April 14, 2010 • 1:07 pm 0
I read about the Watergate Scandal – the scandal that ended Nixon’s presidency – many many years ago. Well, this evening I had the pleasure of having dinner at one of the penthouses in the Watergate Complex. The view from the top floor is simply breathtaking.
Rooftop of Watergate East. To the right is famous office complex.
Gossip of the night: Monica Lewinsky lived in the building to the left.
Filed under: Personal
April 11, 2010 • 11:12 am 0
John Stossel briefly touches on why it is not ‘cruel’ to say that the government should not provide welfare (because the government creates more problem when they try to do it)
Filed under: Personal
April 2, 2010 • 3:26 pm 0
There is a video on www.AkademiMerdeka.org discussing a lesson from Frederic Bastiat with comments Dr Tom Palmer. Check out this link: http://akademimerdeka.org/2010/04/02/disastrous-economic-fallacies-terror-as-stimulus/
And, Noor Amin Ahmad has written a beautiful essay in Malay about Bastiat’s legacy, which can be accessed here: http://akademimerdeka.org/2010/04/02/bastiat-apa-yang-boleh-kita-belajar-dari-dia/
Filed under: Personal
March 15, 2010 • 12:15 am 3
Dachau Concentration Camp is about 40 minutes outside of Munich. It was the first one to be built, and eventually became a model for all other concentration camps under Hitler.
We in Malaysia are usually told that concentration camps were built for Jews. But Dachau was actually initially built for political prisoners – those who opposed Hitler for whatever reasons, including political and religious (mainly Catholics and Jesuits). Jews were brought in several years later.
I visited the camp with friends from 4 countries this afternoon – Arif (India), Isaac (Ghana), Kamilla (Kyrgyzstan), and Sevgi and Hasan (Turkish). Including travel time, we spent 5 hours together for this trip.
The temperature must have been about 2C, and it was snowing. We thought it was freezing cold. I just cannot imagine what it must have been like for the prisoners who did not have the luxury of jackets and warm clothing like we did. Never again.
Filed under: Personal
March 11, 2010 • 1:31 am 0
February 22, 2010 • 12:51 pm 0
Some photos from my recent trip to Taipei (31 Jan 2010 – 4 Feb 2010) to attend the International Democrat Union executive meeting.
IDU Executive Meeting in session
With former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard
Taipei 101, right next door to our hotel
A visit to Taipei's Snake Alley Night Market. Nothing special there, disappointingly.
Visit to Northern Coast area. Weird rock formation.
View from the mountain village of Jiufen. The market here is very nice.
A tea-house in Jiufen. This one is just brilliant!
February 8, 2010 • 12:09 pm 1
I have written before how useless Maxis is (see here, here and here).
I urge everyone to not use Maxis.
My main complaint to them is that I have never opened a Maxis account and they have allowed a fraud to happen. Over the last few weeks, Maxis has been trying to reply to my complaint.
I asked Maxis to send me a copy of their formal complaints procedure. They do not have one that can be sent to me. It seems like they deliberately want to hide from the public knowledge about where to go to resolve disputes. If you have a dispute with Maxis, you can only talk to the officer they appoint. If you disagree with the findings that officer supply to you, then tough luck. Maxis does not care.
I wrote in my complaint to them how I have been forced to submit the same documents twice. The first time they lost my papers. The second time the papers did not get to the right place. Then their so called “Forensic Department” staff are extremely unhelpful, and the Assistant Manager at Maxis Gardens could not care enough that a customer wants to make a formal complaint.
The written reply I got from Maxis was this: “Please accept our apologies on your expereince in having to resubmit the documentation over again. As spoken on this matter, we would take note of this gap and would continue in our efforts to enhance on our service standards.” A simple apology without any regard about the time I had to spend and the effort I had to make to repeatedly pursue the case. Well done Maxis. When a customer faces a problem taht is caused by you, you make the customer work to just get your attention.
I asked Maxis how they could approve the application when the address on the application form was clearly different from the address on my IC. I asked them what is the security procedure they used to verify an applicant’s identity.
This is the answer I got from them: “We regret that we are unable to share with you our internal processes in relation to our investigation and procedures.
We however would welcome any further information or update that you may wish to share on this matter for our onward review.”
Maxis refuses to provide evidence that they have a secure procedure to verify the identity of the applicant. I think Maxis just simply do not have any procedure at all. Otherwise, why not tell me? And they still maintain that their “procedure” is safe enough and they want me to pay for an account I have never opened.
They sent me a copy of the unpaid bill, but it was addressed to a place that I have never heard of. How does Maxis expect me to know anything about the account when they sent the bills to an unknown address???
But Maxis has the balls to ask me to pay, now. This is what Maxis said: “In line with our position above, the total amount due on the said account is RM949.35 and this amount is inclusive of the 1st letter of demand that was sent to you dated 11thJuly 2007. We seek your kind understanding on this matter and trust you would make the relevant arrangements on settling this accordingly. You can visit the nearest maxis centre to you and please quote the said account number when remitting the amount.”
Well done Maxis. You have proven that you are very quick at asking for money from people, but very poor at ensuring you are charging the right person.
The one thing that I can commend is that this time they did provide me with a number I can call. They now say that the number for Maxis Complaint is 03-74914483.
January 17, 2010 • 6:50 am 0
Semalam saya menghadiri mini-reunion anjuran Persatuan Alumni Sekolah Alam Shah (ASAS) di pejabatnya di Kota Damansara. Saya yakin ASAS mempunyai potensi yang besar untuk memberi sumbangan dalam usaha pembaikan sistem pendidikan negara kita. Ahli-ahli ASAS banyak yang berjaya dalam kerjaya masing-masing. Sudah pasti pengalaman mereka banyak yang boleh dikongsi.
Penubuhan Koperasi ASAS juga merupakan satu langkah baik. Koperasi ini menjalankan mesyuarat agung penubuhan semalam, dan saya telah mendaftar sebagai ahli.
Yayasan Amal ASAS juga bakal dilancarkan pada 27 Februari nanti, sempena majlis makan malam ASAS di Royale Chulan.
Mini Re-Union ASAS 16 Jan 2010, Kota Damansara
Bersembang dengan Tan Sri Samsuddin Hitam, Presiden ASAS (pen biru di poket)
Mesyuarat Agung Penubuhan Koperasi ASAS
Pejabat Persatuan Alumni Sekolah Alam Shah (ASAS) di Kota Damansara
Filed under: Malaysia, Personal, Alumni Sekolah Alam Shah, ASAS, Koperasi ASAS
January 15, 2010 • 2:49 pm 1
This is what Maxis says about themselves:
By focusing on just three words we define ourselves.
This is what Maxis stands for.
Simple.
We aim to keep everything we do as simple as possible. For example, customers understand what it is we are telling them because we do it in a way that is straightforward and easy to understand.We make things simple for everyone, including ourselves. Keeping things simple also means that everything we say is said in a clear direct tone of voice that is friendly and human.
Trustworthy.
Trust is crucial in every successful relationship and this is true between customers and Maxis, just as it is true between the company and its employees. All good relationships are built on trust which inspires confidence, and, assurance, conviction and reliance.To be trustworthy is a way of life.
Creative.
Creativity defines us and therefore differentiates us from our competition. It inspires not only our communication style, but also how we answer the phone, design our stores, and deal with challenges.Creative runs through everything we do and everything we say, it’s in our DNA
UTTER RUBBISH!
I wrote a comment on their Facebook Fan page and it was removed within minutes.
It has been 3 months and Maxis still fails to investigate a report that I lodged (a Maxis account under my name fraudulently opened in the mid-90s). They lost the papers I submitted twice. The first time I sent it to Maxis Taman Segar, and the second time to Maxis Gardens. None of what I submitted was received by their so called “Forensic Department”. Perhaps Maxis’ Forensic Team should firstly investigate what happened to the papers that they lost.
I have been forced to submit the same documents twice. The first time they clearly lost my papers. The second time it seems like the papers did not get to the right place.
Maxis Forensic Department staff are extremely unhelpful, and the Assistant Manager at Maxis Gardens could not care enough that a customer wants to make a formal complaint. I asked to see him and he refused to even come out from his office.
Because of the fraud, the blacklisted my name and I cannot open a mobile phone account anywhere. Maxis puts the burden to prove that I am innocent on me. Unless I can prove I am innocent, they will not remove the blacklist. Two questions:
1. How can I prove my innocence when they keep losing everything I submitted?
2. They were the one who failed to detect the fraud, why am I being punished?
It is almost impossible to speak to someone directly who can solve the problem. I also struggle to find Maxis’ complaint procedure displayed anywhere on their website.
The three best word to describe Maxis are:
1. Abysmal
2. Awful
3. Incompetent
Avoid Maxis if you can.
Filed under: Malaysia, Personal, maxis, Maxis complaint
January 13, 2010 • 7:57 am 5
In my previous post, I have already hinted that Maxis shares the same awful quality of customer service with TM.
TM doesn’t just employ a security guard who is biadap (read my previous post), they also have a horrendous system in dealing with new applications.
I applied for Streamyx in mid December 2009. It has been almost a month and still TM fail to deliver.
They said they will complete the process within days. That’s a lie.
They said their staff will call to fix an appointment. Again, that’s a lie. Their staff just turned up unannounced.
I called their helpline last Sunday and was told that a technician is scheduled to come over today at 10am, but the technician will call me first before coming. That is also a lie. No one called me, and, when I called them, I was told no technician will come.
My personal experience shows that TM and Streamyx installation are hopeless and awful.
Unfortunately, no one else can provide the service I require. As a result of crony privatisation, TM monopolises certain services. So I do not have any choice but to endure TM’s inefficiency and horrendous service.
I now have to go to TMpoint Bangsar again to sort this out.
Tahniah diucapkan kepada badut-badut di TM yang ditadbir oleh Bumiputra Melayu.
Filed under: Personal, Streamyx, TM Point Bangsar
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