Emporium Blog

I had many lavish dinners in restaurant with relatives and friends this Chinese New Year. Of all dishes, the one I enjoyed most is the infamous shark fin soup. Loved by me, detest by some.

While some people swear that it is the apex of cruelty (some even say it is despicable and shameful) to cut off their fins and throw them back into the ocean still alive, I’d say it is the way to do it.

“Why only eat the fins? Why don’t you eat the whole fish?” I heard a loud scream of disagreement from someone.
“Why don’t you try some shark meat?” I screams back.

Don’t you dare pretend you know about sharks when you have not even tasted it. I’ll bet you haven’t even seen a real shark finning footage in the process. National Geographic’s post WW2 grainy black and white footage don’t count. People got finned too back then.

You just swallow and believe everything the ultra conservationist WWF says in their ask-for-donation-save-the-sharks-they’re-losing-their-fins pamphlets. Pictures on the internet shows finning of shark fins averaging the size of an A4 paper. I always wonder why the fins in my soup comes in the size of my nose.

Sharks feed on other small marine animals, they are at the top of the food chain. Sharks can sense blood from a mile away. Sharks thrown into the ocean after finning feed their hungry brethen. This is also a way to prevent them sharks to attack other endangered species like the penguins, baby sea lions and notably the sea turtles.

Let’s hammer it into the thick numbskull of some that while live finning of sharks are traditionally practised, they are rarely done in the present. Marine sanctuaries/farms/fisheries are created wherever possible with ways to successfully and sustainably cultivate sharks for consumption so that the value for wild shark fins and cartiliage drop significantly (the price for wild shark fins rocketed instead). And eventually ban the shark fishing in the wild throughout the world.You will notice the raw shark fins from the supermarket shelves has shrink in size and price. The commonly cultivated species is the common reef sharks that is small to medium in size. They grow and breed like rabbits.

Everyone should eat more shark fins soup. Kill more sharks before they kill other endangered animals, notably sea turtles that feeds on jelly fish. If you really care, use less plastic bags that sea turtles will mistaken as jelly fish and dies from choking on them.

By Alan Morison

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

THE DEATH of a Swedish tourist on the Malaysian island of Langkawi, apparently from a box jellyfish sting, has heightened concerns about swimmers’ safety throughout the region.

Swedish media reports have focused on the death, which is likely to alarm some visitors to Malaysia and Thailand.

Carina Lofgren, 45, died a horrible death in just five seconds, according to reports from Pantai Cenang, a beach resort on Langkawi.

The Swedish Embassy in Kuaka Lumpur confirmed today to Phuketwan the circumstances of the woman’s death.

Aftonbladet, one of Sweden’s most popular newspapers, reported that Mrs Lofgren was enjoying a farewell swim with her husband, Ronny, when the jellyfish wrapped its tentacles around her.

The couple had been taking a holiday in Thailand and Malaysia, renting an apartment on Langkawi close to the water, with Ronny’s sister and her husband.

The newspaper reported that the four went for a late-night swim, then: Carina’s voice suddenly cut like a knife through the night.

Her husband was quoted as saying: ”She screamed like a stuck pig and started pulling on my legs. Then we realised that it was a jellyfish of some sort. We tried to pull the tentacles away.

”It took four or five seconds, then she sank down, lifeless.”

They carried Carina to the beach, the newspaper reported, where. Ronny’s brother, who had worked as an ambulance medic, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

”He did CPR on her, maybe for four or five minutes. Then I took over. But I knew at once that she could not be saved. She died in my arms,” Ronny told Aftonbladet.

Paramedics arrived after 15 minutes. ”One of them said, ‘Oh, jellyfish,’ and shook his head. They tried to revive her, then they shook their heads again.”

A week earlier, a German woman had been stung on the beach, the Swedish tourists were told. Yet there were no warning signs, the newspaper reported.

”They are clearly afraid of losing tourists. I would not ever swim in the ocean down there again,” the dead woman’s husband is quoted as saying.

The couple have two adult children and later in February would have marked their 26th anniversary, Aftonbladet reported.

According to Swedish marine biologist Lars Henroth, the woman was probably stung by a box jellyfish, named for their cube-shaped body. Box jellyfish have the reputation for being the most toxic creatures on earth.

The Phuket Marine Biology Centre has led the way in researching all jellyfish in the region, noting that instances of contacts with box jellyfish appear to be increasing.

A young Swedish tourist died from box jellyfish stings off Koh Lanta in Krabi in April, 2008.

Resorts and lifeguards around the Andaman region now keep vinegar handy. Vinegar is the only known treatment for jellyfish stings.

While smaller varieties of box jellyfish have been discovered at a bay on Phuket’s east coast, there have been no confirmed sightings at Phuket’s popular west coast beaches.

Experts in Australia, where the deadly ”boxie” has rapidly enlarged its territory, believe it is probably only a matter of time before sightings are made on the Andaman coast.

Jellyfish everywhere are increasing in number, possibly in response to overfishing and the retreat of natural predators, including turtles.

It is the 9^th of September 2009, 10.49am to be precise that my second child was born. My family has grown. Mommy, Daddy, daughter and son. I am happy.

Life has changed, especially during the last few years. Things have mellowed down rather drastically. Noticed too that this post took over a year from the last one to appear.

Excitement has taken a new meaning. It is all done that, seen that, tasted that and been there kind of feeling. Responsibility takes precedent over all things now.

I am officially settled down, I shall say.

I pumped a full tank of petrol into my car today, almost reluctantly. Heck, if I don’t pump, it won’t go, geddit! There isn’t much choice I am afraid, unless I leave it to rot. This really don’t ask for a rant if that wish angel did not drop dead over indigestion of too much shit fed by the government.

I really believed that the Malaysian Government BN Government is gonna lower the price on the 1st of September 2008. As always, they lied. I remember some bloke in Perak even boasted that the fuel price is to be reviewed twice a month, all craps! I hate them politicians. Well, I supposed they are natural hate magnets when they go around shooting yesterday’s meal through their mouth.

Lame post this, yeah. But I felt better.

A rain dance is a type of ceremonial dance to ask for rain so that the crops are protected. There is this certain tribe who is extremely good at this rain dance. Every time they rain dance, it never fails to rain.

The tribe’s rain dance was so famous that other tribes invite them to do the dance for them. A wise man was curious and he wants to investigate the strangely effective phenomena. If it is true, then the tribe may be the answer to the world’s food production problem.  Drought would have been a thing of the past.  Everybody would be having enough to eat.

So as the story goes, the wise man asked the tribe to perform the rain dance, sure enough it rains. The wise man followed the tribe and make a record every time the rain dance was perform. The success rate was 100%. The wise man was very happy.

The wise man brought the tribe to drought hit places and asks them to do the rain dance, it rains.

The crops still die, people are still hungry. The wise man was puzzled.

The wise man was not so wise after all. Yes, the rain dance is effective. It is because they danced until the rain falls. It did not rain because of the dance.

I would say very corrupted. ACA (Anti Corruption Agency) receives 10,000 tip-offs this year according to “The Star”, the leading government controlled newspaper in Malaysia. That is one very conservative estimation, considering the restrictions placed on reporting this kind of embarrassing issues.

So what exactly makes them or us this corrupted? “Tak Cukup Makan” (not enough to eat) is the answer that comes from most of those I asked and they are being frank. High inflation that follows the recent crazy 41% fuel hike has irked all but the most corrupted ones.

Right now almost everyone is trying to find ways to earn more, in order to live their previous living standard. Cutting cost is not an option anymore. Everything is on the rise, including basic necessities such as water and electricity tariff. The chain of reaction is somewhat devastating to the economy, with traders trying to earn more by rising prices and consumers trying to spend less to save. It is a lose-lose situation where traders will sell less and consumers will buy less.

Looking at things, I would be corrupted too if given the chance. Shitty!

There was a story told long time ago by a wise man. It is a story about hardship and struggle unrivalled by its intensity. Truly a myth worth pondering.

So told there was this bird, *born without legs. It learned how to fly while falling from its nest up high. It was pushed down by its parents. From then on it keeps flying.

It cannot land for fear it cannot take off again. It has neither friends nor mate.

If it is sleepy, it will fly up high and sleep while falling from the sky and wakes up before hitting land. It has no choice but to keep flying to survive.

One day it will land. It is the day when the bird dies.

*note: born not hatched as was originally told.

Jaya Jusco is on sales again! I am not surprised, they have sales every now and then. More often than not. Infact I will be more surprised if they are not on sales.

The “Sales” culture is so embedded in the life of Malaysians. If it is not on sales, don’t buy yet, wait.

“What you do not have now is what you do not need” holds water here. Most shopping centres and complexes, huge ones, are quite deserted nowadays if there is no promotion of sort to draw em crowd in.

So I went and bought meself three pairs of trousers and two pairs of socks. All on 30% discount. Smart move eh!

Why buy so many freaking pairs for? My waistline is playing havoc on me. Sometimes big, sometimes small, really. Got some wide range of sizes, these trousers of mine. Next I ought to get a bigger wardrobe to stuff em in.

So short are my legs that all three pairs of trousers need to be altered. “We do not have alteration services during promotion sales” says the saleslady.

Very well, I will buy a pair of scissors from the stationeries dept and cut em myself. I just need you to fold em up and sew them, can? Cannot!

Ended up paying RM8 each pair for alteration at one rundown tailor shop near my place. That is 40% of the purchase price of RM19.90 a pair. So much for the 30% discount smart move purchase.

Heck!

As always I was having my meal alone again, at some food court in some shopping complex. I was not in my best of mood. It is more like a state of mood I am in most of the time.

There is this lady who came near my table asking for permission to take some empty chairs over to her table.

Lady, pointing to the empty chair: Ada orang ke? (“Is there someone?” *in Bahasa Malaysia)

Me: Lei kong mat chat? (“What are you talking about?” *in rude Cantonese)

In Malaysia, most Malays cannot understand the Chinese language. However, most other races can understand and speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia. The Malays are often very reluctant to speak in other languages than theirs. Even if they speak in the English Language, they will have accent, with their own flow and generous fare of lah’s. I am not in the mood to make her understand, not this time.

The lady was taken back slightly and looks quite surprise at my response. Somehow she summed up her courage to ask again.

Lady, pointing to the empty chair: Ada orang ke? (this time much louder)

Me: Ni Mah Ter. Ni suo seh meh? (Some vulgarities and “What are you talking about?” *in Mandarin)

She scoffs and walks off.

Moral of the story? There is none actually, just fed up.

This post is not meant to be biased or sexist. It is just an observation. It is about the general Chinese women in Malaysia who went overseas for further studies.

Those who are Chinese educated will normally get married to a foreigner there or when they are back.

Those who are English/National educated who went overseas will normally come back single and then get married to locals or they don’t get married at all.

Why like that? How would I know? Hence the title.

I am having my meal at KFC. I am alone. I sit at the furthest corner of the restaurant. As usual my order is the Snack Plate, consisting of two pieces of chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes and a small bun.

It is boring having to eat alone. Looked around, there are couples, families, friends, all eating together and chatting happily. My mood sank lower. Well, fine, I just have to finish my meal quickly and get out of there.

Somehow someone must have noticed my new haircut that day. A nice pretty little lady walks toward me and she looks happy to see me. I am sure she is smiling at me because I have my back to the wall and there is no one behind me.

My heart beats faster as she comes closer. Uninvited and in a most gracious way she sat beside me.

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Inconsiderate motorists, who hog the fast lane on highways, hear this!

You may drive slowly, you may even stop if you want, but make bloody sure you are not in other people’s way when you do that.

These road hoggers are selfish and oblivious to the dangers and the inconveniences they are causing other road users. I suspect they are somewhat blind and deaf. They could not care less about the flashing lights or blaring horns from the cars behind. I must add they are also bad tempered and ill mannered. The moment you overtake them, often by using the slow lane, they will give you the “I-own-the-road” glance. Some may even give you the middle finger.

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Magnum 4D, Sports Toto, Da Ma Cai number for you to punt on. There is this funny habit of Malaysian motorist which is more common than not amongst the Chinese community. They like to punt on any set of four numbers.

Simply called the 4D Game, it is a simple game of chance. It is simple and easy to play. Just place a small bet on any combination of four numbers and if it is drawn by any of the three lottery operators in the country, you strike a prize.

Often if there are any road accidents, most motorists will slow down, take out a pen and jot down the number plates of the car/s involved in the accident. They believe the more severe the accident, the higher the chance the numbers will come up in the lottery draw.

I have heard of many types of reasoning, if the car is rammed from behind, buy the set of numbers backward. If the car overturned, then six (6) becomes nine (9) and vice versa, etc etc.

There you go, good luck!

Disclaimer: No one is hurt or harmed in the above picture. Numbers may or may not come up in the lottery draw. Please bet within your means. Thank you.

Paypal now allows or so it seems, for Malaysians to withdraw their funds via credit-card management system. Namely the Visa and MasterCard machinery.

This system is often put into place when negotiations with the banking or financial body in certain country failed to make any progress. It is a last ditch effort made to enable users to transfer funds without being subjected to the rules and regulations set by the regulatory body. In Malaysia, that body is called Bank Negara.

If you log on to your paypal account, click on “Withdraw”, you will now see two options. The “Transfer funds to your card” is a newly added feature. It costs 5.00USD per transaction with a limit of 500.00USD.

Initial attempts to withdraw funds this way have not been successful. I am using credit cards issued by the local banks. I made a quick call to their customer service asking for clarifications. Their credit card officer revealed that all local banks have barred this kind of fund movement also used by online sports betting bookies.

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Happy 50th Birthday Malaysia.

Malaysia will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary of Independence on this coming 31st August, 2007. Much has happened in this span of fifty years and much is still left to be desired.

In his recent speech at the First Student Leaders Summit, Raja Muda of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah emphasised the rule of law and the inviolability of the Federal Constitution. It is a noble move to remind those who has taken the Constitution for granted. His speech has in a way awaken many to the fact that the citizen of this country has forgotten and forsaken the true motive and meaning of it.

Meanwhile, the following statement from a fellow Malaysian hits it where it matters and deserves special mention.

The Constitution of our country, apart from being a sacred document, is also a road map established to promote justice, insure domestic tranquility, secure liberty for our posterity and us and uphold the general welfare of our people irrespective of race, colour or creed.

It is the supreme law of the Federation and any law passed after the Merdeka Day that is inconsistent with this Constitution shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void (Article No. 4.1).

Any law that is in any respect repugnant to this Constitution or any provision thereof shall not be enacted.

Without any doubt, non-compliance with this obligations will impede progress and peace.

For parlimentarians especially, this is a heavy responsibility to shoulder.

Knowing the Constitution alone is not enough; upholding it and whatever it stands for must be religiously treasured.

–Noel F. D’Oliveiro

This blog is created initially to document and put to writing the misdoing of my apartment’s Evil Developer and their Maintenance Company from hell. This is the place to bring to bring to light all their evil doings, as no other place is appropriate enough.

This blog serve as a place of sort to vent my pent up anger and frustrations. This is necessary as all kinds of complains to all levels of authority fell on deaf ears.

The Authority that has the authority to do something often refuses to address and tackle the problems many dwellers of high-rise apartment and communal living places are facing.

More often than not, laws and rules are created to address issues but they are loosely enforced if at all. Let’s see how long they will take this time.

Board to handle strata title grouses

PUTRAJAYA: The soon-to-be-formed Strata Titles Board will handle all complaints regarding strata titles.

Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid has informed the Bar Council that he was in the midst of appointing members to the board.

The council’s conveyance practice committee chairman, Roger Tan, said this was provided for in the amended Strata Titles Act, which came into effect in April.

Tan said condominium owners could take their complaints to the board and its decision would be final.

-Excerpt from The Star Newspaper

However, I realized that many can complain and whine but not many can actually do something to end the woes. We need more action than just talk. Complain letters and discussions held with proper diplomatic channels do not work. If the proper ways do not work, what choice do we have?

The direction of this blog is vague for now. I can see a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

Make money online by writing a blog, it is not to be, at least for the moment for this blog. Those who tell you can make money easily by writing a blog are telling a lie. It is possible but it is not easy, far from it. It would take as much effort as it takes to start a business in real life and make it make profit. No luck is involved in this. Planning, promotion, rapport and even connections play a part in your blog’s success. Even the reliability of your webhoster will play a part.

If you put as much effort into writing a blog so much so that it will make you a decent income to enable you to forgo your regular job, you would be a doctor in real life with the same amount of effort put into your studies. Those who are still skeptical can proof me wrong by starting a blog now and talk again after six months.

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Astro got new channels – Astro on Demand. I guess everyone knows about it already. The channels will feature Chinese serial dramas at about the same time as they are aired in Hong Kong. Viewers will have to pay per episode.

It is a big deal, really. Malaysian viewers are normally served with stale and outdated programmes by Astro without them knowing it. Astro always comes out with new channels and products and I admire their innovation and creativity for sucking the people’s money.

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I have seen one and I have seen one too many. Drivers who smoke while driving will often flick the cigarette butt out of the car when done. Maybe it is out of convenience, may be it is just the wind. Having a bad habit like smoking is bad enough, add another simply throw rubbish habit and you have the nasty drivers who smoke. To add to insult, it is not illegal in Malaysia to smoke or eat while driving.

I have seen many types of rubbish being thrown out of a moving car. Tissue papers, unwanted bits of papers and wrappers, packets of drinks, plastic bags and tins, rambutan peels, glass bottle from obviously drunk drivers who throw just to break it and you just name it objects. I would not be surprised if someone were to throw some durian skins out of the car during this durian season.

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