KLIA2 and Air Asia

Reading the two reports, New better KLIA2 takes wings  and AirAsia will not use aerobridges at the new LCCT, I feel that these two parties, viz., the MAHB and AA are taking their conflict to the stage of public opinion, and hope that the people's interests will hold sway.

I also feel this discussion about the aerobridges have gone on for too long, and either party may have good reasons to continue to follow its conviction and do what is right for the party they represent.

As a retired person, who have travelled quite a bit, and who has made use of Air Asia's flights since its inception, has also contributed to a few of its improvements through feedback, {which has been acknowledged} I would like to ask Dato Fernandes a simple question, which I observe, he has been studiously avoiding, in his condescending comments on not using the aerobridges at the new LCCT, apparently for profit reasons and turnaround times.

Can Air Asia then tell me if by this move, they are in fact telling us, the travelling customers, that Asia's best low cost airline is not keen to get or even encourage travellers who are disadvantaged, disabled, the old, the weak and the pregnant and even the children to travel on its cheap airline? As the attached picture from a fan of my blog has shown, it can be quite dangerous for a wheelchair bound traveller to embark and exit manually from the airline! Not to mention some loss in personal dignity!

Personally, I have very bad knees and a bad back, and nothing beats being able to walk from the gate to the airline in safety and comfort, and dry!

Further, I also feel that Tony Fernandes' example of the Singapore budget airline not using aerobridges is a bad one. Sorry, but the Singapore Government has not been well known for caring policies, and do we want to emulate them?

C'mon Tony, don't be so arrogant......

Where do Parents-abandoned-by-children-at-hospitals go to?

Where do Parents-abandoned-by-children-at-hospitals go to?

This is my experience. (28 November, 2011)

Sometime last week, my wife's friend asked if we want to do something good for some residents of a Nursing home situated in Jalan Kerayong {known as the old airport road}, on the fringe of the Chinese cementery, and close to the Kwang Tung burial grounds. We agreed to buy some essential stuff and also cook a large pot of chicken curry for the old folks there. I was further told that these residents are mainly those old folks who have been abandoned by their children or relatives in hospitals, on the pretext of admitting them for treatment, and while they were there, the children or relatives would vanish, often changing their phone numbers and contact details.

Our group was headed by the Chairman of the Malaysian Buddhist Cooperative Society, (Saying Goodbye with a Smile) Brother Aw, and as we were heading towards this 'home', I felt that I could now hope that the 'horror' stories that I have heard from my friends of children abandoning parents in hospitals would somehow have a happy ending.

The Nursing home is one floor above the Tong Sin Funeral Services, and is owned by a big hearted Mr Chong. We unloaded our 'goodies' and brought the food upstairs, hoping that the residents would be able to have a good meal, for today, at least.

The place is like a big dormitory, and houses about 30 old folks, mainly male and Chinese except

an Indian and a Chinese female. Most of them are frail and sick, and quite a few are bedridden. Those who are critically ill are placed towards the end of the dormitory, where presumably it's easier to care and to clean them.

The home is run entirely on donations, and the owner of the place is kind enough to allow the old abandoned and sick folks to stay until they pass away, and he provides the basic coffin and funeral services to each of the deceased.

Because the home is supported through donations from the public in the form of food and essential stuff, and also from “Casket Funds” that some caring donors like to provide, the cleaning and caring of the residents are also done on a voluntary basis. Various charity groups like the Rotary Clubs and the Buddhist Youth groups organise regular cleaning of the home, which can be in quite a bad condition and filthy, as sanitation services are not done on a daily basis. The healthy and mobile residents sometimes do their little bit to help the bedridden ones, feeding and cleaning them, but that can amount to almost nothing. I was told that the stench can sometimes be overpowering, and until the clean up by the charity groups on Sundays and Public Holidays, the plight of the residents can be miserable.

I took a look at the larder, and saw that they mostly have canned brace and nothing much else. When my wife asked one or the residents what he was cooking for lunch, the guy who was able bodied and 'doubled' as cook, said he didn't know, but most probably be porridge and what canned stuff that was available. That seems to be the staple diet of the poor guys there.

Caring for these 'sidelined' elderlies is despairingly minimal, and except for the efforts of religious organisations like the MBCS and Rotary Clubs, etc, who can only offer a glimmer of hope and relief, the only positive thing I can see for them, is they have a roof over their heads.

The visit left the newcomers like me in a sombre mood, and left us to wonder if any parent or relative should suffer such fate as to be abandoned in hospitals, and it has to be left to the mercy and generosity of strangers to uplift and help them, and though it's an uphill task, we should carry on.

We next proceeded to Jalan Ayer Puteh in Setapak, to visit more of such abandoned old folks, who are being taken in by a Buhddhist temple and cared of, until their last days on Earth. A Chinese monk, (Sifu) was in charge, there were about 10 residents in the home, next to the temple. These residents are also old folks who are left abandoned in hospitals, but in these cases, they have NO children to care for them. Fulfilling this criteria, the temple took them in and will care for them until they pass away. These residents are well taken care of, there is a cook to prepare 4 meals a day for them, and there are assistants who clean the place every day. The sick are taken to hospital in an ambulance, and there is a doctor visitng every Sunday. In this home, the residents look very healthy, well fed, and on the face of it, happy.

The temple supports these old folks also from donations by the public, but what a difference this home is, compared to the first one. And to me, there is some bitter irony here. Those elderlies that have been abandoned at hospitals, seem to fare better when they have no children, but maybe it's not easy to judge on these two visits alone.

There is a lot of charity that is required to be done in this country, and those of us who are blessed with good families, good health, and filial children, should nevertheless not forget to help those whose fates have not been so kind. It maybe their Karma, but it's in our Karma to help as much as we can.

Brother Aw of MBCS intends to pay regular visits to the Home, and anyone who wants to help can contact me or him at 012 6310719

Malacca monorail stalls after rain, 18 HK tourists stranded

It is incredulous, that the Malacca monorail has stalled AGAIN after rain, and 18 HK tourists stranded in the latest misadventure of the ill fated rail service, just days after SPAD the Land Public Transport Commission has approved its running. As the monorail is used mainly by international tourists to view the historic Melaka City, what sort of impression does the State Government, and the Ministry of Tourism want to give to the outside world?

It's such a shame, and worse so, as the Monorail seems to have been allowed to operate even though we know that the wheels do not operate well in the rain. Don't we also know that November to January are the traditional months for the wet monsoon season?

This episode of a malfunctioning monorail is but a continuation of a series of comedic errors made by the authorities, though I am sure the Tourism Ministry is not laughing. Neither were the tourists who were stranded in the Monorail
Malacca monorail giving us a bad name!  
Malacca monorail: glitches dent State's reputation!

Have power meter readings monthly. [TNB is using unethical steps to increase revenue]

I must admit that, when I read this letter in SundayStar, Have power meter readings monthly. I was quite shocked at the low steps that TNB would apparently stoop to, in order to increase its revenue. When I wrote my letter, Continue with monthly reading, and also my blog posting TNB not doing its work? all I thought was that TNB was reducing its costs by giving us estimated bills and sending the bills by post, late. Boy, was I wrong!!!

If what Capt. Abdul Aziz Abdullah has said in his letter is true, I am quite sure it is, it is downright immoral for TNB to use such underhand tactics to increase its revenue. The reason the TNB has introduced graduated tariffs is to encourage consumers to reduce, and use energy efficiently. Now consumers, who are practicing prudence have been stymied by the TNB's procedure to read our meters in duration that are longer than 30 days.

In my case, since TNB will apparently bill us 'from the office' in alternate months, I would still pay a much more higher bill, as the higher tariffs would 'kick in' when the computation is going to be based on two-months' actual reading.

That's a patently unfair business practice, and one which is totally unbecoming of a Socially Responsible Corporation, or is that all Spin doctoring??

Teaching English in Malaysia... God help us!

Tan Sri,
This letter from a student himself, Just a mangled form . . . surely stands out from the mangled mess of 'statistics' and 'surveys' that were conducted by all parties for and against the PPSMI issue.

The fact that most if not all technical terms have been translated from English, to me, is the tipping point in the argument that English should be used to continue teaching Malaysian students in Science and Mathematics.

Another very pertinent revelation that can be gleaned from the letter is the fact that we are teaching English the wrong way, without regard to grammar at all. This is even a more important issue to address. Having literature lessons, compulsory passes in the language, and mandatory book reading are steps in the right direction,, provided we do take them.

We all have our political reasons to support or to denigrate the issue, but from the "user's", ie the student's perspective, they are the victims of bad decisions, not their political masters. They will suffer the consequences for the rest of their lives. Most of our current day students have already been "damaged beyond repair", let us not perpetuate the issue.

Please look at this issue beyond politics, beyond race and above bigotry.

Senior citizens to get 50% off LRT and Monorail tickets

The news that Senior citizens to get 50% off LRT and Monorail tickets is indeed welcome but I have one issue to clarify. All senior citizens will be required to apply for 'discount' cards, and the card for non-frequent travellers would be programmed to offer a 50% discount and the discounted rate would apply when it is swiped.

Can the NON-frequent travellers apply and use this card for TOUCH & GO payments for the LRT and Monorail too? If so, are they then required to swipe or 'touch' the discount cards at the exit lanes before they leave the stations? A clarification would be very welcome
Poser in Discount Card..

Hike in airport passenger service fees, put travellers first

Dear BK,
Thanks for your post, >> Hike in airport passenger service fees, put travellers first and I couldn't agree with you more that both MAHB and the airlines should not forget that the customers must always come first. I have always maintained that AA has grown too big for its shoes, and in its effort to keep afloat while struggling against predatory competition and fast rising oil prices, it has chosen the route to give its valued customers the short shrift. Furthermore, in my opinion, "Investments" in F1 racing and the QPR football club must surely come at the expense of sorely needed cash for expansion and operations, hence the need for a lot of unilateral price increases that are served on the customer, without any warning. Why does such a great "people mover" get to be so arrogant? Does it think it will have the monopoly in the budget business forever, and disparaging remarks that the LCCT is like a 'horse stable' is very snootish.

I believe, as I expressed in my letter to FreeMaaysia today (below), that a single fare listing would be a more ethical way to treat the customers, and MAHB should also consider taking over its own tax collection, as I also noticed that they seem to have "outsourced" their check in counter services to some third party, as I witnessed it during my last visit to KLIA in September. At that time, I was thinking, MAHB was taking the easy way out, but maybe by outsourcing the tax collections, it can solve many issues with the airlines, and some tantrum throwing CEOs

TNB is not doing its work?

I would like to highlight the lazy approach by TNB in reading the monthly meters of households in Petaling Jaya. We are retirees staying in Section 11 Petaling Jaya, a modest neighborhood, and we pride ourselves in paying our bills promptly. Every month, before the 10th of each month, my wife and our neighbours would wait for the TNB meter reader to appear, and would happily assist him to read the meters of our houses. This is to lighten his onerous workload, and would also ensure that we pay on on actual consumption, and not based on sometimes high 'estimates'.

This month, November, we were surprised that the TNB meter reader did not appear, though the Syabas reader had gone his rounds on the 8th. My wife decided to call TNB today, 16 November, and was efficiently passed on to the Bills department. After the initial courtesies, imagine to her surprise, we were told that we have a bill of RM180+ for November, already recorded in the computer system!

So, apparently, the billing for my house has been completed, but I have not received the bill, not even the estimated one. Since I pay my bills online, and have been doing this for more than 10 years, do I now have to phone and beg for a statement, for my online payment? My further questions to TNB are:

• Is TNB cutting cost by reducing the effort of meter readers to manually read our bills?
• Is it the responsibility of household residents to ask for bills, and what happens if we do not receive any bills at all?
• Is TNB trying to raise "estimated revenue" by asking the meter readers not to go on their rounds monthly?
• Worse, are the meter readers shirking their jobs, and are just staying home and submitting ALL estimated bills for the houses in my area, Jalan 11/10 P Jaya? 

I sincerely hope TNB would continue its effort to read our meters on a monthly basis, and not inconvenience us in such a manner. There are defaulters who must be punished, but please do not push us, the conscientious consumers to delay our payments too.

Continue with monthly billing

Appeal to use aerobridges for budget airlines...

I wish to refer to the letter in TheStar, "Group wants aerobridges at KLIA2" appearing on October 24, and also to my comments on the letter, click here>>>'Budget' does not mean 'heartless' in which I said that a Budget airline should also operate with a soul, in addition to making huge amounts of profits from the villagers.

I have on this occasion, received further input from my network of concerned readers, a picture of how dangerous it is, for a disabled passenger to enter and alight from an airplane, "manually". {please see attached} Besides apparently having to pay for a wheelchair on Air Asia, it would seem to me that a sick or disabled passenger would also put his life to further grave danger, if someone trips up on the way up or down! We have not even begun to talk about damages that the airline has to pay for any fatal consequences of an accident occurring during the 'transfer'.

Once again, I would like to appeal to the Government and the authorities to consider the Group's request for KLIA2 to install aerobridges for all its flights. I fail to see why international standards of embarking and
alighting from the present normal and wide body aircrafts should be sacrificed for the sake of profitability of a few. KLIA2 is built to serve the International community, so let's abide by international standards of performance and dignity.

As I have said before, and I repeat it here, does Malaysia want to be known as a nation without a soul??

Wake-up call for KTM Komuter

The letter about the mess that Komuter is making itself in Wake-up call for KTM Komuter is but the continuation of of the public's long standing complaints about an essential service that has apparently gone unheeded.

As anyone can see, the Komuter link between Klang and KL Sentral is the most important "people mover" link that the capital of KL has, and if it's operated efficiently, it can become the most important part of the solution to our traffic congestion on the Federal Highway route. Instead of acknowledging this fact, the authorities have treated the route with reluctance bordering on indifference, forcing the commuters to revert to using their cars for commuting, adding to the gridlock.

It is fortunate that the LRT is beginning to fulfill its promise as a mass transit provider, and we hope the MRT will too, But we also hope the authorities will not ignore the fact that the Komuter can also play an essential role in the mass transportation sector, and given the burgeoning population in, and the urbanization of, the Klang Valley, it will go a long way to help alleviate the congestion experienced by commuters in the area.


Komuter is important people mover

Get to root cause of road Bus accidents

I refer to the letter Get to root cause of road accidents which was written in response to the Star's lead report, "Reckless Again" in which you raised the question of uncaring and reckless drivers, who by their misdeeds have killed innocents and caused untold damages to lives and property, again and again.

I wish to state here that nothing that the public says will move to Government to do what has to be done to stop the 'murderers on the expressways', and I speak as an utterly disillusioned man.

Since 2009, and even before that, I have been harping on the issues of the heartless bus drivers in 'Rogue bus drivers and Indifferent authorities'-- and 'August 18--D Day for Rogue Bus drivers?' and I had commented even then that the only way to reduce the carnage on the roads is to LIMIT the speed the buses can be driven, through the use of Speed DE-limiters. It is a fact that speed kills, and less speed will save lives. In October 2009, perhaps in response to my clamour for positive action, the Transport Minister announced.. "{click on this link to see report}All express bus operators may soon be required to install speed limiters in their vehicles in an effort to reduce road accidents and fatalities. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said they might also be required to install the Global Positioning System (GPS) to allow them to monitor their driver’s on-the-road habits..."

Can the public know why there is no further effort on the part of the authorities to implement something that can be effective in curbing the excesses of the bus drivers? Is it because the selfish bus owners are crying out at the cost of implementation, and more imprtantly for the bus companies, slower journeys will make them less money? Is the Government listening to the pleas of the people, or the immoral cries of businessmen ?

Anyone reading the international news will know that countries that do not control the speed and road worthiness of their buses have the worse accident and fatality rates. {Think of India, China, Peru, Bolivia, Philippines, etc.}

Malacca monorail suspended 48 hours

Reading this news, Malacca monorail suspended 48 hours and knowing how problematic China's bullet and other trains have been experiencing serious reliability problems resulting in fatal consequences, I think the Melaka Government should view this with serious concern. And the question must be asked, even though it's in hindsight.. "Why was the KL Monorail company not involved in the Melaka project, as there must be cost and other advantages getting a local company with a successful track record?"
It is even more embarrassing as the Melaka monorail will be mainly used by tourists, and in the event that any future incident have fatal consequences, we will never be able to forgive ourselves. I also observe in the picture, in one of the emergency measures, in the event of the monorail stopping in the middle of nowhere, a rope ladder will be deployed to rescue the tourists trapped in the coaches! Can you imagine elderly foreign tourists being asked to climb down a great height using this oscillating rope ladder in an emergency, and this scene is flashed all over the globe?

Heaven Forbid!!!!!

Governments have changed, and nothing has changed.

This letter in The Star Development of PKNS field unnecessary gave me a huge dose of deja vu. Governments have changed, and nothing has changed. It is true that politics is about being in power for business expediency. When we listen fervently to the impassioned messages hollered out during re-election campaigns, we harboured hopes that a change in the "political scenery" will bring about great benefits to the people, to the environment, and to our lives. We clamor through the ballot box that our voices be heard, and that our future be protected from the consequences of an ill governed nation.

But has anything changed? All political parties, once entrenched, will cast the eyes askance and look for juicy projects that will churn in the millions that they crave for, having fought tooth and nail for political power. Illegal massage shops and "budget" hotels flourish, and now, the green lungs of a quiet residential area is viewed as the next pot of Gold beneath the rainbow. Is the Government going to sacrifice the 'soul' of Kelana Jaya for the sake of filling the pockets of some politicians and councillors?

Even God will shed tears, for the folly of men :(

Has anything really changed?