My wish list this coming Budget 2006 (hey, everyone is entitled to his/her wish):
1. Salary increase
Yahoo! A salary increase for all civil servants. We know civil servants are poorly paid for the amount of work we do (I'm strictly speaking of health staff), but sadly I can't say the same for the rest of the service. Maybe it'll be a motivation for a better working environment and discorages corruption to a certain extent (am I kidding myself??) It's been a long time coming you know...
2. Reduction in personal tax
Actually at approx 12-15% for most people, the tax rates are quite low, but based on actual take home income it's quite high; so there's a possibility of it being lowered. maybe certain allowances such as on-call allowances can be made tax-exempt as well. Hey, I'm a nice guy (since I won't be able to pay tax next year...that's how low my salary is, and hence #1), I can wish for others too can't I?
3. Tax rebates for more purchases
Now limited to computers (once every five years, sheesh!), books and magazines. Maybe it should be widened to other electronic equipment, cars, houses etc. Would really promote domestic spending, I think...
4. Higher sin taxes
Increase the taxes for cigarette and alcohol companies. You look at the people around you and you know how much these two are generating in terms of revenue. Especially cigarettes. Nowadays more and more people, especially the younger generation are smoking. And since smoking and alcohol consumption is associated with a lot of diseases, increasing taxes and hence raising the selling price would deter consumption wouldn't it? Nah...but at least the government will earn a bit more...
5. Bonus time
It's about time the government gives a bigger bonus than the regular one month bonus...maybe two months bonus this year, in view of the price increases we have to tolerate. And keep it up for the subsequent years, unless they increase the basic salary for us civil servants.
And that's my wish this year. Hope it comes true...
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Memories #1
Well I was a bit nostalgic this week, thinking of my childhood. It's a bit sad because I can't remember very much of my early childhood; but I do remember somewhat the later years.
Lets see: was in kindie in 1980s, was a kindergarten near where I live: it's called Joy Kindergarten. I remember going there from 9 am to 12 pm everyday, by bus. Yellow-coloured mini-bus (which incidentally I used until Standard Six) - well I called it Auntie bus. Guess I enjoyed kindie a bit, used to get a lot of stars for my work. It's how they reward our work (A's and B's were not there yet). I used to have some of the work until a few years back; did some house cleaning and threw most of the stuff away. Looking at it brings back a bit of memories. I didn't remember much of kindie though.
Primary school: SRK Seaport. Was there for six years. Met a lot of people; but they come and go. Met my best friend there too: now he's in UK as a physician. Yeah I remember the first time we met: he helped me tie my shoelaces. Since then we remained best of friends, though we may have lost contact a bit, but we still met together. Well, we had a few friends, but the years passed very fast. I remember this hopscotch game and this marble game (guli: we used to dig a small hole, each of us had a marble ball which we used to put the marble into the hole, or smash our opponent's marble to bits in order to prevent them from going into the hole!!) I also remember the bottle cap game, card games (that was trying to flip as many cards using palm power), frisbee and chopping (similar games, trying to hit another person using a frisbee [wasn't a real frisbee: we used the plastic milk can covers] and tennis ball). I was first bullied then, Std Four I think. Cried all the way to the headmistress' office. Brings back memories... And in Std Six, classmate asked me what masturbate was (because my English was good); I thought it was master-bed and told him so...was a bit miffed when he laughed, so I got back and checked the dictionary: that was the end of my innocence.
Hmm, guess the 80s were prime days for me. Remember Beat It (MJ) and Every Breath You Take (Police) very well. Also a lot of songs by Cyndi Lauper. Oh those pop songs were wonderful. Then came Phil Collins, New Kids on the Block, Paula Abdul. Sports wise, I remember the 1985 Heysel disaster (actually I woke up to see the match and saw a lot of smoke, and found out that the match was delayed, so I went to sleep, and didn't find out about the disaster till the next morning!!). Selangor were kings of football then. Otherwise nothing much about sports other than that.
TV shows: Greatest American Hero, A-team, McGyver, Knight Rider, Airwolf and Blue Thunder. The period was great for family sitcoms: Gowing Pains, Silver Spoon, Full House, Alf and there was this series about a robot girl VICKI. Sci-Fi: hmm, I remember V, the old Battlestar Galactica. Cartoons: Transformers of course, parts of Robotech, things like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Visionaries, Voltron, and i think many others. I went for my first cinema screening in 1988: sad, isn't it...guess what show? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, har...har...
Well, I'll continue my memories later.
Lets see: was in kindie in 1980s, was a kindergarten near where I live: it's called Joy Kindergarten. I remember going there from 9 am to 12 pm everyday, by bus. Yellow-coloured mini-bus (which incidentally I used until Standard Six) - well I called it Auntie bus. Guess I enjoyed kindie a bit, used to get a lot of stars for my work. It's how they reward our work (A's and B's were not there yet). I used to have some of the work until a few years back; did some house cleaning and threw most of the stuff away. Looking at it brings back a bit of memories. I didn't remember much of kindie though.
Primary school: SRK Seaport. Was there for six years. Met a lot of people; but they come and go. Met my best friend there too: now he's in UK as a physician. Yeah I remember the first time we met: he helped me tie my shoelaces. Since then we remained best of friends, though we may have lost contact a bit, but we still met together. Well, we had a few friends, but the years passed very fast. I remember this hopscotch game and this marble game (guli: we used to dig a small hole, each of us had a marble ball which we used to put the marble into the hole, or smash our opponent's marble to bits in order to prevent them from going into the hole!!) I also remember the bottle cap game, card games (that was trying to flip as many cards using palm power), frisbee and chopping (similar games, trying to hit another person using a frisbee [wasn't a real frisbee: we used the plastic milk can covers] and tennis ball). I was first bullied then, Std Four I think. Cried all the way to the headmistress' office. Brings back memories... And in Std Six, classmate asked me what masturbate was (because my English was good); I thought it was master-bed and told him so...was a bit miffed when he laughed, so I got back and checked the dictionary: that was the end of my innocence.
Hmm, guess the 80s were prime days for me. Remember Beat It (MJ) and Every Breath You Take (Police) very well. Also a lot of songs by Cyndi Lauper. Oh those pop songs were wonderful. Then came Phil Collins, New Kids on the Block, Paula Abdul. Sports wise, I remember the 1985 Heysel disaster (actually I woke up to see the match and saw a lot of smoke, and found out that the match was delayed, so I went to sleep, and didn't find out about the disaster till the next morning!!). Selangor were kings of football then. Otherwise nothing much about sports other than that.
TV shows: Greatest American Hero, A-team, McGyver, Knight Rider, Airwolf and Blue Thunder. The period was great for family sitcoms: Gowing Pains, Silver Spoon, Full House, Alf and there was this series about a robot girl VICKI. Sci-Fi: hmm, I remember V, the old Battlestar Galactica. Cartoons: Transformers of course, parts of Robotech, things like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Visionaries, Voltron, and i think many others. I went for my first cinema screening in 1988: sad, isn't it...guess what show? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, har...har...
Well, I'll continue my memories later.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Monday, August 21, 2006
Snapshots
EPL Away!!
OK, OK so Liverpool didn't do too well in their opening game...so what? They're slow starters, and there's the Champions' League Qualifiers on Tuesday to worry about. But at least they showed some fighting spirit in the second half. Will need to give time for the midfield and new attack to gel. The EPL is a marathon and not a sprint. Let's hope the stamina is there this year.
Merdeka!
Just under ten days to go to our country's 49th birthday. Nothing special I guess. Patriotism? I don't fly the national flag. But then again I don't see that many of them flying in the wind this year. Silent protest against price increases? Who knows? And I don't get this flying-the-Jalur Gemilang-to-show-your-patriotism thing the leaders cry out yearly. I still work like a dog for the government and have no plans to leave; I pay my taxes in full and on time; I defend the country when people make disparaging comments against it. Isn't that patriotism enough? Outward show of does not always cut it; it's what you actually do in the sidelines that really counts. I guess we laymen have a different interpretation of patriotism.
Early Budget
It's a bit odd that the Budget tabling is due right after Merdeka Day on Sept 1. Is there something special waiting in the wings? Especially after all the price increases we have to suffer this year. Hmmm...hopefully it's a pay rise and not the one-off bonuses we hear year after year (err, that would be good too, in addition). The Government can afford a pay rise, and it will certainly boost morale in the civil service, I think. Tax cuts maybe...but I'm not hoping much. Otherwise I don't see anything other incentives the Government has too offer. If not this year then maybe the next, seeing that next year is the 'Golden Jubilee'...
Senseless muders
Deaths which have rocked the country. Senseless murders that borders on insanity. Snatch thieves. Why would anyone kill for a few ringgit? Are society getting so impoverished that we need to steal for a few ringgit? Junkies we say...maybe, and who knows? And where is the safety and security we once cherished? Can we afford to walk in the night, even in the bright lights of the city and feel safe nowadays? We are becoming more modern as we speak. It's a reality of life.
Next: shooting and guns in the schools; freely available drugs in the streets; underage abortions shooting through the roof; unemployment rising. Sounds familiar? It happened to the once most powerful economy in the world. You know what I'm talking about. The price we pay for modernisation and urbanisation. Our 2020 vision is fast becoming a nightmare.
OK, OK so Liverpool didn't do too well in their opening game...so what? They're slow starters, and there's the Champions' League Qualifiers on Tuesday to worry about. But at least they showed some fighting spirit in the second half. Will need to give time for the midfield and new attack to gel. The EPL is a marathon and not a sprint. Let's hope the stamina is there this year.
Merdeka!
Just under ten days to go to our country's 49th birthday. Nothing special I guess. Patriotism? I don't fly the national flag. But then again I don't see that many of them flying in the wind this year. Silent protest against price increases? Who knows? And I don't get this flying-the-Jalur Gemilang-to-show-your-patriotism thing the leaders cry out yearly. I still work like a dog for the government and have no plans to leave; I pay my taxes in full and on time; I defend the country when people make disparaging comments against it. Isn't that patriotism enough? Outward show of does not always cut it; it's what you actually do in the sidelines that really counts. I guess we laymen have a different interpretation of patriotism.
Early Budget
It's a bit odd that the Budget tabling is due right after Merdeka Day on Sept 1. Is there something special waiting in the wings? Especially after all the price increases we have to suffer this year. Hmmm...hopefully it's a pay rise and not the one-off bonuses we hear year after year (err, that would be good too, in addition). The Government can afford a pay rise, and it will certainly boost morale in the civil service, I think. Tax cuts maybe...but I'm not hoping much. Otherwise I don't see anything other incentives the Government has too offer. If not this year then maybe the next, seeing that next year is the 'Golden Jubilee'...
Senseless muders
Deaths which have rocked the country. Senseless murders that borders on insanity. Snatch thieves. Why would anyone kill for a few ringgit? Are society getting so impoverished that we need to steal for a few ringgit? Junkies we say...maybe, and who knows? And where is the safety and security we once cherished? Can we afford to walk in the night, even in the bright lights of the city and feel safe nowadays? We are becoming more modern as we speak. It's a reality of life.
Next: shooting and guns in the schools; freely available drugs in the streets; underage abortions shooting through the roof; unemployment rising. Sounds familiar? It happened to the once most powerful economy in the world. You know what I'm talking about. The price we pay for modernisation and urbanisation. Our 2020 vision is fast becoming a nightmare.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Red Storm Rising?
Well here goes the football season. By that I mean the English Premiership season 2006-2007!
The Community Shield match started off this season's proceedings: the game between the Reds and the Blues were up to expectation. As expected Liverpool won the match 2-1, with Crouch and Riise scoring the goals. Rafa tried some new players in new positions while resting the old; Chelsea came with their strongest squad. Yet that was not enough. Sissoko was a rock in midfield, while the Carragher-Agger pairing akward as it was, held firm against Schevchenko and Drogba; Zenden, Riise and Gonzales terrorised the Chelsea defence; Crouch and Garcia could do no wrong. But it was 1-1 only at halftime. Rafa injected some urgency into the Reds attack bringing on Gerrard, Alonso and Bellamy into the attack: this paid off with Bellamy producing the cross of the match for Crouch's winning goal. Chelsea were in tears...but in all fairness Mourinho was outsmarted by Rafa, and his team outplayed by resurgent Liverpool.
So what will we expect of Liverpool this season? More of the same I hope. Consistency is the key. Sisoko should hold the fort ala Hamann; Alonso, Gerrard, Gonzales, Pennant and Zenden rotating in midfield; but the attack pair of Crouch-Bellamy should provide the punch lacking last season. Defence? Carragher and Hyppia would be the rock they were the last two seasons, and with Paletta, Agger in the wings, Liverpool finally has the depth they lacked so much.
Liverpool would be the team to watch.
Next week, Sheffield United. We wait for the storm to come ashore...
The Community Shield match started off this season's proceedings: the game between the Reds and the Blues were up to expectation. As expected Liverpool won the match 2-1, with Crouch and Riise scoring the goals. Rafa tried some new players in new positions while resting the old; Chelsea came with their strongest squad. Yet that was not enough. Sissoko was a rock in midfield, while the Carragher-Agger pairing akward as it was, held firm against Schevchenko and Drogba; Zenden, Riise and Gonzales terrorised the Chelsea defence; Crouch and Garcia could do no wrong. But it was 1-1 only at halftime. Rafa injected some urgency into the Reds attack bringing on Gerrard, Alonso and Bellamy into the attack: this paid off with Bellamy producing the cross of the match for Crouch's winning goal. Chelsea were in tears...but in all fairness Mourinho was outsmarted by Rafa, and his team outplayed by resurgent Liverpool.
So what will we expect of Liverpool this season? More of the same I hope. Consistency is the key. Sisoko should hold the fort ala Hamann; Alonso, Gerrard, Gonzales, Pennant and Zenden rotating in midfield; but the attack pair of Crouch-Bellamy should provide the punch lacking last season. Defence? Carragher and Hyppia would be the rock they were the last two seasons, and with Paletta, Agger in the wings, Liverpool finally has the depth they lacked so much.
Liverpool would be the team to watch.
Next week, Sheffield United. We wait for the storm to come ashore...
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Control freak
It befuddles me how our government tries to control every facet of our lives. There are certain areas of national importance which I fully understand, but there are areas which I certainly do not.
Broadband has really made a difference in our lives. But wait a minute. Why would a regular day-to-day user like want to use broadband, unless I want to access the Internet and need high download or access speeds? There lies the crux of the matter. TMNet (almost the only Internet service provider out there) has decided to regulate the amount of access speeds to certain sites. I mean in my case torrent sites (for the uninitiated, torrent sites are sites where individuals may download programs, music, movie etc. for free - granted that the sites may be illegal) and P2P file sharing sites. Downloads are awfully slow recently. A TV show of 350 MB takes me about 18 hours instead of the usual 2 1/2 hours to download. Imagine downloading movies of 1 GB...
Their excuse is that these sites take up the bulk of the bandwidth available. Of course it does, and it's about the only reason why we would pay RM 88/month for Internet access: so that we can see and download our favourite shows/movies, which we could not get here (or wait for it to arrive here)!!!
Changing service providers is not the option, since the only other competitor is being priced out of the game. In short, we are at the mercy of TMNet.
What will be next: other sites? It will never end. It's about time that the government grow up and trust us, or provide us with alternatives (which are currently not available).
In the mean time, please be a good and understanding big brother...
Broadband has really made a difference in our lives. But wait a minute. Why would a regular day-to-day user like want to use broadband, unless I want to access the Internet and need high download or access speeds? There lies the crux of the matter. TMNet (almost the only Internet service provider out there) has decided to regulate the amount of access speeds to certain sites. I mean in my case torrent sites (for the uninitiated, torrent sites are sites where individuals may download programs, music, movie etc. for free - granted that the sites may be illegal) and P2P file sharing sites. Downloads are awfully slow recently. A TV show of 350 MB takes me about 18 hours instead of the usual 2 1/2 hours to download. Imagine downloading movies of 1 GB...
Their excuse is that these sites take up the bulk of the bandwidth available. Of course it does, and it's about the only reason why we would pay RM 88/month for Internet access: so that we can see and download our favourite shows/movies, which we could not get here (or wait for it to arrive here)!!!
Changing service providers is not the option, since the only other competitor is being priced out of the game. In short, we are at the mercy of TMNet.
What will be next: other sites? It will never end. It's about time that the government grow up and trust us, or provide us with alternatives (which are currently not available).
In the mean time, please be a good and understanding big brother...
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Gotta write something
Yeah I know, it's nearly two weeks since I blooged about something...so here's my two cents worth about last week.
Well, was quite sick last week. Started off with a scratchy throat which turned into pretty high fever, nearly 40 degrees. Had to go out with a friend who came nack for holidays from the UK, despite the fever. You can imagine how that turned out... Wednesday's was the worst. Couldn't get outta bed, and had to go to work nonetheless. Was like a zonked out zombie at work...thanks god I didn't kill any one.
Fever finally broke on Saturday I think. Now I feel a bit better, but tired from the after effects of the infection. Will probably take a few more days before I'm finally up to speed.
The Israel-Hizbollah conflict is hogging the limelight so far...but it is a piece of distressing news. I guess the Israelis played right into the terrorists' hands by bombing and targeting civilians. Guess it's bad publicity all over again... We'll just have to wait and see what happens, and whether the International community can force a cease fire, and more importantly what they are gonna do about Hizbollah, and similar terrorist organisations.
I guess that's all for now. Have to pace myself you know...
Well, was quite sick last week. Started off with a scratchy throat which turned into pretty high fever, nearly 40 degrees. Had to go out with a friend who came nack for holidays from the UK, despite the fever. You can imagine how that turned out... Wednesday's was the worst. Couldn't get outta bed, and had to go to work nonetheless. Was like a zonked out zombie at work...thanks god I didn't kill any one.
Fever finally broke on Saturday I think. Now I feel a bit better, but tired from the after effects of the infection. Will probably take a few more days before I'm finally up to speed.
The Israel-Hizbollah conflict is hogging the limelight so far...but it is a piece of distressing news. I guess the Israelis played right into the terrorists' hands by bombing and targeting civilians. Guess it's bad publicity all over again... We'll just have to wait and see what happens, and whether the International community can force a cease fire, and more importantly what they are gonna do about Hizbollah, and similar terrorist organisations.
I guess that's all for now. Have to pace myself you know...
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