Sunday, May 15, 2011

Travelling Around by Rapid Penang

For travelers who enjoy using public transport to go around, Rapid Penang buses are perhaps the best choice. This is because: 1) Penang taxis generally don't use meters. 2) Other bus companies are not as efficient as Rapid Penang.


There are three main interchange stations for the buses in island.
1. Komtar Bus Terminal
2. Bukit Jambul Bus Station
3. Ferry Bus Station

In general, if you do not know where to take your preferred bus, just hop into any bus and stop at Komtar. Then, take you preferred bus in Komtar because ALL buses pass Komtar.

Some helpful links:
1. Rapid Kiosk(Help Centres)
http://www.rapidpg.com.my/rapid-services/rapid-info-counter/

2. All Rapid Routes
http://www.rapidpg.com.my/journey-planner/route-maps/

3. Rapid T&T Previleges
http://www.rapidpg.com.my/tourist-passport/

Eventhough I encourage you to take Rapid buses, but if you do happen to see any other buses like Transit and Yellow bus, do feel free to have a try.


Friday, May 13, 2011

Facebook Page for this Blog

 
Below is the link for the blog on Facebook. 

Please do click the Like button of the left side of this page.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Writings-of-A-Penangite/128784140531160?sk=wall

Wesak Celebration in Penang

It's few more days to Wesak Day. And Penang is definitely one of the best places to visit for Wesak. Even if you are not a Buddhist, you would be able to experience the lively environment of Wesak around Penang. And the procession on Wesak Day in the evening should be something in your activity list.

Among the places that you should visit for Wesak are: 
1. Malaysian Buddhist Association, Burma Road
2. Penang Buddhist Association, Anson Road
3. Temples like Mahindrama Temple and Dhammikarama Burmese Temple

There are lots of activities lined up by the Wesak organising committee and temple committee. So, do go and feel the spirit of Wesak in Penang.
Below is an excerpt from TheStar:
_________________________________________________________________________


Many activities lined up as temples prepare to celebrate Wesak Day

WITH Wesak Day around the corner, hundreds of volunteers are now helping to spruce up Buddhist temples and associations in Penang as the state gears up to mark the annual auspicious occasion on Tuesday.
Many of the temples are filled with various activities in preparation for the big day.
Busy day: Yeap (left) and three other volunteers sprucing up the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple premises for Wesak Day
 
Besides cleaning up the various Buddhist halls, there are also religious activities such as chanting, the bathing of the Buddha statues and dharma talks.
Wesak commemorates the day that marks the birth, enlightenment and death (Parinirvana) of Lord Buddha.
Well polished: Devotees of Mahindarama Buddhist Temple cleaning the Buddha statue
 
At Dhammikarama Burmese Buddhist Temple on Burmah Lane, its devotees were seen busy cleaning up.
This year’s celebration would be more meaningful as the temple will soon have a grand opening ceremony of its new four-storey Golden Pagoda Bell Tower.
Temple trustee Yeap Theam Kwee, 71, said the grand opening would be on Sunday — two days before Wesak Day.
“The opening and the Wesak celebrations are prepared at the same time. This is why we have about 500 helpers this year, which is more than in previous years,” he said.
Towering image: Yeap (left) and a monk putting flowers and lotus candles in front of the Buddha statue in preparation for Wesak Day 
 
The devotees were seen putting flowers and candles in front of the Buddha statue.
Volunteers were also checking on light bulbs and the electrical wiring to ensure everything was in order.
Over at Mahindarama Buddhist Temple on Kampar Road, preparations were in full swing, as the devotees were seen cleaning up the sleeping Buddha statue at the shrine hall.
Temple management committee member Chew Siew Choo, 48, said some devotees would be offering big pieces of yellow cloth to be placed onto the statue as a sign of gratitude.
“About 300 volunteers had started preparing for the big day since one month ago. This includes hanging-up colourful Buddhist plastic flags and cleaning up the temple premises,” she said.
Malaysian Buddhist Association (MBA) secretary Lim Tein Phong said the state Wesak Day committee members need about 10,000 orchids to decorate the float for the state-level procession.
“We hope the public can donate them as offering flowers is a reminder of impermanence,” he said.
Lim said that the flower donation should be done before this Sunday as the committee needs to complete the float by the eve of Wesak Day.


Source: TheStarMalaysia
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

On Lim Guan Eng (part 1)

Lim Guan Eng has been Penang's Chief minister since the political tsunami of 2008. Here the author hopes to write on how he views Lim Guan Eng.


Lim Guan Eng- Penang's CM

Finally after 18 years since 1991, Tan Sri Dr. Koh Tsu Koon and his party has lost the mandate to administer Penang on March 8, 2008.

Perhaps the front page photo of The Star on March 8,2008 of Koh standing in his office in Komtar best describes how he felt. Even during the election campaigns, many Penangites would rather attend DAP ceramahs rather than BN's dinners. (And note that many are more than willing to donate money to DAP during their ceramahs)

And since that day of March 8, Lim Guan Eng has been a name that is so popular. He is described as the most successful Pakatan Rakyat Chief Minister compared to the other four(or now three) PR-ruled states.

How do I view LGE?

I myself have many personal experiences with LGE. He have been to my neighbour's house twice for Deepavali celebration. (Some of you may would think that I live in a bungalow now, but no! I live in a semi-detached double storey house only)

Next are some interesting facts when he attended the celebration:

How long did he spent? 10 minutes...No. Almost 2 hours
How many cars escorted him? He came in one car wtih a driver only
What did he eat? Normal Indian delicacies like rice and curry chicken, mutton....some of you may know better than me.....and the food was served on banana leaf...no gold plates
What was his response? He personally thanked each and everyone who served him. Every time someone serves him, he says thank you.(My family helped my neighbour in that event, so we know)

I must say that this is only one of the several occasions that I could relate about Lim Guan Eng. He has been a leader that is so easy to approach yet serious in work. In just three years after taking over Penang, his achievements speaks for themselves.

The senior citizens may even felt that they have an extra son. Few days after winning the elections, he went for a walkabout in Air Itam market where he told the aunties and uncles there: "Ah ee/Uncle, wah sih Guan Eng. Kam sia chi chi" (Uncle/Auntie, I am Guan Eng. Thank you for supporting me)

(Next part would be on the Penang CM's official residence)

Friday, May 6, 2011

Event: -Penang International Chocolate Fair 2011

 
Date: Friday, June 3 at 11:00am - June 5 at 8:00pm
Venue: Penang International Sports Arena

This is the first ever international chocolate fair in Penang. Go and discover and enjoy the chocolate there.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Poll: What do you like most about Penang?

There is a poll in this blog:

Q: What do you like most about Penang?




Food

Places of Attraction

Friendly People

Penang Governance

Lively Penang

The beach

The hotels

Living heritage








You may select multiple answers. Last date for poll: Dec 5, 2011.

The poll column is at the top of this page.

Invite your friends and family for us to know what makes Penang so special.

Blogger's Essay for the Perdana Leadership Foundation Essay Contest 2010

Malaysia - Towards A High-Income Economy

In the latest Budget, the Prime Minister stated the goal for Malaysia to become a high-income economy. What do you think are essential ingredients for Malaysia to achieve high-income status?

“…This is about far more than the economic goals of our nation. This is about the life chances open to future generations…It is about placing Malaysia at the forefront of a high-income economy…”

Above is an excerpt from the conclusion of Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s speech at the Invest Malaysia 2010 event. It is also at this occasion that The Right Honourable Prime Minister declared the goal for Malaysia towards a high-income economy. Of course, there were some parties which have already voiced their skepticism against this ambitious aim. Would Malaysia ever be able to achieve such a goal, or would it remain a dream?

The discussion that follows will analyse the current situation, looking at the gaps and obstacles towards achieving a high-income economy, and the main challenges ahead. These would then be followed by discussing the main substances to achieve the target. The New Economic Model and the 10th Malaysian Plan shall frequently accompany this discussion.

The Prime Minister has set the target to achieve per capita income of RM38, 850 (US$12,140) by 2015. With income per capita of such, we would be able to stand side-by-side with many developed countries. For example South Korea’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 2009 was US$17,704. Although this figure is still far lower than the GDP per capita of countries such as the United States (US$46.381), the United Kingdom (US$35,334) and Japan (US$39,731), it is set based on the economic nature of our economy, hence it would not necessarily mean we need to benchmark our target based on the countries mentioned.


The key challenge would be to stimulate greater private sector led investments. Trade liberalisation shall be a vital policy for this. Privatisation of government assets especially in non-core industries should be continually implemented to allow more space in the market for private investors.

It is also encouraging to note that the Government has tabled the Competition Bill 2010 and Competition Commission Bill 2010 in the Parliament. Once they become an Act of Parliament, these two legislations will be the impetus to encourage healthy competition to boost efficiency. Monopolies action in the market will also be controlled, giving greater protection to consumer sovereignty.

The extent of effectiveness of these two legislations is still unclear as they are yet to be enforced, however it is hoped that they can be as successful as shown by the Competition Commission of the United Kingdom and the landmark case in the United States where Microsoft Corporation was ordered by the Federal Court to be separated into smaller entities to reduce its monopoly powers. However, certain natural monopolies such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad should be allowed to remain as a monopoly to avoid wasteful duplication of resources. For example, having another competitor building another Bakun Dam has more social costs than social benefits.

To encourage competition, it is also important to make the market a contestable market, where there is relaxation of barriers to entry and exit or deregulation, in industries such as electric and electronic, information technology, tourism and private healthcare. AirAsia have proven the huge benefits of competition in the airline service. Not only do the consumers benefit, especially from much lower airfares but Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) also faced tough competition and now is managed more efficiently.



Small and medium enterprises should be given proper and adequate assistance as they will encourage competition with large established firms. The writer suggests easier loan approvals by the SME Bank to the SMEs. Although individually SMEs are employing few workers but collectively, they employ a huge sum of workers. SMEs would be very suitable to boost income in the rural areas, where rural citizens can add value to their farmed goods, such as selling keropok. The project by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development of 1 District, 1 Product inspired from Thailand is a good way of using the niche areas of rural activities to increase the rural citizens’ income. However, the implementation needs further improvisation and the results are still far away from the success of Thailand’s.

As many rural citizens are still in the primary economy sector such as fishing and farming, they would need to add value to their products to increase their income. For example, their surplus products should not be sold in the market as it will be sold at a lower price hence there would be only little increase in revenue. Instead, they should add value such as making fish keropok, and making pulut from durians.

It would not be sufficient for us to depend on domestic investments only. In the globalised world economy today, if we do not take advantage of the vast available foreign investment then we would definitely be left behind. There should be more concerted efforts to attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) from abroad. Currently, it can be seen that we are not “business-friendly” enough with various barriers of entry to foreign investors and bureaucracy on the government side.


The Prime Minister has voiced his concern after his official visit to China that many foreign investors are interested to invest in Malaysia but are unable to find suitable avenues. The relevant authorities must facilitate the smooth inflow of FDIs into the five economic regions namely, Northern Corridor Economic Region, Iskandar Development Region, East Coast Economic Region, Sabah Development Corridor, and Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy. Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) which is seen to be very much highlighted in both the NEM and 10th Malaysian Plan must also play a more vital role in attracting FDIs.

Free trade must also be a priority by reducing or abolishing altogether protectionist policies, such as tariffs, quotas, embargoes, and non-tariff controls. In the region of Asia or even South East Asia, there is still no one organisation which is as strong as the European Union, which is now an economic union with its member countries deriving benefits from the introduction of single currency and free movement of factors of production. However, Malaysia would not be able to derive as much benefit as possible if some absurd protectionist policies are still imposed. Only minimum relevant barriers should be imposed to safeguard strategic industries for the benefit of our economy. For example, tariff on exported cars. However, there should come a time for Proton to compete independently without the Government’s assistance since competition would lead to greater efficiency.

Although we are moving forward to place greater emphasis on private sector investments, this does not mean that the governments sector can be at a standstill. In fact, the public sector should also reform itself as a competitive corporation to increase productivity and efficiency to facilitate the process towards a high-income economy.

The Government should reduce obstacles and increase efficiency in Government delivery and procedures. The Performance Management & Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) and Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business (PEMUDAH) should continue to take initiatives and measures that will lead to easiness in business-government dealings. There have already been commendable efforts such as beginning 1 April 2010, business registration is implemented within three days from the previous period of 11 days. However, there is still much room for improvements. For example, more coordinated and unified system and reduction of unnecessary processes in business-government dealings.

The Prime Minister has made a firm stand in 2009 in rejecting the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUPEACS) demand for bonuses and stated that only if the public sector increases productivity, then government servants would be rewarded. In early 2010, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, the Chief Secretary to the Government declared that the public sector should not be seen anymore as the last career option, noting that the government expects only the best in the service. In recent developments, the Public Service Department has taken strict actions to improve the services of the sector such as by sacking those who submit fake medical certificates.

All these measures seem to imply that there is an ongoing transformation of the public sector. It is a very much welcomed step; however it is more reflected by top leaders and not by the public sector workers. It is an undeniable fact that many government offices have now been given modern and sophisticated image, but the quality of work of government officers has not improve much. The change of attitude must continue to be an important agenda in reforming the public sector to achieve the aim of high-income economy.

All the above discussion has been from the perspective of demand-side economics. The following part of this discussion shall focus on the supply-side economics which has been an integral thrust of our sixth Prime Minister’s policies, including the NEM and 10MP.

To accomplish high income economy status, we must be able to achieve continuous economic growth through the increase of the potential output which can be shown by the outward shift on the production possibility frontier. This can be attained by the improvement in the quality and quantity of resources and advancement in technology. The 10th Malaysian Plan aims for 7% increase per annum in economic growth per year until 2015.


Labour is undoubtedly the most important resource of any nation in the world. The first issue of labour which our country needs to deal with would be regarding foreign labour. Currently there are 6.7 million foreign workers in Malaysia, compared to the labour force of domestic workers 11.6 million. Of these 11.6 million in the labour force, 3.6% are unemployed.

Malaysia should be less dependent towards foreign labour especially non-skilled workers. The action of the Indonesian government in 2009 to freeze temporarily maids supply into Malaysia unless there is increase in the minimum wage of Indonesian maids should be a wake up call to Malaysians. We rely too much on Indonesian maids that we have to give in to their requests of minimum wage up to RM600 per month. Ironically, there were statements from Indonesian employers that a wage of RM400 would be more than enough to provide a decent life for the Indonesian workers.

We should focus on attracting more high-skilled labour that can contribute to profitable industries. This can be approached in two directions. Firstly, attract foreign labour with such skills. Secondly, tackle the problem of brain drain from our country. To attract high-skilled labour, the writer suggests taxing low income tax for Malaysians graduates who have just started working for a period of five years, offering permanent residents (PRs) status to foreign high-skilled labour, and offering of tuition grants at public universities for high demand courses and bonding the recipients to work for a certain period in Malaysia. It is rather a paradox situation as we would like to head towards high-income economy, we need these highly-skilled labour who also take wages as their main consideration. As our wage rate is of no match to other more developed countries, we should focus on other factors which can contribute to higher quality of living such as better public transportation and lower crime rates to attract this better human capital.

Education is an important factor to improve the quality of our labour. The Government in the 10th Malaysian Plan has lowered the entry age of schooling to five-year-old in line with many developed countries. In the long term, labour force will increase. However, the quality of education should also be enhanced. Teachers must receive sufficient and continuous training and must learn to adapt new teaching methods moving away from the ‘chalk and talk’ method. Our education system must also move towards self-discovery learning that promotes creativity and innovation moving away from our current system which is too exam-orientated.


We are all looking forward to achieve this goal to place our country in an outstanding position in the international arena besides elevating our per capita income. However, we must ensure that we have a sustainable development, or as of The Limits to Growth by the Club of Rome’s definition: “a steady state economy.” This means we employ our finite resources in the best possible manner, productively and allocatively so that we not only fulfill our present needs but also preserve the resources for the future generations. Hence, we must plan not only towards 2020 but beyond 2020. Many may have forgotten about Tun Abdullah Ahmand Badawi’s notion of Vision 2057, however, I believe that we should look forward to Vision 2057 after Vision 2020 for us to have a clear direction after 2020.

In conclusion, the target has been set, the framework has been laid out, it is now up to us, all Malaysians, regardless of race to boost our country for the benefit of our nation. Together as one, it shall not be impossible.



References

Andrew Gillespie (2000). AS and A Level Economics through Diagrams. London: Oxford Publications. 1-110.

Club of Rome (1972). The Limits to Growth. London: Club of Rome. 1-78.

Colin Bamford (2000). AS and A Level Economics. London: Oxford Publications. 1-220.

Daisaku Ikeda. (2010). Towards a New Era of Value Creation. 2010 Peace Proposal. 1 (1), 1-16.

Information Department of Malaysia (2006). The Ember of Consciousness Have Emerged - Special Interview with Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz regarding 9th Malaysian Plan. Kuala Lumpur: Information Department of Malaysia. 3-19.

Jabatan Perkhidmatan Penerangan Malaysia (2003). Mewarisi Kejayaan Membina Masa Depan yang Cemerlang, Gemilang dan Terbilang. Kuala Lumpur: Jabatan Perkhidmatan Penerangan Malaysia. 27-30.

Najib Razak. (2010). Invest Malaysia 2010 Speech. Available: http://www.pmo.gov.my/?menu=speech&page=1676&news_id=227&speech_cat=2. Last accessed 13 June 2010.

Peter Stimpson (2000). Business Studies AS And A Level. London: Cambridge University Press. 1-90.

Tan Sri Dato’ Ramon V. Navaratnam (1998). Managing the Malaysian economy : challenges and prospects. Selangor D E: Pelanduk Publications. 1-185.

Wikipedia. (2010). Sustainable development. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_development. Last accessed 21 July 2010.