The Umno deputy president also stressed that party is more important than state and its members should respect the principle.

Rakyat di dahulukan? Think again!

Either I was not given one at the entrance or I lost it.

I quickily went to the attendant to explain my situation and asked him for another. He ignored me. I asked again a few times. Finally he said, “Berapa you mahu bayar?”

Thinking that I heard wrongly, I asked, “Apa?”

Then he said, “Saya pun cari makan juga.” I gave him a piece of my mind there and then and walked away to finally find the ticket in my wife’s wallet. Phew!

The thing is if even a parking attendant speaks “that language,” you know there is a serious problem out there. 

Transparency International’s corruption perception index for 2009 for Malaysia is not unexpected and is not surprising at all. But at a score of only 4.5 out of 10 and ranking of No. 56 is shameful. Memalukan. We are closer to F*ckistan than we will ever want to admit.

Some moron is bent on sabotaging our security efforts. Because of him, electricity supply to our guardposts was disconnected yesterday and our guards had to work in darkness last night.

Apparently, three  reports were made to MPSJ recently accusing us (our guardposts) of using illegal power supply. MPSJ acted accordingly and this sent the committee members scuttling all over until supply was restored again this morning.

It is really beyond reason why anyone would be against safety and security in his own neighbourhood. Unless, of course, he is insane! Can anyone think of a better reason?

The Star, 27 October 2009
Bowel cancer commonest in Malaysian men

KUALA LUMPUR: Bowel cancer is the most common form of cancer in Malaysian men, and the third commonest in women after breast and cervical cancers.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the increasing rate of large bowel cancer among Malaysians was due to people’s affluent and sedentary lifestyles and the lack of dietary fibres and physical activity.

He said other important risk factors of large bowel cancer included chronic inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal polyps and strong family history.

“About 13.8 per 100,000 Malaysians are likely to come down with large bowel cancer each year.

“This means that we can expect close to 3,900 cases of large bowel cancer each year from the country’s population of 28 million,” he told reporters after opening the Gastro-intestinal and Liver Diseases Symposium at Selayang Hospital near here yesterday.

He said 14.5% of all cancers reported among men from 2003 to 2005 were large bowel cancer while there were 9.9% reported cases among Malaysian women.

Among the reported cases, Chinese appeared to have the highest incidence of the disease, at 28.8 per 100,000 Malaysians, followed by Indians (9.9%) and Malays (7.1%), Liow said.

“Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment although there has been tremendous progress in terms of chemotherapy,” he added.

“Malaysians are advised to consume more vegetables and fruits in their diet and to be more active physically,” he said.

Currently, there are 18 gastroenterologists in 13 Health Ministry hospitals nationwide and another 13 doctors undergoing training in gastroenterology.

“Under the 10th Malaysian Plan, if the financial situation allows, we will be in a good position to strengthen our existing services and expand to the state hospitals like in Kangar, Penang, Kuantan and Kuching,” Liow said.

On Influenza A(H1N1), he said there were 20 to 30 cases now with five patients in the intensive care unit.

“It is still a serious issue,” he said, adding that the first batch of vaccine would arrive soon.

It’s a never ending story for PAS and PKR.

When OTK and CSL were shitting bricks on the night of 10.10, the Old Edwardians got together for our Annual Dinner. Tigers ROAR!

Truly a great time to catch up again with ‘old friends’ again, some from as far back as 1967 when we were in primary Methodist Boys School in Taiping.

Yes, there’s nothing like childhood friends, friendships that stand the test of time, so much unlike the friends (I am inclined to call them acquaintances) that you make in your working life. I am drumming this to Kah Chern and encouraging him to keep the contacts of his classmates as they will be going separate ways next year to enter secondary school.  

He enjoys my childhood tales especially the one when I got whacked ‘kaw-kaw’ from grandma. He would laugh ka ka ka ka and ask, “Really meh?”

During those days, we frequent the Burmese pool alot. One day, Chong Huat (seated center), me and a few friends cycled there to catch butterflies. Time to go home and horror of all horrors, my bicycle was ripped apart by some thieves. Parts were taken off and stolen - seat, pedals, handle and whatever that could be removed were missing. Fortunately, the wheels and and frame were left behind. Needless to say, I got the canning of my life that evening.

Chong Huat and me still talk and laugh about that day and everytime we meet, I say to him, “It was all your fault!” 

Those were the days.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians are suffering from heart attacks about 10 years earlier than their counterparts in developed countries, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said Malaysian patients who had severe heart attacks were far younger, with an average age of 56 compared with people from developed countries in the West, where the average age was 65.

“In Malaysia, coronary heart disease or heart attack affects 141 out of every 100,000 people each year,” he told a press conference after launching the National Heart Association of Malaysia (NHAM) Heart House in Jalan Tun Razak here yesterday.

He said this meant that for a population of 27 million, the ministry expected about 38,000 new cases every year. “It is a heavy burden on our healthcare delivery system,” he said.

Liow added that the amount of expected new cases was worrying because it almost exceeded the number of new cancer cases yearly, which was between 30,000 and 40,000.

Heart diseases and diseases of the pulmonary circulation were the top killers in government hospitals last year and accounted for up to 16.54% of the 45,936 deaths.

In a bid to improve treatment for heart diseases, Liow said the ministry would extend cardiac healthcare services to Kuantan and Kota Kinabalu under the 10th Malaysia Plan if the financial situation permitted.

It would also consider extending the ministry’s specialist cardiology services to Hospital Ipoh and Hos-pital Kuala Terengganu and eventually to all state hospitals as more cardiologists are trained in the future.

During the event, Liow visited the building which would serve as a “home” for NHAM to carry out activities in a bid to tackle heart diseases.

For more information on the association, log on to www.malaysianheart.org.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister (II) P Ramasamy today discounted the possibility that the Kampung Buah Pala fiasco could have swung Indian votes in favour of BN in the recent Bagan Pinang by-election.

Really? Why Pakatan lost in Bagan Pinang then?

For the second time, LGE is demanding an open apology from Kampung Pala residents association chairperson M Sugumaran and 10 others.

Residents association chairperson M Sugumaran said the government is playing games even while negotiating an amicable solution for remaining the 10 households, who have yet to take up any form of compensation.

He said the state government has demanded the 10 to sign and read out an apology letter to the state government at a press conference.

Whatever the reasons for this demand, LGE must be more forgiving because if he continues with his ‘high and mighty’ attitude, he shows himself to be no different from the previous administration. People talk.

Come the next GE, he’ll be the one eating humble pies. He’ll be the one making public apologies.

So it isn’t only PAS alone that needs to do some soul searching for the big loss in Bagan Pinang.