Fatt Ngap Foong

Picture I posted last year.

See how the prices have changed.

Ever since the petrol price hike from 5th June 2008, a number of forums had been held to discuss the effect of the price hike on the publics and I am kind of fed up of keep hearing the same reason been said especially over the MSM.

Read today's Star Metro where Universiti Sains Malaysia associate professor Dr Chan Huan Chiang supported the Government’s recent move to cut petrol subsidies.

According to him, petrol subsidies benefit the rich more than the poor.

He gave some lame examples:

>>>"If someone driving a luxury car pumped RM10,000 worth of petrol yearly, he would receive a few thousands in subsidies from the Government."

“However, a motorcyclist pumped only a few hundred ringgit worth of petrol yearly, and as such, the subsidies he received were only a few hundred ringgit.

“The money was going to people who didn’t really need it, when it should have gone to those in need,” he said.

“Subsidies encourage people to be wasteful,” he said.<<<

He also advised Malaysians to cut down on petrol use so their savings could be channeled to other areas.

How I wish I could ask him to clarify questions, like:

1. In what way can saving be channeled to other areas (and what areas?) by cutting down the use of petrol?

2. In what way subsidies encourage people to be wasteful?

Now, let me tell this associate professor how the recent cut in petrol subsidy has affected the POOR people like us; government servants, pensioners, factory workers, construction workers, rubber tappers, farmers, cleaners, disables, beggars, prostitutes, gigolos and many other labourers who draw a fixed salary.

With RM 625 for car owners and RM150 for motorcycle owners?

Well, the effects:
1. Hawkers: Economy rice, Wan Than Mee, Char Koay Teow, Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai, Coffee and Tea, etc; all have increased their prices.
2. Markets: Chicken, pork, fish, egg, chilli, greens, etc; all have increased their prices.
3. Supermarkets: Cintan Mee, Mamee, Milo, Dutch Lady, Julie, Colgate, Cutie, Economy, Nestum, etc; all have increased their prices.
4. Transport: Express bus, School bus, Lorries, Taxis, 'Sapu' etc; all have increased their prices.
5. Services: Lawyers, GPs (like Chen), Hair dressers, Mechanics, Tailors, etc; all have increased their prices.
6. Properties: Houses, Apartments, Condos, Constractors, etc; all have increased their prices.
7. Utilities: Water, Tenaga, car parks, etc; all have increased their prices.
8. Others: Hotels, "One Ringgit shop (now RM1.20)", etc; all have increased their prices.

Therefore, the recent petrol subsidy cut has not only made the rich richer and the poor poorer, but the government doctors like us (still UD41 after 8 years in service) the poorest.

No promotion, no bonus, no locum, and worse still, no hospital claim for my one-day course organized by HKL next month. Damn.

Updated.
More news on price hike:
Cameron's blooms to cost.
Tough times hit welfare homes.
Sarawakian hit by another round of price hikes.

Goyang-goyang

I was just wondering what was the big fuss about an Indonesian dangdut singer performing in KL. Apparently, her controversial concert scheduled for today was canceled as well, after the initial cancellation in JB.

Well, the reason given was that it has something to do with national security. I don't really understand what they meant, but probably where I could imagine, there might be some bloody clashes organized by some religious fanatic group, if the show was supposed to go on.

Some quarters claimed her dance move was too 'erotic' to be watched as if she may induced epistaxis in men or encourage rape or things which could lead to moral decay.

Anyway, I Google her You Tube video, and found her dance moves nothing much extreme from some of the Hindi movies dance moves.

Well, sorry girl, she just happens to be in the wrong place and the wrong time, where the political environment does not favor her so, since our Tahun Meliwat Malaysia activities have not ended yet.

She should have gone to Singapore instead.

Perling

Some nice photos taken at Perling Mall:

Jalan Ibrahim in the 1940s.

Johor Bahru Old Town in the 1960s.

Jalan Ungku Puan in the 1970s.

Durian

It is durian season over here now. Some of the durians were sold as cheap as RM1. On my own, I would not buy the king fruit, but luckily DocL was around to share out.

Not bad, for a RM1 durian, huh?

Was he naked or not?

Having his say: Anwar speaking to supporters at the PKR headquarters yesterday. His wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail is standing next to him. Anwar maintains that he was stripped naked during the medical examination.

I was so much amused by the outpouring of comments and emotions on the latest sodomy case involving DSAI as a suspect in regards to his medical examination, where he was asked to stripped naked and had certain of his body parts measured.

Anyone who is not from the medical field would feel that the subject's decency was violated and the medical personnels involved could be just as bad as part of the conspiracy.

But for me, as a medical doctor, these are all part of the standard and routine procedures a doctor needs to carry out.

I was therefore rather surprised of the latest statement involving a medical personel, HKL's director, Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain, in saying that DSAI was not stripped naked.

Was it necessary to give out such media statement? Was there political influence?

Well, for me, her statement does not make any sense to me. How could a doctor examine a patient without properly exposing the patient, especially so, when a doctor was supposed to examine a medico-legal case involving a "rape suspect"?

According to her, “He was then examined by the two specialists who adhered to proper clinical procedures during the whole course of the examination. At no time was his decency violated.”

As a medical doctor who have conducted a number of medical examinations on rape 'victim' and 'suspect', detail physical examination, including the genital and anus is mandatory. Therefore, it doesn't matter whether the subject is 'minimally', 'partially' or 'fully' naked, as long as he/she needs to be 'naked' for the doctor to conduct examination on the private parts.

This is real bad, as the medical professionals have now been dragged into this political and media sensation.

Perhaps, we could add another question into Questions To Ponder, on "How do doctors examine the genital of patients without having the patients to be naked?

Read:

Was there a need for this?
Anwar was not stripped naked.
Much ado about DNA samples and DNA fingerprinting.
Stripped and measured... another Rashomon.
More Rashomon.

Boleh jalan

Apparently, in the Bolehland, people can do whatever they like without feeling any guilt or fear, like parking their bloody big car beside a double-yellow line road, at the traffic light junction and obstructing all the traffic flow behind them.

This is because in Bolehland, the authorities are either all corrupted or they are all sleeping.

Expired

Expired.

Next time if you receive sample drug from the medical sale rep, remember to check the expiry date.

I got 20 boxes of sample drug two weeks ago. I was notified by my patient after I gave her the sample. Luckily, the first patient I'd given out to. So embarrassing!!!

I am going to make a complaint.

Visiting

Got a break free of the boring routine today by visiting other hospital. Here, I was in the hospital once infected by mould soon after it was opened.

Nice landscape.

However, only managed to see 7 patients. It was real pain in the ass having need to learn a total new computer system again. A normal consultation of 5 minutes by manual ended up stretching out to 30 minutes, thanked to the slow computer running and coupled with frequents 'hanged', so much so after millions investment.

Something that I'd never agreed, spending some huge money on computerized system that slows our work. Can one imagine, what would happen one day if we don't have electricity or the system is attacked by viruses/bugs?

That amount of money could well been spent on drugs.

I am disappointed that the parents of a government serving doctor could not even get Amlodipine and Ticlopidine from the tertiary hospitals due to restriction on drugs.

Spacious corridors.

Physically, it looks grandiose but service wise ....., no comment.

Cute

Socks or gloves?

Got this cute socks from one of the talks I went to.

Prof ARAR

I went to a dinner talk last night. The lecture was on the latest Guidelines on the Management of Hypertension 2008, delivered by my ex-lecturer, Prof ARAR.

I had attended his talks all over from north and south. He is one of the great orators, like Prof Khalid K and Prof Chang SP, one should not missed.

I last met him last year and he still remembered me.

Dinner talk at Hyatt.

Delivering a lecture last 30th September 2007.

Discussion session during last year's HPG 1st MRCP PACES preparatory course.

BTW, take a look at his 52 pages CV over at: www.usm.my/misc/talk/view.php.doc (Microsoft Word download).

Sun day

It was the last day of my holidays before a new hectic life starts tomorrow, so I thought I wanted to fully use all my free time. I started by trying to get to Danga Bay to see what 'Heboh' thing was going on over there. By noon, the traffics 1 km from both sides toward the venue were jammed up, making it almost impossible to get there. I was stuck for near 30 minutes and decided to go else where.

Moving towards Tebrau, the traffic was equally heavy. It was also quite impossible to get in to Jusco Tebrau without having to wait.

I wondered why were there so many cars on the road. Wasn't the recent fuel price rise had got some impact on the consumers? It seemed more and more people were thronging the shopping complexes as if things were free over there. Even cinema goers were willing to wait early in the day and having long queue to buy tickets.

Anyway, I tried to avoid the crowd and went to somewhere suburb. Permas Jaya is a 30 minutes drive from the main city, a bit unexpectedly far.

Jusco at Permas Jaya.

Nothing that great over here, things were as expensive as else where, if not more.

Next, I followed the road signs and wandered off to a place God-knows-where called Plentong. Apparently, there was a new opening of a Tesco Extra hypermart.

The traffic was even more horrendous. I was stuck for near 30 minutes but I insisted to get in there since I was already one hour drive from the city, what a waste if did not.

Extra space.

A big crowd at the newly opened "New Toilet" (san see hang).

Fish spa.

It also seemed that the Fish Spa disease has spread toward the south. I wondered why would people want to spend RM30 per 1/2 hour to get their leg bitten.

Must as well pay me RM30 per 1/2 hour to get your legs kissed.

Familiar

Back to the familiar places.

Breakfast at Larkin market.

Dinner at Rainbow City.

Hokkien Mee

Mouth watering.

An extra-large bowl of home made Pg Hokkien Prawn Mee, priceless.