Malaysiaku, Negaraku

  28 February 2023 The Current Situation We have depended too much on the middlemen in the food chain. This is why raw ingredients have caused food prices to be raised. At the moment, Menu Rahmah may have taken off in the Klang Valley, but it has not reached other places. Feedback from Ipoh, and two East Malaysian states suggest that they too are keen to have the budget meals but such idea has not taken off yet in their towns.     What can the government do to help?   1.    Talking about prices of food such as meat and veggies, YB Michelle Ng reported that resident associations in USJ 3/4 in Subang Jaya have already started buying their groceries directly from the farmers. This is to cut off the middlemen. The Domestic Ministry, for example, can use this model and help publicise their model for others to follow or connect the farmers with the resident associations of housing estates/condo/apartments. If farmers are short of workers, they have to start to innovate and automate their fa

  Picture used only for illustration purposes          Since  it is difficult for the government to downsize the public service,  the Malaysian Government need not reduce the number of public servants, but it needs to at least be able to deploy them to more productive work.           While I believe the law should still be reformed to allow sacking of underperforming staff in the public service than what is permitted now, their contribution towards the economy of the country should be significant and turned into their Key Performance Index.          As it is, currently, ten workers are involved in road repairs by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), but only three workers would be seen working while the rest just stand there to watch.            This scenario which I saw at a junction at Jalan Bukit Maluri recently is no difference from the joke that once prevailed when people talked about JKR workers. There should fewer people, but more teams to cover a wider area.          In the corporate

          Malaysia needs Integrity Business Network.           In the past, Chinese businessmen have always told me that in the Chinese business community, business operates on one simple word, "Trust." This was something that the older businessmen took pride of.            Businesses, they always said, can only thrive based on the word 'Trust.'           I am not a businessman but I have always attempted to live a life of integrity due to my faith in God.           However, i t pains me whenever I feel cheated by traders who go for the quick kill. I would often avoid these shops the moment I realise that I have been cheated.    A Good Example Recently             I drive an old Honda City. Gear box as you know can be very expensive to change. The car has reached about 20 years and I started to experience a drag in the engine every morning.          One mechanic told me that I needed to change the gear box. It would cost RM2,500 for a reconditioned gear box. 

  Okay, someone has unlocked the secrets of the Menu Rahmah. It is no longer a secret that, if done well, businesses offering Menu Rahmah @ RM5 a meal will eventually make more profits.           For us Christians, we say God will bless us in return, when we start to bless others. Muslims say,  “Apparently in Rahmah there is charity…the secret of GOD that we don’t know. Thank you unity government."           Think about it. Right after the pandemic was over, I visited my favourite Penang curry mee stall at the Lim's Sisters in Sri Sinar, Segambut.         Back in 2018, I had written about Joo Tiang's Penang Curry Mee , Lor Mee and Prawn Mee selling at RM4 a bowl. This was way before Menu Rahmah was suggested.          I was curious if Joo Tiang's stall was able to survive. Most other restaurants that I wrote about previously had closed down.           Lo and behold, Joo Tiang's stall did not only survive, but they were doing well that the son nowadays closes at ab

  Elementary, my dear Mahathir! In response to his letter to the editor    I feel compelled to respond to Federal Territories’ Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief, Mahathir Mohd Rais’ letter to the editor accusing the present government of going on a witch hunt. A ​ new bee himself , he appears to be totally out of sync with what his voters have wanted to see corruption  ​being dealt with severe l ​y​ . Business people, especially those who are not so well-connected, find it difficult to pitch for government jobs without paying a bribe, especially when the projects are given to people within a certain circle. ​In fact, those against corruption are in the majority. Therefore, how can Mahathir claim that "many" are against the witch hunt that he accused the unity government of doing? Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim has shown his resolve to deal with corruption and in no uncertain terms, he said, "Investigate, including those in PKR."  ​Party Members Not Spared ​

This is one way how the Ministry of Youth and Sports can be involved in building up well-motivated young people to achieve the career of their choice.           Even as young as 12, young people find it useful to get exposure of this nature.          I took these children for a few hours of exposure at the High Court Complex at Jalan Sultan Abdul Halim in Kuala Lumpur.          They were given a briefing about the Lower and Higher Courts. For the Lower Courts, they were able to visit a Magistrate Court while it was in recess.           For the High Courts, they had the opportunity to watch the court proceeding of a suit between the Attorney-General's Chambers vs Developer (first party) and Consultant (second party).          They saw how both the Prosecution Counsels and Defence Counsels examined and cross-examined one of the Defence Witnesses.           I hope the Minister of Youth and Sports will implement a programme that will expose our young people throughout the country to he

           It simply does not add up -- Ministry of Health's big budget of RM5.24 billion last year, the number of Covid-19 vaccine doses that had to be destroyed running into millions of Ringgit, ventilators purchased brand new that could hardly be used at all, yet we have no budget to convert contract medical staff into permanent positions.           Sheer malfeasance is the word to describe the Ministry of Health officials, and perhaps its former ministers, who were involved in the purchase of 136 ventilators purchased by the ministry through Phamaniaga Logistics between 2020 and April 2022.           Seeing that this is now a matter of much public interest, it may become necessary for a Royal Commission of Inquiry to be set up to carry out a more thorough investigation into the malfeasance, and  no stone should be left uncovered; in the worst-case scenario, if this was an abuse of power at procurement, the cases reported by the Attorney-General has to be followed up by the Mala

  If Malaysians continue to adopt the crab culture, we will all end up in the frying pan.           Crabs in a basket are good at dragging each other down, instead of working together to find a way to escape.           With an economy that is already lagging behind other ASEAN nations, politicians from both political divides are still not getting their acts together.            They seem too pre-occupied with nothing other than to create more problems and to destablise the government of the day.  I do not need to mention Muhyiddin Yasin, Abdul Hadi Awang and the gang who are eyeing for Putrajaya.          In fact, a mention of names like Kedah  Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and Permatang Pauh Ustaz Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan is sufficient to make people feel disgusted, especially with the actions and remarks these two politicians are making.          In this article, I am addressing the people who are more "salvageable." As ordinary rakyat, we have to whack; if not, w