Project Petaling Street Blog

Well-respected Malaysian blogger, Mack Zulkifli had this to say about the blog-flame-war between Wendy and Peter.

Fundamentally what is being communicated is, we are all the same in varying intensity and the flame wars are normally all about WHO is right, not WHAT is being advanced in the course of the disagreement. The issue was not the issue, but the bloggers, and therein lies the flaw in said piece of journalism.

via Brand New Malaysian.

Extremely well written, with some excellent insights. Well worth a read, lots more analytical than the NST Singapore's article on the issue.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 10:19 AM | Permalink

This is a must read: Forbes has written a scathing attack against bloggers.

Web logs are the prized platform of an online lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Google and Yahoo.

via BoingBoing

Dan Gillmor fires back.

Overall, what a pile of trash from Forbes Magazine, which uses its cover to go on the attack against bloggers in the new issue. You have to register to read the stories. Go ahead if you must; it's worth reading to see how a normally solid business magazine can go astray with an alarmist and at times absurd broadside..

via Bayosphere.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Not sure how prevalent spam-blogs have infected the Malaysian blogosphere, but its an increasingly significant problem elsewhere.

"Splogs," or spam blogs, are the latest way for spammers to manipulate the blogosphere for profit. The phenomenon hit an all-time high recently, when Google's blog-hosting service, Blogger, was inundated with more than 13,000 fake blogs spawned by a script (all have since been taken down).

via Wired News.

Be sure to read the whole article to find out ways to find out whether you've been splogged, and how to combat splog. Bloody spammers. They should all be shafted with a white hot rod.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 04:33 PM | Permalink

Its a sign that blogging is beginning to creep into the mainstream when policy makers start blogging, namely Teresa Kok and the venerable Lim Kit Siang. See their pings on PPS. Its a sign of the peanut sized brains of some people who discourage this positive move on the basis of language. Politics101, a well respected blog on PPS, had this to say about the issue:

Despite their tight schedule at this Budget session of parliament, Teresa and Po Kuan made their web appearance. Despite their English language handicap they soldiered on. Their language imperfection is overshadowed by the quality of their comments and thoughts. Teresa blogs in three languages. How many can her critics read, write and think in?

via Politics101.

PPS believes that language is the least of a blogger's worries when he/she steps into the blogosphere. Write, share, educate and learn -- the power of the pen, even one in cyberspace, should not be restrained by the uncertain colour of the ink. Blog on, Ms Kok.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

More funnies that popped into the inbox this morning:

Bush, Manmohan, Aishwarya Rai and Sonia are travelling in a train.

The train goes through a tunnel and it gets completely dark. Suddenly there is a kissing sound and then a slap!

The train comes out of the tunnel. The women and Manmohan are sitting there looking perplexed. Bush is bent over holding his face, which is red from an apparent slap. All of them remain diplomatic and nobody says anything.

Sonia is thinking:

These Americans are all crazy after Aishwarya. Bush must have tried to kiss her in the tunnel. Very proper that she slapped him.

Aishwarya is thinking:

Bush must have tried to kiss me but kissed Sonia instead and got slapped.

Bush is thinking:

Damn it. Manmohan must have tried to kiss Aishwarya. She might have thought it was me and slapped me.

Manmohan is thinking:

If this train goes through another tunnel I will make another kissing sound and slap Bush again.

*ROFL*

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Of course I love ya darling
You're a bloody top notch bird
And when I say you're gorgeous
I mean every single word.

So ya bum is on the big side
I don't mind a bit of flab
It means that when I'm ready
There's somethin there to grab.

So your belly isn't flat no more
I tell ya, I don't care
So long as when I cuddle ya
I can get my arms round there.

No sheila who is your age
Has nice round perky breasts
They just gave in to gravity
But I know ya did ya best

I'm tellin ya the truth now
I never tell ya lies
I think its very sexy
That you've got dimples on ya thighs.

I swear on me nanna's grave now
The moment that we met
I thought u was as good as
I was ever gonna get.

No matter wot u look like
I'll always love ya dear
Now shut up while the footy's on
And fetch another beer.

Damn funny the things that end up in our inboxes from time-to-time. :)

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 01:15 PM | Permalink

It started with "I am hungry". And then went on and on and on. The story is well summarised on The Flyz's Blog. PPS won't take sides in this, and in fact, it won't even comment on the issue.

Once again, the normally peaceful south-east asian blogsphere is rocked by an incident that caused a furor between prominent bloggers from both Singapore and malaysia. And once again, the protagonist of this cross-causeway 'blog war' is none other than miss XiaXue; the most popular blogger in Singapore. On the malaysian side, the war is spearheaded by Kimberlycun and backed by prominent blogger; Peter Tan.

via The Flyz's Blog.

However, what does interest me is what role PPS had to play in propogating the matter. For a period yesterday, every other ping hitting PPS was a comment about it; it would have been hard for any visitor to PPS to miss the storm in the teacup. And bloggers being bloggers -- once they take notice of something, its even odds that they'll write about. Then ping PPS. Then the cycle starts over again.

Interesting, the dynamics of how this has played out with PPS. How many of you would have noticed this issue had it not been pinged to PPS? How many of you would have blogged about it? I'll be the first to put my hand up.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)

Just tried this for larks. :)

How much is your blog worth?

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 07:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Its obvious that there are a lot of Malaysian bloggers. But i am curious about the longevity of our bloggers -- how many people stick with it over an extended period of time and how many consider it a fad. Its a generally serious question because the numbers and the relative proportion will tell us a lot about the future of Malaysian bloggers: (a) what our potential impact will be on the society and (b) what are the long term prospects of bloggers in Malaysia -- are we here to stay?

Using this posting as a quick and dirty survey, drop a comment here if you've been around long enough to rack up 1,000 or more blog postings. Its highly like that if you've reached this number of postings then (a) you've been blogging for quite some time and (b) blogging is now a habit that will be very difficult to stop doing in the future.

Spread the word about this survey -- at the end of the next 30 days or so, then we'll compare the number of Mile High bloggers the Malaysian blogosphere has against the estimated number of total bloggers there are in Malaysia. It'll be very revealing to see the ratio.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 09:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (43)

Most of us would think pantuns (Malay poems) are for Primary 3 classrooms and lovers fancy, but Sharon of Bibliobibuli has unearthed poems translated to English by A.W. Hamilton.

I've been a avid follower of Sharon's blog since it's inception, her takes on the local literati scene and book reviews are always a delight to read. In this entry, 6 poems of love are translated by the late AW Hamilton, who I understand as the Commisioner of the Police Force in Kedah back in 1929...

Permata jatuh di dalam rumpuit,
Jatuh di rumput bergilang-gilang.
Kasih umpana embun di hujung rumput,
Datang matahari nescaya hilang.

Gems may fall to earth, alas!
Scintillating on the lawn.
Love is dew on blades of grass,
Bound to fade when comes the dawn.

Lost in translation? Or poetry in motion? I think its poetic justice. But read it for yourself...

Posted by simon at 08:50 AM | Permalink

A fellow blogger had this to say recently:

Oh well... looking at the bright side, I am not blogging for money but for ?? hmmm... interestingly I don't even know why I am blogging! [sigh]

via Mahagurusia.

How many of us could answer the question: why do we blog? For some, the answer is pretty straightforward -- they blog for money. Its a job. For others, its an exercise of their obvious literary talent. Technorati claims to track over 18 million blogs, the Blog Herald figures the numbers are very much more -- the stats, i suspect, are terribly inflated if you consider longevity as a factor. A blog that lasts 3 months before the blogger loses interest doesn't really amount to very much.

The truth of the matter is, blogging is still very much a youthful experience. Mr Kit Siang notwithstanding, a vast majority of Malaysian bloggers are very young. Teenagers probably make the bulk of us, followed closely by young adults who are just emerging into their twenties. It would be interesting reading to conduct a survey of their motivations and compare it against the motivations of more mature bloggers. Undoubtedly, the differences, on average, will probably be quite large.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Political Analyst, Dr. Andreas Ufen will give a talk on Islamism in Indonesia today at Menara Star on Tuesday. Dr. Ufen who is currently head researcher on Islam and politics in South-East Asia at the Institute of Asian Affairs in Hamburg, will touch on the roles of Islamic Political parties in Indonesia and regional politics.

He will focus on changes to political landscape as well as the recent bombings in Indonesia since the fall of President Suharto.

The talk is jointly organised by University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and the Asian Centre of Media Studies.

For details, call 03-7967 1388 ext. 1121, fax: 03-7958 2852 or email: feedback@asianmediastudies.net

Posted by Yvonne at 10:34 AM | Permalink

To put it mildly, one of the Malaysian blogosphere's most colourful characters is Menj. He certainly proves it with his latest posting about Datin Endon's passing:

P/S: Come to think of it, now that she’s kicked the bucket we’ll hopefully see the end of those stupid nonya kebayas, songket and batik shows. A waste of public funds.

via Menj.

Damn, that was rude.

UPDATE: Menj has removed the posting. Interesting.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 03:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Datin Seri Endon Mahmood passed away earlier this morning. Al-Fatihah.

Yang Amat Berbahagia Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood is the wife of the Yang Amat Berhormat Dato' Seri Abdullah Hj. Ahmad Badawi, the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia. One of the identical twins born to Yang Berbahagia Dato' Mahmood Ambak and Yang Berbahagia Datin Mariam Abdullah on 24 December 1940, Datin Paduka Seri Endon received her primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Methodist (then the Anglo-Chinese School) in Kampar, Perak and her secondary education at St. Mary's Secondary Girls' School, Kuala Lumpur.

via Open University website.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 09:13 AM | Permalink

"Institutionalised racism appears good, even noble, in theory. But can it work in practice?"

For those of you who has been following the PPS blog for some time, you probably can guess it by now, the author behind that sentence. Yes! It's SO John Ling.

Racism has been a feature of humanity since the dawn of history. A Jew is regarded as manipulative. A Chinese is greedy. A white man is a redneck. A black man is dishonest.

We unconsciously fear what we do not understand. Our fear gives birth to prejudice. Prejudice gives birth to stereotype.

And we are all guilty of stereotyping. Each time we disapprove of our offspring dating someone of another race. Each time we crack a joke about a Malay colleague taking excessive sick leave. Each time we use the term ‘diaper head’ when referring to practising Sikhs.

Read it all at THINK online.

Posted by Yvonne at 05:47 PM | Permalink

The Malaysian blogosphere is full of great little stories, this is one of them:

The last that walked in was a VERY tall lady, bout 5' 10" or so. Quite slender, fair-skinned, long dyed hair with curls at the ends, in skin-tight capri pants and a spaghetti-strapped top. She's quite good looking, therefore getting quite a few lecherous looks from some of the male diners there just now; much to the displeasure of the wives and to her glee.

HELLO!! Ladies dont grasp at their breasts in public, geddit??

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 03:22 PM | Permalink

In light of another animal abuse case hogging the media, we're once again drawn to the fact that the law protecting animals is in need of amendment and strict enforcement. The current cruelty fine is RM200, which is an unfair price for the life of an animal. With laws like that, no wonder people aren't thinking twice before neglecting their pets and walk away with it.

SPCA is appealing that the Animal Ordinance 1953 is amended to first of all increase the fine to a realistic fee (after all a pedigree puppy costs about RM1000 – 2000 today) and imposes a BAN on KEEPING ANIMALS following prosecution for CRUELTY.

Animal lovers all over Malaysia petition for a pro-active government stance on the prevention of cruelty to animals by passing effective and deterrant legislation:

1. Increasing the cruelty fine from RM200 (since 1953) significantly higher to around RM 10,000.00 and increase jail time.
2. A life time ban on animal ownership for those charged with cruelty to animals --- animals therefore cannot be returned to the owners.
3. To urge the public to be responsible pet owners - spay/neuter their pets, adequate food, space, exercise, love and mediacal attention and to be considerate neighbours.

Please lend your support by giving a voice our fellow inhibitants of this world that can't talk. Click the banner above and sign the petition TODAY!

Posted by Yvonne at 07:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

EXCLUSIVE: An Iraqi insurgent leader reveals how he trains and equips suicide bombers and sends them on their lethal missions. - Time.com

"Daddy, I want to be a martyr. Can you get me an explosive belt?"

When Abu Qaqa al-Tamimi's 9-year-old son asked for his help in becoming a suicide bomber, he was, to say the least, taken aback. "This is not what you expect to hear from a little boy," says al-Tamimi, an Iraqi man in his late 40s with close-cropped hair and a thin beard lining a round face. "I didn't know what to say." The son had even come up with a proposed target. "There was an American checkpoint near his school, and he said, 'They won't suspect me because I'm a kid, so I can walk right up to them and explode the belt.'"

Like other Iraqi parents, al-Tamimi frets about the emotional toll on his child caused by the daily onslaught of suicide bombings. But al-Tamimi bears a personal responsibility for his son's bizarre ambitions. For the past 13 months, al-Tamimi has played a crucial, and murderous, role in the Iraqi insurgency: he is one of a small number of operatives who provide would-be suicide bombers with everything from safe houses to target information and explosives. Al-Tamimi says he also acts as a guardian, religious guide and all-around father figure in the final days of a bomber's life. "Once a volunteer is placed in my care," he says, "I am responsible for everything in his life until the time comes for him to end it." Al-Tamimi is often the last person bombers talk to before their deadly mission. He is so proficient at facilitating suicide bombings that he says his own brother and sister have asked to be considered for "martyrdom operations." He gave them some basic training but advised them to find other, less drastic ways of serving the insurgency. "A suicide bombing should be the last resort," he says. "It should not be a shortcut to paradise."

Handlers like al-Tamimi are usually anonymous and almost never claim responsibility for their part in suicide operations. But the terrorism that has plagued Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein would not have been possible without men like al-Tamimi, who says he organizes attacks for several insurgent organizations, ranging from hard-core jihadis like Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi's al-Qaeda operation in Iraq to more obscure Iraqi nationalist groups. "These are the guys who supply the intel and networks," says the Rand Corp.'s counterterrorism expert Bruce Hoffman. "They are the terrorists' trump card--and our Achilles' heel."

Click here to continue reading

Posted by Yvonne at 06:22 PM | Permalink

KEEP YOUR HOUSE COOL WITHOUT AIR-COND AND OTHER MONEY-SAVING TIPS

1. Proper window management can help reduce hot air from outside heating up your house. It is as simple as closing windows and doors during the day and opening them at night. This will block day time heat but take advantage of the cool night air. This works especially well for houses with few people in the house during the day.

2. Did you know that electricity used to keep your appliances on standby can light one or more rooms? In a French survey, the average standby power of TV decoders are 11w, VCRs are 9.9w, TVs are 7.3w, Hi-fi stereos are 7.2w, modems are 4.3w, washing machines are 4w and microwave ovens are 3.5w. Compare these figures with the fact that your bedside lamp may only be a 4w compact flourescent light.

Don't pay for nothing. Switch off your appliances at the main plug.

3. Collect rain water from the gutter and keep it in a container for watering your plants. If you are really into it, you may install a rain water collection system for flushing toilets as well. But do be aware of breeding mosquitos.

4. Turn off your car engine while waiting for your mate, especially if they are taking a really long time. Not only will it save you petrol but you'll spare the poor guy standing outside your car from exhaust intoxication.

5. Turn green... No, not you. But your house. Try to keep a garden in the front and back of your house. Leafy plants are good as they provide shade and lots of fresh air. When the sun goes down, plants will cool the surrounding faster than an empty yard. If you have previously tiled your garden, grow potted plants. Indoor plants are great too!

6. Flourescent lights now come in bulb forms, known as compact flourescent lights. You can use them in replacement of your existing incandescent bulbs. Bulbs that emit soft yellow tones are also available. These bulbs last longer and save up to 80% of your lighting bill without compromising the amount of light you get. They can be purchased at supermarkets and/or hardware convenient stores.

7. Remember those hot water flasks from the 70's? They're actually a very energy smart devise. You can boil a lot of water at one go and keep them in the flask. Now you don't have to wait for that kettle before enjoying your cup of coffee :-) Of course, sleeker models are available today!

"Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play.
Every individual makes a difference." - Jane Goodall

Adapted from Center for Environment, Technology, and Development Malaysia web site
http://www.cetdem.org.my/sustainable_energy/energysmart.html

Image Source: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_index_homesealing_faq

Posted by Yvonne at 09:28 AM | Permalink

Img source: http://growabrain.typepad.com

September 25, 2005 was a day that he will never forget. The day he was wrongly accused of taking drugs and arrested at a night club in Sri Hartamas. Insulted, extorted, and humiliated by the very men in blue uniforms, supposed to defend justice.

The accused who goes by the nickname, ABETTERMALAYSIA, relates his hellish ordeal in prison through a blog specially created to highlight this issue. The blog called, Corrupt Malaysia, kicked off with a recall of events that took place after the accused was detained and remanded for something he did not do.

In the story, ABETTERMALAYSIA alledge harsh and unjust treatments by law enforcement officers, who extorted money from detainees, stripped them nude, and verbally insulted the poor innocents. His ordeal is truely shocking, but not at all unheard of behind closed doors. Having gone through hell, his world is never the same again. Fainted spirit, resentment, and boiling anger. But what can he do, to stop this from happening to other Malaysians?

Posted by Yvonne at 07:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The AYA Dream Malaysia Awards is a pilot project initiated by the Asian Youth Ambassadors (AYA), a non-profit youth development organisation founded in Malaysia for the primary purpose of “inviting, inspiring, instructing and involving young people to dream dreams and be responsible in fulfilling their destiny for the good of all”. AYA’s main priority is a commitment to raising leaders of excellence, believing that sound and solid leaders determine the overall health (spirit, mind and body) of a whole generation as it does a whole nation.

What is AYA Dream Malaysia Awards?

The AYA Dream Malaysia Awards is about our future - and the people who are farsighted enough to invest in it. The Awards is in line with AYA’s objective of building tomorrow’s leaders today and to create a better and brighter future for Malaysia by inspiring, inciting and inculcating responsible attitudes and actions especially – but not exclusively - in the hearts and minds of our youths.

This Awards serves as an encouragement to emerging individuals and responsible institutions to persevere in their dreams of improving the quality of life for themselves and for those around them in spite of the difficulties and obstacles they encounter.

Life College is sponsoring a scholarship worth RM 16000 - RM 24000 to the winner of The Most Outstanding Youth of The Year.

Voting ends on 7th November, and the winner will be announced at the AYA Dream Malaysia Awards Night on 13th November 2005. Cast your votes here!

Posted by Yvonne at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

After being down for a week after a severe spam attack, PPS is slowly returning to health. Since recovery required a system-wide re-jig, i decided to take the oppurtunity to spruce things up further. New design (everyone was complaining about the old one), new features and a whole new Movabletype v3.2. Thanks everyone for your patience, PPS should be back to her old self in several days.

Posted by Aizuddin Danian at 01:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)

It's that kind of fever again, since last August's Blogathon 2005 event. Malaysian bloggers are turning charitable once again. Hair For Hospice is a charity campaign initiated by Peter Tan, to repay kindness that was shown to him and his mother in times of need. 42 months of continuous hair growth is seeing its purpose as Peter pledges to shave his head, in order to raise funds for the Penang Hospice-At-Home programme.

Picture Source:www.minishorts.net

Peter Tan, or the Blog Buster as we know him, is a man of courage and perseverence. Paralysed due to an unfortunate event more than 20 years ago that robbed his mobility and left him bounded to a wheelchair. In spite of the inability to walk and lead an active life, Peter goes on to lead a life as normal as he can manage, even until today when his dear mother had left for the eternal world.

Two years of hair is nothing compared to Peter's gratitude towards the Hospice, that was there for Peter and his mom in times of need. Now is the time for Peter to return the favour to the hospice. Acording to Peter...

It costs RM31 for a palliative care nurse from the Hospice to visit a patient at home. The RM5,000.00 will be able to support 161 home visits. This is only a fraction of the RM290,000.00 that was spent in the year 2004 for such visits. Patients are not charged for these visits and neither are they obliged to reciprocate in any other way. This is truly service from the heart, and one of the great examples of human compassion at its best.

Jason of Buangmasa.net, Shahrizal of Les Perceptions Perpétuellement Permutantes and Sapiens Bryan are supporting Peter by making this a mass shaving ritual.

It seems that Peter's initiative is receiving better response than all Malaysian blogathon campaigns combined. The list of donors is growing rather quickly. Are you touched by what this man with limitations is doing for charity? How about giving Peter and his team some support?.Click here to find out how you can help.

Posted by Yvonne at 09:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Local artistes at it again!

KUALA LUMPUR: Several top local artistes have put together a special album, Hulurkan Cinta, to help children with autism and dyslexia as well as the intellectually challenged.

The album, the initiative of Procter & Gamble (P&G) Malaysia Sdn Bhd and EMI Malaysia, features Ella, Anita Sarawak, KRU, Billy Zulkarnain, Vince, Rabbani and Shazzy.

The money earned from sales of the album will go to special education schools and education centres through Yayasan Nikmat Untuk Rakyat (Yayasan Nur).

Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abd Jalil, who launched the album at her ministry yesterday, urged more companies to �join forces with us to help the poor and the needy.�

P&G said that it aimed to raise RM2mil for the Open Minds-Yayasan Nur ChildAid fund in co-operation with the ministry.

P&G CEO Patrick Lockwood-Taylor said the company had so far raised RM200,000 from other activities, and in addition pledged another RM500,000 to the fund.

EMI pledged to contribute RM10 from the sale of every CD and RM5 from every cassette to the fund.

Konsert ChildAid will be staged at Stadium Melawati in Shah Alam on Dec 3.

The public can also donate money by making out cheques to Yayasan Nur and posting them to Open Minds Fund Raising, c/o P&G Malaysia Sdn Bhd, 9th Floor, West Wing, Wisma Consplant 1, No. 2 Jalan SS16/4 Subang Jaya, 47500 Petaling Jaya.

Donations of RM2, RM5 or RM10 can also be made via SMS, by typing OM2, OM5 or OM10 and sending the SMS to DAPAT/32728.

Source

Posted by Yvonne at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Hey everyone. Just a short note to let you all know that the PPS ping is down while Aizzudin fights off recent spam attacks that flooded the server. My neck is also growing very long in waiting for the new layout to be launched. So for now, old your breathe, the PPS ping should be back in function pretty soon.

Posted by Yvonne at 09:09 AM | Permalink

On 2nd October 2005, the National Kidney Foundation Malaysia organised a charity roadshow to raise funds for their chairtable works. The National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia (or NKF as it is known) is an independent, non-profit charitable organisation dedicated to helping poor Malaysians suffering from end stage renal (kidney) failure who lack access to or cannot afford dialysis treatment from private hospitals because of the high cost

Dialysis is an expensive treatment, NKF needs to raise about RM2 million a year to support their 700 patients on subsidies alone. In addition, every year NKF requires another RM2 million to establish a new dialysis centre plus replacement of 40 odd dialysis machines.

As a non-profit organization that relies solely on public funding to sustain their various life-saving programs, the NKF needs to hold fundraising events throughout the year such as the NKF Charity Show.

The show is over, but human kindness and compassion are not. The dateline for donation is 8th Ottober 2005. If you have not made any contributions, today is the day for you to be charitable. For more information about how to donate, please log on to the official website of the NKF Charity Roadshow. http://www.nkfshow.com.my

Posted by Yvonne at 10:29 AM | Permalink

Corporate Tax