Hmmmm .... random stuff, stuff i found, cool stuff, funny stuff, lame stuff, stuff lah! ... boing boing boing!Friday, December 22, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Its Liam on a Reindeer (Yahoo Mail Beta)
Ha ha .. this is so cute & funny.
Liam is sitting on a Reindeer and galloping away!
Thanks to Victor who alerted me this morning on this new GIF!
Liam Reindeer
Monday, December 18, 2006
Ministry of Domestic Trade WEBSITE DOWN - Blooper
This is quite funny.
If you go to the main website of the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, you won't find their webpage. But instead you will find the Directory listing of the backbone of their website set up.
Click on their Main Page : http://www.kpdnhep.gov.my/
And this is what you will see.
I think someone from their systems administrator renamed their index file.
See this Link with the Index File renamed to TEST
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Errant Indon Maid Agencies May Find Licences Revoked
PUTRAJAYA: Maid agencies still charging the old and expensive rates for supplying Indonesian domestic help will have their operating licence revoked, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho.
He urged the victims to lodge complaints with the Immigration Department.
“We will investigate and act against the maid agencies involved, including revoking their operating licence,” he said.
He said the ministry had received many complaints that agencies here were charging three times more than the prescribed RM2,415 for Indonesian domestic help.
Many had complained of being charged more than RM6,000 for a maid.
He said some employers claimed that the agencies charged RM2,400 for miscellaneous fees such as levy, medical check-up and local agency fee, and a further RM1,400 as fee for the Indonesian agency.
They would also have to pay RM2,450 described as the “maid’s loan from the Indonesian agency”.
“We will call for a dialogue session with the maid agencies soon to ask why they have not complied,” Tan told reporters after the National Registration Department monthly gathering here yesterday.
The ruling to cap the fees came about after the minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta.
Among other things, the MoU stated that maids would have to pay their agents RM1,300, a sum the employers have to pay in advance and then deduct from the maids’ monthly wages.
Asked about the Philippines government setting the minimum monthly salary of RM1,430 for their maids, Tan said the ministry “had a few proposals” in mind but declined to elaborate.
BY SIM LEOI LEOI
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
He urged the victims to lodge complaints with the Immigration Department.
“We will investigate and act against the maid agencies involved, including revoking their operating licence,” he said.
He said the ministry had received many complaints that agencies here were charging three times more than the prescribed RM2,415 for Indonesian domestic help.
Many had complained of being charged more than RM6,000 for a maid.
He said some employers claimed that the agencies charged RM2,400 for miscellaneous fees such as levy, medical check-up and local agency fee, and a further RM1,400 as fee for the Indonesian agency.
They would also have to pay RM2,450 described as the “maid’s loan from the Indonesian agency”.
“We will call for a dialogue session with the maid agencies soon to ask why they have not complied,” Tan told reporters after the National Registration Department monthly gathering here yesterday.
The ruling to cap the fees came about after the minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta.
Among other things, the MoU stated that maids would have to pay their agents RM1,300, a sum the employers have to pay in advance and then deduct from the maids’ monthly wages.
Asked about the Philippines government setting the minimum monthly salary of RM1,430 for their maids, Tan said the ministry “had a few proposals” in mind but declined to elaborate.
BY SIM LEOI LEOI
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Liam is now Playing FIFA Football
Liam is now playing FIFA Football. :)
Check him out
Liam - Fifa Football
Original Link : http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pim/dclient/d/img/liam_fifa.gif
Related Links
- Liam is now Shadow Boxing
- Have u met Liam from Yahoo?
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Public Urged to Lodge Complaints Against Overcharging Maid Agencies
PUTRAJAYA: Lodge complaints with the Immigration Department if maid agencies continue to charge the old and expensive rates for supplying Indonesians domestic help.
“We will investigate and act against the maid agencies involved, including revoking their operating licence,” Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said.
He said the ministry had received a flood of complaints that agencies here were charging three times more than the allowed RM2,415 for Indonesian domestic help.
Many had complained of being charged more than RM6,000 for a maid.
He said some employers claimed that the agencies charged RM2,400 for miscellaneous fees such as levy, medical check-up and local agency fee, and a further RM1,400 as fee for the Indonesian agency.
On top of this, they would also have to pay RM2,450 described as the “maid’s loan from the Indonesian agency". "By right, maid agencies should have stopped charging the old fee following the introduction of the new guideline,” Tan told reporters after the National Registration Department monthly gathering here Tuesday.
“The minister (Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad) has already made an announcement and every agency should comply with it because the new rate was decided after much discussion with the Indonesian authorities.
“If they don’t, their operating licences can be revoked. We will call for a dialogue session with the maid agencies as soon as possible to ask why they have not been following it.”
Those wanting to complain, added Tan, must produce evidence, such as receipts, they were charged the old fees.
The ruling to cap the fees came about after Radzi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta.
Among other things, the MoU stated that maids would have to pay their agents around RM1,300 to come here, , which employers might be expected to pay in advance and then have this sum deduct from the maids’ monthly wages.
On the Filipino government setting a minimum monthly salary of RM1,430 starting Friday for their maids, Tan said at present, most household help were from Indonesia.
Asked if the Government planned to negotiate with the Filipino government for a lower monthly salary, he said the ministry “had a few proposals” in mind but declined to elaborate.
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
“We will investigate and act against the maid agencies involved, including revoking their operating licence,” Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho said.
He said the ministry had received a flood of complaints that agencies here were charging three times more than the allowed RM2,415 for Indonesian domestic help.
Many had complained of being charged more than RM6,000 for a maid.
He said some employers claimed that the agencies charged RM2,400 for miscellaneous fees such as levy, medical check-up and local agency fee, and a further RM1,400 as fee for the Indonesian agency.
On top of this, they would also have to pay RM2,450 described as the “maid’s loan from the Indonesian agency". "By right, maid agencies should have stopped charging the old fee following the introduction of the new guideline,” Tan told reporters after the National Registration Department monthly gathering here Tuesday.
“The minister (Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad) has already made an announcement and every agency should comply with it because the new rate was decided after much discussion with the Indonesian authorities.
“If they don’t, their operating licences can be revoked. We will call for a dialogue session with the maid agencies as soon as possible to ask why they have not been following it.”
Those wanting to complain, added Tan, must produce evidence, such as receipts, they were charged the old fees.
The ruling to cap the fees came about after Radzi signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with his Indonesian counterpart in Jakarta.
Among other things, the MoU stated that maids would have to pay their agents around RM1,300 to come here, , which employers might be expected to pay in advance and then have this sum deduct from the maids’ monthly wages.
On the Filipino government setting a minimum monthly salary of RM1,430 starting Friday for their maids, Tan said at present, most household help were from Indonesia.
Asked if the Government planned to negotiate with the Filipino government for a lower monthly salary, he said the ministry “had a few proposals” in mind but declined to elaborate.
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Monday, December 11, 2006
Liam is now Shadow Boxing
In my fascination in collecting Liam (the Yahoo Guide), just realized that Yahoo realeased a new animation of Liam.
Liam the Shadow Boxer. I think its just a cute animation!
I wonder how many Yahoo will create?
Related Link
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Liam the Shadow Boxer. I think its just a cute animation!
I wonder how many Yahoo will create?
Liam - Shadow Boxing
Original Link - http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pim/dclient/d/img/liam_shadowboxer_scaled.gif
Related Link
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Filipino Maids to Cost Double
KUALA LUMPUR: Starting Friday, any employer who hires a Filipino maid may have to pay her a minimum monthly salary of RM1,430 – double the old wage and almost three times that of an Indonesian maid.
The minimum monthly salary set by the Philippines Overseas Labour Office (Polo) takes effect on Dec 15. The minimum age set for the maids is 25 years.
However, this has drawn flak from Malaysian employment agencies. They say the current minimum wage for a Filipino maid is US$200 (RM715).
“The 100% increase is too high and unrealistic,” they added.
There are an estimated 20,000 Filipino maids in Malaysia and about 30 employment agencies are involved in the recruitment of these maids.
Josephus B. Jimenez, the Philippine Embassy labour attaché here, said in a letter to all domestic maid agencies that Filipino household workers now had to attend and complete an orientation course on work policies and their responsibilities.
The letter also stated that the domestic workers should be treated humanely while under the custody of their employers.
A leading maid agency owner, Mona Lee, said most agencies were upset over the high increase in the minimum salary.
“Any increase should be based on the performance of the maid. They (Polo) just cannot arbitrarily fix a rate and expect every employer to follow it,” argued Lee, a former president of the Association for Filipino Domestic Maids Agencies.
“Most maid agencies are rejecting the increase and employers have expressed their objections as well.
“Some employers are not even paying the current US$200 salary stipulated by Polo.”
She added that the unnecessary increase would encourage more maids from the Philippines to enter the country without proper documents.
Another agent who had been bringing in Filipino maids for the past 20 years felt the increase was too high and unrealistic.
“This may encourage Filipino women to come into the country as tourists and be employed as maids at a lower salary,” he added.
BY M. KRISHNAMOORTHY
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
The minimum monthly salary set by the Philippines Overseas Labour Office (Polo) takes effect on Dec 15. The minimum age set for the maids is 25 years.
However, this has drawn flak from Malaysian employment agencies. They say the current minimum wage for a Filipino maid is US$200 (RM715).
“The 100% increase is too high and unrealistic,” they added.
There are an estimated 20,000 Filipino maids in Malaysia and about 30 employment agencies are involved in the recruitment of these maids.
Josephus B. Jimenez, the Philippine Embassy labour attaché here, said in a letter to all domestic maid agencies that Filipino household workers now had to attend and complete an orientation course on work policies and their responsibilities.
The letter also stated that the domestic workers should be treated humanely while under the custody of their employers.
A leading maid agency owner, Mona Lee, said most agencies were upset over the high increase in the minimum salary.
“Any increase should be based on the performance of the maid. They (Polo) just cannot arbitrarily fix a rate and expect every employer to follow it,” argued Lee, a former president of the Association for Filipino Domestic Maids Agencies.
“Most maid agencies are rejecting the increase and employers have expressed their objections as well.
“Some employers are not even paying the current US$200 salary stipulated by Polo.”
She added that the unnecessary increase would encourage more maids from the Philippines to enter the country without proper documents.
Another agent who had been bringing in Filipino maids for the past 20 years felt the increase was too high and unrealistic.
“This may encourage Filipino women to come into the country as tourists and be employed as maids at a lower salary,” he added.
BY M. KRISHNAMOORTHY
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Friday, December 08, 2006
Two Milestones for SNS
We are really delighted to see ShoppingNSales (SNS) grow at such a good and steady pace.
We achieved Two Milestones yesterday and today.
1. Yesterday SNS had its highest hits ever - 2,400 hits in one day
2. Today, in total, SNS has now a total hits of - 40,805 hits since we started! YAY! We've just crossed the 40,000 mark!!!
We started SNS back in early September, and we really pleased with its growth.
Continue to help inform SNS to your friends
If you have not seen SNS, check it out at http://shoppingNsales.blogspot.com
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
We achieved Two Milestones yesterday and today.
1. Yesterday SNS had its highest hits ever - 2,400 hits in one day
2. Today, in total, SNS has now a total hits of - 40,805 hits since we started! YAY! We've just crossed the 40,000 mark!!!
We started SNS back in early September, and we really pleased with its growth.
Continue to help inform SNS to your friends
If you have not seen SNS, check it out at http://shoppingNsales.blogspot.com
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Thursday, December 07, 2006
SNS listed on FJ Benjamin Finance Section
This is WAY COOL!
I am so curious on HOW it happened? I guess it is interesting how Google works!
If you go to FJ Benjamin's Financial page on Google
- http://finance.google.com/finance?cid=671324
If you scroll down and look at the Bottom Right Corner.
There's a Section called BLOG POSTS!
ShoppingNSales is listed as the First Blog!
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
I am so curious on HOW it happened? I guess it is interesting how Google works!
If you go to FJ Benjamin's Financial page on Google
- http://finance.google.com/finance?cid=671324
If you scroll down and look at the Bottom Right Corner.
There's a Section called BLOG POSTS!
ShoppingNSales is listed as the First Blog!
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Passenger Farted And Flight Was Grounded
Hahaha .. this is so ridiculously funny! And it took me a while to realize that when the news reported Flatulence .. what it means in our local language is FART .. or Kentut!! heheh.
Read on ......
What is Flatulence? Click here
Flatulent passenger grounds flight
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec 6 (Reuters Life!) - It may be one problem airline security officials never envisioned -- a passenger lighting matches in flight to mask odors from her flatulence.
The woman's actions resulted in an emergency landing on Monday in Nashville of an American Airlines flight bound for Dallas from Washington, D.C., said Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman for Nashville's airport.
Other passengers reported the odor of burned matches, but the woman was not forthcoming when asked about it, Lowrance said on Wednesday.
"Of course, she was scared and embarrassed but all the passengers had to disembark, all the luggage had to be searched, a canine team was brought in, and about three hours were consumed in sorting out the situation," she said.
The woman was not allowed back on the flight and barred from flying on American Airlines, Lowrance said.
"Since there was no malice involved and the incident was accidental, she was not charged with anything," she said.
Passengers are permitted four books of paper safety matches on a plane but cannot light them during flight, Lowrance said.
"I've had calls from people all over the country about this," she said. "And I don't have the answer to this problem."
Source : Reuters
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Read on ......
What is Flatulence? Click here
Flatulent passenger grounds flight
NASHVILLE, Tenn., Dec 6 (Reuters Life!) - It may be one problem airline security officials never envisioned -- a passenger lighting matches in flight to mask odors from her flatulence.
The woman's actions resulted in an emergency landing on Monday in Nashville of an American Airlines flight bound for Dallas from Washington, D.C., said Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman for Nashville's airport.
Other passengers reported the odor of burned matches, but the woman was not forthcoming when asked about it, Lowrance said on Wednesday.
"Of course, she was scared and embarrassed but all the passengers had to disembark, all the luggage had to be searched, a canine team was brought in, and about three hours were consumed in sorting out the situation," she said.
The woman was not allowed back on the flight and barred from flying on American Airlines, Lowrance said.
"Since there was no malice involved and the incident was accidental, she was not charged with anything," she said.
Passengers are permitted four books of paper safety matches on a plane but cannot light them during flight, Lowrance said.
"I've had calls from people all over the country about this," she said. "And I don't have the answer to this problem."
Source : Reuters
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Finally SNS is on Google's Search Results
WOW!! It took ages, i think more than 1 1/2 months for the spiders to crawl! It must be some pretty old spiders.
We submited shoppingNsales to Google and we've been waiting sicne to see it being listed in the "Malaysia Warehouse Sale" search result.
We're glad that its there Ranked No.2 and we hope that it will stay there for a bit, so that it will help surfers find the best warehouse sales information put up online. :) hehe
Give it a go .... go to www.google.com and type Malaysia Warehouse Sale. (or click the link below)
http://www.google.com.my/search?hl=en&q=malaysia+warehouse+sale&meta=
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
We submited shoppingNsales to Google and we've been waiting sicne to see it being listed in the "Malaysia Warehouse Sale" search result.
We're glad that its there Ranked No.2 and we hope that it will stay there for a bit, so that it will help surfers find the best warehouse sales information put up online. :) hehe
Give it a go .... go to www.google.com and type Malaysia Warehouse Sale. (or click the link below)
http://www.google.com.my/search?hl=en&q=malaysia+warehouse+sale&meta=
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Friday, December 01, 2006
Average 1000 Hits Daily for SNS
It is just so unbelievable. SNS (ShoppingNSales) is averaging 1000+ hits a day!
I mean i know Warehouse Sales and Promotions are one thing most Malaysians hunt for, but its amazing to see that there are just so many people interested to read about sales sales sales :)
And of course its amazing to see the whole Malaysia go On Sale. This is one first time witnessing so so so so so so so many Warehouse Sales events on at one time.
Check out the Warehouse Sales, Annual Clearance, Year End Sales, that SNS picked up around PJ, KL, Cheras, Subang and Shah Alam. So scarry wan! And these do not include the other areas (ie like Department Stores, Fashion Houses and more which are currently on sale!
? Any suggestions to how we can improve SNS to get better results?
Why would anyone wanna kill a baby?
This is so so sick! Why would anyone wanna kill a baby?
Worst yet, why make it so dramatic and terribbly sick by throwing it down a flat, just like how people would throw rubbish out a window. This is just so sad!
Sad to see these sort of things happening in this day and age, where most people are educated and would respect LIFE! Sad to see it happening in our city, Cheras ... mind u... not some ulu town somewhere where its unheard of.
Sigh! There's More to LIFE than this and I pray that the person responsible would embrace it.
Baby Thrown Down From Flat
Worst yet, why make it so dramatic and terribbly sick by throwing it down a flat, just like how people would throw rubbish out a window. This is just so sad!
Sad to see these sort of things happening in this day and age, where most people are educated and would respect LIFE! Sad to see it happening in our city, Cheras ... mind u... not some ulu town somewhere where its unheard of.
Sigh! There's More to LIFE than this and I pray that the person responsible would embrace it.
Baby Thrown Down From Flat
KUALA LUMPUR: The newborn baby may have been still alive when it was placed in a rotting mess of kitchen refuse and hurled down an apartment block in Jalan Pudu Ulu, Cheras, yesterday.
When a sweeper found the infant with its umbilical cord still attached at 7.15am, it had been dead for two to three hours.The back of the baby’s head had been crushed, most probably from the impact of the fall.
Police are trying to determine the unit from which the baby was thrown.
A Cheras police spokesman said although the baby was fair-skinned, its race had not been determined.
Roshayati Tambi Ahmad, 44, stumbled upon the garbage bag as she was cleaning the area around Block B."I noticed a stench from a garbage bag on the ground and found it filled with chicken and fish parts. As I picked it up, the body slipped through a hole at the bottom of the bag," she said.She alerted the management office, which called in the police.
The body was sent to the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital for a post- mortem.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Copper Wires, Cables Stolen from Hotel
So its not only in Malaysia where Copper Cables are being stolen. This news article below talks about an incident where copper wires and cable are stolen from a hotel in Dayton (Ohio, USA).
Amazing!! If copper is so in demand these days, perhaps i should strip all my AV cables in the house (and mind u we have a lot .... lot of AV cables ... one big box full) and ball it up and sell it to someone!! he he ...
Dayton detectives are searching for suspects who broke into the soon-to-be demolished Admiral Benbow Hotel and stole an undetermined amount of copper electrical wires and Dayton Power & Light Co. cables.
Members of the Dayton police burglary squad received a call about the break-in about 2 p.m. Wednesday, Detective Jamie Bullens said. Dayton Power & Light employees were making an inspection and checking to see if the vault was secure when they noticed the break-in.
... more
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Amazing!! If copper is so in demand these days, perhaps i should strip all my AV cables in the house (and mind u we have a lot .... lot of AV cables ... one big box full) and ball it up and sell it to someone!! he he ...
Dayton detectives are searching for suspects who broke into the soon-to-be demolished Admiral Benbow Hotel and stole an undetermined amount of copper electrical wires and Dayton Power & Light Co. cables.
Members of the Dayton police burglary squad received a call about the break-in about 2 p.m. Wednesday, Detective Jamie Bullens said. Dayton Power & Light employees were making an inspection and checking to see if the vault was secure when they noticed the break-in.
... more
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
64% of Malaysian Bloggers are Women - Yeow Mo?
64% of Malaysian Bloggers are Women [Article below]
"Yeow Mo"? Is that so?
"Yeow Mo"? Is that so?
Most of the people we know that blog are men or guys!! Hmm .... i wonder if the statistics taken are correct or not. Off my head, we would believe that most of the people on our Blog Roll are guys, unless we dont have many frens who are ladies? Hmm...
Let's disect our Blogroll . . .
Let's disect our Blogroll . . .
HAH!! See, we have 53% bloggers who are Guys, and a 47% bloggers who are Girls! So the Guys still out weigh the girls .... by a narrow margin! :)
hehe ... just to prove our point!
Most bloggers are women
KUALA LUMPUR: If you are a Malaysian and you have your own blog, the odds are that you’re a woman, aged 25 or under.
Sixty-four per cent of local bloggers are female and 74% of them are in that age group.
This is a finding of an international online survey involving
more than 25,000 Microsoft MSN web portal visitors in August and September.
The survey, Blogging Asia: A Windows Live Report, was conducted in Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.
It found that 41% of Malaysians who went online also blogged.
Malaysia’s bloggers primarily do it for entertainment and to share their lives with family and friends.
“Blogging has moved into the mainstream in Asia and Malaysia, and has become a popular way to stay in touch with family and friends,” said Grant Watts, Microsoft South-East Asia general manager for online services group.
The survey found that 56% of Malaysians blogged to express passionately held views, while 49% blogged to keep friends and family updated.
Some 34% just like having a little corner of cyberspace to call their own.
Only a small number, about 3%, said they were practising “citizen journalism.”
As for blog-reading habits, 63% of respondents said they read blogs for entertainment, while technology, travel and music were the three most widely read blog topics across Asia and in Malaysia.
The majority of blog readers, 81%, are most interested in blogs written by friends or family.
Far behind in popularity are blogs by celebrities, pop stars and workmates.
Blogs by business leaders and politicians garner the least interest.
Blog readers said they looked for good writing and plenty of pictures.
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Toll Rates Up ?? Why Ler?
Aiyoh, how can? Our Toll Rates are already so high. We pay Road Tax, our cars are so expensive, and our roads are so badly maintain, and here we have pay higher Toll Rates?
Why lah? Our petrol prices are already so high, if the toll prices go up even more, then gone lah, no need to drive on the road, we shall all resort to cycling to work and back!
Sigh ... LDP toll is mentioned as one of the Toll Plaza to increase their prices. And that's the one i use! double sigh!
Toll rates will be increased for five concessionaires come Jan 1, 2007, according to Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
He said the Government could not afford to compensate the concessionaires for the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Karak Highway, Grand Saga Cheras-Kajang Highway, Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Kesas Shah Alam Highway the estimated RM2bil, if no increase was approved during this round of concession agreements.
It is understood that this is how much the Government will have to fork out until the concession agreements lapse.
Citing an example, Samy Vellu said the original toll rate when the LDP first opened was RM1.50.
“But because of complaints by the people, it was reduced to RM1. Just because the toll was reduced, it did not mean the balance of 50 sen did not have to be paid,” he said, adding that the Government had to compensate the LDP concessionaire RM68mil last year and RM76mil this year.
Samy Vellu said the quantum of increase would only be finalised after a study by the ministry to make sure the increase was reasonable and would not burden the public.
The last toll increase was on Jan 1, 2005, when Plus Expressways increased toll rates by 10% on the North-South Expressway. In April 2002, Kesas highway also raised its rates by between 20 sen and 60 sen.
More News : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Why lah? Our petrol prices are already so high, if the toll prices go up even more, then gone lah, no need to drive on the road, we shall all resort to cycling to work and back!
Sigh ... LDP toll is mentioned as one of the Toll Plaza to increase their prices. And that's the one i use! double sigh!
Toll rates will be increased for five concessionaires come Jan 1, 2007, according to Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
He said the Government could not afford to compensate the concessionaires for the Guthrie Corridor Expressway, Karak Highway, Grand Saga Cheras-Kajang Highway, Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP) and Kesas Shah Alam Highway the estimated RM2bil, if no increase was approved during this round of concession agreements.
It is understood that this is how much the Government will have to fork out until the concession agreements lapse.
Citing an example, Samy Vellu said the original toll rate when the LDP first opened was RM1.50.
“But because of complaints by the people, it was reduced to RM1. Just because the toll was reduced, it did not mean the balance of 50 sen did not have to be paid,” he said, adding that the Government had to compensate the LDP concessionaire RM68mil last year and RM76mil this year.
Samy Vellu said the quantum of increase would only be finalised after a study by the ministry to make sure the increase was reasonable and would not burden the public.
The last toll increase was on Jan 1, 2005, when Plus Expressways increased toll rates by 10% on the North-South Expressway. In April 2002, Kesas highway also raised its rates by between 20 sen and 60 sen.
More News : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Consumer Benefits with New Rules for Maid Agencies
Finally the government is helping the consumers to save some money by setting up good rules and guidlines on what Maid Agencies should earn.
We recently got our new Indonesian maid and it cost us a Bomb, and we were trying to figure out how did the breakdown of the Maid Agency work. Was calculating and recalculating, but it all seemed to be a HUGE PROFIT to the Maid Agency, whilst we (consumers) were at their mercy, cos we had no contacts, nor the know-how on how to legally bring a helper from Indonesia to Malaysia.
Well i hope with the guidelines coming into place soon, this will bring down the complains from the consumers.
We also had a friend who went thru another Maid Agency for an Indonesian Maid fairly recently. They were really happy with her performance and was going to confirm her (nowadays they have this "Try and Test the Temporary Maid" thingy), and just as they were to confirm her, they found out - must pay this extra, pay that extra, and the worst thing, the latest was that the immigration didn't wanna renew the maid's working visa! SIGH!!
Anway, let's hope the govt and the agencies gets their act together in order for us to get proper and affordable help around the house.
New rule for maid agencies
By SIM LEOI LEOI PUTRAJAYA:
Maid agencies are required to sign an undertaking with the Government to comply with new regulations that include capping the recruitment and processing fees of Indonesian domestic helpers at RM2,415.
Agencies that refuse to commit themselves to the new rules already in effect would not be issued permits to bring in maids from Indonesia, said Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.
“Previously, they didn’t need to sign any agreement or undertaking with the Government, but now they have to. We will call a meeting very soon with the agencies to explain to them the requirements,” he said yesterday.
The RM2,415 new rate is a vast reduction of the amount Radzi had announced in August, when he said RM3,700 was the maximum employers had to pay agencies for Indonesian maids.
The breakdown of the new RM2,415 rate is:
·RM635 for agent’s fee;
·RM500 for airfare from Indonesia;
·RM360 for Government levy;
·RM190 for medical examination;
·RM60 for work permit;
·RM15 for re-entry visa; ·RM10 for processing; and,
·RM645 for miscellaneous costs such as lodging, transport from airport and airport charges.
Of the Old RM3,700 rate;
RM1,000 was the fee paid to the local agent
RM1,700 to the Indonesian agent
RM500 was the processing fee and another
RM500 for airfare.
“In the past, some agencies have charged as high as RM5,000 for each maid. If we don’t control the rate, this will lead to inflation,” said Radzi, adding that employers had been squeezed by the agencies.
On the maid’s pay, Radzi said the Government had not set any minimum wage.
The average monthly salary paid to an Indonesian maid now is between RM450 and RM500. The minister recently announced in Jakarta that Malaysia and Indonesia had signed an agreement to fix the fees to bring Indonesian maids over.
Now that a standard rate has been set, agencies can no longer arbitrarily charge employers.
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
We recently got our new Indonesian maid and it cost us a Bomb, and we were trying to figure out how did the breakdown of the Maid Agency work. Was calculating and recalculating, but it all seemed to be a HUGE PROFIT to the Maid Agency, whilst we (consumers) were at their mercy, cos we had no contacts, nor the know-how on how to legally bring a helper from Indonesia to Malaysia.
Well i hope with the guidelines coming into place soon, this will bring down the complains from the consumers.
We also had a friend who went thru another Maid Agency for an Indonesian Maid fairly recently. They were really happy with her performance and was going to confirm her (nowadays they have this "Try and Test the Temporary Maid" thingy), and just as they were to confirm her, they found out - must pay this extra, pay that extra, and the worst thing, the latest was that the immigration didn't wanna renew the maid's working visa! SIGH!!
Anway, let's hope the govt and the agencies gets their act together in order for us to get proper and affordable help around the house.
New rule for maid agencies
By SIM LEOI LEOI PUTRAJAYA:
Maid agencies are required to sign an undertaking with the Government to comply with new regulations that include capping the recruitment and processing fees of Indonesian domestic helpers at RM2,415.
Agencies that refuse to commit themselves to the new rules already in effect would not be issued permits to bring in maids from Indonesia, said Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad.
“Previously, they didn’t need to sign any agreement or undertaking with the Government, but now they have to. We will call a meeting very soon with the agencies to explain to them the requirements,” he said yesterday.
The RM2,415 new rate is a vast reduction of the amount Radzi had announced in August, when he said RM3,700 was the maximum employers had to pay agencies for Indonesian maids.
The breakdown of the new RM2,415 rate is:
·RM635 for agent’s fee;
·RM500 for airfare from Indonesia;
·RM360 for Government levy;
·RM190 for medical examination;
·RM60 for work permit;
·RM15 for re-entry visa; ·RM10 for processing; and,
·RM645 for miscellaneous costs such as lodging, transport from airport and airport charges.
Of the Old RM3,700 rate;
RM1,000 was the fee paid to the local agent
RM1,700 to the Indonesian agent
RM500 was the processing fee and another
RM500 for airfare.
“In the past, some agencies have charged as high as RM5,000 for each maid. If we don’t control the rate, this will lead to inflation,” said Radzi, adding that employers had been squeezed by the agencies.
On the maid’s pay, Radzi said the Government had not set any minimum wage.
The average monthly salary paid to an Indonesian maid now is between RM450 and RM500. The minister recently announced in Jakarta that Malaysia and Indonesia had signed an agreement to fix the fees to bring Indonesian maids over.
Now that a standard rate has been set, agencies can no longer arbitrarily charge employers.
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Friday, November 24, 2006
Sun's Free E-Paper
I trully enjoy what the the Sun Newspaper website now has to offer - which is all their pages featured online - via a PDF format.
Previously sun2surf only featured some of their articles for the day, and many of the other articles were not online. But now even if I miss getting a free copy from my condo, I can still browse and read the full Sun online.
One funny thing though, when u read their Full Newspapers - http://203.115.192.124/friday/fri_page23.html - it always starts on the Last Page of the newspaper. Hmmm I wonder why?
Anyway, its still good cos they have the Scroll Bar on the Left which allows you to skip from one page to another. Kewl!
Anyway ... a Good job to the Sun - for keeping it free for all! :)
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Our Warehouse Sales Blog hit the 20,000 mark!!
Awesome news! We are so so so glad that our shoppingNsales blog have really been doing so good in terms of number of hits. Sales, shopping, warehouse sales, promotion stuff must be one of the other Malaysian's favourite past time apart from food!!
Today we hit Two Milestones for shoppingNsales.
- 1,322 hits! Woo hoo! We had the highest number of hits on one single day - (7.50pm)
- 20,068 hits! Woo hoo! We just hit the 20,000 mark!
We guess for many of you, the numbers are not really that outstanding, as many blogs are in the hundreds of thousands. But for us as new bloggers (only attempted to blog in July 2006), these are great milestones for us!
We only started shoppingNsales in September 2006, and to have more than 20,000 hits in just less than three months is a great feat (from our perspective that is) :).
The numbers also show that people are enjoying the information attained at the Blog (we are hoping) and that the sales and warehouse sales info are useful to the mass. We guess everyone just wants a good deal .... :) Malaysians lor ... we always wants the best at the most affordable prices.
Woooooo hoooooo .... :) We just feel good. Anyway ... there's still so much to learn about the blogging sphere, and if you guys have any good ideas do share with us on how we can improve it further ... please let us know.
Help keep our Numbers growing .... Visit shoppingNsales :)
Huggies Video - Absolutely Adorable
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
RM2,400 Fee for a Maid
JAKARTA: Malaysia and Indonesia have signed an agreement to fix the fees to hire Indonesian maids at RM2,400 per person.
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said that with the accord, foreign maid agencies in Malaysia could not seek a higher fee from potential employers.
“We have fixed it at RM2,400. This is acceptable as it will not burden the employers and the maids. Agents are reminded not to charge more than that,” he told reporters after launching Malaysia's second generation passport at the Malaysian Embassy here.
Jakarta is the fifth foreign capital where the passport will be made available to Malaysians.
Radzi said those who did not toe the line would have their licences revoked.
The maids, meanwhile, must come up with the RM1,300 for their agents in Indonesia, who would make the necessary arrangements for their employment in Malaysia.
The agreement, which is an extension to the bilateral agreement on maids signed by Radzi in Bali last May, was signed by the ministry's secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat with the Indonesian Immigration yesterday.
Radzi said the Government planned to make it compulsory for employers to pay for their maids' health insurance policies as well as disbursing at least 30% of the maids' first month salary to them.
“This is to ensure that the maids have some cash to spend,” he said.
At present, there are more than 380,000 Indonesian maids in Malaysia. – Bernama
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Home Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad said that with the accord, foreign maid agencies in Malaysia could not seek a higher fee from potential employers.
“We have fixed it at RM2,400. This is acceptable as it will not burden the employers and the maids. Agents are reminded not to charge more than that,” he told reporters after launching Malaysia's second generation passport at the Malaysian Embassy here.
Jakarta is the fifth foreign capital where the passport will be made available to Malaysians.
Radzi said those who did not toe the line would have their licences revoked.
The maids, meanwhile, must come up with the RM1,300 for their agents in Indonesia, who would make the necessary arrangements for their employment in Malaysia.
The agreement, which is an extension to the bilateral agreement on maids signed by Radzi in Bali last May, was signed by the ministry's secretary-general Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat with the Indonesian Immigration yesterday.
Radzi said the Government planned to make it compulsory for employers to pay for their maids' health insurance policies as well as disbursing at least 30% of the maids' first month salary to them.
“This is to ensure that the maids have some cash to spend,” he said.
At present, there are more than 380,000 Indonesian maids in Malaysia. – Bernama
Source : STAR
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Library Things catalogs your books online & Boks Books Books
Stumbled on it by accident and found out that Library Thing is such a cool website!!
Cos we wanted to compile all our books that we have in our home, but didnt really know how to put it all together. We actually started out by making a list in Word, typing out the name of the book and the author .. but quite the leceh.
But when we found Library Thing, WOW this is way way cool, cos u can also add the Book Cover (picture) and ISBN and you have Widget add on (Fun Section), which u can add on to your Blogger - like what we did in our Right Sidebar.
For those of you who are avid readers, you can put up all the books that you own online and have discussion, comments and things like that.
Another thing about Books (for me that is). Once u read a book, u normally don't read it again. (Unless we are refering to the Big Book - the Bible)
Well, especially if its fiction (or aka Airpot Books, books that u buy to read on long haul flights). Anyway, i have close to a hundred of these books and now don't know what to do with them.
-> Hmm if any of u have any great suggestions on what i can do with them ... pls let me know.
Meanwhile, here are two great Book related Sales that may interest you.
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Cos we wanted to compile all our books that we have in our home, but didnt really know how to put it all together. We actually started out by making a list in Word, typing out the name of the book and the author .. but quite the leceh.
But when we found Library Thing, WOW this is way way cool, cos u can also add the Book Cover (picture) and ISBN and you have Widget add on (Fun Section), which u can add on to your Blogger - like what we did in our Right Sidebar.
For those of you who are avid readers, you can put up all the books that you own online and have discussion, comments and things like that.
Here's my Fiction Library Book List : delephant's library
Another thing about Books (for me that is). Once u read a book, u normally don't read it again. (Unless we are refering to the Big Book - the Bible)
Well, especially if its fiction (or aka Airpot Books, books that u buy to read on long haul flights). Anyway, i have close to a hundred of these books and now don't know what to do with them.
-> Hmm if any of u have any great suggestions on what i can do with them ... pls let me know.
Meanwhile, here are two great Book related Sales that may interest you.
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Monday, November 20, 2006
Awesome Tips for Beta Blogger
Just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU to Peter from Blogger Tips and Tricks.
He's got some awesome cool tips for helping new users with Beta Blogger.
So far I've been using Beta Blogger for 1 1/2 months and the good and have discovered some good and bad stuff about it.
GOOD STUFF
ADD ON STUFF
Hope u found the stuff useful! By the way .. Peter is a Malaysian too! :) awesome dude!
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
He's got some awesome cool tips for helping new users with Beta Blogger.
So far I've been using Beta Blogger for 1 1/2 months and the good and have discovered some good and bad stuff about it.
GOOD STUFF
- Labels - works like Tags in Wordpress
- Archiving by Month is pretty cool, and much easier to find stuff (easier to open by month)
BAD STUFF
- Google Search doesn't work on Beta Blogger : Fix it here
- Can't Add Page Elements to Header & Body of Text to Beta Blogger : Fix it here [Add More Page Elements to your Header and Body so that you can include Ad Sense]
- The built in Ad Sense doesn't support your own Categories. So you have to fix it yourself by adding your own code. Set it up well so that it will help you make money for your Blog.
ADD ON STUFF
- How to add an Excel Spreadsheet in your Beta Blogger : Find out here
- How to add a Moveable / Scrolling Text in your Beta Blogger : Find out here
Hope u found the stuff useful! By the way .. Peter is a Malaysian too! :) awesome dude!
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Man Fined for Saying Four-Letter-Word on Plane
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A 65-year-old Australian man was fined S$10,000 ($6,423) by a Singapore court for uttering the word "bomb" on a flight to Indonesia, The Straits Times reported on Wednesday.
The newspaper said he made the remark after trying to find space in the overhead lockers.
Paulin was charged under the United Nations anti-terrorism regulations, which carry a maximum fine of S$100,000 or up to five years in jail or both.
He apologized to the court for his remark, saying it was meant as a joke.
Source : Reuters
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Riccardo Paulin, a retiree, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to having asked a flight
attendant "Where do you keep the bomb?" on a flight operated by
Singapore regional carrier SilkAir to the Indonesian city of Surabaya, the
newspaper said.
The newspaper said he made the remark after trying to find space in the overhead lockers.
Paulin was charged under the United Nations anti-terrorism regulations, which carry a maximum fine of S$100,000 or up to five years in jail or both.
He apologized to the court for his remark, saying it was meant as a joke.
Source : Reuters
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Maid Stories
Wanted to collect some stories and news on Indonesian Maids or Maids in Malaysia.
Here are a couple of interesting Maid Stories from the News, will add on to this as time moves on.
Maid Stories from 1 September 2006 onwards
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Here are a couple of interesting Maid Stories from the News, will add on to this as time moves on.
Maid Stories from 1 September 2006 onwards
- Maid admits knife threat against boss & Indon maid threatens employer with knife
- Good employers make all the difference
- Indon maid flees from abusive employer
- Maids abandon wards and run off with RM16,000
- Indon maid gang-raped and robbed
- Trial of housewife who allegedly abused her former maid
- Fired Indonesian maid causes a stir
- Where Filipinos gather
- Court allows ex-boss’ bid to stay trial on maid abuse
- Express service from Immigration Department
- Maid held over RM1.3mil robbery
- Maid no substitute for parent
[tags : delephant fun stuff]
Have u met Liam from Yahoo?
Dunno what’s wrong with me….
I am just fascinated by the Yahoo Tutorial icon called Liam. Already bloged about how much i like Yahoo MailBeta! Now just gonna add that the Liam icon is rather fascinating!
Anyway …. i just wanna say that these Yahoo animated Gifs are cool. Not sure if there are any out there who feels the same. If u know where I can get more …. let me know!
Liam - Bouncing Ball
Original Link - http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pim/dclient/d/img/liam_ball_1.gif
Liam - Breakdancing
Original Link - http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/pim/dclient/d/img/liam_breakdance.gif
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
You Must Be In The Computer Industry If...
You Must Be In The Computer Industry If...
1. You sat at the same desk for 4 years and worked for 8 different managers.
2. Your resume is on a diskette in your pocket or multiple photo copies in your briefcase .
3. When someone asks you what you do for a living, you lie.
4. You get really excited about a 2% pay raise.
5. Your biggest loss from a systems crash is that you lose your best jokes and pictures.
6. You sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom closet.
7. It's dark on your drive to and from work.
8. Fun is when "projects" are assigned to someone else.
9. Communication is something your "group" is having problems with.
10. You see a good-looking person and know it's a visitor.
11. They always seem to promote the least competent person in the group.
12. All real work is done prior to 9:00 am and after 5:00 pm.
13. You're already late on the assignment you just received.
14. Your boss's favorite lines are:a. "When you get a few minutes."b. "In your spare time"c. "I have an opportunity for you."
15. 50% of the people in your company do not know what you do.
16. 50% of the people in your company do not care what you do.
17. 50% of the people in your company do not know what they do.
18. The guy that used to sit next to you has left and gone back to hisoriginal job ' Brick laying ' as it pays more !
19. CHANGE IS THE NORM!
20. The new management staff always seem to come from some other industry other than a
related one .
21. Nepotism is encouraged.
22. You read this entire list AND UNDERSTAND IT!
[tags : delephant fun]
Sunday, October 01, 2006
MISTAKES
MISTAKES
If a barber makes a mistake,
It's a new style...
If a driver makes a mistake,
It is an accident...
If a doctor makes a mistake,
It's an operation...
If a engineer makes a mistake,
It is a new venture...
If parents makes a mistake,
It is a new generation...
If a politician makes a mistake,
It is a new law...
If a scientist makes a mistake,
It is a new invention...
If a tailor makes a mistake,
It is a new fashion...
If a teacher makes a mistake ,
It is a new theory...
If our boss makes a mistake,
It is our mistake......
If an employee makes a mistake,
It is a "MISTAKE"
[tags : delephant fun]
If a barber makes a mistake,
It's a new style...
If a driver makes a mistake,
It is an accident...
If a doctor makes a mistake,
It's an operation...
If a engineer makes a mistake,
It is a new venture...
If parents makes a mistake,
It is a new generation...
If a politician makes a mistake,
It is a new law...
If a scientist makes a mistake,
It is a new invention...
If a tailor makes a mistake,
It is a new fashion...
If a teacher makes a mistake ,
It is a new theory...
If our boss makes a mistake,
It is our mistake......
If an employee makes a mistake,
It is a "MISTAKE"
[tags : delephant fun]
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Sick In Church
A little girl was in church with her mother when she started feeling ill.
"Mommy," she said, "can we leave now?"
"No," her mother replied.
"Well, I think I have to throw up!"
"Then go out the front door and around to the back of the church and throw up behind a bush."
After about 60 seconds the little girl returned to her seat.
"Did you throw up?" Mom asked.
"Yes."
"How could you have gone all the way to the back of the church and returned so quickly?"
"I didn't have to go out of the church, Mommy. They have a box next to the front door that says, 'For the Sick.'"
[tags : delephant joke]
"Mommy," she said, "can we leave now?"
"No," her mother replied.
"Well, I think I have to throw up!"
"Then go out the front door and around to the back of the church and throw up behind a bush."
After about 60 seconds the little girl returned to her seat.
"Did you throw up?" Mom asked.
"Yes."
"How could you have gone all the way to the back of the church and returned so quickly?"
"I didn't have to go out of the church, Mommy. They have a box next to the front door that says, 'For the Sick.'"
[tags : delephant joke]
Lame : Doctor's Office
Sunday, September 03, 2006
CNN Blooper - Wireless Mic On in Toilet while Bush Giving Live Speech
This is so funny!!
The anchor for CNN “Live From” Ms Kyra Phillips transmited an open mike conversation while President George Bush was doing a Live speech in New Orleans.
Kyra’s wireless microphone was turned on and picked up about a minute and a half of a muffled conversation she had with an unidentified woman where she talked about her husband, laughed and talked about her brother.
“I’ve got to be protective of him,” she said without being aware that the mic was on. “He’s married, three kids, and his wife is just a control freak.” CNN anchor Daryn Kagan broke into the telecast immediately afterward updating viewers on what Bush had been saying.
WOW!! What a Blooper! Watch the Video below!
[tags : delephant fun cnn blooper]
The anchor for CNN “Live From” Ms Kyra Phillips transmited an open mike conversation while President George Bush was doing a Live speech in New Orleans.
Kyra’s wireless microphone was turned on and picked up about a minute and a half of a muffled conversation she had with an unidentified woman where she talked about her husband, laughed and talked about her brother.
“I’ve got to be protective of him,” she said without being aware that the mic was on. “He’s married, three kids, and his wife is just a control freak.” CNN anchor Daryn Kagan broke into the telecast immediately afterward updating viewers on what Bush had been saying.
WOW!! What a Blooper! Watch the Video below!
[tags : delephant fun cnn blooper]
Friday, September 01, 2006
Zidane Head Butting - revisited
Many of you may have seen the actual thing on TV during the World Cup finals of Zidane head butting Marco Materazzi.
But did you ensure that your satelite showed you the other versions of that shot?
As seen by the Germans :
As seen by the French :
As seen by the Italians :
As seen by the Americans :
As reported by the press :
Watch this re-edited Video of Zidane
[tags : delephant fun zidane video]
But did you ensure that your satelite showed you the other versions of that shot?
As seen by the Germans :
As seen by the French :
As seen by the Italians :
As seen by the Americans :
As reported by the press :
Watch this re-edited Video of Zidane
[tags : delephant fun zidane video]
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Coke Ad - Vending Machine
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Coke Ad
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Check out Ms Universe doing the "Zidane"
Hmmm… looks like a lot of people have learn the traits and likes of our dear Zidane!
They must be taking lessons from the World Cup!!
This Video got emailed to me, check it out! Its really FUNNY!
[tags : delephant fun zidane ms universe]
They must be taking lessons from the World Cup!!
This Video got emailed to me, check it out! Its really FUNNY!
[tags : delephant fun zidane ms universe]
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