My Photo of the Week

focus: 200mm, ss:1/120s, f/5.6, ISO:200

依稀记得好几首陪我成长的歌，其中一首就是还在念小学时小虎队的“红蜻蜓”。如果没错，应该是在郭富城唱“对你爱爱爱不完”之前吧！哈！“红蜻蜓”是我第一首完全记得歌词的歌，感觉上好像在念绕口令一样...

飛呀 飛呀, 看那紅色蜻蜓飛在藍色天空 游戲在風中不斷追逐他的夢

天空是永恒的家 大地就是他的王國 飛翔是生活

我們的童年也像追逐成長吹來的風 輕輕地吹著夢想 慢慢地升空

紅色的蜻蜓是我小時侯的小小英雄 多希望有一天能和他一起飛

當煩惱愈來愈多 玻璃彈珠愈來愈少 我知道我已慢慢地長大了

紅色的蜻蜓曾幾何時也在我歲月慢慢不見了

我們都已經長大

好多夢正在飛

就像童年看到地紅色的蜻蜓

我們都已經長大

好多夢還要飛

就像現在心目中紅色的蜻蜓

曾经是我们的流行歌曲，现已变成怀旧金曲。

就好象我们的老爸老妈每当听到一剪梅、榕树下、小城故事...这些我们所谓的怀旧老歌，就会老生常谈的告诉我们费玉清，余天和邓丽君当年是多么的牛！而我们却会不以为然。仔细一想，这些歌曲也是陪着他们长大的，已经成为他们记忆的一部分，人生的一部分。

而他们对我们所追崇的偶像，也是哧之以鼻。

就好比今天的流行歌曲一样，虽然我没什么感觉，但是它们一定也会成为某些人的美好回忆，随着岁月流逝慢慢转变成首首的怀旧金曲。

因果循环，生生不息，阿弥陀佛。

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

It was a wet morning here in Singapore. Listening to Frank Sinatra's Jingle Bells while sipping hot coffee really set the Christmas mood on.

Will be making my virgin pass through the new JB CIQ, keeping my fingers crossed and hope that it will be a smooth transit.

Back in my working days, we had this guardian angel thingy during Christmas. Each of us will be someone's secret guardian, which in the end we will have to buy a Christmas present for him/her. Likewise, each of us will have an angel (or Secret Santa) and so everyone in the department will hang their wishlists on the Christmas tree hoping that the angels will heed the calls. Due to the suspense, everyone will be guessing who their secret santa was and anticipating the gifts that they will receive. For some who jual mahal and didn't post their wishlist on the Christmas tree, their angels will need to play a little bit harder to anticipate and get the suitable presents for their wards. End of the day, the guardian angels may or maynot choose to reveal their identities.

Best joke I heard is that, there was this guardian who used his personal email account to send a note to his ward, not wanting to reveal his identity:

"You don't know who am I, but I hope you like my gift. Regards, your guardian angel"

with his full name as username displayed...rotflmao.

Merry Christmas to all my dearest kins and friends:)

My Photo of the Week

focus: 28mm, ss:1/125s, f/5.0, ISO:200

"A lifeline is a line or rope used to support a person who is in physical difficulty, or to prevent someone from getting into physical difficulty. For example, a lifeline may protect a person who is at risk of drowning."

~wikipedia

My Photo of the Week

focus: 200mm, ss:1/500s, f/5.6, ISO:200

While snapping outside of the house one morning, this little yellow hummingbird flew down from nowhere and settled on one of the flower pots. I crept closer to get a better shot with my kit lens yet this brave little fellow ignored my advancement, feeding upon the nectar from the ixoras with its bifurcated tongue; stopping occasionally to check on me due to curiosity. Suddenly, it flipped its wing and i thought I had lost it without getting a decent shot.

To my relief, it settled on a nearby tree. And instantaneously, I dashed into the house and switched to my tele lens. I approached the bird again, more daringly this time as I knew it was not shy. It allowed me to braced myself, zoomed in and snapped a few rounds before it let off a chirp and flew off.

My Friend Ask Me Why...This is Why

On December 11, 2008, I wrote on nihcust's chatterbox, "guys, I am starting (to feel) really insecure to stay in Malaysia now..."

nihcust replied,"What happen and made u feel so insecure?"

This is why...I am not going to post the victim's picture as it is really beyond the unspeakable. Nonetheless, he must be really dumb-fucked when he found out that the robber is HIV positive the very next day. I mean he fought with the robber and both of them are bleeding, so there's a big chance that... *tai kat lai si.

More on the story here and the aftermath here. (Need to do some scrolling.)

Despite the fact that our "teramat hebat" IGP keep stressing that our homeland is safe and sound.

Safe?

Yes, with armed robberies every now and then...

With rescuers refuse to save those whose life's on the thin line and looting victims' homes...

When policemen patrol for the sake of accepting bribes...

When the government deploys the "I Suka Awak" simply to "protect" and releases terrorists which they "think" pose no threats anymore...

When those at the top are busy with mega projects, arms dealing, tabling bills to their own monetary advantages...And those at the grassroot grew to become big bullies...

When those who are supposed to protect us turn against us...

When we always compare ourselves to those much inferior than us when we are being criticised...And when the once inferior subject surpasses us, we pick another weaker opponent. By doing so, we are always BOLEH!

When we are in the state of denial, all the time...

I remember watching a clip on our own parliamentary proceeding, a BN MP scornfully reprimanded the Opposition for instilling fear in the people by stating that our country isn't safe when the crime rate kept escalating year on year.

"Who say we are not safe? We don't have war, no terrorist attacks! Who say we are not safe? We are safe and at peace."

Ooh, I finally get it. And I really hope that one day when the bullet hit his big fat belly, his face slashed by some machete-wielding psycho, and being injected with AIDS infected syringe on the street, he can still lash out that "We are safe and at peace." followed by multiple patriotic cry outs of "Malaysia Boleh", simply, because we are not at war.

真的是黑白两道都混不下去了。呜呼哀哉。

大佬，醒吓啦！

Sultan Iskandar CIQ (Part III) - It's gladiator time

Reading the following 2 articles amuses me:

Chaos at new CIQ complex
"The scene here is like that in a war movie, with people walking and running all over. Most of them do not know where to go to take the bus to Singapore."

"Everyone is pushing and trying to get into the bus one way or another. I pity the women and small-sized workers."

"There is no proper signage, nor assistance from immigration officers or complex personnel. They look like they are confused, too. "

"Looks like I will have to get up at least 45 minutes earlier than usual to get through this nightmare every day, even though I already wake at 4.30am every morning just to reach my work place at 7.30am."

Impose law and order on the JB Custom & Immigration Quarantine Complex
"There is no concept of cutting queue, because there is no such thing as a queue. Pushing, shoving and elbowing are the rule. Manners and gentility are the suicidal exception."

"Four to eight people will simultaneously try to force their way into the bus door from every direction. One either joins the gladiatorial mob, or misses the bus. And the next one after that. And the next one, and the next one."

"It doesn't matter in what order you arrive at the bus waiting area - the only criteria that count are brute strength and a willingness to trample your own civility into the asphalt."

"For at current, every visitor and tourist who passes through the CIQ Complex is left with the impression that Malaysia is a nation with First World facilities but a truly Third World mentality."

**********************************************

I can laugh for now, but when the time comes, I hope Buddha will give me enough patience and perseverance to fight this war, to win each treacherous gladiatorial fight in the amphitheatre and the will to refrain from punching the confused immigration officers or complex personnel.

Amitaba-can

Sultan Iskandar CIQ (Part II) - Bottle Neck

Let's revise the stats before we begin, shall we?

• Able to handle 70 million visitors annually.
• Will house 18 government agencies.
• Five-storey complex, dubbed an intelligent building.
• 76 lanes for cars: 38 lanes in, 38 lanes out.
• 100 lanes for motorcycles:50 lanes in and 50 lanes out.
• 25 parking bays allocated for bus entry and exit.
• Only Touch ’n Go cards are allowed to be used for payment.
• Multi-lingual touch screen information display panels to assist visitors entering Johor.

The once dubbed gigantic white elephant after the new scenic bridge under the project named Southern Integrated Gateway (Gerbang Selatan Bersepadu) was axed, has a set of sterling statistics to offer to the public. Woo, hebat betoi nie!

But before you start to shout out the idiotic "Malaysia Boleh" slogan again...I really don't think the new CIQ will ease congestion on the Causeway as claimed here.

It doesn't required one to take a day to realize that no matter how many entry lanes you have, end of the day, all lanes will converge and vehicles will start to cut queue so as to squeeze through the pathetic 8 lanes (4 in 4 out) Johor-Singapore Causeway. Yes, the Causeway itself is the chokepoint. And, I foresee that the jam will recoil and cause congestion on the path even before entering the majestic complex. (I don't need to be flown to the moon and back again, get a Datukship and start charging RM8000/hour for a talk to know this. Really think that I have the quality to be a Bolehland MP or Minister:) Please vote for me! Thank you, thank you.)

Envisaging 88 lanes of traffics (38 for car and 50 for bikes) oozing through the miserable 4 lanes from JB to Singapore just sets my adrenaline pumping. Really can't wait till Chinese New Year to witness one of Malaysia's wonders of the world.

Sultan Iskandar CIQ (Part I) - Jam Jam Jam

Architecture grande et élégante

Yes, we have a new JB Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex! But...

Yes, you heard it right; there are buts, lots of buts to the extent that I will need to segregate it into few parts on my blog.

If you are a frequent traveler between JB and Singapore, you would notice that Bolehland had been drumming a lot on the new CIQ to replace the old one. To start off with, I read an apt coverage by Nelson Benjamin on the old JB CIQ titled "Johor’s gateway of shame" on November 1, 2008, which vividly described the unspeakable condition of the JB checkpoint and its surrounding, a reflection of poor state and federal governance.

The situation on our side of the causeway is in sharp contrast to Singapore’s CIQ, which is cleaner, bigger, beggar-free, well maintained and without any potholes.

In fact, Singapore’s tourism agency is doing well in using the causeway as a marketing tool by setting up a huge television screen welcoming visitors and informing them about latest attractions, events, promotions and shows in the island republic.

And the other publicities ensued:

November 20, 2008: CIQ complex to finally open next month

“Everything is now ready and everyone is only waiting for an official opening date,” a source familiar with the project said.

Stats:

• Able to handle 70 million visitors annually.
• Will house 18 government agencies.
• five-storey complex, dubbed an intelligent building.
• 76 lanes for cars: 38 lanes in, 38 lanes out.
• 100 lanes for motorcycles:50 lanes in and 50 lanes out.
• 25 parking bays allocated for bus entry and exit.
• Only Touch ’n Go cards are allowed to be used for payment.
• Multi-lingual touch screen information display panels to assist visitors entering Johor.

November 29, 2008: JOHOR ASSEMBLY: RM1.3b Sultan Iskandar complex opens on Monday

He (State Local Government, Housing, Works and Public Amenities Committee chairman Datuk Ahmad Zahri Jamil) was optimistic that the traffic flow problem would be solved although there was traffic congestion during a recent simulation exercise.

"It is quite apparent when you look at the structure of the complex that there is a part of the structure which stops abruptly," Datuk Ahmad Zahri said.

November 30, 2008: Much awaited CIQ Complex to open officially Monday

December 4, 2008: New complex in Johor Baru set to ease congestion on Causeway

JOHOR BARU: The new Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex is expected to cut traffic congestion on the Causeway by more than half.

December 15, 2008: New CIQ complex opens

Engineer Darryl Chong, 32, who works in Singapore and used the new complex, said that he was concerned over the narrow roads at the new complex.

“The roads are very narrow for big vehicles,” he said.

He added that he was unsure whether larger vehicles would slow down the flow of traffic while trying to manoeuvre the winding roads.

December 17, 2008: Crawl at CIQ complex checkpoint on first day

The two-hour-long crawl saw traffic into Johor snaking all the way to Woodlands in Singapore during peak hours due to motorists being caught off guard by the cashless toll collection system at the complex.

The congestion did not let up even when Plus officials were stationed at the complex entrance to sell RM20 cards on the spot to motorists.

Motorists heading towards the new Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex were caught in a massive jam along the Malaysia-Singapore Causeway.

To think that the much awaited RM1.3 billion complex would alleviate the exhausting traffic jams is a wishful dream. I mean, come on, after so many Malaysia Boleh projects, can't you catch the trend? They always seem to be superficially hebat at one glance (76 lanes for cars + 100 lanes for motorcycles wor!!! HEBAT!) and end up becoming global joke eventually. Personally, I wouldn’t even harbor that thought instead of praying hard that it will not add salt to the wound because end of the day, I will be going through the checkpoint as well. Now, if you follow the events closely and be observant enough, you would have caught the tell-tale signs of the upcoming problems, wouldn't you?