The Fastest Passport in the World?

No I am not referring to the passport of our Prime Minister that probably qualifies for the most Frequent Flyer Miles among world leaders.

I had to renew my passport in Johor Bahru as the passport is used at least once a week when I accompany my wife back to Singapore.

I drove into the TJB car-park and as I about to cross the road to Wisma Perseketuan, I realised that I had left my Mykad in the copier machine at home. So I returned home to retrieve that, though I did think of doing the application another day.

As I left the car park within the grace period, there was no fee. Thank God for small mercies!
I returned with all the documents and went to the queue counter where the guy told me to go to the special room as I qualified under the Oldies category that includes anyone above 55 years.

There was this special room on the ground floor where those were were aged, handicapped or with small children were handled. There were only 3 or 4 others in the room and the service was really fast.

It took about 40 minutes altogether to get a new passport. SYABAS to the Immigration Department of Johor Bahru for a WORLD CLASS SERVICE!
I left the car park 48 minutes from the time I entered.

Just a few observations to consider:
Since the Mykad is presented for such quick processing there should be no necessity for a photo-copy. We can reduce paper wastage.
A small dust-bin would be useful near the processing area for the public to dispose of tissue used to wipe finger after thumb-printing.
Page 31 is used for the chop stating the details of the old passport. Now if page 32 or Page 3 is used instead, the usage of the passport can be slighly lengthed. Some immigration officers are quite fussy and tell me that Page 31 cannot be used as it has that notice.
The receipt collection area is raised 2 or 3 steps so a handicapped person cannot access and the staff will have to come down.

All-in it was a very pleasant experience. Now if we can transfer the good practices of the Immigration Department to other offices, we can enjoy a world class civil service.

Malaysia - A Country of Tragedy, Comedy and Farce

Even as the search continues for another young girl who has been abducted, Malaysians are being subjected to the usual program of tragedy, comedy and farce that has highlighted the nation's agenda for the past 15 odd years.

All this has come about with leaders who have placed personal gains ahead of national interests and the issues related to improving public security and safety are only one example.

First of all, the girl goes missing and there is the public uproar. First this is a tragedy that should have been avoided.

Straight off the comedy unfolds, RM75m has been approved to install more CCTVs even though the effects of such systems are still in doubt. If you have those cameras that detect motorists who beat red lights in your town, how many of those are still working?

Then there is this story in the NST.Only 6 out of 20 CCTVs are functioning.
I guess this system is about 2 to 3 years old and the failure ratio is alarming.

CCTVs are only as good as those responsible for the proper maintenance and those who watch the cameras.

But the most important criterion for good public safety is a police force with INTEGRITY and the willingness to SERVE. We had a good chance to get the police force in order with the IPCMC but alas after almost 3 years, this effort has been hijacked with the SCC.

So we will still continue the series "Malaysia - A Country of Tragedy, Comedy and Farce"

Rasa Sayang Nonsense

I guess each Cabinet will have its own entertainer; otherwise life would be quite boring.

In days of old we had the court jester, the clown who would try to keep the king or emperor amused. If the clown was not good then "OFF with his head!"

So the Indonesian President has come to discuss some common issues with Malaysia; perhaps he also gave some tips on how to stay alert to our PM on the numerous issues that have been piling up.

Of course one of the subjects has been that contentious song "Rasa Sayang" that most older Malaysians would have learned.

Now if this song "belongs to both" why do we need to inform anyone if it is used?

Picture: Thanks to http://www.crystalinks.com/foolsunlion.jpg

¿Dónde vamos nosotros?

If you don't speak Spanish, that means "Where are we going?"
Don't be upset if this is not the proper phrase but I used http://www.freetranslation.com/ for the translation.

Perhaps that would be the question among ACA officers when told someone would be going on a trip to Spain and perhaps get a chance to watch Real Madrid soccer club in action.

We know that the tape has already been to Hong Kong so perhaps that was interesting for those ACA officers who were interested in shopping.

Before the RCI gets done the Lingam tapes may become world famous with trips to the USA or the UK.

I find this story in NST rather strange:

It starts off with:-
"Spain may hold the key to establishing the authenticity of a video clip featuring lawyer Datuk V. K. Lingam purportedly talking to a senior judge on judicial appointments."

and further down:-

"It is learnt that the eventual findings were of little help to the ACA.

At that time, the mission to Hong Kong was to help a three-man independent panel decide whether the content of the clip had been doctored."

It appears that the RCI is still trying to establish whether the tape is genuine or not when it should be probing the contents in the transcript by questioning real witnesses mentioned in the tape.

Surely that is the most important role of the RCI that has powers to summon anyone who may be implicated in judicial fixing.

Parents! Watch out for Your Children's Sake...

It may already be too late for this child so this message is addressed to those who still have children 12 years old and below.

Don't presume your child is safe if accompanied by an older sibling who is not a watchful person.

All it takes is two minutes and a child can be abducted and swiftly transferred into a car or away from view.

Even crowded places like shopping malls are not safe if you allow a child to wander far.

Sometimes women are also part of gangs that abduct young children for the sex trade and young boys can also be lured.

Instill in your child this urgent messages:

Don't accept food and drinks from anyone apart from Mum or Dad
Don't accept lifts from anyone unless Mum or Dad has specifically told the child earlier.
If in doubt always telephone Mum or Dad.

I remember the years we stayed in Damansara Jaya, a middle-class neighbourhood in PJ and during the times we took our 3 kids to the nearby playground about 300m from our house, both my wife and I would supervise the children at play.

Playgrounds are not really that safe and children can easily be killed by the equipment; especially the swings. All you need is a child running into the path of the swing and death could be instantaneous if there is a collision. If a child falls off a swing, it could become a hospital case.

My advice to parents is:
If you are not prepared to overseer the activities of many children, do limit the number to two or less.
The police will help but only after this type of incident occurs.

I understand that the Family Ministry now conducts courses for couple who want to marry. The course should include taking proper care of young children and highlighting the laws on not providing proper attention to their safety.

Guess You Could Ask for 500 APs or More Shares from this Minister

How will the Malays progress if their mindset is determined by Ministers with such a message?

She seems to be saying that the "crutches mentality" is a prerequisite to being a Malay. What an insult but I guess many will still buy this message.

The only positive note is her speech was to ask Malay groups to set up scholarship funds. Perhaps she should bear on those recipients of APs and shares to set up such scholarships. I would imagine at least 100 such funds could be easily obtained with her persuasion?

Maybe she should look into how many hundreds of Malaysians have reneged on their government scholarship agreements and now earning big bucks in other countries.

Educating the Folks in the Education Department

This department is crucial for the nation's progress and yet based on the TV segment on the news on TV3 last night, a jewellery-bedecked official tried to explain that everyone else like school principals, PTAs and parents did not understand that only school fees need not be paid.

She went on to say that somehow the instructions got diluted and now they would give written instructions to prevent future misunderstanding.

This issue of reducing school fees only has been badly handled and one wonders how competent are the people in charge of the Education Ministry and the state education departments.

Although I do not have any more children attending school, I understand the plight of parents who have to bear the burden of extra fees collected by the schools.

You can read in today's papers that one school even started a scheme to collect 10sen for each toilet use outside of recess time. This is quite a unhealthy practice as keeping urine too long can damage one's health and imagine the poorer children who have to hold back as they cannot afford to lose their little pocket money this way.

While the Education Minister appears peeved that parents who have paid now want their monies back, basically the fault lies with the Ministry for not taking a closer look at the monies collected by the PTAs.

Maybe the proper lesson may be learned if ALL monies are returned to ALL parents and a fresh start made.
I find fees collected for building maintenance to be unacceptable for this should be borne by the Education Ministry for all public schools.

One other fee that is easy to reduce is the school magazine. Only one magazine should be offered to each family where more than one child is studying in the school and purchase of the magazine is optional.

I suggest PTAs should only be allowed to collect standard fees like:

RM30 for first child in school
RM25 for second child in same school
RM20 for third child in same school.

No discount after third child unless parent is active in the PTA.
Monies collected would be for standard activities and materials approved by the MoE.

Those who really cannot afford to pay should appeal to the Principal who would liaise with the PTA or even organise a fund donated by old boys and girls of the school for needy cases.