SHOOT THE MALAYSIAN POLICE NOW!!!

Waylaid Couple Assaulted, Woman Gang-Raped

It's time to shoot the cops - publicly and immediately. Time to pull a few monkeys in the Royal Malaysian Police aside, try them for dereliction of duty, and have them shot in public and the bill sent to their families.

I want to ask our highly devoted and super-efficient ROYAL policemen exactly how much shit they expect the average Malaysian civilian to take before they will move their sorry little cholesterol-filled, corrupt, overpaid and underworked arses to actually do more than just stop people for driving with tinted windows and Singapore licence plates.

I am of course referring to that bit in the above article which states: "...the girl's brother who was driving around Taman Perling searching for his sister, chanced upon a police patrol car."

"...the policemen in the car listened to the girl's brother before driving off."

In other words, they did ABSOLUTELY nothing.

So the girl gets gang-raped by 4 men in Taman Tampoi Indah in front of her boyfriend, who is himself slashed in the legs with a parang.

The Chinese papers contain more information on how the police completely SLEPT with their eyes, ears, hands and legs wide open (begging to be assaulted, I suppose). It seems that the various police stations in the Johor Bahru area passed the complaint on from one to another, each station unwilling to actually take the report.

WHY are you afraid to act, hmmmm? Are these 4 men YOUR OWN perhaps?? I really want to know - but I'm sure I'll never find out, because short of yet another Commission of Inquiry - and how many of those do you our beloved men in blue actually want before anything changes in your sorry little decrepit excuse for a police force?? - YOU will never really investigate this "little" offence - your men are too busy taking RM100 bribes to settle RM300 compounds and shaking down honest businessmen for their money.

Is this an isolated incident? AM I over-reacting?

Weeeel, try the above article on for size - see the last bit which states: "The family called the police around 4am but Salima said a patrol car only arrived at her house about 7.30am. Kulim district police chief Superintendent Abdul Majid Hashim said he would look into the allegation that the police were slow in responding."

Yes, go ahead, look all you like. You won't find anything - because YOU are PART of the problem, not the solution.

Want to learn some real policing? Go see your neighbours down south. But that's not all, I think at least some of you require some brain surgery first. Radical brain surgery. Involving the complete physical separation of brain from body, in a clean-cut manner.

LMT.

Spiderman 3 and that Catholic Church Thing

A Catholic church or cathedral (read: large church) (link connects to my best guess of which church that is) - is featured in Spiderman 3.

That's the place Spidey (ie. Peter Parker) goes when he realises his little Jazz-ballroom dance thingy-in-a-bar revenge show-up of Mary Jane using Gwen Stacy has gone a little too far, apparently for some quiet contemplation. Also featured in Spiderman 2.

This follows on from the Catholic church featured prominently in Daredevil (see the very first scene - same church, me-thinks...).

What is it with Hollywood and Catholic Churches? How come we don't see superheroes seeking contemplation, redemption and the odd property-destroying fight-scene in Orthodox or Anglican/Episcopal or - yeeks - Pentecostal Charismatic Evangelical warehouse-type churches? Or, perhaps, a Shinto temple or a Mosque?

Here's where Catholic churches, especially those of the traditional French Gothic design, have a couple of advantages.

Firstly, they're somewhat more familiar and "comfortable" to be in, to the West, and that includes the Anglophile East, even in today's widely-travelled, multi-religious, even somewhat irreligious, secular world, than Orthodox churches and buildings of other religions. Quite a few are architectural representatives of the cities they were built in.

Secondly, they use 3-D imagery (read: impressive (as in, makes a lasting impression!) architecture, interior design and icons) a lot - to convey the essential truths or values of the religion. Jesus crucified, the theme of sacrifice: see both our favourite blind lawyer and his arch-enemy Bullseye in Daredevil. Bell tolls for those who seek salvation: see Spiderman in Spiderman 3. High church spire: quiet contemplation; attaining peace through forgiveness, the double-edged sword of hate and revenge, etc - see both movies. So, if you want to use some kind of quasi-religious imagery to get your moral high point across, Catholics have an advantage over your average Hillsong-type concert hall or hotel ballroom Evangelical outfit.

All goes to show that Messrs Luther, Calvin, Melanchton, Zwingli & Co just got it all wrong when they decided to throw out and burn their icons in favour of the Word. It wasn't even right to call them "idols" when they were just icons. Talk about a senseless contribution to global warming, not to mention an overly optimistic view of literacy rates in Reformation Europe (the reason for Protestantism being restricted to just Northern and Western Europe perhaps?)

But oh, don't worry. I won't get into a "How to Find God in Spiderman 3" here. That's already been done, sort of, in a movie review here.

Cheers. And ignore the critics. Spidey 3 is a great movie; 'tis true that it won't win any Academy Awards, the pace is just waaay too fast for proper development, but it is a great movie nonetheless, with some great scenes and good acting, and a very good moral message for the viewer to boot. Well worth the RM11 per ticket + RM1 for a couple seat that Cathay Cinemas is charging...

LMT

Why Second Life is Just Not Ready - Yet

SECOND LIFE PROTEST

Second Life Gambling Issue

The above will add further fuel to the fire of what I've been saying for a while (to anyone who asks, that is) - Second Life is more trouble than it's worth. Not only does the game suffer from massive lags, but there are bugs and plenty of unsavoury characters online, plus the educational institutions I've been to in SL seem to be ... underwhelmed ... with response from prospective or actual students and staff. Oftentimes I've been the only one there. Where's the kick in that?

I'll come back, say, next year, when things might be a little more settled.

Meanwhile I'll just stick to my first life.

Why I Hate Microsoft So

You know what?

I don't really have anything against Microsoft as a company. I'm sure if I could, I would buy shares in this company as they would seem to be a good investment. I'm sure they treat their people well. But tonight, I got truly annoyed with Microsoft and it wouldn't be the first time. This company just has a knack for borderline misrepresentation, certainly withholding relevant information, and downright lousy customer care and software design practices from the viewpoint of the end-user.

A little while ago I installed Office 2007 - the edition purchased by my employer - onto my employer-issued laptop. This was encouraged. Better software all around, I was told. Use what your students are using, know what they see and experience, keep up with the people you are supposed to be teaching, and all that. Fine.

Only one problem - the old edition of MS Office on my laptop came with Outlook 2003 which I used to sync my handphone contacts - these are work contacts, mind you - and worked just fine. The new edition removed Outlook 2003 and didn't install any new Outlook in its place.

One teeny weeny question: why didn't the installation software tell me this? What could possibly be the benefit and how could it possibly be necessary to remove Outlook 2003 if Outlook 2007 wasn't a component of the 2007 edition purchased by my employer? Why program it into your software to remove a component for which an update does not exist in the selected bundle? My employer paid for Outlook 2003 didn't it? Why wasn't there even a warning that this might occur?

Now I have to cast around for options, eg. reinstalling Outlook 2003 somehow. I wish I'd tried a sync with my handphone immediately after installation - but who could possibly have guessed this might occur? It certainly wasn't something within the realm of logic (Microsoft might beg to differ, which would really not be a surprise, but then Microsoft simply **isn't** the end-user).

I wonder which universe Microsoft's beta testers come from that nobody seems to have picked this up and tagged it as an issue to be addressed. Am I supposed to believe that none of Microsoft's testers owns and syncs a PDA or smartphone regularly to Outlook? It seems to me that this issue was deliberately ignored. Just wipe it out, leave the user to find out on his own, make trouble for him. Yeah. That's the Microsoft Way.

I suppose I should count my blessings that my *.pst Outlook data file was still there on the laptop, intact. Now I only have to find a way to retrieve the data.

The above brings to mind other ugly experiences with Microsoft that I've had, over the many years that I've been - through necessity rather than choice - a MS user - ranging from having to dial long distance to activate multiple copies of software (what a real waste of time that was), to discovering the hard way, ie. through actual use, that essential functions such as mail-merge in newer versions of Office won't work properly with datafiles created using older versions, especially over the LAN. And, mind you, the network config wasn't Linux or anything exotic - it was Windows NT, Service Pack 6, serving a PC running Windows Millenium, at that time the latest MS OS, from Dell, running the latest version at that time of MS Office, which version came as part of the bundle from Dell. So it was all Microsoft software - and they didn't work properly with one another.

Sigh. The power of Monopoly to bring corporate prosperity in spite of technical mediocrity.

LMT

BUT of course, there're 2 sides to every story...

Last Updated: Sunday, 19 October, 2003, 23:37 GMT 00:37 UK

Parents a moody lot say teens


Teenagers say they dislike the way they are portrayed
Teenagers say moody parents are their biggest headache.

And more than half of those responding to a BBC survey agreed they get "a bad press" - with only 13% agreeing that society values teenagers.

Almost one in five felt that this stereotyping was the hardest thing - above exam pressures, mood swings and boyfriend/girlfriend relationships.

The findings are from responses of more than 16,000 teenagers and 6,000 parents to an online survey done this summer.

LMT

The link is here.

Now we know why...

Teenage mood swing hormone found

Teenage mood swings are known to be down to hormones, but scientists claim they have identified the specific one that makes adolescents so volatile.
A team from the State University of New York identified a hormone which normally acts to calm anxiety, but the effect is reversed in adolescence.

And they add the study should help parents and teachers understand teens.

A hormone called THP is normally released in response to stress.

It usually behaves like a tranquiliser, acting at sites in the brain that calm brain activity and, in adults and pre-pubescent children, helps someone cope with stress.

But a mouse study by the New York team shows THP actually increases anxiety at puberty.

'Things are harder for teenagers'

They found that the target for the hormone, a specific receptor, is more prevalent in the part of the brain which regulates emotion during puberty.

This appears to reverse the normal calming effect.

...

"As adults, we just deal with things, but it is harder for teenagers because of their biology. I think it's important for people to know that."

Heh Heh.

The full article at: TEEN HORMONES

Earthquake Hits Eastern Sumatra

First time I'd ever been in a swinging (ok, make that swaying) building. Quite amusing, actually, to be honest, from a totally personal point of view. There I was typing away on the computer when the whole world started to shake a little around me. I thought I was giddy, perhaps insufficient sleep or stress from the upcoming meeting, but I hadn't suffered from stress-induced giddiness in, like, a million years, if ever, so there I was closing my eyes and quietly and slowly leaning back in my chair - thinking a few minutes' sleep would be enough to shake off the giddiness.

Then the chair started shaking and that was when I got REALLY worried - worried that I was seriously hallucinating, that is.

Thankfully there were other human beings around and they affirmed upon my enquiry that I was not going mad or suffering a serious loss of blood to the brain; in fact, they had initially looked at me like I was insane, since they were rushing to evacuate the building and there lay yours truly snoozing, to all intents and purposes, in his comfortable office chair.

Anyway the entire population of the office decamped to the field outside and then adjourned to the nearby (low-level) canteen for lunch as the earthquake passed.

After a while staff began to whip out their respective O2 XDA's, Palm TX's, and other similar devices to access the Internet in the hope of discovering more about what was obviously an earthquake, probably somewhere in Indonesia. Amazing isn't it, that nowadays we have come to expect so much of cellular telephone networks and broadband wireless Internet access. In the end the first word of the earthquake came from good old fashioned television. Channel News Asia reported the earthquake long before BBC News and AsiaOne picked it up. One day some bright young Channel 5 executive is going to create a screenplay based on this and call it The Evacuation of Shenton Way or something.

Familiarity breeds contempt. The aftershock came around 2 hours later, when we had all returned to the office. This time we half-heartedly made it all the way to the lift column and then decided, en masse, to turn back for our all-important meeting. So nobody evacuated.

At the commencement of the meeting, our senior colleague stood up (the swaying had stopped, thankfully, it was starting to give me a headache) to announce that the building was safe, so long as we all stopped working whenever it was swaying. Somehow I found that very funny.

News of the earthquake can be found here: Earthquake News from the BBC

LMT

How To Get into Trouble With the Law in A Certain Country

For those of you who wish to have a DIFFERENT kind of travel experience, go no further than A Certain Country. Make sure you are a FOREIGNER, this is essential, and bring your passport with you.

Make sure you enter the country from the SOUTH, again this is essential. Make sure you DRIVE in, and make sure you hand your passport over to Immigration for the usual endorsement as you come in.

Make sure you DO NOT CHECK that the said endorsement has been made before driving off, and I guarantee you a very pleasant stay at the pleasure of His Majesty the Yang Dipertuan Agong (Supreme Ruler) of A Certain Country, upon your attempt to exit the country after your tour.

Malaysia must be the only country in the civilized world (disfunctional regimes in Africa do not count) where Immigration has every right under the law to punish legitimate visitors to the country for the failure - whether deliberate or otherwise - of their OWN officers at valid entry checkpoints to the country to endorse visitors' passports with the appropriate rubberstamps.

Other countries would readily admit that it was THEIR problem if, upon presentation of valid passports, their OWN officers (whether by way of oversight or just a general dislike of foreigners in general and Singaporeans in particular) failed to endorse those passports when they should have.

But in Malaysia, NOOOOOO, they have to really put you through the dry-wringer when you attempt, of all things, to EXIT the country validly, as opposed to hopping on a fishing boat somewhere near Kukup for a midnight trip to Sumatra.

So we are put in this truly embarrassing position where bona fide visitors entering by bona fide means in to Malaysia are put in jail for mistakes committed by Immigration - and the only excuse Malaysia can give is that those visitors were, by law, obliged to check if Immigration officers had done the job for which they are paid by their own country's taxpayers. Obviously, we can all see who this law was designed for and enacted to protect.

"Berkhidmat Untuk Negara!!" - my A**.

LMT.

A Problem-Free Formula for Abuse of Power and Corruption in A Certain Country, 101

Hello dear reader, and welcome to this introductory course, entitled as above.

The formula is very simple indeed, and may be stated as follows:-

1. Find a highly-placed friend or two in Government. But note: "Kulit" mesti "sama". Jika Kulit "tak sama", Lain Akibatnya.
2. The "A Certain Country" Government possesses a very strong propensity to engage in Muslim-centric, Keynesian, fiscal-policy, multiplier-effect, demand-side-economics expenditure. Often married to non-existent or perfunctory planning. Use this to your advantage.
3. Obtain a Government contract without open tender. In fact, do it without any track record, capital backing, relevant human resources, or objective evaluation of your ability to complete the project at all.
4. Ensure that the said contract consists of a long-term concession (at least 30 years) which confers upon you a monopoly on an area of economic activity which is essential to national productivity.
5. Can't find an area of economic activity which is essential to national productivity? Just create one, ask your friend to procure his friends in the rubberstamp Parliament of A Certain Country Government to legislate so as to create a monopoly, and have those friends grant the monopoly to you. For example, "all men are to shave and keep their heads bald by regular visits to any licensed barber shop in [ name your location ]. Penalty on default: 10 years jail - without any haircuts." This should be followed by the grant of one (1) licence only, for a barber shop in the said location, to you. All other barbers' licences are to be revoked immediately and without prior notice or explanation, whatsoever.
6. Next, ensure that the concession is bulletproofed against economic loss. You do this by persuading the Government to agree to guarantee your profits every year. For the entire period of the concession - say, at least 30 years.
7. Further, ensure that the tariffs charged to members of the public for the use of your services pursuant to the concession increase in accordance with a fixed formula every few years irrespective of actual surrounding economic and other conditions. In our example, have the barber fees start cheap, then rise sharply every few years for the entire duration of 30 years, so as to make you a billionaire many times over by the end of your concession.
8. Finally, continuing on with our example, find a genuine trained barber, wherever possible one of the "kulit tak sama" type, to actually perform the haircuts. That's because, of course, they actually know how to do the work, they just don't know how to make the money. At least not in A Certain Country. It's a consequence of Being Born Different. Pay him a tuppence, and keep the vast majority of the revenue from the haircut services for yourself as a reward for your brilliant "business" acumen. Oh, and by the way, said "kulit tak sama" barber should bear all startup and operating costs of the business, including all costs of the foregoing steps and your ongoing luxury car and extended overseas "business" trips costs.
9. If you should for any reason come under attack from journalists or sensible, ethical politicians for adopting the above business model, respond by saying that all "kulit sama" types must unite and face the world together, or the "kulit tak sama" types will "take advantage" of the situation to return all "kulit sama" types to the world they were in "before independence from 400 years of colonial domination" - or words to that effect.
10. Alternatively, threaten to shut down all "Kulit Tak Sama" businesses for the merest, most minor transgressions of the law in the name of "equal treatment for all law-breakers". Do so in a very implicit way, by means of quiet, brooding comments to the popular press.
11. As a last resort, announce that the concession agreements are strictly confidential and that their terms are not open to any question on any ground whatsoever, and have your friends arrest all who dare comment on such terms.
12. Repeat the above until you are sick of being insanely rich. Then retire and go into space on the back of a Russian rocket to test the dynamics of creating a proper good-tasting traditional Teh Tarik in a zero gravity environment.

LMT

‘Rocky’ Stallone back in church as new movie in theaters

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=22474

I've always been a bit of an admirer of Sylvester Stallone. Suffered from Bell's Palsy, which affects the facial muscles and basically causes at least partial paralysis of the face. Father at 50. Played truant from the Vietnam War somewhere in Europe. Man behind Rocky and (urg urg) Rambo. Blazed the trail for Arnie and a whole generation of B-grade on-screen tough guys like Seagal and Norris and that quintessential Caucasian guy - Lundberg or Lundgren or something. Yeah.

But I never knew this guy was born Catholic. In fact I never thought of Rocky, Rambo Roman (Catholic) and Religion in the same sentence.

So this article came as a real eye-opener to me. I have extracted some bits of it for you, dear reader, to taste:-

"Stallone's shift back to church started when his daughter Sophia was "born sick," Stallone said in a Dec. 7 telephone interview from Dallas to promote his new movie, "Rocky Balboa."

In November 1996, at age 2 months, Sophia underwent open-heart surgery at the University of California at Los Angeles Medical Center.

The operation went well, and Sophia, now 10, is doing "great," Stallone said. "She's the No. 1 athlete in her class."

Stallone tried to find the words to describe what brought about his self-imposed exile from Catholicism.

"I don't know. Life," he said. "Your career is going, you're not communicating with your family."

The weight of celebrity was "very heavy," he added. "I didn't have any strong foundation behind me of people that would keep my feet on the ground. I was extremely seduced by the newfound freedom."


"When I got married everything changed," he said. "When my daughter was born sick, and I realized I really needed some help here, I started putting everything in God's hands, his omnipotence, his all-forgivingness."

If you're rolling your eyes at the prospect of a 60-year-old Stallone playing an aging boxer, that's OK with him.

"I actually embrace that, and the rolling of their eyes (is) a 100 percent natural valid reaction. I rolled my eyes when I thought of it," Stallone said. "You can't judge anything until you see it. When you see the film, it's about actually being able to listen to your heart and not so much your mind, following the guidance of someone much more powerful than you: Jesus.

"In 'Rocky I,' the first person we saw was Jesus," he said, referring to an opening scene of the boxing club where there is a big mural of Jesus on a back wall."

Full article: click on the link above.

LMT

Electronic Judiciary system launched

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/11/nation/20070111191206&sec=nation

I remember a certain system called LAWNET. It was launched in Malaysia around maybe one or two years before Singapore launched its own Lawnet. The Malaysian Lawnet featured a search engine called EXCALIBUR. I organised talks on this for the Bar, of which I was then a member. Speakers were invited from Lawnet. Subscribers were welcomed. Proclamations from hilltops were proudly made that the system was way ahead of what any of Malaysia's neighbours had. Since basically all of Malaysia's neighbours had nothing close to Malaysia where government IT initiatives were concerned, save and except for the Little Red Dot down south, such proclamations had to be read as a taunt to Singapore.

Then the system died. And it remained quiet for many years before being re-launched - in a very limited form, lacking any search capacity whatsoever and featuring only legislation (no case law, commentary, digest or any other sources of law or value-add for lawyers).

Lawnet was (and still is) a project of a government owned company - Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad or PNMB. This is the official government printers, "privatised" and hence a "private" entity, even if government-owned.

Now, Singapore's very own Crimson Logic (another "private" company, owned and run basically by the Singapore government) has had Lawnet for many years, and it features integrated law reports, digests, commentaries, scholarly articles, and legislation resources - all of which are searchable any number of ways.

About the only advantage Malaysia's Lawnet has over Singapore's Lawnet is that Malaysia's may be somewhat cheaper to subscribe to. And even on this point I am not very sure, since I have not enquired recently and Singapore is always looking at keeping costs down while for Malaysia costs can only go up (to the tune of some RM30 million bucks...).

Well. Good luck, "Malaysia". Boleh. U gonna need it.

LMT.

"PUTRAJAYA: After numerous delays, the initial phase of the Electronic Judiciary (E-Judiciary) system has been launched.

There will be smoother court processes to reduce the acute backlog of cases, numbering over 8,000.

Case Management System (CMS), Court Recording and Transcription System (CRT), and Common IT Infrastructure (CIT) are among the functions to be implemented in 11 courts involved in a pilot project in Kuala Lumpur and here.

The project, which began in Sept 2004,cost over RM27mil.

The system, which will enable Internet registration of cases and easy access to court records and past cases, will be eventually extended to the 410 courts nationwide.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, who presided over a symbolic ceremony to signify the completion of the systemsaid the "Malaysian-made" system was more comprehensive than the electronic system in the US, UK, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

"It would be good if this Malaysian product can be extended to other countries which do not have a system of their own," he told reporters on Thursday."

PAC: Get rid of 'agents' for NS transport service

http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=16595

This is an example of what goes wrong when you allow a massive Ali Baba mentality to take root. It's been a real disease for decades in Malaysia - the government does not do the simplest thing by open tender, but instead hands all contracts out to people whose kulit is of a particular colour, and whose religion is of a certain type, and then those with the right kulit subcontract down the line to others with the right kulit , with the final subcontractor (the one who actually does the work) being not only of the wrong kulit but also the wrong religion, language and culture. For instance, that last subcontractor will actually know what he's doing, and be a hardworking fella who understands that you actually require technical skills and cost-control savvy to survive in a hard business world, whereas all the others above him have become experts at taking commissions and calling themselves great businessmen.

So now it has come down to bus services getting all mucked up because - basically - some commissions got stuck somewhere - or the commission-getters took the payments and forgot to actually get the bus drivers. O man, this is rich. Malaysia Boleh - semua pun boleh.

LMT

This is going to Kill MAS?

Lately I've been hearing horror stories about MAS, in particular its standard of service. Seems that morale is very low, and employees are merely going through the motions. Was it like this before the sale of MAS to a certain (now former) cellphone tycoon a decade ago? I cannot remember, so it probably was not (I would remember bad service, not good service - that, I would take for granted).

Well, this is not going to make the folks at MAS jump for joy - it might make a few jump ship, or jump plane, at any rate jump airline, but if you owned shares in MAS you wouldn't be looking to add to your holdings right now.

For a first, I'm going to do both the link and the entire article - talk about unnecessary infringements of copyright - however, the source is named (BERNAMA):

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=239622

"Business
January 04, 2007 21:21 PM
Malaysian Aviation Industry Takes A Quantum Leap
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian aviation industry is taking a quantum leap following the government's vision of making the country a regional hub, when it gave Fly Asian Express (FAX) the nod to divert from its normal domestic routes to offer budget long-haul services to Asia, Australia and Europe.

FAX is 50 per cent owned by AirAsia Bhd chief executive officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes, while the other two shareholders -- Kamarudin and Raja Mohd Azmi -- owned 30 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. It operates a rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak since Aug 1, 2006.

The move augurs well for Visit Malaysia Year 2007 in attracting more tourists, further boost the tourism industry and will have a spin-off effects on the economy.

It would also enable locals to travel abroad at much cheaper rates.

"Such efforts would promote travelling both inbound and outbound," said AmResearch Sdn Bhd head of research, Gan Kim Khoon.

Being the first business model of a budget long-haul service itself gives a sense of pride to the country as well as for operators, FAX and AirAsia Bhd.

However, for some it came as a surprise.

"It is a surprise. I feel a bit peculiar that AirAsia or FAX would depart from their original point-to-point destinations and test flights that are more than 3.5 hours," said Standard&Poors Equity Research airline analysts, Shukor Yusof.

FAX, together with Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Stelios Haji-Ioannou's easyGroup, the parent company of Britain's easyJet, is expected to announce tomorrow plans to offer long-haul low-cost services to the three continents.

Shukor said the market for long-haul flights was different from low-cost models or structures which were currently used by AirAsia and other low-cost carriers (LCCs) in the region.

"It really depends on what FAX or AirAsia hopes to achieve in the new venture because they have to price it differently. But then again pricing alone is not the only factor in the business," he said.

He said a passenger's decision to fly is not purely based on pricing alone but a combination of factors including connectivity, services and route selection.

"Hence, the model would be flawed if the company decides to design the long-haul budget business based on pricing structure alone.

"The model will be flawed if it is going to be based on pricing alone as long-haul flights need certain number of business class passengers who are able to pay more compared with casual travellers or backpackers.

"You got to fill your flights everyday. If you don't have enough people using your aircraft to go abroad, long distance flying becomes insignificant and your cost will rise and margins eroded," he said.

Asked on the impact on the aviation industry in Malaysia given that this would be the longest LCC route, Shukor said there would not be much in the near future.

He said this could very well serve the company and country in the long run.

Reports, quoting sources, said if the FAX-easyJet-Virgin alliance decides to fly to London as well, they could also use the Luton airport as a hub because Virgin already operates a rail link from there to central London.

The alliance would also give Virgin and easyJet an access to Kuala Lumpur's LCC terminal, the gateway to a dream Asian hub for their Europe to Australia routes.

Shukor was optimistic this local venture could be successful if there was a bigger market for such services.

Asked on Malaysia's aim to become the aviation hub for the region, both Shukor and Gan agreed there was a possibility of it being realised.

Both believed it was important to have substantial inter-connectivity and bigger volume of airlines flying in and out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

"Arguably, Malaysia does not really have prominent inter-connectivity, which is a fact," said Gan.

"But should FAX pull off this feat, it would entice more airlines to touch base with KLIA," said Shukor.

On a more personal note, he said, this was the beginning of an even more adventurous journey for Fernandes and company.

"He has proven pundits wrong when he started AirAsia, which is currently the most successful and profitable low-cost airline in the region," he said."
-- BERNAMA

Gift Laptops from Microsoft

Gift laptops from Microsoft ignite 'blogosphere' controversy

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/technologynews/view/249835/1/.html

Darn, and I didn't get one ! :-))

LMT

Back from Holiday: Just Discovered Picasa Web Albums

Ok, ok, so I'm a little slow on the technology uptake. But I've finally found a web album site I can call home, and I've set up shop on the Internet where photographs are concerned.

Right now my photos are private so strangers won't see anything.

To readers - go try Picasa Web Albums now, as long as you have a broadband connection you'll love it. More good stuff from the fellows who "Do No Evil" is always going to be welcome!

LMT.