Emergency lanes

This is quite common scene when you drive around Federal Highway. There are cars especially taxis taking advantage of the the emergency lane when other lanes are clogged up with heavy traffic. Just take a look below.

Someone even blogs about it with TheStar. Road Safety Department director-general Suret Singh told reporters in his press conference recently that emergency lanes were meant for the use of authorities such as the fire and rescue department, police and ambulance, which provide services during emergencies.

What he didn't say is that it is not illegal to use these lanes. Only that these lanes are reserved for emergency purposes. Anyone knows?

Time Tower

You can find this Time Tower along Jalan Mahameru, somewhere in between PWTC and Parliament building.

Honestly, who doesn't have a watch with him/her. Moreover, most cars are equipped with a digital clock either on the dashboard or on the radio display. Additionally, many folks have mobile phone that comes with a digital clock as well. This country doesn't even have a day-light savings adjustments to begin with. Time is constant in this country.

And then, in a tropical country where we enjoy constant temperature all year, does it matter to common folks how accurate the temperature is? 'Weather' it is 24C or 28C, it just doesn't matter. Just turn on CNN, Kuala Lumpur's temperature is always between 24C to 33C depending the time of day. To add insult, I think the temperature shown above on the Time Tower is highly inaccurate. On a hot sunny midday, it's showing 25C. Even a 3 year old kid will tell you that it is obviously above 30C.

I think it is a total waste of taxpayer's money to built such thing as there are no real value-add/cost-benefits or justification to the cost of building and maintaining such structure. I'll be glad to hear from DBKL officers to tell me otherwise!

EPF office at 9.45am

I was having some problems with EPF where rightful two months contributions amount was not debited to my account accordingly. The issue when unresolved for one year. Calls after calls that went on for few months to the EPF customer service do not seems to solve my problem nor there was any accurate update on the status of my complaint. Hence I decided to drop in to EPF headquarters at Jalan Raja Chulan. As usual, after being directed from point A to point F in 45minutes, I ended up with the right department. I stepped in the office, and this was what I saw.
It astound me! The office was almost empty. I can't help it but to take these two pictures!

It was almost 10am, on a mid-weekday and there was not even any public holidays in that week! I waited for someone to attend to me and there was, after another a 10minutes wait. I explained my dilemma to this person, and she went off to do some checking on her PC. Another 10minutes's wait, she came back and told me that she can't resolve my problem and ask me to call back!! I told her that I have called numerous times and it has been a year already, and I'll like to know what are the next action to be taken and who is in charge of these problems. What she told me next, I really felt like I want strangle that person. She told me she was new!!! She has the guts to tell me she was new but not to try asking for help from her colleagues!! Helooo, I am sure Alexander Graham Bell invented telephone a century ago. I think that was not really a good excuse to say, "I am new and now please bugger off" because I think she's running away from responsibility.

Anyway... my conclusive point upon his horrendous experience was... now I know why EPF is paying a freaking low 5.8% dividends for year 2007 !!! Mind you, LTAT is paying 16% dividend for the same period. That's way more doubled of what EPF is paying! A bunch of people in EPF should just get fired and put the LTAT guys at EPF. Honestly, we're talking about our retirement funds!

Plaza Damas: Self-Pay Machine

Supposed you buy some goods and when you are about to pay with your Ringgit notes, the cashier rejects your legal tender perfect notes. How would you feel? I think your brain/head will probably boiled over 1000°C.

Bank Negara Malaysia in its website states, "The value of ringgit is legal tender and is backed by gold and foreign exchange held by Bank Negara Malaysia. Legal tender means the ringgit is recognised by law for settling of a debt or paying for goods and services within the country."

So when all Ringgit notes are recognized by the law as legal tender for settling of paying services within the country, then why does this self-pay machine located in Plaza Damas Parking Bay-2 does not recognize RM5 ringgit notes for the last 6 months? Last 6 months is a lot of time to fix whatever the problem is.

It seems that the management of Plaza Damas are not interested to rectify this issue any sooner though. To add further insult, this self-pay machine does not issue any receipts!

Yes, this problem has been ongoing 'moment' for the last 6 months as of this writing. What a bummer!

Emergency Services, where are the police outriders when you need the most?

Most drivers encounter a distressed ambulance making an emergency route to a hospital nearby sometime or another. Like everyone does, drivers pull aside their vehicles to make way for any distressed ambulance to go through. However, sometimes due to traffic circumstances, most cars could have been locked down and unable to provide the path for this ambulance to pass.

In these distressed situation where it usually involves life-and-death, I always wonder why these ambulance does not have the assistance of police outriders in opening up the route for this distressed emergency services. I cannot comprehend why police outriders are used for/by VVIPs to help and cut through traffic but are not used/assisted to those who really needed these assistance.

Seriously, who is/are more in need of the police outriders assistance in opening up traffic to a desired destination than the distressed ambulance in making these emergency route? These VVIPs with YB titles should be ashamed of themselves. It seems that these VVIPs have forgotten the meaning of being a wakil rakyat.

10 SIM cards per telco?

TheStar reported, "Mobile phone users are not allowed to buy or have more than 10 SIM cards from one telecommunication company effective Tuesday. On the restriction for sale of not more than 10 SIM cards to a customer, Commission chairman Datuk Dr Halim Shafie said the MCMC had traced one man who had more than 400 SIM cards."

While it may sound right, I think such restriction goes against the principles of democratic right/country. That is why MCMC issued a compound against the service provider and not the user who is/was holding 400 SIM cards. MCMC can't touch that guy.

Heck, it's not even a law! Hence, why compound the service provider?

So what if I have 400 SIM cards when i pay off all those bills promptly?

McCrap, I'm NOT loving it.

I drove to a McDonald's DriveThru recently and ordered a BigMac Value Meal. Instead I got an aliened-abducted mixed-up burger. The guys who made this burger must be pulling some prank. Does this look like BigMac to you?


I'm loving it? I doubt so.

ChipsAway, what a con job!

If your car windscreen is chipped or cracked, dont go to CHIPSAWAY. Why? read on.

Last October 2007, I had a star-like crack with 5-6 crevices on my windscreen due to a rock falling off from the lorry and hitting it on my windscreen. I called up the boss of ChipsAway in PJ. Although the shop was closed, I feel fortunate that the boss said he will repair the crack by himself. Impressed, I went to the shop and have it repaired. I went back to office as a happy man.

An hour later, something happened. The initial 1.5inches star-like crack now turned out to be 14inches long appearing from the 2 crevices just an hour after the ChipsAway repaired it. Not being satisfied, I called up the boss of ChipsAway and told him what happened. He said there is nothing much he could do. I don't buy that stupid excuse. I know he could have fixed this mess up if he wants to. If he had done his job properly (and professionally), this crack wouldn't happen. Just ask any vendors in this industry and they will tell you that.

Before deciding on ChipsAway, I gave at least two prominent windscreen repair vendors a call prior to inquire their availability and fees. I decided to go with ChipsAway since the boss said he will be getting his hands dirty to fix this crack up. The price of these prominent windscreen vendors charges more or less the same as what ChipsAway charges (RM150). One of them even go to your workplace/home to fix the windscreen.

Wanting to get this crack fixed, I called up these two vendors to seek solution to my car windscreen problem, and they basically advised me to go back to ChipsAway. I tried, but the boss of ChipsAway didn't budge. I wrote and send my letter (and fax another copy too) to ChipsAway on my dissatisfaction but to my surprise, there was no reply. The boss has given me an impression that he was a professional in his trade. I was wrong.

I'll like to warn anyone who has cracked car windscreen, please do not go to ChipsAway. Why?
1) poor and shoddy workmanship,
2) no warranty on repaired car windscreen (the other two has lifetime warranty)
3) misleading marketing gimmick (ChipsAway claims to be the first to do windscreen repair which means they are experience hands to fix these cracks)

I've wasted money on ChipsAway and I hope non of you will be in my position. I went to one of the other two car windscreen repair. They came to my office and did a good and satisfied job and I have no qualms in recommending them to you. Do drop in your comment here in this topic if you like to know the other two windscreen repair vendors contacts.

Cheers.

* I am a genuine customer who just got conned. I am not affiliated or related to any of these windscreen industry/business. I don't run any competing business with ChipsAway nor i personally know the boss or/and this company prior to my visit. I am just dissatisfied with this sort of crap which I was at the receiving end and wanting others to be aware of this guy's 'professional' trade.

This is where the scum is located:
Chips Away Auto Refinishes (M) Sdn Bhd
Chips Away (M) Sdn Bhd
Chips Away (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Lot 1A Jalan 19/1
46300 Petaling Jaya
Malaysia
Contact: Felix Lim
Tel: +603 7957 1618
Fax: +603 8945 6908

Who's Esso Samy?

Spot the tiger(ess?) ... grrrrwl !
Check out the tiara!

Well, if you need to replenish your cylinder stove gas for your kitchen, you'll know who to call.