Money on the Mind

Food for thought... wealth & values.

I find there's a lot of truth in this experiment. Wealth changes a person. Come to think of it, I have noticed fist hand, among friends who became rich, or wealthier. There's an very noticeable change in their attitudes and character, before & after. The curious thing is that they are absolutely oblivious to the change themselves. It seems to occur subconsciously, and they displayed the exact traits and behaviour as shown in the Monopoly experiment in the video.

Watch the video, and then as an experiment, and observe the people around you who started off not wealthy and later had acquired wealth.

On the other hand, I have met people, who are extremely wealthy, who are among the nicest and most humble people I know.

In my opinion, those who are most prone to display the traits highlighted in the video fall into the "nouveau riche" or "new rich" category... it's actually a common behaviour across the world.

Signature Campaign for Chee Gaik Yap

50,000 Signatures sought for Chee Gaik Yap

A total of 2058 signatures were collected during a signature campaign in Farlim, Penang to petition against the discharge and acquittal of a suspect involved in the rape and gruesome murder of the Chee Gaik Yap. Chee was abducted while jogging around her neighbourhood in Sungai Petani seven years ago. Shahril Jaafar, 32 walked free after the high court ruled, last Thursday, that the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case. Shahril, a car salesman and the son of a VIP, had absconded to Perth in 2006 but was apprehended when he landed at the Sepang Airport in January 2012.

The signature drive at Farlim where the pictures were taken, is part of a nationwide effort to collect 50 thousand signatures addressed to the Kedah High Court, latest by tomorrow.

Earlier post on Chee Gaik Yap story HERE.

It is actually questionable that since they determined that there is more than one person involved, why is there is no mention of the other perpetrators at all? Who are they?

This case can be considered one of the high profile cases in recent years. Unfortunately, the general public perception and success rate in most of these cases are usually not very positive.

The quest for justice continues...

The Radicalisation of Chinese Malaysians

It's been a busy week.

As things become clearer, I've been contemplating this issue lately. I've noticed, through the years, the Chinese are becoming more politically aware and vocal, especially the younger generation. The question is, was it's a natural progression or was it by design?

I suppose it can be considered a good thing, that today's youth are more aware of issues. It's partly due to the internet. Information flows freely and travels in lightning speed. Gone are the days when governments can do things covertly or cover up certain issues. It is also a two-edged sword. It's often not easy to sort out the truth from untruths. Today, because of the declining credibility of MSM, people have resorted to get information from online sources.

The Chinese, especially the younger generation of today, are more outspoken than their elders. And they are also more impressionable, which makes them easily influenced by trends, as well as propaganda. The internet, through social media, forums, etc, plays a big role.

I'm not saying the others are not being radicalised. I think this phenomenon is happening all over the world. The whole world is so connected today, that events that take place in other countries can and do, influence other countries. Malaysians are not spared.

When the Occupy movement happened in the US, Malaysians followed suit. Then, there was the Arab Spring, and Malaysians are taken it by it as well. It is like a trend. But some times, we can't just adopt a movement without considering the context. For example Arab Spring. Do we want or need that in Malaysia? What was the original context in Egypt, which spawned Arab Spring in 2010?

Back to the Chinese Malaysians.

They remained quite docile from the 80s till the late 90s. Perhaps they were busy making money. But since 2004, during Pak Lah's tenure, things began to change. Online news portals mushroomed. Facebook was popular. Then there was a campaign against Pak Lah, and it was fought online. Bloggers, especially political ones, were very active and organised. The most popular was Raja Petra's Malaysia Today, which published many inside stories about BN and the government.

Political parties & politicians & mercenary (paid) bloggers

Non are more aggressive and took greater advantage, than the politicians and their hired minions. The event that managed to lure the Chinese out were the Bersih rallies. Taking part in rallies, which by tradition were mostly a Malay affair, has never appealed to the Chinese. The Chinese were always wary of street rallies or protests especially those which are political in nature. But slowly, but surely, with assurances and cajoling from these blogs and civil society leaders, they joined the crowd. The Indians, too, were not spared. They too were drawn out through the Hindraf rallies.

circa 1998: Hmmm... where are the Chinese?

Remember, in 1998, the Chinese did not participate in the Reformasi rallies. Why? Because it was an UMNO political fight between Anwar & Mahathir.

In the 1999 elections, Umno lost 50% of Malay votes. It was with the Chinese votes that BN managed to win. Did UMNO thank the Chinese then?

But when the opposite happened in 2013, when the Chinese votes went to Pakatan, the Chinese are blamed, despite BN retaining power.

On the surface, these rallies looked like the people's effort, so called 'people's power'. In my opinion, nothing like this ever happens spontaneously nor organised by normal laymen.

Ten years later... here we come!

So, the Chinese seeing the Malays and Indians coming out in numbers, were lulled into joining in. This continued until GE13 in 2013. Rallies after rallies, they came out in full force, young and old, cheered by the pro-opposition bloggers, NGOs, civil society personalities and opposition-friendly news portals. Up until the GE13 election campaigns, with each rally, their enthusiasm increased to fanatical proportions. Pakatan Rakyat did a splendid job in misleading the Chinese into thinking that their Malay countrymen were leading the 'Ubah' or change.

The Chinese need to realise that they were used, and are still being used, by both BN & PR and the NGOs like Bersih, Himpunan Hijau, paid mercenary blogs, news portals, etc. for their respective agendas.

The Chinese will always get the shorter end of the stick, politically, whether they like it or not.

I have not included any BN or UMNO in the examples below because they are already in the open. Their bloggers and NGOs, such as Perkasa are well known and visibly pro BN and Malay. They did not covertly lure the Chinese out. They very openly pushed the Chinese away, which they have been doing all these while. Everyone knows Perkasa=UMNO (a certain group within UMNO).

White ang pows for old folks. What's the message? Why do this? The the man in yellow, is Collin Tiew, an MCA branch chief. He brought the old folks there to be insulted.

However, if the pushing and whacking of the Chinese is done too long and too much for their political gains, it is going to destroy the Chinese people. There is a limit to everything. I think the damage is irreversible already. Looking at MCA & Gerakan now, it doesn't take a genius to see it. It saddens me to see even the elderly Chinese are not spared by politicians like these (both Chinese & Malay ones).

Now,  the more sinister ones are those pretenders, those with a hidden agenda, that are more dangerous. They are the ones who mislead the Chinese into supporting their often noble-sounding causes. These are the ones, that will really do the Chinese in.

How it is done? Hidden agendas. Hidden Hands.

1. One very good example is Malaysia Today. 

RPK has always been instrumental in getting the Chinese to 'rise up' against the government, to join the other races, specifically the Malays. He has made this know from the start, lamenting the fact that rallies seemed to be only attended by one race, the Malays. Whatever his intentions are, noble or otherwise, we will never know for sure. But one thing for sure, the Chinese were lured into the open, without any safety net. In any event, he and his family is safely living it up in his home country.

Before the GE13, the articles that were published then,  seemed to appeal to the Chinese readers. Some were even critical of Islam & Malays, and that gave the impression to the Chinese readers that this blog was liberal and all that. Whenever articles critical of Malays or Islam or Government appeared, the presumably Chinese readers would comment, often echoing the writer's views. Of course, the presumably Malay readers would feel offended and posted their displeasure.

Anyway, this went on for the whole of 2012. Usually, the webmaster would censor comments deemed too offensive. However, right after the GE13 polling date was announced, RPK decided to allow all comments to be published. Of course, there were a lot of comments which were not too kind to the Malays, UMNO, BN and government. RPK would put on a show, to 'warn' the commenters that the Malays would be offended and cause opposition to lose Malay votes, while at the same time still allowing these offensive comments to be published.

After the elections, as we are aware of the results that followed, it was clear that majority of Chinese votes went to Pakatan, and Malay votes swung to BN. RPK then blamed it on the presumably Chinese readers, telling them off that their offensive comments caused the lost of Malay votes. With that excuse, he has absolved himself from any blame, and for his part in misleading the Chinese.

The funny thing is, not long after that, RPK admitted that he knew all along that Pakatan would lose. That the Chinese had themselves to blame for not understanding the Malays and Islam. That vernacular education made the Chinese into chauvinists. That it is the Chinese's own doing that they are being blamed and insulted now.

His Chinese readers don't even realise when RPK openly used them, and after that, mocked and insulted them. He hates everything about the Chinese, from their language to the schools. He is a half-Malay, half-caucasian, and the Chinese think he adores them?

These Chinese Malaysians, fans of his, are still oblivious to the knife stuck into their backs. 

2. Organisations (Bersih, Himpunan Hijau, etc.)

Bersih. This has to be the mother of all cons. Before the elections, they were viewed as a neutral organisation. That was the image they cultivated anyway. It was during Bersih 3.0, that it became very apparent that they were very pro-Pakatan, specifically towards PKR.

Their role, in the deception, is to provide the impression that these Bersih rallies were indeed non-political. But it is clear today, that they just wanted to topple BN. That makes it political. Who were those that were managed to be lured into the streets? Everyone. Including the Chinese.

They managed to lure the Chinese into the streets in big numbers, which hadn't happened since 1969.

Himpunan Hijau. The protest against Lynas has been political from the start. Although I am against facilities such as Lynas, which harms the environment and people, it disgusts me to see how low politicians can go. I suppose by now, everyone is familiar with the con-job of DAP's lackey, Wong Tack. I'm still amazed at the number of votes he got in Bentong. Again, the Chinese were lured into the streets, thinking that it was for a good cause, to save the environment.

3. Politicians & their minions (news portals & such)

The truth is, politics in Malaysia was and still is, very much about race and to a certain extent religion. Which explains why these issues are always played up by politicians. It is surprising that there are people who believe those politicians who say otherwise.

Crowd during GE13 at one of DAP's 'ceramahs'

The politicians themselves, have become somewhat like celebrities, going from town to town, entertaining the crowds, collecting donations. The Chinese, already lured into the open since 2007, are again enticed to attend these ceramahs. The content are the usual fare of hate and insult towards the ruling party and government, often whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

With the help from pro Pakatan portals such as Malaysiakini, the Chinese were served their daily doses of hate, hate towards the government and BN. News highlighting the mistakes and  inefficiency of various branches of government, agencies and leaders are published daily, 24/7. The other news merely serve as fillers. Their main purpose are to disparage and discredit the country's leaders, and the government.

During rallies, they will post pictures, videos and updates in realtime for the readers, free of charge. Although it seems that it is a natural function of news portals, which is true, but the intention might not be so altruistic. It is actually a way to get more people, Chinese included, to join in.

Is it any wonder, that the Chinese, with continuous whacking from government owned mainstream media, and hate propaganda from the alternative media, that each generation is getting more radical than the previous? That they have become, to their detriment, anti-establishment by the day?

This is my worry for the Chinese Malaysians. I don't like what I see happening.

DAP -This party is led by veterans. They are an old hand at ceramahs. However, it is the younger leadership that has managed to captivate the Chinese. They knew PKR do not have enough Malay votes. They knew Pakatan won't be forming the government. They knew the Chinese would end up in the opposition in big numbers. They would do whatever it takes (even shaving their heads) to retain Penang. This is the number one party that has managed to galvanise the Chinese to be vocal towards the government, BN, UMNO, MCA, etc. They have managed to transform the unsuspecting Chinese into photocopies of Lim Kit Siang and son. Since MCA abandoned the Chinese, it didn't take much effort on the part of DAP to woo the Chinese. They were literally herded into DAP's corner. DAP, in cohorts with PKR & PAS have misled the Chinese into believing that the majority of Malays were with Pakatan, ready to change. As the results show, it was far from the truth.

MCA - No words could describe this party and their leadership, specifically their president. They literally told the Chinese to f**k-off to their face. Knowing the dynamics within BN, it is safe to assume that they did so with full knowledge and blessing from UMNO. So, in truth, it is MCA that has abandoned the Chinese. And they have the cheek to say otherwise. The sheer arrogance. Until today, the president, Chua Soi Lek, sees it fit to punish the Chinese by refusing posts and shutting down their service centres. Who in their right mind would threaten their voters to vote for their party while at the same time, chickening out from facing his opponent in Gelang Patah?

This is a good example of how politicians actually feel about their supporters. The people are just pawns to them, to be used and discarded.

So, did the Chinese have a choice in the first place?

The Chinese politicians and their cohorts know very well that all this will cause insecurity among the Malays. The Malay politicians also know very well that the constant sabre rattling against the Chinese will also do the same to the Chinese. But they still do it. Because the people let them. These politicians, the pretenders, the liberal bourgeois wolfs in sheep's skin, would have no qualms sacrificing peace, harmony and in this case, the Chinese community, just to achieve their agendas.

Do the Chinese Malaysians, as a community & race, deserve to used and abused like this? To suffer fools like this?

After all that been said and done since 2007 leading up to GE13, through all the deceptions and lies, in the end, it's the Chinese community who're left holding the bag.

The most comical were the overseas Chinese, who specifically flew back just to vote. They were among those most vocal against the government. They are the ones who says they love Malaysia, but do not live or work here. Hahaha. Talk about hypocrites.

Where are they now? Well, except for the price of a plane ticket, they are living quite comfortably as immigrants in one of the first-world countries, which they love to use as examples how a perfect country should be. And in any statement they make, they always, always, without fail throw in their favourite phrases, "We still love Malaysia" or "...beloved country..." or "I consider myself a Malaysian first...", while in the same breath finding fault with and running down the country.

Would any of these people, these parties and personalities, step up to defend the Chinese community? What do you think they care about more, your welfare or their own agendas?

Will these people be able to or have any interest to safeguard Chinese customs, culture, religion, language, schools, business, etc. ?

Be wary of those who claim to champion your race, religion or community, especially those who seek power. These people will not be able to solve your problems, but instead, would most probably create more problems for you.

Remember, always take the middle path. Moderation is the key.

Don't surrender your fate to others. Think about you own priority and interests first. Your family, your future, your happiness, peace, harmony.

The young are impressionable. They are naive. They are perfect candidates to be radicalised. Then, they will be used. Soon they will be discarded. Worse, they will be blamed.

After radicalisation: Is this a typical Chinese characteristic? Is this something to be proud of?

Before radicalisation: This is you, the Chinese. This was once held in high esteem by society. Don't forget that.

" observe developments soberly,
maintain our position,
meet challenges calmly,
hide our capacities and bide our time,
remain free of ambition,
never claim leadership. " 

~ Deng Xiaoping

Malaysia: Car Prices

Are car prices going to decrease? Nope.

According to recent statement by Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Hamim Samuri:

1. ...Reducing excise duty does not guarantee cheaper cars because manufacturers ultimately have the final say on prices by taking into account various factors.
2. ...the government did not intend to reduce excise duty now because car manufacturers would have to consider the market demand, cost of production, mode of production and country of production before arriving at the price.
3. ...excise duty generates RM7 billion in revenue for the government every year. 
4. ...the government might consider reducing excise duty in the long run.
5. ...the government had no plans to reduce car prices now because it would hurt the industry as well as vehicle owners whose installment repayment period were longer than nine years. 
6. ...excise duty ranged between 65% and 120% and by using locally-made spare parts, the cars will be entitled to excise duty discounts, which in turn will lower prices

I fail to comprehend the reason given, especially the part about reducing excise duties won't make cars cheaper. Excise duty is between 65% and 120%. Even a marginal decrease will have an impact.

You know, it's sad that these politicians have to create stories and excuses just to avoid saying the truth. Everybody knows the reason behind their reluctance to lower car prices. Among the myriad of reasons, but the main one is this:

The bane of Malaysia's automotive industry

Proton & it's vendors

As long as Proton is around, prices will not only remain high, it will increase. This is the reason why the minister says that reducing excise duties will not reduce car prices. The other brands are NOT ALLOWED to sell their cars cheaper. All the arguments about Proton's competitiveness, APs, excise duties, etc. is a waste of time. Proton is an entity to enrich the vendors. That's the main objective for Proton's existence. Nothing to do with national pride, Malaysian car, patriotism, etc. That is why, after decades, Proton still needs protection. It was never the objective for Proton to export globally. Because they know they can't. The best they can do is re-badging or buy technology. Latest rumours is the collaboration with Honda.

While the government says it need to cut subsidies on essential items like petrol, it continues to subsidise companies like Proton.

We don't even have to go into the APs issue. It's already been debated and discussed for umpteen years. Even if we abolish APs, car prices will still be high.

Excise Duties

It has been reported that excise duties rake in about 5-7 billion every year for the government. In today's context, it is not a lot, really. Of course it is no loose change either. So, how do we make up the difference?

Simple. For every percentage lowered for lower segments, implement a proportional percentage increase to luxury brands. Brands such as BMW, VW, Audi, Mercedes, Porche, etc.

At the same time, APs should be made available for tender to the public, instead of given to a few people. Now, these APs are sold by individuals for tens of thousands instead of going to the government.

The rich can afford it. 100k is a lot to the average wage earning person. Whereas 240k is nothing for the rich. Looking at the high number of luxury cars on the roads, I think there is still room to increase prices for these brands.

So, with just these 2 simple steps, the government do not need to lose any revenue.

Price starts from RM240k+ only

Car Financing

Currently loan tenure is up to 9 years. Most cheaper cars don't even last that long.  Because of the high car prices, consumers end up paying more interests, a portion for the excise duties. In other words, consumers take up loan for the excise duty as well. It is quite substantial. Imagine, for a 100k car, 50k is the car price, 50k is excise duty. You are actually paying interest on the 50k borrowed to finance the excise duty.

If Bank Negara cuts the max loan tenure back to 5 years, I can guarantee car sales will drop like a rock. Which brand will suffer most? Proton. Actually the 9-year loans were a life-saver for Proton, inconjunction with the 0% downpayment scheme. If anyone can remember, there was a time about 10 years ago when Proton's sales nose dived and stocks accumulated.

Just ask yourselves, who really benefits from having Proton?

- Consumers? Nope. Given a choice, nobody would want to buy it.
- Government? Nope. It actually costs the government money to keep it afloat.
- Country? Nope. It doesn't bring any prestige nor pride to the nation.
- Employees? Nope. Without Proton, "Detroit of the East" would have been Malaysia, and they could have easily been absorbed into other companies.

By now, we should realise the real reason for high car prices in Malaysia, right? The right question is, who makes money from Proton. Who are they? Nobody knows, because everyone is busy chasing shadows.

George Carlin: Save the Planet

"People build homes on the slopes of beautiful Mount Kilauea and then they wonder why they have lava in their living-room."
---George Carlin

When we say "save the planet", we actually mean save us from ourselves. 

Of course, that doesn't mean we should pollute the environment, but rather, to live with nature. When we pollute, we are actually killing ourselves. What we have done, in the modern world, is to build cities that are unnatural. These cities, places we call home that we have built, are not sustainable, because it goes against nature. 

The earth is constantly evolving, changing. One day, these cities we have built will be abandoned. When natural resources such as earth, water, rivers, plants, trees, fauna, clean air, when they are polluted, or run out due to abuse, we will need to move to other places. Sometimes, it's because of natural disaster like earthquakes, floods, weather, and whole civilizations perish.

The part where George talks about plastics reminds me of the Selangor ruling that Saturday being no plastic bags day. Whoever came up with this, is an absolute moron. Yes. It is a stupid idea and it's an inconvenience. 

Here are 3 reasons why:

1. A few plastic bags won't make a difference. 

Compared to other more serious pollution like radioactive and chemical pollution by factories. Focus on enforcement of pollution from commercial activities instead! Lynas comes to mind... everyone's seen the circus with the DAP's Wong Tack.

2. Charging 20 sen for a bag is a ripoff. 

What kind of logic is there for retailers to charge their customer for bags? Why don't they ask the retailer to give a discount instead, if their customers bring their own bags? Why not give incentive instead of punishing the consumers?

3. What do shoppers do with those plastic bags? They are recycled.

They use it as garbage bags! The law says that garbage must be disposed in garbage bags! We would still need to buy plastic garbage bags anyway!

Arrogant. Self-righteous humans. "The planet is fine. The people are fcuked." - George Carlin

Religion: Children's Conversion

M. Indira Gandhi with her two children

2013

Don't fear conversion law, public told

.....Politicians from both sides of the divide, civil society groups and the public have described Section 107(b) of the Bill, which allows a minor to be converted with the consent of only one parent, as unconstitutional......

.....Various groups have argued that the provision is not only unconstitutional but goes against an April 2009 Cabinet decision that children of an estranged couple should remain in the common religion of the parents at the time of marriage should one parent convert.....

......Malaysian Consultative Council Of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism, in a statement, objected to some of the provisions, which it said affected the rights of non-Muslims, created social injustice and went against the spirit of the Federal Constitution......

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Selangor, Perak muftis tell critics of child conversion law to back off

(Malay Mail) - The Cabinet’s 2009 ruling against unilateral child conversions to Islam is not applicable to Muslims, said Selangor Mufti Datuk Tamyes Abd Wahid, insisting that children in mixed-creed marriages must embrace Islam when one parent does so......

......In terms of custody law (child care), young children fall under the care of the mother. But in cases where there are different religions, the child should follow the religion of Muslim parent,” Tamyes (picture) was quoted as saying by the Sinar Harian news portal today.

“For example, if the father embraces Islam but the mother does not, then the religion of their underage children must follow the father’s,” he said......

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2012

Mother gets custody of children in Muslim convert case

A kindergarten teacher will have custody over her three children who were converted to Islam by her Muslim-convert former husband.

This is because Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah, or K. Patmanathan as he was known before conversion, has lost his chance to appeal to the Federal Court the decision of an Ipoh High Court which granted custody of the children to M. Indira Gandhi.

A five-member panel led by Chief Justice Tun Arifin Zakaria dismissed Muhammad Ridzuan’s application for leave to appeal....

....On March 11, 2010, the Ipoh High Court granted Indira the custody of Tevi Darsiny (Ummu Salamah), 15, Karan Dinish (Abu Bakar), 14 and Prasana Diksa (Ummu Habibah), four, but allowed Ridzuan to visit his children once a week.....

....Ridzuan embraced Islam in April 2009 and subsequently converted his children to Islam without Indira’s consent.....

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2009

Conversion without consent

.....Mother fights back

The mother of the three converted children has started legal action in order to get her children back as Hindus.

Indira Gandhi’s story was front page news on two days in Makkal Osai. The first on 16 April was headlined My children should be returned to me as Hindus, Indira Gandhi appeals. In that report, she said she had no objections to her husband becoming a Muslim, but she wanted her three children back as Hindus. “This is a mother’s fight for her rights and I will not back down,” she said......

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Religion is a sensitive issue, especially here in Malaysia. By convention, the child would automatically take on the parent's religion, the religion the child is born into. It is only natural. However, when something like this happens, a Hindu father after converting to Islam, and secretly converting his children without the consent and knowledge of the mother who is a Hindu, it causes great distress to the family. Although this is a family matter, it raises concerns about the rights of other religions in this country, especially for children.

The issue in this particular case, I believe, is not so much on religion, but doing the right thing. Is what was done by Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah morally right? Despite knowing it will cause distress and unhappiness to the family. It is the way it is done, that has created problems, questions and suspicions. Because of Malaysia's laws on religion, in particular Islam, conversions should not to be taken lightly.

In my opinion, in this case where the children would have to live with the decision for the rest of their lives, the right thing to so is to obtain the consent of both parents. Perhaps, since they were born Hindu, in the meantime, they can be schooled in both Hinduism and Islam. When they reach adulthood, they can make their choice. The parents should think of their children's happiness and well-being.

The children can only enjoy childhood once in their lifetime. With a bit of give and take, at least they will have happy memories.

Muhammad Ridzuan Abdullah aka K Patmanathan, the husband & father.

Crime: Minister Khairy’s house burgled

During Bersih 2.0 2011

Burglars ransacked the bungalow of Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in Bukit Damansara yesterday evening and escaped with valuables worth RM24,000.

Among the items taken during the theft, which was a quick job, were watches and a laptop.

At the time of the incident, only the maid was at home.

Sources said the burglars scaled the wall to get into the compound and easily gained access into the bungalow.

The maid, who was in the kitchen, only realised that the bungalow was broken into when she noticed the front door was wide open.

She could only watch as the four burglars ransacked the master bedroom and left minutes later.

Calls and text messages to Khairy's handphone from The Malaysian Insider were not answered.

Khairy is among several prominent figures whose houses have been broken into in the past two months.

In May, the house of Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's sister in Petaling Jaya was broken into. Losses were estimated at RM300,000.

A few days later, a  younger sister of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar and her family were robbed at their home in Mantin, Negeri Sembilan. The robbers escaped with RM5,000 in cash and valuables.

Source

When Minister's or VVIP's houses are burgled, it becomes hot news because it's an anomaly. Everyone's talking about it. For the rest of us, it's part of life. The chances of a Minister or VVIP being mugged, or robbed, or becoming a victim of snatch theft is extremely low. The chances of spotting a UFO is higher. Actually, I suspect everyone is only interested to know the amount of reported losses. Sometimes the amount is so big, you would think the thieves robbed a bank.

Khairy's house.

Hmmm... is that a guard house on the right? If a guarded house can be burgled, what hope is there for the rest of us? When crime is already rampant during normal times, what will it be like during bad economic times?

Hari Raya is coming soon. I hope everyone is extra careful these couple of months. Install alarms. Try vary your routine a bit so that your schedule is less predictable.