Minyak NAIK lagi!!

Nasib badan. Mulai smlm 5 Jun 2008, harga petrol naik lg dr RM1.92/liter to RM2.70/liter. Peningkatan mendadak hampir 41%! Orangramai bersesak-sesak menuju ke stesen2 minyak berdekatan bila PM umumkan secara rasmi dan berita mulai tersebar luas.

Malam tu, aku spt biasa je nak balik dari ofis naik motor kapcai aku brand Yamaha Lagenda (110cc, so dapatla aku claim rebet rm150 bila renew roadtax nanti...huh! rm150 jer?), tengok2 jalan dah jam giler start dari depan ofis aku di Damansara Utama, all the way sepanjang LDP to my apt in Bandar Sunway. Satu sebabnya ialah bnyk kenderaan nak menyimpang ke stesen2 minyak yg terletak di sepnjng LDP tu, penuh menyebabkan depa semua Q sehingga melimpah ke highway!!

Aku yg naik motor ni pun nak cilok2 pun payah, perjalanan biasa ambik masa 10-15 minit jadi almost 45 minit!! Tu pun aku malas nak top-up full minyak motor aku tu sbb motor pun Q panjang giler!! Sampai kat area apt aku, penuh kenderaan nak tunggu turn masuk ke Shell yg dekat situ, plan aku nak refill penuh tank Wira aku pun tak jadi, walaupun tank memang dah almost empty dah. Malas aku nak sangkut dalam jam tu, baik aku gi main badminton jer, kebetulan setiap malam rabu jam 9 mlm aku main bdmntn ngn kengkawan kat Dewan Serbaguna Tmn Dato Hormat sampai jam 11 mlm. Balik dari main bdmntn tu pun aku tengok masih banyak vehicles menunggu turn, siap dgn lorry tanker 2 bijik pun dah ada nak top-up tangki minyak Shell tu. Licin beb minyak malam tu. Member2 seluruh Malaysia pun ada sms menceritakan keperitan Q nak isi minyak. Ada yg lebih malang, dahla berjam-jam tunggu, sampai turn, aleh2 minyak pulak habis. Kes naya ajer. Terlebih sudahhh!!

Aku fikir, isi penuh satu tank Wira aku tu pun berapa lama sangat tahannya, although aku leh save abt rm30 kalau isi penuh malam tu. Tapi esok lusa, kena isi jgk lagi. Aku duk kira2, dlm sebulan, minyak motor aku pakai dalam rm60, so harga baru ni, kos bertambahlah rm25. Minyak kereta dalam rm200 sebulan, so tmbhlah rm82. Belum lagi chain-reaction effectnya, harga barang2 dan perkhidmatan dah tentu akan naik. Kos sara hidup pasti meningkat, wallet pasti mengempis!!

Dlm paper hari ni, kos pengangkutan lori dah naik, so expectlah harga barang2 keperluan harian naik lagi lepas ni. Bank Negara pun duk expect inflation rate maybe naik to 5% from the current average 2.5% to 3%. Aku duk jangka, harga rokok pun mungkin naik even b4 sblm gomen naikkan tobacco tax utk bajet 2009 nanti. Skrg Dunhill 20s harga rm8.2, mungkin naik rm8.4, then lepas bajet naik jd rm9 or even rm10 sekotak nanti. Aduhaiiii, plan nak berenti merokok dah bertahun2 dah, tapi tak stop2 jgk, lagi kuat ada ler. Mungkin kena kurangkan banyak merokok ni, or tukar brand murah, tapi brand murah ni, rasanya tak sodap la plak, baik takyah hisap! Takpun, hisap rokok daun jer. Or hisap rokok yg taruk tembakau dalam paper yg kena gulung sendiri tu. Tak retilah aku!

Cuba kita tengok sikit sejarah kenaikan harga minyak di negara kita ni:

1. sebelum tahun 1990 - RM 0.89
2. tahun 1990 - RM 1.10 (kenaikan RM 0.21)
3. 01/10/2000 - RM 1.20 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
4. 20/10/2001 - RM 1.30 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
5. 01/05/2002 - RM 1.32 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
6. 31/10/2002 - RM 1.33 (kenaikan RM 0.01)
7. 01/03/2003 - RM 1.35 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
8. 01/05/2004 - RM 1.37 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
9. 01/10/2004 - RM 1.42 (kenaikan RM 0.05)
10. 05/05/2005 - RM 1.52 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
11. 31/07/2005 - RM 1.62 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
12. 28/02/2006 - RM 1.92 (kenaikan RM 0.30)
13. 4/06/2008 - RM2.70 (kenaikan RM0.78)

Peritnyalah kesan minyak naik ni. Bg org2 yg berpendapatan sederhana ok mcm aku ni, leh la survive lagi, walaupun terasalah jugak. Tp cmana plak ngn depa yg berpendapatan rendah? Keluarga besar, income di bawah paras kemiskinan. Banyak lagi org2 miskin dan takde income stabil dan memuaskan dalam Mesia ni. Bgmana dgn mereka? Kesiannya. Ubah cara hidup? Cara hidup mereka pun ada yg kais pagi makan pagi, nak ubah camananya lagi? Kais pagi makan tengahari, kasi petang makan pagi esok? Utk org2 yg memang sentiasa terlebih duit tu, takpela, bolehla ubah cara hidup, dari makan 5-star turun 4-star, dari lepak hari2 minum kopi berbelas2 ringgit secawan, lepak jer 2-3 hari seminggu, dari shopping di London, Paris, New York, shopping jer kat Singapore, or dr Singapore tukar ke Suria KLCC. Depa bolehlah, org2 yg setiap bulan menunggu gaji yg cukup tak cukup tu, nak ubah cara hidup camana laginya?

Cuba lihat sikit perbandingan dgn negara2 pengeluar minyak yg lain, kita ni negara pengeluar, boleh eksport lagi minyak, bukan negara 100% pengimport minyak mcm negara jiran utara, barat dan selatan kita.

• UAE: RM1.19/liter
• Eygpt: RM1.03/liter
• Bahrain: RM0.87/liter
• Qatar: RM0.68/liter
• Kuwait: RM0.67/liter
• Saudi Arabia: RM0.38/liter
• Iran: RM0.35/liter
• Nigeria: RM0.32/liter
• Turkmenistan: RM0.25/liter
• MALAYSIA: RM2.70/liter

Memanglah tak setinggi harga di UK (rm7/liter) or US (rm5/liter) tapi pendapatan per kapita rakyat depa jauh lebih tinggi dari kita semua ni. Even rakyat negara jiran pun earning more than us, tapi time nak isi minyak, isi kat negara kita jugak. Hmmmm, what an irony!

Udahla naik melampau, secara mengejut monyet lak tu. Kata nak tunggu Ogos, tak jadi plak, at least, tunggulah sehingga habis cuti sekolah ni ke. Kesian parents yg bawa anak2 cuti2 jauh tu, terpaksa keluarkan extra cost secara mengejut jugak. Terbantut la jugak plan nak gi cuti2 Mesia aku. Heh heh....cuti asyik plan jer, tapi tak pegi2 pun lagi, duit habis gak, savings ada tak de jer aku ni. Hampeh! 28hb ni nak kena balik Ganu plak ni, kenduri kahwin anak sedara aku yg comel-lote tu. Kalau sorang, aku tak baliklah, nasib kakak n abg aku nak join sama, so leh la tong-tong duit minyak kereta dan tol.

Apapun, nak wat camana. Harungi jerlah, bebanyakkan sabar, doa dan tawakkal. Aku harap satu jer, semoga betul2 ada perubahan "besar" menjelang sambutan Hari Malaysia kita nanti. Kita tengok plak camana selepas tu.

Drama in Real Life @ Taman Medan

Continue from Happy Wesak Day

Since dah takde apa nak makan kat situ, so aku pun start kereta balik, merayau-rayau la sekitar tu, tengok2 mana plak nak isi perut yg dah mula berceloteh yg bukan2 ni. So pusing2 la aku sehingga patah balik ke Tmn Medan. Masa kat PJS4 tu, tetiba aku ternampak kepulan asap hitam banyak datangnya dari area PJS2. So aku dgn lajunyalah pegi ke area tu, tengok2 memang betul ada kebakaran. Dah penuh dah org ramai berkerumun di tempat kejadian. Bomba tak nampak batang hidung pun lagi. Siren pun takdak dengar.

Rumah yg terbakar tu, rumah teres 2 tkt. Risau gak aku nengok sbb kalau korang familiar area Tmn Medan, Tmn Dato Harun tu, korang taulah camana rapatnya rumah2 teres kat situ. Btw, aku pun park Wira tepi jalan, dan turun pegi sedekat yg boleh armed with my N73. Aku pun tangkaplah beberapa kpg gambar yg aku siarkan di sini. Apapun, aku nak pay tribute to all the Bomba Sukarelawan PJS2 Taman Medan yg bertungkus-lumus cuba mengawal kebakaran dari merebak ke rumah sebelah kiri dan kanan. Dgn bantuan orgramai, termasuklah aku yg sekadar tarik2 hos air tu, mereka mencuba sedaya-upaya dan telah bertindak cemerlang sbg benteng pertama melawan api sebelum ketibaan bomba sebenar yg aku agak-agak sampai almost after half an hour later. I tell u, without those sukarelawans, the consequences would be far far more terrible!!

Can u see the black smokes?

It can be seen from miles away!

This pic shows the Bomba Sukarelawan PJS2 Taman Medan, equipped with a 4WD pick-up converted to be some kind of fire-engine, complete with sirens, water pumps and hoses. They were the first ones on the scene and they were indeed the real heroes on that day!

Do u have ur own Sukarelawan Bomba in ur area? It is worth ur life to bring it up to ur community leader and start planning to establish one.

Trying very hard to contain the fire!

Do u notice how close the houses are to each other?

Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident, and the house's owner and his family had managed to bring out large portions of their belongings before the fire grew bigger.

The fire apparently started at the upper level of the house. I heard someone said that the fire occured because the children in the house were playing with ... fire? Maybe they meant matchsticks, or lighter, or candles, or something else, I was not very sure.

Moral of the story: Never let our children play with fire, or any fire-inducing stuff. Api semasa kecil menjadi kawan, bila besar menjadi lawan yang tak mudah ditundukkan!!

Finally, the real Bomba dan Penyelamat arrived, rather late I might say.

Notwithstanding more than half of their job were already done by those brave Sukarelawans, they still have to further extinguish completely all the fire remnants and then conduct the follow-up investigation and for that, I would like to also pay tribute to these unsung heroes.

Actually, I did shoot a video using my N73 capturing the whole event, but in the commotion, I somehow adjusted the setting to be with no audio!! Damn!! So if I were to include it here, you would be watching a video without sounds!! What good is that? Damn!! Damn!! Damn!! Anyway, I left the scene and singgah at one of the kedais around there for nasi ayam as my long overdue lunch.

I felt sorry for the unfortunate family, my sympathies to them and I hope they have the strength to go through the bad experience and rebuild their lives after this. May Allah help them. Amin.

After finishing lunch, I drove back to my apt. Sebelum naik to my apt kat tkt 5 tu, singgah and lepak kejap kat gerai tomyam my friend located behind the apt blocks. Then I went to have a haircut in my favorite barber shop near the gerai tomyam, and guess what, I heard one customer in there was telling the barber that a gruesome murder had been committed at one of the many apartments near my place. He said that a female body of unknown race was just found with no head, no arms, and no legs. In other words, the head, both arms and both legs were chopped off from the body and the body parts were nowhere to be found! MasyaAllah! What is happening in our country now?? May Allah save us all. Amin.

In the end, pheewwwwwwww, what a Wesak Day!!

Happy Wesak Day

Semalam Isnin 19 Mei 2008, cuti Hari Wesak, so Selamat Hari Wesak to all yg menyambut Wesak Day. Lepas bangun tido di kala mentari dah tegak atas kepala, mandi-manda, hisap Dunhill sebatang dua dengan segelas nescafe ais yg aku dah buat siap2 malam tadi n simpan dlm peti ais, aku pun keluarlah nak gi makan. So, turunlah aku dari tkt lima apt aku yg takde lif tu, tension siot naik-turun tangga hari2, tu yg mantain slim sampai sekarang ni, menuju ke Wira kesayangan aku, and drive sorang2 ke restoran yg dihajati. Plan aku nak gi lunch nasi padang kat restoran Mega Ceria di Tmn Dato Harun. Aku siarkan di sini pic signboard restoran tu, member aku yang intro restoran ni kat aku dulu. Katanya, dulu pakcik towkey restoran ni meniaga gerai kecil2an jer tepi jalan, pastu baru bukak restoran. Pakcik tu orgnya alim aku tengok, asal negara jiran, dah Haji dah dan tak silap aku, setiap tahun gi umrah dgn anak-bini dan keluarganya. Rezeki sememangnya 9/10 datang dari berniaga.

Aku taklah gemar sangat nasi padang ni, tapi makan kat sini memang sedap la jugak lauk-pauknya, harga standardlah, nak wat camana, barang2 pun dah naik mendadak sekarang ni. Tapi nak jadikan cerita, aku sampai2 dalam kul 3 ptg tu, nasi dan semua lauk-pauk dah habis licin, yep! semuanya habis, memang takde rezeki la tu, tapi tak dinafikan restoran ni memang agak popular, memang selalu penuh dan apa yg dijual semuanya selalu habis, tak penah ada left-overs lah. Semua kaum, Melayu Cina India dll selalu jer memenuhi restoran. Pernah sekali aku makan dgn member2 aku kat sini, tetiba segerombolan Harley-Davidson riders datang singgah makan, menderum bunyi enjin2 motor depa, bergegar bumi sekejap, korang tahula camana bunyi HD kan? Sebatu dah dengar dah! Dalam 20 bijik la jugak HD berkumpul depan restoran tu. Semua riders berpakaian ala-ala, well, riders-lah!! Complete with HD leather jackets, leather gloves, leather boots dan macam2 leather lagilah. Puas jugak mata aku tengok pelbagai model HD yg berkilat berkemilau. Perghhhh, memang cun habis la HD diorang tu. And most of them are Malays, definitely Malays yg kaya-raya, kalau tak, jgn harap la nak pakai HD. Harga 2nd hand pun dah boleh beli Waja baru beb! So, bak kata Nabil Raja Lawak, Lu Orang Pikir Sendirilah!!

Continue to Drama in Real Life @ Taman Medan

The Rogue Warrior's Ten Commandments

The Rogue Warrior's Ten Commandments of SpecWar:

1. I am the War Lord and the wrathful God of Combat and I will always lead you from the front, not the rear.
   
2. I will treat you all alike - just like shit.
   
3. Thou shalt do nothing I will not do first, and thus will you be created Warriors in My deadly image.
   
4. I shall punish thy bodies because the more thou sweatest in training, the less thou bleedest in combat.
   
5. Indeed, if thou hurteth in thy efforts and thou suffer painful dings, then thou art Doing It Right.
   
6. Thou hast not to like it - thou hast just to do it.
   
7. Thou shalt Keep It Simple, Stupid.
   
8. Thou shalt never assume.
   
9. Verily, thou art not paid for thy methods, but for thy results, by which meaneth thou shalt kill thine enemy by any means available before he killeth you.
   
10. Thou shalt, in thy Warrior's Mind and Soul, always remember My ultimate and final Commandment: There Are No Rules - Thou Shalt Win at All Cost.

Richard Marcinko. http://www.dickmarcinko.com/

I don't know why, but somehow I really like these commandments, which I first encountered when I read "Rogue Warrior" by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman, the first novel in the Rogue Warrior series published in 1992. Now there are more than 10 novels already in the series. I haven't read all of them yet (I think I have only 4 of them), since it is rather hard to find them in any of those "low cost" book shops, unlike fictions by Sheldon, Clancy, Brown, Ludlum, King, Grisham etc. I'm sure I can easily find these books in MPH, Borders, Popular or Kinokuya stores, but I have to pay much higher price-lah!

I would like to mention that the language in the novels are "no holds barred" and very-very "colorful" (to put it mildly), which perhaps might influence the way I write in this blog. Hehe. You can read more about Marcinko and his work at embedded link above.

Mind you, these commandments are actually copyright protected and I publish this without permission whatsoever, so I hope Mr Dick Marcinko himself (an ex-Navy SEALS) would not hunt and kill me silently with his own big fucking hands!

Anyway, although the commandments above are specifically for SpecWar personnel (commandos, special forces operators etc.), if you notice, they are also very much applicable to our personal and work life. In fact, they should be the epitome of what leadership in any corporate world is all about, or leadership in our home, in our family, in our work place, in our community, in our society for that matter.

Refer to the very 1st commandment, "...I will always lead you from the front, not the rear", isn't it what a real leader should be? Does "Leadership by Example" come to mind? Don't we aspire to be leaders rather than followers? No matter whether we are leaders in our own home, family, work place or larger community or society, we should always lead from the front, not the rear.

Btw, Marcinko also wrote two books on leadership and management:

"Leadership Secrets of the Rogue Warrior" (1996)

"The Rogue Warriors Strategy for Success: A Commando's Principles of Winning" (1997)

After retiring from Navy SEALS, besides writing books, Mr Dick is now the Chairman of the Board of Red Cell International Corp., a private security consulting firm based in Washington, DC, and President of Richard Marcinko, Inc. and President of SOS Temps, Inc., a motivational and team-building company, with clients like General Motors, AT&T, Domino's Pizza, Motorola, BellSouth, and several other Fortune 500 companies.

In my future writings, I might come back to these commandments as and when appropriate, besides other guidelines, principles, knowledge etc. from other great minds in the world, and not forgetting the teachings of my religion Islam itself (I am a Muslim after all), which I will put as the first and foremost always.