FastDiet, ones limit their calorie intake to 500cal for women and 600cal for men - about 1/3 of daily calorie intake. The main benefit is to maintain a healthy and longer life with low risk of diseases caused by over or unhealthy eating. I was so amazed that I bought a book about the diet in Amazon, finished it in a day, and plan to start practicing the FastDiet.<br />
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In fact today was my first day doing the FastDiet. I had some unsweetened green tea and water during the day, and had a 600cal dinner - griiled cod, stir-fried broccoli and carrot, some sliced tomatoes and one cup of rice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSC7DQiPa0zVEtkN_GWKdHylBRf1hPrKL_oUYSnh_ADrWMwEvE8mzRQFsm3QB7s5c57oROHM_2ukZ7JGZJQGFnZm7VKzOUthX0voOBfE4evm4lk3juwrHZaBgDVVBag2MTRg2ZGsKpIn4/s1600/FastDietDay1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSC7DQiPa0zVEtkN_GWKdHylBRf1hPrKL_oUYSnh_ADrWMwEvE8mzRQFsm3QB7s5c57oROHM_2ukZ7JGZJQGFnZm7VKzOUthX0voOBfE4evm4lk3juwrHZaBgDVVBag2MTRg2ZGsKpIn4/s320/FastDietDay1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I plan to test this concept on me for the next three months. I also hope to fully fast like in Ramadan every once a while, especially since it's still Syawal.<br />
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In theory, Muslims should get all the fasting benefits in Ramadan. However, especially in Malaysia, Ramadan has turned to be pesta makan or food festival. Pasar Ramadan and hotel buffet epitomize the phenomena. It's not unusual to actually gain weight when fasting in Malaysia. It is what it is, and I still wish I had longer Ramadan in Malaysia.<br />
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<br />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-12044624420143269922013-08-05T04:07:00.001+08:002013-08-05T04:12:45.268+08:00Drucker's Lite - Summary Notes Based on Management: Task, Responsibilities and Practices<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Management Tasks<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Performing
the specific purpose and mission of an organization by achieving its objectives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Making
work productive and the worker achieving<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;">3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Managing
social impacts and social responsibilities<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Note:
<i>Management has to consider time dimension
in performing tasks - both present and future, short and long run demand,
performance, factors of production (human, financial, physical resources),
existence and relevance in society<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Management by
Objectives (MBO)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Process
of defining objectives within an organization so that management and employees
agree to the objectives and understand how their activities relate to the
achievement of the organization<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Important
features and advantages of MBO includes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Motivation</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> – involving
employees in the whole process of objective setting and <br />
increasing employee empowerment<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Clarity of objectives</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> – can be translated
into specific target and assignments<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l5 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Better communication
and coordination</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">
– frequent reviews and interactions <br />
between superiors and subordinates helps to maintain harmonious relationships
and also to solve many problems<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">MBO Strategies<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Every
organization needs to think through the question “What is our business and what
should it be?” to define the purpose of an organization<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">From
the definition of its mission and vision an organization must derive objectives
in a number of key areas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It
must balance these objectives against each other and against the competing
demand of today and tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It
needs to convert objectives into concrete strategies and to concentrate
resources on them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">It
also needs to think through its strategic planning i.e., the decisions of today
that will make the business of tomorrow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Purpose of
Organization<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Prerequisite
to derive mission, vision and thus objectives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">First
identify who are the customers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Deciding
“What is our business?” is a genuine decision that must consider divergent
views to have a chance to be a right and effective decision. It is a choice
between alternatives, each based on different assumptions on the reality of the
field (e.g., rail transportation) and its environment. It’s a high-risk
decision that could lead to changes in objectives, strategies, organization and
behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Discussion
of alternative views enable management group to be cognizant of fundamental
differences in the group to understand what motivate each manager and his/her
behavior<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A
sole method to define an organization is to answer the question from customers’
point of view<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Note
on economic performance (profit requirement): in business enterprise economic
performance is the rationale and purpose, but for non-business/service
organization it’s a constraint to perform its activities and achieving its
objectives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Vision & Mission </span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">(<i>from Wikipedia</i>)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Vision
statement defines the desired or intended future state of an organization in
terms of its fundamental purpose<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">a
long term view, sometimes describing how the organization would like the field
in which it operates to be<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Mission
statement defines the fundamental purpose of an organization, succinctly
describing why it exists and what it does to achieve its Vision<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives
are strategies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives
with only lofty, good intentions are worthless<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives
must be able to be translated to work activities, measurable performance
targets and specific assignments of accountability<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives
determine the structure of an organization, the key activities which must be
discharged, and allocation of people to tasks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">However,
objectives are not fate; they are direction, not commands, but commitments<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives
are based on expectations and informed guesses associated with factors beyond
an organization’s control<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Objectives
must be correlated with specific activities with commitment of key people to
work on each activity<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l6 level2 lfo7; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">This
implies not only that somebody is supposed to do the job, but also
accountability, a dateline, and finally the measurement of results<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">MBO Trap<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Critics
say that MBO is difficult to implement, and that organizations often wind up
overemphasizing control, as opposed to fostering creativity, to meet their
objectives<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Drucker’s
advice: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">objectives
are not fate; they are direction, not commands, but commitments</span>Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-34916937704502131542013-08-03T22:24:00.000+08:002013-08-03T22:24:02.625+08:00You know you're not in KL when...You know you're not in KL when you're driving to enter a busy street at peak hours and a car on the busy street stop 50 meters away to yield and give way for you to get in. Lame joke aside, I've now returned to the States, with a heavy heart, always.<br />
<br />
<i>On Quality of Life in Malaysia</i><br />
I was away for about a month, but only spent about 10 days in KL - way too short to do much and to meet people and relatives. On a short notice though, I was able to have a chit-chat meeting with a few high-ups from an agency responsible for transportation planning in Malaysia. It was mainly to introduce myself, discuss their ongoing activities, and identify potential ways for me to get involved in the future.<br />
<br />
What's the most encouraging is to realize that Malaysia, especially KL, is in the middle of a public transportation renaissance. Nobody is a big fan of the road congestion caused by the MRT constructions. However, when the project is completed, people can easily commute to KL from and between all the satellite cities and towns including Kajang, Sungai Buloh, Subang Jaya, Puchong, Serdang, etc. Moreover, when everything is set and done, all these areas will simply be the suburbs of KL. This will bring KL on the same level as New York, Chicago, London, Paris, etc.<br />
<br />
It has becoming a trend among youngsters in late 20s to 30s in metropolitan cities in the world to totally depend on public transportation. In the past, the youngsters like to boast about their cars. Now, it's more hip to boast about how long ago have been since they drove a car. Combined with transit-oriented urban developments, cars have become things of the past in some major cities. This is still a far-fetched in Malaysia, but the MRT will make not owning a car a possibility in the future in KL. At a minimum, MRT is expected to reduce congestion - that will reduce gas money and save time for non-users.<br />
<br />
Another emerging public transportation project is high-speed rail (HSR). Once the KL-Singapore HSR line is completed, places as far away as Muar will also be the suburbs of KL (a HSR with an average 300km/h speed can cover the distance between KL and Muar in about 60 minutes non-stop). Time-wise, Seremban will probably be the new Bangsar, and Melaka will probably be a new PJ. Imagine a young graduate could afford a detached 3-bedroom house for under RM200,000 in these new suburbs, and commute everyday to downtown KL in less than an hour.<br />
<br />
I'm not buying into the idea that high income will simply give higher quality of life. The reason can be summarized in one word - inflation. I'm not buying into the opposition's socialist ideas to improve the quality of life either. However, with new economic competitive areas, combined with better infrastructure planning, the vision will one day become a reality. Meanwhile, the non-sexy and under-appreciated field and people in transportation are slowly and quietly playing their crucial roles - eliminating or reducing the cost of owning cars and houses in the future.<br />
<br />
<i>On Food</i><br />
You know you're not in KL when you're hungry late at night, the only options you have to eat out are for some "glorified dog foods" - deep-fried, grilled, baked or steamed. My two cents for my fellow Malaysians, stop political and racial bickering, and smell (and eat, of course) the nasi lemak, teh tarik, yong tau foo, roti canai, capati and other endless list of food treasures and heritage we share. Until my next visit in the not-too-distant future, I hope, I'll miss all of them.<br />
<br />
p/s: My best food this time around, excluding my mom's, are <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNXdUGB9wSXxztJawMMtRo91ztG14FymmksPFhwRjjoyxSKojNaZH5hqL4d8iaWQC_HDFSdN3iPXAySTLAxnEbqzUhxBGQZifSEtnLoCIgAVW0dWTxH7kUWJ2eOCtGGVnmuCoY0Xx_THE/s1600/photo.JPG" target="_blank">rojak sotong</a> and cendol Bangsar near the Petronas gas station<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1869665849679587709.post-91569574802680230772013-06-26T11:08:00.000+08:002013-06-26T11:18:34.103+08:00Home sweet home, and on Hong Kong, Snowden, education and meritocracy in high educationI was welcomed by the thick haze at KLIA yesterday, and my small daughter, being a winter baby, has started to show some complaints with the heat. Otherwise, it's home sweet home baby! For a while at least, before going back to Hong Kong this Friday and another trip to Shanghai and Beijing next week. They want to learn about how to plan and develop a new high-speed rail (HSR) system. I've involved in a HSR feasibility study before, but it's interesting that they want to learn about how to do the planning better even though they have already have a HSR system, and from a Malaysian who works in the U.S. where HSR is non-existence in both Malaysia and USA. I'm being mentored by a world-renowned expert in the field though, so I'm happy to share what I've learned. After all, the best way to learn is to teach. I'm just a student of the field.<br />
<br />
My first visit to Hong Kong (HK) was great. Besides teaching all day Saturday and Sunday, we explored the city in the evening and went to the Disneyland. The transit system is efficient and super clean. People might not know that it's also financially sustainable. Like Singapore and Japan, HK used a lot of revenue capture and joint property development strategies to cover the cost to run the system, and some to cover the construction cost too. Anyway, I had a few thoughts running around my head since the last time I wrote so I want to share these now before I forget.<br />
<br />
The biggest news in HK was the Snowden guy, a security analysts who ran to HK to disclose some U.S. confidential information. Having read the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307957136/ref=wms_ohs_product?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">New Digital Age</a> early this year, this saga is quite interesting to me. China is having a field day criticizing U.S. based on the disclosure. China and other countries need to worry though as there is nothing to stop someone in their countries to do the same thing, especially if they read a related article showing Ecuador's sunny beaches with some scantily clad girls in the background. Rules are there for reasons. When it comes to confidential and security-sensitive information nobody should bend them. The bad guys are having a field day too figuring out what they think they know what the the good guys know and don't know.<br />
<br />
Yesterday, I got my hands on some Malaysian newspapers on board of the new A380 upper-deck (this flying machine is impressive by the way). I saw quite a number of articles on education systems especially related to multi-racial relations in Malaysia, specifically about the vernacular system, reminiscent of the old English schools and about the status of Malay language. I think the vernacular system especially Chinese schools are here to stay without better alternatives. The government needs to address the supply side before meddling the demand side. Meanwhile, I do think sharing a language is indeed something special so it's a good thing if all of us can converse in Malay. Having said that, there are a lot more sources of knowledge, books etc in English than in Malay. There are also a lot more people in the world speak English than Malay. Young educated parents, Malay or non-Malay, know this and have already taken proactive role to emphasize English to their kids from small. The current education system doesn't do justice to young kids from low and middle-income students from rural areas. They will miss out without a stronger emphasis on English. I want to give a tip of the hat to respect Malaysian Airport Holding Berhad (MAHB) for their Beyond Borders initiative to help underprivileged children to learn and use English at a handful of schools. I saw and article in the Star yesterday about their success just in the last 3-5 years or so to improve the passing rate at these schools from about 50% to high 70s - if only we could have a national implementation.<br />
<br />
Do you know that elite schools in the West have also emphasizing Chinese Mandarin language? A private kindergarten in NY allocate one day per week for their students to learn and communicate in Chinese. There is a sheer number of people in China and more and more of them are started to have something we call money! It makes economic sense. Malays without full mastery of English will have a double-whammy as compared to Chinese Malaysians in the very new future to survive in the global economy.<br />
<br />
Last but not least, a friend of mine shared an <a href="http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=118701:meritocracy-only-helps-the-chinese-malay-educationist&Itemid=2" target="_blank">online article</a> about some groups who claimed that Malays are losing out with the meritocracy policy to enter universities in Malaysia. Affirmative action at higher education institutions has always been quite contentious. It's somewhat coincidence that the U.S. Supreme Court recently has just "punt" the issue back to a lower court, in essence refusing to make a final judgement. Anyway, the article said Malay only account for 35% of the total university students in Malaysia. There was a 55% allocation to all Bumis before the meritocracy policy was implemented in 2002. I wonder if meritocracy has actually screened out the unqualified Malays from getting in OR rejected the qualified, but not as good as other Malays and non-Malays. It's acceptable if it's the former as for example, you don't want to accept Pangkat 2 SPM students to a medic program - they will struggle and fail (similar cases when Harvard lowered their entry requirements to their law school for underprivileged groups). There are more suitable places like politeknik for the mediocre students to be technicians, mechanics or entrepreneurs. If it's the latter, it's actually a failure to provide enough infrastructure or opportunities to accommodate qualified students, no matter what race, to higher education institutions. This is where a color-blind affirmative action is needed to help the not so rich no matter from any race to get good education.<br />
<br />
In any case, I believe affirmative action is like a medicine - you take it in a small amount to get well from a sickness, but you may get addicted if you take too much. I truly understand the need for affirmative action in education as I was highly benefited from it. I have 5 siblings and my dad was a driver with the old Sri Jaya bus company in KL. I wouldn't be half of myself today without some of the help from the government. But, as I said give preference to the needy, not based on the skin of the color.Ilmu Ialah Kuasahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03586850536436408893noreply@blogger.com0