maternal death

A Universiti Teknologi Malaysia student was found dead in her campus dormitory after she had given birth to a baby boy. The baby, whose umbilical cord was still attached to his mother, was also dead.

The 26-year-old fourth-year student, who was unmarried, was found in her dormitory by a warden around 5pm on Monday.

and the continuation of news today...

The woman who was found dead with her newborn baby at a Universiti Teknologi Malay­­­­sia (UTM) dormitory was a dropout renting a room there.
The woman who was found dead with her newborn baby at a Universiti Teknologi Malay­­­­sia (UTM) dormitory was a dropout renting a room there.

She had failed the first semester of her fourth year last November, UTM corporate affairs department assistant registrar (media and external relations) Sabri Ahmad said.

“She had been renting a room at the dorm since May 11,” he said, adding that outsiders were allowed to rent rooms at the university on a case-by-case basis.

In any maternal mortality review, the big question at the end of the line would be:

can this be avoided?

I remembered the warm up OGSM conference debate titled, "Should sex education be started in school?"

I believe the team 'for' wins hands down versus the 'against' team, not because of their dynamic delivery of the debate points, but because, there is a dire need for sex education.

I personally agreed with one of the debater which points out to us that even without sex education, we're exposed to a lot of informal sexual education or sexual 'terms' in our dailies. Politicians made headlines with sexual scandal. Politicians made headlines for being sued for sexual misconduct.

How do you expect curiosity to respond?

Do they bring the paper to their parents? to their teachers?

Or do they hold 'private' or 'privates' conference with their peers?

Personally, I believe sex education is not teaching our young ones (not that I'm old already), but I believe they should know the consequences and to respond appropriately. Even if they are pregnant, no matter how ashamed they are, no matter how much they think their conservative parents or community may not accept them,

no matter what,

no matter what,

she should learn to cherish life,

the life of the baby,

and the life of her own.

The only ace that the 'against' team had under their sleeves was the uncertainties of the commencement of sex education, at what age? who can teach? who can teach effectively?

The society must see beyond moral values and religious belief, beyond honor in family, beyond dignity among peers, the society must see life, and to cherish life.

Does it really matter if she's a dropout or not?

Do not shame her further, for her death is certainly a preventable one, preventable if deep down in her heart, she knew that no matter how grave is her mistakes, how shameful she maybe in our modern yet conservative society, she can find comfort in her parents or in her friends or in a community who truly understand and cherish - life.

read his lips: S-W-I-N-E F-L-U

I heard him saying in TV3 and NTV7 and i think TV8 few days back, and I was wondering whether the mainstream news people are going to write about the biggest joke.

I could not stop laughing as when the whole world was following the World Health Organisation’s instruction by calling the new influenza A(H1N1), Information Communication and Culture Minister intended to force state-run radio and television Malay programmes to used “swine flu” as it was confusing by calling it H Satu N Satu.

And finally someone wrote, and I couldn't have agreed more.

How do you supposed to give information, if you refused to accept the right terms from the pros?

Which part of communication that he's missing? being the good listener? Or blaster speaker?

What kind of culture is this you're showing to the public?

Sadly, this is another example of Malaysia Boleh.

Some people are better off living in Mars.

Elsewhere, here's a letter from the professional really worth noting.

Sickening measures to curb outbreak

DIFFERENT countries seem to be responding differently to the A (H1N1) outbreak. In the US, for instance, there are no thermal scanners at airports. In Japan, with more than 900 cases, travellers only need to fill a health declaration form.

In Singapore and Malaysia, airports have thermal scanners, hospitals have special tents for suspected cases, quarantine is mandatory and schools have been closed.

Although new, this flu does not appear to be dangerous. The latest WHO update on June 26, lists 59,814 confirmed cases with only 263 deaths, giving a mortality rate of less than 0.5%.

Our response to A (H1N1) may have been inappropriately influenced by the experience with SARS which had a mortality rate ranging from 15% to 19%.

In fact, the American Centre for Disease Control (CDC) states that “not all patients with suspected A (H1N1) need to be seen by a healthcare provider, only patients with severe illness or those at high risk of complications”.

It then goes on to give detailed advice on how to care for a patient at home, and how to prevent spread among members of the same household. Here, we quarantine the entire household, forbidding them from even going out for food.

In fact, the CDC also states that “not all people with suspected A (H1N1) infection need to have the diagnosis confirmed, especially if the illness is mild”.

Instead of expanding the number of people quarantined, forcing employers to give full pay, unrecorded leave and increasing the strain on our healthcare personnel, we may do better if we adhere to the CDC’s recommendations.

The Health Ministry Director-General has initiated numerous measures in place to contain the outbreak. Yet, patients have expressed unhappiness after going through the measures.

We are using valuable healthcare resources, both human and material, in this containment policy against A(H1N1).

Should we not be proactive, look at the situation of those ahead of us in their experience of A (H1N1), save on resources and avoid unnecessary, hurtful and ultimately unsuccessful endeavours?

Should we not treat A (H1N1) for what

it is, a new and highly infectious, probably uncomfortable, but not at all serious or

dangerous for those without underlying

illness?

We must not make the treatment more unpleasant than the disease itself.

Dr ONG HEAN TEIK,
George Town.

Disease or Dis Ease? You tell me...

simple Papa's day

CHEERS!! thanks dad, for everything...

pilo's mom + aedan

pilo's sis + mom

family's secret kungfu: first u twist...

.... then u hook it up...

next day, feast of crabs, again...

pilo's sis favourite...

pilo's dad enjoying too...

WTF of the month: RM1million is nothing

In Parliament:

" THE Tourism Ministry has offered to pay former Ferrari Formula One team boss Datuk Seri Jean Todt RM1 million to serve as the country's tourism ambassador. And yesterday, Tourism Minister defended the sum involved.

She said since Todt, who was appointed last month, was serving and promoting the country on a voluntary basis, it was only fair that the government covered his expenses.

"Just because he is volunteering his services, you cannot expect him to pay out of his own pocket.

"This budget is not for his personal use, it is for the expenses incurred when he meets top people from television and the media.
"Besides, RM1 million in Europe gets you nothing nowadays," she said at the Parliament lobby."

On further thinking, not all Malaysian Boleh... some Malaysian Boleh Belah...

People working their asses off to pay for mortgage, food and clean water, and definitely tax.

And those tax accumulated to RM1million and it became Nothing in Europe.

Kind of cool how people see things differently when they are rich, well off, in power, all hands on 6 or 7 figures, the simple money that everyone lives by everyday became their petty cash.

Complete disappointment on that person, more so, to the people under her constituent who voted her in.

MJ lives on

As I opened my FB today, I realized almost every status on almost everyone is echoing the passing away of a legend, MJ.

I guess if so many people do it, it's ain't gonna be some joke.

And finally I read it in the real time news, and confirmed it wasn't a joke.

My dearest called me from the office.
"Did you know MJ died?"
"Ya, just did."
"He died oh..."
"Ya, MJ is a human, too. He will be remembered."
"Every radio station is playing his songs."

I turned on the radio and silently listened to all his songs.
Ya. I love every each one of the songs.
My favourite would be 'Billie Jean'


and most inspirational for me would be 'The Man in the Mirror'


MJ is not just another music icon or legend. He's more than that.
He is part of our childhood, and part of our life.
I grew up listening to his beautiful creation.
And still have my heart jumps a beat now and then when I heard his songs over the radio.
(prob idiopathic induced infrequent arrhythmia aka MJ's syndrome)

Before him, there's Elvis, now, who's next...

_________________________________________________

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.

One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades.

Pua's Pendrive

I have a tag. One of them is malaysiana.
Most of the entry there tagged with Malaysiana, is rather ridiculous, or perhaps enigmatic happenings in this tanahair.
One read of the entry, probably you'll be whispering 'aisehman' or shouting 'Niamah!!' in your heart.
Probably it shouldn't be that way, or else someone would have equate me to spitting directly up above the sky above my head.
Of course, to spit that way, requires skills and mentality that puts X-Men to shame.
Anyway, to put this entry under 'malaysiana', I was hoping (against hope) that we'll always realize Malaysian Boleh, rather than Malaysia Boleh...

Once you read through the following passage, you'll see that Malaysian indeed Boleh, and Malaysia is indeed a developing country, still developing, and developing, and developing, and developing...

Thanks to this fellow blogger for such an insightful share.

P.S. Yes, creator of pendrive is a Malaysian.

Pua's mighty 'Pen'

S. INDRAMALAR speaks to the creator of the now indispensable Pen Drive

Fact file

Name: Pua Khein Seng
Age: 31
Hometown: Sekinchan, Selangor
Education: SJKC Yeok Kuan, Sekinchan; Pin Hwa Independent school, Klang; Chiao Tung University, Taiwan
Occupation: Engineer/ president of Phison Electonics Corp
Current base: Taipei , Taiwan
Years abroad: 12

WHEN he set off for Taiwan in 1993, Pua Khein Seng's only aim was to complete his degree in Electrical Control Engineering at the renowned Chiao Tung University and return home to work in Malaysia .

Never did he envision himself heading a multi-million dollar Taiwanese company that developed the world's first USB flash removable disk, which they called Pen Drive .


Pua Khein Seng went to Taiwan to get his engineering degree but ended up staying on, starting his own company and inventing the pen drive.

"I went to Taiwan to pursue my undergraduate degree. I chose Taiwan only because it was too expensive to study either in the United States or Singapore .

"However, I did well in my undergraduate programme and was offered a place to do my masters," explained Pua, who was back in Kuala Lumpur recently for a holiday.

After completing his Masters in July 1999, Pua worked for about six months in a local company before deciding to set up his own venture company with four fellow engineers who had studied with him at Chiao Tung.

"We were confident that we had the know-how and ability to start our own business, which is focused on USB technology. The company is called Phison because there are five of us - two Malaysians and three Taiwanese engineers," said Pua, 31, who hails from Sekinchan, Selangor.

Phison Electronics Corporation was set up in November 2000 and within six months the young entrepreneurs came up with their first invention - a USB storage device called Pen Drive .

"We were the first company in the world to develop the USB Drive SoC (System On Chip) and we were very confident that the market for USB will be huge. At the time, no one believed in us so we had to do everything ourselves - from developing the technology, the chips to the product itself.

"We were only 27 at the time and inexperienced. But we were confident that we could design good systems and chips but we didn't know anything about selling. So, we sought partners or traders who could help sell our products for us," Pua added.

Through smart partnerships and shrewd strategies, Phison soon made its way into European, American and Japanese markets. One quick move was securing Japanese tech giant Toshiba as Phison's largest shareholder and customer.

"We launched Pen Drive in June 2001 and by August the same year, we broke even! From September 2001, we were reaping monthly profits from our invention and there has been no turning back since."


Having established himself in Taiwan , Pua is in the midst of setting up Phison's branch in Malaysia , due to begin operations this
February.

"I am starting a branch in Malaysia because this is my country. I would like to do contribute to its development.

"We have about 100 engineers at Phison in Taiwan , 20 of whom are Malaysians. Though they studied in Taiwan , I had to re-train all the engineers I hire because, like most fresh graduates (in this field), they are not industry-ready upon graduation.

"Unfortunately, some of the Malaysian engineers want to return home after a couple of years because they are homesick, about to start a family and so on. Some prefer to work in Singapore , as it is closer to home. Instead of losing them to competitors, I decided to set up an office in Malaysia where they can still work for me," said Pua.

Another problem faced by returning computer engineers from Taiwan , Pua added, was the lack of job opportunities for hardware engineers in Malaysia .

"There is no environment or support for design engineers here in Malaysia . One of my Malaysian engineers from Phison returned home and ended up as a teacher in a Chinese school! I was shocked and thought, 'After all that training and re-training, he is going to just teach?' I told him to hold on till I open up the Phison branch in Malaysia ."

Though he has been in Taiwan for the past 12 years and married to a Taiwanese, Pua is not sure how much longer he will remain there.

"I have really no idea where I will be in 20 years. Maybe Taiwan , maybe Malaysia , maybe somewhere else ... it all depends on my business. The industry is moving so fast that I cannot predict what or where I will be," he said.

For the moment though, Taiwan is home for Pua, his wife and two children even though he misses the Malaysian way of life.

"I come home once a year for Chinese New Year and will usually stay for about two weeks. There are several things I really miss about Malaysia . One is the food! For the past 12 years I have been craving for Malaysian food ... I miss laksa, curry noodles, chee cheong fun and all the other delicious dishes we have here.

"I also miss the lifestyle and quality of life here. When I come back, I am always amazed to see people hanging out and relaxing at mamak shops at night. In Taiwan , most people would still be at work at that time of the night!

"Before I got married, I used to work for 15 to 17 hours a day, everyday. Now that I have children, my wife has forbidden me to stay so late. Now, I go to work at 9am and come home by 11pm . These hours are quite normal for the Taiwanese."

The man who invented USB pen-drive is a young modest Malaysian who can't even get into a local University but invented the most versatile, indispensable computer peripheral today. And helped his adopted country, Taiwan made $31bil in the process. The rest is history....

less weightage on wedding

less weightage on wedding doesn't necessary means you be apathetic about the wedding.
perhaps it's just something new, the average mundane earthlings can look forward to...

the first weightless wedding...

Noah Fulmor and Erin Finnegan were married on June 20 among family and friends who were all on board ZERO-G's G-FORCE One, a specially modified Boeing 727. Officiating the wedding was Richard Garriott, the sixth private explorer in history to go to space, and the first second-generation U.S. astronaut.

Before starting a parabola, G-FORCE ONE flies level to the horizon at an altitude of 24,000 feet. The pilots then begins to pull up, gradually increasing the angle of the aircraft to about 45° to the horizon reaching an altitude of 34,000 feet. During this pull-up, passengers will feel the pull of 1.8 Gs. Next the plane is “pushed over” to create the zero gravity segment of the parabola. For the next 20-30 seconds everything in the plane is weightless. Next a gentle pull-out is started which allows the flyers to stabilize on the aircraft floor. This maneuver is repeated 12-15 times, each taking about ten miles of airspace to perform.

if not mistaken, it's USD 4950 + 5% tax per person...

contemplating renewal of vows in such extreme condition...

for more info...

P.S. a big congrats to my fellow batchmates, Jen, KC, HC, YS, EV, CC and SY who are tying the knot soon and leaving singlehood...

RED ALERT: Red tape ahead!!

what does it mean to be working with the government?

to be trying to cut through the red tape, till you're bloody fed up.

I am bloody fed up.

My documents for confirmation was long compiled by the previous administration officer, Mr J who are in-charged of human resource, but no action taken till the poor Ms Haslini took over. And she basically took over a hell lot of shit.

Where's Mr. J? He's promoted, and transferred to Hosp Langkawi. Promoted?
Yes, exactly, people who don't continue doing their work, but too busy intoxicating their semen with inhaled nicotine get promoted.

this is not Mr. J, but that's exactly how he smelled everytime I had a chance to talk to him.

I WRITE in great frustration over the delay in my confirmation as a medical officer.

I had submitted full documents from June 2008, and was notified that my hospital administration had only relayed my application to the Health Ministry and the Public Service Commission for confirmation two months ago.

Since it was the hospital officer who had sent my papers late, I was hoping she would be responsible enough to follow up on my confirmation.

Instead, I was told to do it myself and was informed that if I wanted to speed up the process, I would have to go to the Health Ministry and Public Service Commission in Putrajaya like what one of my colleagues had done. That person finally received her confirmation three weeks after going to Putrajaya twice.

I do not have the luxury of time to go there as my department is facing a shortage of doctors.

I called the commission but could not get the person-in-charge until 11.30am as he was out on a break. I was finally told my application was still being processed.

Does this mean that doctors have to use their precious time and effort to make trips to Putrajaya and send the documents themselves to get things done, instead of focusing on patient care?

FRUSTRATED DOCTOR

I shared the same sentiment as this medical officer.

Perhaps I should take few days go to Putrajaya, then go Genting. Have a holiday break myself.

But today, although rather delayed, my confirmation finally arrived, many thanks to Ms. Chan from SPA or Public Service Commission for faxing the confirmation letter to my hospital with such speed and accuracy.

Finally, today I celebrate, a personal success of cutting through one of the strands of red tape.

I believe in every service in the government, there are those who are efficient and willing to help out and dedicated to nation-building, you just have to get to that right person, instead of playing the telephony merry-go-round with the assholes who are more interested in having their 'tea' than actually doing their job.

Attitude and character building classes and course during Induction or Orientation programs are simply a waste of public funds and pure exhibitionism.

Just look at how much thicker the red tape is nowadays.

Can we have more public servant like Ms Chan?

Can the admin people give medical personnels more peace of mind, focussing on patient care?

I see a silver lining of optimism in today's letter by our DG.

The Government is striving to improve the public healthcare delivery system in its effort to fulfil its duties to the people.

It has taken measures to encourage medical officers to remain in the public sector.

Aside from improving their scheme and conditions of service, the Government has also created more promotion opportunities for medical officers as well as increased the number of scholarships for them to pursue master’s courses.

The ministry will continue to do its best to ensure equity and accessibility to the public healthcare system.

But somehow, I believe Tan Sri should start by minimizing red tape that create unnecessary frustration.

P.S. Just to share, if you're having problems with SPA, Ms Chan is at 0488856161 or 0194192698

love

got the following from marcellinus,

of which got it from Jacqueline Atiqah David.

pretty mushy stuff, but it stands true, i guess.

If you love someone because you think that he/ she is really gorgeous

~ then it’s not love - its infactuation…….

If you love someone because you think that you shouldn’t leave him/her because others think that you shouldn’t

~ then it’s not love - it’s compromise…….

If you love someone because you think that you cannot live without his/her touch

~ then it’s not love - it’s lust…..

If you love someone because you have been kissed by him/ her

~ then’s it’s not love - it’s inferiority complex…..

If you love someone because you cannot leave him/her thinking that it would hurt his/her feelings

~ then it’s not love - it’s charity……

If you love someone because you share everything with him/her

~ then it’s not love - it’s friendship…..

But if you feel the pain of the other person more than him/her even when he/she is stable and cry for him/her

~ THAT’S LOVE

If you get get attracted to the other people but stay with him/her without any regrets

~ THAT’S LOVE

If you let him go knowing that he/she has to go but he/she doesn’t want to

~ THAT’S LOVE

bread and butter? or books?

nice packaging, I must say...

probably going to hunt for those bread tags with my bday innit...

Bro. Paul Ho's farewell

wish I was there. touching moment.

thanks to 5xmom for the sharing.

the La Sallian spirit will live on. no matter what.

many many many photos here....

here's a some of those moments through the lens of 5xmom.