The Chronicles of Nasi Lemak : The Government, The Opposition and Dataran Merdeka

 

I just got this idea when I was having lunch just now. And somehow, I felt stupid, after years of observing Malaysia’s politics, I can’t get my finger on a strategy this simple and finally, all I need is nasi with ayam that cost me RM 7 to wake me up (on which, was quite expensive for a guy of my stature).

Do you guys remember how Malaysia was five years ago? Pre-2008 to be precise. From as far as I remember, the price of food is still acceptable, electrical tariff is reasonable, and no exorbitant price hike had been introduced by the government in the name of mitigating the country’s expenditure to the rakyats.

But, right now, we are experiencing a ridiculous increase in the cost of living. Tolls going up, sugar went up, even the public transportation will be costing more. An alien tax to the rakyats introduced and will be implemented in less than two years from now. So, I start to be wondering, what the hell is wrong with the country?

So, I started to think deeper, and do a little googling here and there, to connect the dots of what’s wrong with the country, with the system, and with the economics.

Then, it hit me, increase in salary is not the answer, because what’s the use of having a 20K paycheck every month, if one nasi lemak sambal kerang will be costing you RM 1,000. And of course, reducing the price of daily necessities won’t be contributing much. Because, as price reduced, the corporations will be suffering,  expenditure needed to be cut, resulting in lower salary for the workers, thus, it won’t be making any different. To illustrate the situation, I will be using salary, nasi lemak (analogy of our daily needs), and corporations as variables.

What will be happening if nasi lemak’s price went down?

Okay, how about, we increase our salary; will it be making our life better?

So, it’s pretty much the same result, high salary, resulted in high prices, and low prices, will be resulting to lower salary. So, don’t you think we’re wasting our time asking for low prices of goods when it will be costing us the same percentage of our reduced salary?

Okay, I guess, up to this paragraphs, someone had already labelled me a macai (a type of servant that will be doing anything for their stupid leaders, Malaysian Political Dictionary, 2012). Some might also said, “Dei! Qusyairi! That’s why we’re asking for lower price of nasi lemak, and higher gaji, stupid macai!, you’ll be burned in hell!”

Yes, that’s the dream, a big fat wallet, and a big fat stomach. But I think, this is a simple mathematical equation. Where do you think your employers will be getting money to give you a big fat paycheck, if they sell their nasi lemak cheap. This system is a cycle, a rotation, and it is co-dependent with each other. It’s a utopia to be getting everything you want isn’t it? Because the cycle doesn’t work that way.

Then, you might be asking me, “So how? Should we stop using the highway, reduce sugar intake or stop eating chicken then?”. Seeing today’s health statistics, yes, you might need to be reducing some of the unhealthy food. But right now, we’re not talking about that, let’s believe that beer belly and man-boobs are everyone’s dream and right now, we’re only discussing on how to get it!

Do you know that our currency is sick now? The ringgit is an old lady, waking up every day, doing little chores here and there, praying, that she strong enough to see the night, sleeps, and waking up again tomorrow, to take a deep breath before starting her day.

I’ve read an article a few days back, saying that, as the USD being strengthened by Obama’s administration, the value of our money is going down. Analyst said, we might be going as far as RM 3.40/1 USD next year compared to RM 3.28/1 USD as per today.

So, the next question is, how we increase or decrease the value of our money (or in other word, it’s the appreciation or depreciation of the currency).

Let’s look at the currency as a product, where, if more people want it, the higher the price will be, and vice-versa. To illustrate it further, I will be using one of the technique to increase the value of a currency. For example, a bank in Malaysia offers a high interest returns to its investor, but, you can only be investing in Malaysia ringgit, not USD, sterling or any other currency. So, in order to get the high returns, investor (especially foreigner), will be buying more and more ringgit so that they can invest in the bank. Ringgit, on which, on that particular time being seen as a tall, blonde, white lady that mesmerized the eyes that look at it, started to increase it’s price, if before this, USD 0.30 is enough to get RM 1, the lady jack up the price, USD 0.40, USD 0.50, or even USD 1.0, but still, people will be buying her, because the returns that they’ll be getting. So, walla!, the USD .30 lady will now cost USD 1 if you ever wanted to be with her.

What happened to the lady after her price had increased? If before this, she only will be getting a free drinking water in a bar, but now, once the glorious lady walks into the bar, the finest scotch, pinot, 50 years old wine, will be bought for her.

That reflects, if our currency’s value increase, then the RM 1 will no longer be getting you one nasi lemak, you might be getting two, three or even four nasi lemaks.

So, if our country is so gorgeous, then, investors will be coming in, increasing the value of our money,  simultaneously, decreasing the cost of living of our rakyats.

What’s happening right now? And why, before 2008, we can live happily, with the cost of living is not as high as today? Take a deep thought, and think, between 2008 and 2013, what had happened in our beloved country.

Demonstrations, where the government was (is) labelled as corrupted, the law that had been protecting the citizen all this while had been said as inhumane, the election’s result had been accused as falsified with various electoral frauds’ accusation been made. Rakyats go to the street to protest, leaders appeared on international media smearing the good name of the country, supports from foreign leaders were sought, requesting for interference.

The lady is no longer desirable. Who want to be affiliated with a lady from a broken home, having so many problems, and perhaps, might even catched STDs. So, the lady is left alone, no other man is buying her drinks in the bar, she should be grateful they don’t kick her out from the door when she walked in.

Why I said that after five years, I just realized, that I am so stupid? Because, all this demonstrations, is not organized because they lose the elections, the demonstrations (call it whatever you want to, picket, gathering, coalition, party) itself is part of the orchestra.

Our economy started to be sick after all of this demonstration started. And from my opinion, there’s someone who’s trying to ruin our own economy, and at the end of the day, gloriously rise as the savior, cleaning his own mess, and winning our heart. It’s just like one of P.Ramlee’s movie, where he made people itch by using a fruit, and later, started to sell the medicine.

And if you ask my suggestion, in the next general election, please let them win, give them the chance to be selling their medicine, because if you don’t, they will just be making you itch more.

PRK UMP : Happy Demostrating To All!

I just reached home from Perak yesterday, and hope to enjoy my time before started working next week. So, I will be skipping any colourful introduction, and just hit straight to the point.

To those who are going to any in-campus demonstration for any reason, just think like this, for what you're fighting? Yes, I know that the so-called leaders are saying things like, this is for freedom, integrity, "suara mahasiswa". But, is there not a single voice in your heart that tells you, that they might be doing this for their personal gain? How about a little doubt of what they've been telling you whether it is true or not? It is a judgement for you yourself to be making.

To be frank, I don't know about anything that had happened or happening in UMP, but from I heard, the administration rejected a few application to compete in the campus election by certain student for academics reasons. I stand firm behind the administration's decision, and I believe, the action taken by the administration is for the best. I've been in the student leadership circle since 2010, and most of my friends were student leaders. I had seen the ups and downs. I know how busy we can be, and, even for the most excellent student, we're jeopardizing our academics once we took the obligation. But still, this is a responsible that someone has to take. So, when the administration had rejected a few names, I believe, that Datuk Yuserrie Zainuddin and his team had made the best decision, because I believe, Datuk Yusserie himself had seen the best and the worst in student leadership.

As for me myself, I also knew a few of my friends that were in the elite group (in and outside of UMP), extending their studies due to their inabilities to cope with the pressure of studying and leading, and I think, this is the reason why the administration can't be signing the approval for some students.

And as for those who are going to the demonstration tonight (I think it is tonight), just do anything that you think is right. But, just as a precaution, as studying is your priority, I hope you're able to observe the Akta Perhimpunan Aman 2011, Akta Fitnah 1957 and also any other related acts. And also remember, to put a thorough comparison, between your parents' aspirations, and the hope of someone you barely know.

Happy Election for all!

Are You Fit To Drive?

With the increase in the number of accidents each year, many parties are looking into way to overcome the problem. Road that is meant to be as a route of building closer ties between people had worked ironically, mostly due to our own negligence.

The Fatal Accidents Index (IKJ) had shown a significant increase of 1.30 points from 2007 to 2011. Various factors including drivers, cars' condition and environment had been identified. Looking at the research, it is possible for us to be safe on the road as most of the factors rooting back to the user.

With that awareness in mind, a group of student from Universiti Malaysia Pahang had initiated a social network campaign to promote a healthy and safe driving culture among Malaysian. Ranging from basic car inspection to advice in a safe driving technique, this team sets to make the users realise, that being safe on the road is in our control and it is not hard to ensure so.

Following is a part of the campaign that had been initiated by the team;



 So, if you're interested in learning more about safe driving, do follow their updates on the following medias;
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Youtube

The people behind the campaign

You Don't Mess With THE Anwar Ibrahim

On one normal evening, as usual, I was bored, and decided to tweet an old friend of mine, Anwar Ibrahim. Less than 5 minutes after getting my reply, this is what I've gotten from the supporters, (to keep the surprising elements, I'll show you the tweet and the reply at the end of this posting).

There's a few more, but, I've just selected a few. These were the replies obtained just by tweeting this;

And getting a reply like this;

Yes, I know how you adore The Great Anwar Ibrahim, but....err..I just don't want to talk about it. BUt anything, good for you Anwar, you'll need a  lot of hardcore supporter to hold any demonstration soon in the future when laws are just not good enough for you.

But, despite being able to reply tweet such as mine in less than 5 minutes, 

it always makes me wonder, why question such as the following will not be getting any reply at all;

 zoomed

But anyway, congratz in becoming someone really famous on cyberspace, I hope, if you won the next election (or succeeded in the next coup d'etat), why not appoint all those famous people in twitter to be on your cabinet also.

How BN Won the Election

Right after the GE13's result had been announced, allegations on fraudulent act by the ruling coalition had been circulated especially in cyberspace. Various parties urged for the result to be studied again or declared as void. Seeing how strong the Pakatans supporters were before the election, it is shocking to most of us how Barisan Nasional won the election, on which, this can be the main reason why the result had been questioned. Before going further into the issue, let's have a look on the allegations that had been made for the past few weeks to Barisan Nasional;

Type of Fraud	Probability of Winning : Losing	Cost
Bringing in immigrants as voter	Calculated from 40,000 Banglas with 12 million voters. Chances of winning increase to 0.33%	(No. Of Immigrant X Flight Tickets X Accomodation). 40,000X RM 1500 (estimation) X RM 300 (estimation) = RM 18,000,000,000
Payout to rakyats	50:50 as those that received the money might not be voting for BN	Undefined ~ By estimation, will cost more than RM 100 mil.
“temporary” indelible ink	Undefined. But, if BNs have a workforce of about 100,000 that will vote twice, this increase the chance of winning to 0.833%	Undefined ~ By estimation RM 10 mil
Blackout “incident”	100%	Almost zero as ballots can easily be printed

A little comment about the accusations made, if, IF, BN did lied to win the election, why must they implement various tricks that cost not millions, but billions of ringgit when they can simply bring a mystery box into the hall during the blackout, and fuh!, be the government. Right?

And, for those that believe the government used the mystery box technique,care to explain why BN's favourite candidates like Raja Nong Chik, Ali Rustam and many more lost and most importantly, why BN just let Anwar Ibrahim to win when they (as accused) can easily make Dr. Mazlan as an MP? No logical explaination don't you think?

I can't deny the fact that Pakatan obtained more vote (overall) compared to Barisan Nasional, I can't deny the fact that Pakatans supporter looks like larger in number compared to Barisan's, but, there's technique of winning the election that Anwar Ibrahim failed to learn when he was with the government. Technicality.

Technicality. As in debate, when both side of the benches failed to convince the judges with their facts, the winning team will be determined by technicality aspect which includes how they bring up the motions, rebutting statements, styles, etc. And for most debaters, when they are aware of the predicament of 50/50 chances of winning, technicality will be the one thing they held tightly to. Same goes as the case in GE13, Pakatan and BN have the same chances of winning looking at their manifestos, Pakatan has the edge as rakyats want a change after more than 50 years with the ruling party. After winning 12 general elections in a row, BN has the advantage of experience, and that what helped them to triumph.

This is not an election to choose a president like United States, despite having a support of more than 50% of the rakyats, but, if majority of your voter were saturated at certain constituents, you can't be ruling the country, like the case of PR. Due to this minor yet important aspect forgotten, you can't be winning an election in Malaysia.

Unlike Pakatan, BN had been engaging directly with the rakyats, the candidate had visited their prospective voters, and the President of the Party, Najib Razak, don't really involve in on-ground campaigning. So, despite never been visited by the president, still, the rakyats never felt "excluded" as the President himself never put on-ground visit as his main agenda. Visits by the candidates had been enough for the rakyat.

Ironically, Anwar Ibrahim involving directly with on-ground campaigns caused the party to be seen farther from the Rakyats. Why? Because he had been on the move since several months ago, and I believe that more than  90% of his supporters had seen him personally (as in ceramahs or private visit), so, when there's rakyats that never been visited by him, they felt excluded, like a child that failed to get the attention of his father.

Okay, analogy time. Two situations. First, a father with three child, never spend time with them, but still, cater their every needs, implications: yes, everyone will be happy. Second situation, a father with three child but focuses more on only two of them, and for sure, that one poor child will go against him.

Despite having a popular vote of 50.87%, but most of it is contributed by the places and people that he visited the most, and most places visited are saturated with registered voter (thus contributing to the popular vote), but, still, Barisan had played the game fairly, with their own strategy to win, and as we can see it, succeeded.

For me, all those allegations made are just unacceptable and made due to the losses faced by them, because if they really want to declare the result as void, why leaders in both Kelantan and Penang had sworn in as Chief Minister? Think about it.

And My Vote Goes To....

If, if I'm able to cast more than two votes and no rule saying that I must be a registered voter in aparticular constituent, then, my vote will be going to these people.

Khairy Jamaluddin
In his early years in politics, this lad had been shadowed by his prime minister father in law, Tun Abdullah Badawi. Being labelled by some as a spoiled brat, Khairy climbed to the top of the political ladder rapidly, in less than 5 years (I think). To be frank, I'm not a fan of Khairy (heck, I'm not a fan of anyone), in his early days as a politician, but, in the past one year, I can see he had changed from a naive young politician to a more mature leader. One vote for you bro.

Fuziah Salleh
I'm not in the same boat as YB Fuziah when it came to the rare earth issue in Kuantan. But, other than that, I think Fuziah is the best candidate to be positioned by Pakatan in Kuantan. I've met YB Fuziah personally, and you know how? By sending her a tweet at about 1a.m, asking whether she'll be free or not at 9a.m on the very same day, she's agreed. I met her in Kuantan, when she had done visiting the seller and Kuantanese at one of the market there, looooooooooooooooong before the election to know the rakyats problems. And while we're having our breakfast there, passerby greeted just like how they will greet a friend, and not a parliamentarian. She's truly a pemimpin berjiwa rakyat.

Saifuddin Abdullah
Firstly, sorry for being a bit harsh, given the fact that most of our parliamentarians are robots programmed by their creators/leaders to just nod at everything told, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, is among a few that still have control of himself. Unlike others, if he thinks that what the government did is wrong, then, wrong it will be. It's true, being as bold as this when you're not yet the Prime Minister may jeopardize your chance of remaining in your seat, but at least, leader like this will keeps the rakyats faith in good governance alive.

Lim Guan Eng
 "Lim Guan Eng, who's that", is my first question in 2008. Labelled as a racist by the locals media, he had been discriminating the Muslims in Penang by giving them a special allocation for Sekolah Agama in the state, other than that, he's the one responsible to increase the allowance of imams and bilals in Penang.And , this anti-Islam/anti-Malay Chief Minister also rules the state guided by Amar Ma'aruf Nahi Munkar's way of governance. Portrayed by the local medias as not capable of running a state, Guan Eng had settled 95% of Penang's debts in less than four years in office.

and, lastly.......................





ABBY ABADI
Well, if California can have Arnold Schwarzenegger, why not us? And plus, I love Gerak Khas.

Why My Car Is REALLY Expensive?

First, just to be clear, as an environmentalist, I have no car. More cars on the road, means that more trees will be chopped down, so that we can have papers to print our money, so, no car for me. So, this writing ain't about me, it's about you, yes, you stolid people that had spent thousands of ringgit on buying a piece of moving metal. And of course, on top of your "investment" for that piece of junk, a part of your money was channeled to the government as a contribution from a devoted nation-loving citizen.

Before you move on to spend your time illicitly at work to read this, I would like you to know that this article has no moral value whatsoever, been written by a person that had just woke up from his sleep at 12 noon, wearing only boxer shorts while sipping green tea with his unbrush teeth.

So, now, the issue is... ha! before that, have a look here first.

This table is for illustration purpose only, it have no connection with  previous nor the paragraph after this (and frankly, I have no idea why I want it to be here). But, yes, this is the current price (±)

Okay, back to the issue, in the past few months, some party (read : people) had been asking the government to lower down all those taxes for vehicles so that Malaysian can cruise the road gracefully with imported cars rather than a proton with dysfunctional driver's power window and lock-from-the-inside central-locking system. But, despite the government's (Read : Barisan Nasional) unpredictable future either winning or changing their seats in the parliament after the next General Election, the motion had been rejected, though the fact is, by lowering the price of vehicles, at least, Barisan's popularity can increase by 50% (source: Political Analyst, Qusyairi Hashim).



So, what's with the high price? There's only one answer, PROTON. But before you started to say that it's selfish to increase the price on all vehicles just for one corporation, you need to realize that PROTON is no BMW, it's not owned nor founded privately, it's owned by you and me, it's our company.

Being founded in 1983 with its first model, the Proton Saga (1985), PROTON aims to ensure that each and every Malaysian  can afford the luxury of having their own car. So, what will happen if the taxes on imported cars lifted?

Before that, referring to the list of Camry's prices above, please don't ask our government to offer prices like those in US or Saudi. In the US, their population is 315 millions, so, the market is wide, more cars produced, price lower, basic microeconomics. And in Saudi, well, they're effing rich with gas, so, its a different story.

So, let's compare the price with Japan, referring to the price list above, a Camry in Japan will cost about 40K cheaper compared to Malaysia. And let's ignore the fact that they're the one that produced the car, let say they don't (just for the sake of the discussion). Ha, one more, before someone ask me why in United States, the price is far cheaper than Japan, this is because, 50% of Camry were sold in US whereas, the Japanese market only contributed 1% of it.

Okay, now directly to the issue, no more diversion, let say, our price is the same as in Japan, for sure people will opted for the Camry rather than a Perdana nor a High-Line Inspira (on which, the cars have almost the same price). What will happen with PROTON then? Less sales means that lesser profit, lesser profit will bring to lesser capital funds, lesser capital funds will cause lesser R&D allocation, lesser R&D allocation will cause lesser R&D (for sure, right?), lesser R&D will cause lesser development, lesser development will cause PROTON unable to have a research on a more economical yet powerful car, thus, will bring to the shutting down of PROTON.

Companies goes bankrupt everyday, so what is the big deal, PROTON closed, we say bye-bye to them, and off we go to the nearest Honda, Toyota or Mercedez dealers to get our new car, its a non-issue....on the surface.

But try to look deeply,  if PROTON failed, (let say before 2012), Khazanah Nasional will be losing a lot of money, and we need to remember, Khazanah Nasional is not owned by Warren Buffett, instead, it is an investment company owned by the government, any losses incurred by the company will hit our industries and us as the citizens. And even after Khazanah Nasional sells its shares to DRB-Hicom, you need to remember, that Khazanah Nasional also holds shares in DRB-Hicom. So, it's a chain reaction, PROTON falls, Khazanah affected, Khazanah can't be investing in a promising area, and before you knew it, we're just like our neighbors in Cambodia, flocks of foreigners coming in, bossing us around in our own country, and us being paid with money that will be enough for us to have foods on our table only.

That is one thing, the other thing is, if, we no longer have PROTON, then, I can say, the cheapest car on the market will be the Toyota Vios, on which, in Japan, will cause you around RM 50K. Yes, 50K is not really expensive for you if you're a working executive that have monthly salary of RM 2500 and living alone. But, how about the ones getting lesser, with family to take care off? Inevitably, you'll be seeing elders that can hardly walk, waiting at the bus station with their son, to go to the nearest clinic for their insulin injection. Remember, not everyone is as rich as you are, or even as fortunate as you are to be getting a formal tertiary education that can guarantee their life.

And, above all reason, here comes the cliche (not related to PROTON), without the taxes, our country will go bankrupt. Of course la, here you're asking for the reduction of cars' prices (government's money - Out) then, you asked to increase the subsidy for gas (government's money - out), and when big corporation such as the gold processing in Raub or even Lynas want to operate in Malaysia (okay,this starting to get a bit politically-inclined), you asked them to go out also (government's money - not increasing), and not to forget, the free education (government's money - out) for our students (actually, the total cost of a degree in the US can reach to USD 500,00, but in Malaysia, you can get a law degree in IPTA just by paying 28,000 to PTPTN). So, in a nutshell, asking for cheaper cars, free education, becoming paranoid over an environment disaster that almost impossible to happen (refer here), is an act of selfishness. Yes, we might be happy for a couple of years, but think about our next generation, where our beloved maggi-mee will be made by Americans, our Bata shoes crafted by the Chinese and Yusmira Pati Halia replaced with Alex Hughes Magic Ginger Cream. This is not over-reacting, but such manifestos and ideas can put Malaysia in the same level as Rome, not the one that people are afraid of, but the one that people remembered as a place with the destroyed Colosseum.

3 Countries, 300 Dollars

Looking at the time now (it's almost 3AM), so, I will make this post brief as I can't think straight right now, but still, my body won't allow me to sleep due to that metabolism booster drugs that I'd taken.

Let me be frank, if, IF, I'd followed the itinerary that I had planned, I will be spending lesser than RM 1000 ( ±330 USD) for the whole journey from Vietnam to Thailand (via Cambodia). But, as I haven't been on a holiday for the last 14 years (the last one being my visit to Langkawi when I was 8), so, I went off budget a bit (about RM 2000 for fancy dining and lots of souvenir).

So, in this travel log...sorta, I will show how to travel the three countries on a shoestring budget (p/s: I only followed my plan for transportation and accomodation).

Pre-Trip Prep:

I bought the ticket from KL to Phnom Penh nine months earlier for RM75.00 (my mistake, I should be getting ticket to Ho Chi Minh rather than to Phnom Penh, this stupidity had cost me an additional spending on accommodation and transportation, not  to mention time as we need to cross the Cambodian/Vietnam border twice!)

We arrived at Phnom Penh International Airport at about 8AM (local time) after two hours we departed from KL. The immigration clearance was fast, we spent less than 15 minutes at the airport. I had arranged an  airport transfer service beforehand to bring us to Sunday Guest House, I've been here before in 2010, the service was great, it cost us about USD 5 per night per person. 

We spent our first day at the Killing Field, Toul Seng Museum , and my most favorite place in Phnom Penh, the Sisowath Quay and we shoped at the Russian Market and the Central Market. We went to Sorya Mall for a while to get some cheap toiletries. We left for Ho Chi Minh on the second day of our trip.

Total Spending

- Accommodation  : USD 5

-Transportation    : Airport transfer ( USD 12), Tuk-tuk around town (USD 10)

-Ticket/Admission : Toul Seng (USD 2), Killing Field (USD 5, i think)

Okay, frankly, I don't really like HCM, it's busy, there're motorcycles everywhere, and for God sake, I was offered drugs in front of a masjid!

We started our journey in HCM with a bastard that had charged us RM 80 for a taxi ride that supposedly be less than RM5. As I had been scammed, I won't let you know which taxi should be taken and which should be avoided as seeing you being cheated, somehow, amuses me and made me feels less stupid for not taking the advise in TripAdvisor.

Actually, we just shop in HCM, I got my cheap Deuter and Boboy got his cheap Longines. Ha! presenting, my travel buddies;

From bottom : Boboy, Shu, Me and Daniel

Total Spending

Accommodation : Approx 25 USD

Transportation : Phnom Penh-HCM ( USD 10), Teksi Tipu (RM 80/ 10 USD per person), local transportation (USD 3)

Ticket/Admission : nil

The bus journey from HCM to Siem Reap took about 17 hours, from 7 AM till 11 PM, mainly because we'd stopped for about 4 hours in Phnom Penh before taking another bus to Siem Reap. We stayed at Angkor Wat Guesthouse ( booking done through Agoda).

The next day, we've visited the famous Angkor Wat, this is my second time here, but during my first time, I had only visited the main temple, so, this time, we've rented a tuktuk so that we're able to visit other temples as well. But, if you're planning to visit each and every temple in the area, one day won't be enough.

After a day in Angkor Wat, we head back to our hotel, rest, and spent our night at the Pub Street. This is also where I've gotten my foot massage, the massage was good, it would be great if the masseuse was a bit younger, perhaps, 20 years younger. 

And, on day 6, we headed to Poipet, to cross the border to Thailand

Total Spending

Accommodation : 8 USD per night per person

Transportation : 5 USD for a trip to Angkor Wat including the tour for one whole day (cheap isn't it?)

Tickets/Admission/others : 20 USD to enter Angkor Wat, 5 USD for a one hour massage.

This border can be said the hardest one to cross in our journey. First, we took a van to Poipet, upon arriving at Poipet Bus Station, we need to change our van, to bring us to the border. Here, we spent about 30 minutes to get our passports stamped. After that, we walked to the Thailand immigration post that located about 100 metres from the Cambodian's post. The Thailand's post is at a place called Aranyaprathet, here, we spent almost two hours to process our passports. From the border, we've taken a tuktuk to Aranyaprathet train station, and took the afternoon train to Bangkok (it's a 6 hours ride and cost us 40 baht/MYR 4)

Here, we've checked in at Sawasdee Welcome Hotel. The service was bad, the tranny  (yes, a tranny) that was on the front desk was grumpy, bedbugs everywhere, and I can't sleep at all in a hotel next to clubs and pubs.

Just a few jalan-jalan activities that we had done there, Siam Paragon, the mall next to Siam Paragon, the backpackers street were among the places visited. I also got my 20 ringgit H&M sweater at Siam Paragon. We stayed in Bangkok for a night, and took the overnight bus to Krabi at 6 PM on the 7th day.

Total Spending

Accommodation : 7.5 USD per person

Transportation : Siem Reap-Poipet (10 USD/MYR 30), Aran's Border to Aran's Train Station (25 baht/ MYR 2.5), Aran-Bangkok by train (40 baht/MYR 4). Local transportation (approx 7 USD)

We reached Krabi at about 7 AM after 12 hours journey by bus. The bus was really nice, it had cost us 600 Baht/MYR 60, they gave us breads and water before starting our journey, and also a nice orange blanket, in the middle of the journey, the bus stopped at their R&R perhaps, and all passenger got free meal there. The seats were spacious and there's even a lavatory in it! All for 600 baht.

We haven't been eating "freely" for the past few days because of the scarcity of halal foods in Bangkok,HCM, and Cambodia, but in Krabi, as the place is highly populated with muslims, we had tried almost all of the locals delicacies. Pulut ayam, pulut mangga, dildo-shaped ice cream, pancake, nasi ayam kari, nasi dagang and most importantly tomyam, you name it,  we tried it all!

We rented a bike here as the riders here are more "civilized" , so, for us, its safer. We went to Ao Nang Beach on our first day, and spent our second day at the Tiger's temple (on which we'd climbed a 600 metres hill!), and also the hotspring. During the night, its just makan-makan time at the town's night market.

We had ended our journey in Krabi, me, Shu and Boboy had taken a van back to Butterworth, while Daniel, headed directly to KL. 

Total Spending 

Accommodation : 15 USD

Tickets/Admission/Others : 50 baht for hot spring

Transportation : Bangkok-Krabi (600 baht/MYR 60), Krabi-Penang (600 baht/MYR 60), Motorcycle Rent (200 baht/ MYR 20), Petrol (200 baht/ MYR 20)

Below are few photos taken from the journey. (Credit to Boboy)

2012 Qusyairi Hashim

Seperti tahun-tahun sebelum ini, saya tahu, ramai yang berminat ingin mengetahui tentang kehidupan peribadi saya, maka, ini merupakan ringkasan tahun 2012 saya dari aspek Politik, Ekonomi dan Sosial.

Politik.

Dari segi politik kampus, saya telah melepaskan semua bentuk jawatan-jawatan politik (yang melalui pilihanraya mahupun tidak) pada awal tahun 2012. Ini termasuk sebagai Presiden Protem UNESCO, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Pengantarabangsaan Universiti serta jawatan-jawatan lain yang perlu dirahsiakan. Namun walaupun begitu, saya telah dilantik mengetuai Suruhanjaya Pilihanraya Fakulti berdasarkan kepada tahap integriti saya yang tinggi.

Tinggal Kenangan

Dari segi politik luar pula, sehubungan dengan kenaikan usia 21 tahun, saya telah mendaftar sebagai pengundi sah di Negara ini. Dan, pada masa yang sama, dalam meraikan pindaan Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (AUKU), saya juga telah mendaftarkan diri sebagai ahli Pemuda UMNO pada Ramadhan yang penuh keberkatan lepas.

Ekonomi

Dalam perbicaraan ekonomi, tiada apa-apa yang signifikan. Tahun 2012 menyaksikan rata-rata ekonomi saya dibiayai oleh PTPTN, wang elaun khas program serta saguhati pertandingan-pertandingan tertentu. Mungkin yang paling signifikan pun, adalah penstrukturan semula Inceptio Management. Namun, disebabkan penstrukturan yang agak lewat, maka, bilangan projek pada tahun ini sedikit lembap. 

Sosial

Mungkin aspek ini banyak perbicaraannya, pertama, 2012 telah menyaksikan perkahwinan pertama dalam kelompok sahabat handai saya iaitu Saudara 'Izzat Rafie dan pasangan.

Perkara lain yang saya kira antara yang signifikan juga adalah pertemua bersaam sahabat handai yang hampir empat tahun tidak ketemu. Antara yang dilakukan adalah aktiviti food hunt disekitar Pulau Pinang antara saya, Saudara Haidar Asyraf, Saudara Irwan Samsuddin, dan juga Rabbani Rafiuddin serta Saudara baru Ah Chai (Napizie). Antara lain, pertemuan juga dilakukan dengan bekas teman sebilik, Shafiq Aroi.

Cendol Chowrasta

Dari aspek perdebatan, tahun ini menyaksikan antara jumlah ketersangkutan di pusingan separuh akhir yang agak tinggi antaranya di Debat Alam Sekitar, Debat DiRaja, Debat Integriti dan Debat Kepenggunaan. Namun, rezeki hujung tahun, berjaya juga menjohani Pertandingan Debat Gender 2012 bersama rakan sepasukan selama empat tahun, Siti Aisyah Mustapha.

Keluarga Orator.

Dan jika untuk kejayaan Kelab Orator UMP pula, kemenangan di Pertandingan Debat Diraja untuk pasukan muda adalah pencapaian yang amat membanggakan.

Pelbagai

Antara lain yang berlaku pada tahun ini adalah saya berjaya mengurangkan berat badan dari 83KG ke 75KG sekaligus mengurangkan ukurlilit pinggang dari 36 ke 31.

Dari aspek pemakanan, saya telah mencuba dua  makanan urban baharu, iaitu Durian Crepe dan juga Pavlova. Ha, tidak ketinggalan, macaroon.

Pavlodean by Hafizzudin.

Dan, akhir sekali, saya ingin mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua yang telah menceriakan 2012 saya. Inilah antara wajah-wajah mereka yang mewarnakan 2012 saya (gitew).