It felt as if I was holding my breath since the start of the semester. Second year has been extremely to the power of 100 difficult, oops, I mean extremely difficult. You see what I mean? I have been doing a lot of (financial) maths lately, and the present value of the money in your wallet assuming an effective interest rate...gahh! Actuarial subjects have the innate ability to make the material you have studied so rigorously stick to your head and haunt your every thoughts.
With Easter break arriving, I have that awesome feeling, which is synonymous with the moment when you have been holding your breath under water for what felt like the longest time ever, and then you surfaced. Oh yes, that wonderful feeling that numbs your pains, and erases your worries (albeit temporary). It’s high time for a breather.
Let’s talk about what’s on almost every Malaysians’ minds: the already infamous 1Malaysia email address. Apparently, every Malaysian aged 18 and above will receive a special 1Malaysia email address, so that the government can securely send notifications etc to everyone of age. The issue that got many people so worked up is that a certain exclusive group will be paid to create these emails. Now, the sum paid is not of a small value. Suspicious? Indeed.
There is speculation that the government wants to do this because the PM’s wife want to read our emails. Bemused people are even suggesting that this is some kind of April Fool’s joke on the government’s part, but it was delayed because they were so inefficient.
Surely there is a much better way to spend taxpayers’ money rather than building a mega tower and creating 1Malaysia emails for everyone? Wait, I stand corrected. There isn’t a much better way, there are many better ways.
Let’s face it, no country is perfect, no government is spotless. Take Australia for example. In the state of Victoria, the previous government has spent billions of dollars by introducing the ‘myki’ system into their public transport system. It’s pretty much like Touch & Go in Malaysia. Well, the fact is the current state government is thinking of scrapping the myki system because the cost went overboard by millions of dollars, and it is still incurring losses. Well, if there’s one thing I learned, it is that Aussies are notoriously lazy and inefficient. (Note: I’m being cynical here)
For example, they follow their working hours to the very second. Here’s a situation:
Australian receptionist: *looks at clock* Oh looks its 5.15pm already. Happy hour!
Visitor: *walks in* Erm, good evening, I was wondering if...
Receptionist: Sorry mate we are closed. We are open again tomorrow at 9am.
Visitor: But...
Receptionist: Yea (pronounced’ yeeeeeea’), so please do come back tomorrow. Bye.
But it seems that Malaysian government is trying very hard to spend taxpayers’ money on (putting it bluntly) useless pursuits that will not help the nation.
Anyway, thank for reading. It's one of the longest post in a while. Happy Easter!
Another goal left unachieved.
Another problem that could have been resolved.
Another mistake that could have been avoided.
Something you could have said earlier.
Something you should have done earlier.
The clock is ticking.
Yes, it’s time for the long overdue blog maintenance. I recognize the need to occasionally freshen things up, and this blog needs an overhaul. The features you see now may or may not be permanent.
On a sidenote, the lack of updates is due to my new role as a ‘bro-rent’. A ‘bro-rent’ is a cross between a brother and a parent. My responsibilities include cooking, washing, marketing and doing other household chores in addition to being my younger siblings’ unofficial guardian. Of course, I share the household chores workload with my siblings. But I am telling you, taking care of two hyperactive, hungry, sarcastic kids in the absence of my parents is no easy task. And studying actuarial science at the same time definitely does not make it any simpler.
As we enter into the Year of the Rabbit, I can almost hear Bugs Bunny saying ‘Wassup Doc’ with a huge grin plastered on its face. For some funny reason, I think of Bugs Bunny when I think of rabbits. I guess it must be the old Warner Bros cartoons on Cartoon Network back in the day when my shoes were size 5. But one thing is for sure, I am pretty sure that I can hear adults/parents grinding their teeth in despair when handing out ang paos to the younger, unmarried generation. I certainly can empathize with the ang paos givers. How would you feel if you are required by custom and tradition to hand over your hard-earned money to the grubby hands of small children who don’t appreciate the meaning behind ang pao giving & receiving? It’s like coughing up RM30 (10 Australian dollars) for a bowl of curry noodles in Melbourne. Weird comparison, I know, but that’s beside the point. Moral of the story: Stay single, and you don’t have to give ang paos.
Sticking to the Chinese New Year theme, what makes a great festive celebration? Good food and great company of course. Notice that I that wrote ‘good’ for food, and ‘great’ for company. Yes, being able to spend CNY with the people you are comfortable with is certainly more important than great food. Although it certainly helps that the people I am most comfortable with also provide awesome food.
Friendly reminder: The next few paragraphs may or may not contain political issues. Consider yourself warned.
As I was browsing through Malaysian news website a few days back, I came across an article reporting that the Malaysian government is looking to introduce a new set of regulations to regulate Internet in Malaysia. Flip through any dictionary and you will find that the word ‘regulate’ is closely related to the word ‘control’.
Does that mean that Internet users in Malaysia are going to be watched and controlled by some government regulatory body? Well, if certain websites containing illicit material such as pornography and such are blocked, I can’t say naught to that.
But wait, the relevant ministry (Information, Communication and Culture Ministry) said that it will, among other functions, weed out ‘false information’. What exactly is false information? What if the government tries to cover up an incident detrimental to their standing among the people in order to win the next election, and brands the incident as ‘false’?
Personally, regulating the Internet is like stifling information. That is definitely not the way forward, especially for a developing (possibly stagnant) country like Malaysia. To win the people over, the government needs to be transparent (among other attributes of course). Perhaps the events in Egypt and Tunisia had the current government worried, but I am only a powerless observer. If this is one of the many methods that the government use to ensure they remain in power, I say the country has really gone to the dogs.
On a sidenote, can you imagine a government-friendly website named 1Malaysia.com replacing Facebook? Fortunately I live in Australia most the time now, free and able to use Zuckerberg's creation.
Are the set of regulation guidelines a form of internet censorship? That is the question.
