Singapore's medical system in a nutshell

The Straits Times, 25 March 2011, page 2

Singapore is a good place to get medical treatment. (Just ask the hordes of Indonesians, Philipinos and Malaysians at Tan Tock Seng) As long as you have money.

News wrap, 26 March 2011

• The Temasek Review publishes a 3 year old article from the New Straits Times (no less!) on "How Barisan Nasional lost the media war".
• Edan Corkill writing for the Japan Times sees the Tōhoku Kantō Great Earthquake disaster as the catalyst that threw NHK World into the world stage.

• (Can I also just say, it just shows how poorly resourced ABC News 24 was two weeks ago in breaking and following up the news from north-east Japan.)

• Mirko Bagaric of Deakin University writes that the 150 or so workers risking their lives in the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant exposes the fallacy and the artificial foundations which human rights are postulated upon.
• The Associated Press spends some time on 2ch, and illustrates why Japan will rise up and continue on business as usual.
  

• Lady Gaga thinks she has fans in Malaysia, and attempts to engage her mob. Suffice to say it'd give the Left-wing Americans who have never left their country more opportunities to form their ignorant and uninformed opinions.
• I don't know about you, but I'd be more concerned about a Chinese fluff show called Lady Guagua which doesn't hide where they get their inspiration from.
• There are apparently 30,000 pagans in Australia. Don't tell them we've been doing it since time immemorial.
  

Spin City: Stupid Christians

PKR organ Free Malaysia Today, 23 March 2011:


Bernama, 24 March 2011:


Question: why can't the media in Malaysia, on both sides of the divide, be more specific in their reporting?

What is it about them hiding behind vague descriptions such as "At a leading hotel", "At a dinner function" instead of (say) "At Hilton Kuching" or "At a dinner organised by the Sarawak Journalists Association"?

Do they have so little trust on their journalists? Or is it a case of the 4th Floor Boys going a bit too far?

"Free" Malaysia Today, 24 March 2011:


Believe me, this is the beginning of a slippery slope that will lead to a situation where the State and the Evangelical Christians will clash. And it will not be pretty.

Election Days

The Borneo Post, 17 June 2010: Pilihan raya DUN hari Sabtu

The Malaysian Insider, 23 March 2011: Sarawak votes on April 16

Say what you will about Taib Mahmud, at least he kept this part of the word!

Since when did school bands issue press releases?

The Borneo Post, 21 March 2011

Since when did school bands get free publicity on mainstream local newspapers when begging for finds?

Twitter Gems, part 21

Even I draw the line here. This is just pure capitalising on a current event to attract attention.

The arrogance of Taib Mahmud

Much has been said about Taib's arrogance and disregard for the institutions of Responsible Government. I will not seek to repeat them. To me, the clearest indication on how arrogant these people have become is the Sarawak Chief Minister's website.



Nominally it is the website for any Chief Minister of Sarawak, both present and future. However, a closer look at the address bar shows:


www.cm.sarawak.gov.my now redirects to chiefministertaib.sarawak.gov.my



That is how politicised out governmental institutions have become, that the party that has the mandate to lead the state, and the institutions that are needed for running a government, have become so intertwined, that no one understands the difference between them any longer.

The name of the department that houses the Chief Minister does not bear his name. Neither do we have www.pmnajib.gov.my as the official website for the Prime Minster. And despite what his supporters may think, no one lives forever.

So what will happen when a new Chief Minister of Sarawak is sworn in? Will s/he have to bear the legacy of having their website of their predecessor? Or will every trace of Taib be erased, like how Tawi Sli has virtually disappeared from all historical existence?

Endnote: for a discussion on preserving the past for the future Re. new heads of state, see "How to make a Prime Minister (or at least their website)", by Simon Grose: Government Technology Review, August/September 2010, Issue 2, page 42.

Spin City: Fallout

Bernama, 13 Mar 2011: Rosmah Extend(sic) Condolences To Japan



TV Selangor, 13 Mar 2011: Rosmah relates the tragedy in Japan as a lesson


Who's spinning now?

Trip Report: SIN-BNE with EK

Trip report: SIN-BNE

Flight number: EK 432
Day: 24 Feb 2011
Seat: 17H
Scheduled takeoff: 1515
Actual takeoff: 1516
Scheduled landing: 0040
Actual landing: 0055

The holding area at 1445.

This was my first time flying Emirates. I had high hopes and slightly elevated expectations. There was a little bit of excitement in me. I had read a lot about Emirates, their full service, their multicultural cabin staff, and the general brand of luxury the seem to radiate in their advertising material.

As stated previously, I did not have much time in Changi, and before long I was looking at gate C1 after sending a last minute email with Changi's free internet terminals. T1 still has some of the old bits: there are still CAAS markings on their glass walls.

My ride this time round: A6-EBJ

Flying the 777-300ER is a treat. Through EK does have an unusual 3-4-3 seating arrangement in their 777's, as opposed to the standard 2-5-2 (MH) or 3-3-3 (SQ) seating arrangements.

By 1449, the first and business class passengers started boarding. It bode well for a ontime departure. By 1507 I was in my seat and looking at the rows in front of me with screaming kids.



It wasn't before long (1410) when I started to play around with the IFE system of Emirates, and discovered it is touch screen. Through I have to say it is rather sluggish and unresponsive, and personally I would choose a IFE with no touch screen but is snappy vs. a sluggish touch screen IFE system.

And the biggest attraction:







The Forward and Downward camera's which allow me to see outside and a glimpse into what a pilot see's!

It is actually very interesting, through you would only use it during takeoff and landing. There isn't much to see really when the plane is in the air.



One warning through if you're thinking of flying Emirates with their 777-300ER's: the aisle seat at row 17 is a bit limiting in feet-room. Seatguru warns that the K seats have limited Foot Space "due to the presence of a entertainment equipment box". What they don't tell you however, is that:


Seat 17H also suffers the same problem. Its not fatal, and the 34" seats have so much legroom. Its just something to consider when choosing seats, as the G and D rows next to the aisle do not have this problem.

Initially I was thinking of switching my seats, due to the presence of a young family in front of me and the entertainment box. However, as the flight progressed, this is what my fellow passengers looked like:


Yes folks, I had an entire row to myself!

Despite my fears it would be a full flight, I estimate the load to be no more than 70%. Later in the flight as I walked to the back there were also plenty of empty seats, and rows for people to stretch out. Oh, what a joy this flight was going to be!



I have to say the legroom is very generous, and but for the entertainment box I could really stretch out my legs. Later in the flight I decided to try seat J, which was better.

The seats were good, but I found A6-EBJ to be rather old. Its 5 years old, and I don't think it has had a refurbishment since then. The seats were actually a little tired looking and worn. Chewing gum residue was on the armrest in seat 16J (see top right of image above).

Despite the newest MH 777's older than A6-EBJ, I felt the MH ones looked better. But who cares when you have so much legroom!



An interesting experience was before the flight took off, a doa (prayer) was read out. Apparently it is a experience on most middle-eastern airlines, where before a flight a prayer is read out, for journey mercy I suppose. An unique experience for me I suppose.

Also notable was the fact that the announcements were usually (but not all) made in English first, before Arabic. Again, not unique to Emirates or middle-eastern airlines, but simply just an observation.





The plane made one whole big round around Changi, passing the low cost terminal and going above Airport Boulevard to get to the runway. Odd, and I'm still trying to figure out how I got to the runway from T1.

Some shots of takeoff from a new perspective:







Okay, this is a little random.
















Its amazing how fast after takeoff we fly over Malaysian territory. I highly doubt Singapore has all those farms and fish ponds I saw while we made the 180 degree turn to head south.





With takeoff, I settled down to explore the ICE system. Rather comprehensive, and there was no lack of options to satisfy all the needs of different cultures. I tried to have a go at Arab entertainment, but had to give up. Don't understand a thing, and the actions don't give much away to be able to guess what's happening.

Its always nice trying to pick up Arabic words that sound like Malay words through. (Pub trivia: The words "jawab" (answer) and "soalan" (question) are Arabic)






The headset I initially got was defective, having no sound on its right side. A replacement was quickly provided. The headset are run of the mill. Nothing special or noteworthy to write home about. Better than the ones which was given to me on a QF flight through.


A introduction to the IFE system was played out, first in Arabic then in English.

You could control the entire IFE with the touch screen, and thus the physical "remote" wasn't used much. However, I found the screen to be less than sharp. The clearest IFE screen I've seen is still (*drumroll*) Air New Zealand's.


A welcome drink and some snacks were served out once we were in cruising.



Mealtime was around 40 minutes later. And the awesome bit was this:


Real cutlery! Made out of steel and felt nice and solid! I haven't seen these ever since 2001.


My meal.

The food was good, through I suppose eating roast pork for lunch just 2 hours ago had dulled my taste buds a little. Certainly it was one of the better airplane food I've had. The chicken was nice, the vegetables nice and moist.

The salad entrée was a little to moist through. It felt like I was eating water. But still delicious.



Usually buns are a little dry and hard, but this one was rather soft and easy to cut. One interesting thing was the butter and cheese (the round thing) was from the UAE. Cheese and butter in buns. Was okay, but nothing to write about.


That's Tamaki Hiroshi (Chiaki-sempai) in Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score - Part II

Desert was very nice. I actually wanted more, and went to the back to have seconds, but clearly it was a hit,as there was none left. Oh well.

As you may have guessed, "Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score - Part II" was one movie I watched. Also watched WALL-E. Yes, I know, I wait for 2 years to watch a movie for free on the plane. And 3 years for it to be broadcast on free-to-air TV.

And just with that 2 movies was enough for me for most of the flight. Watched the odd loose episodes of The Big Bang Theory, How I met you Mother, and a old episode of Top Gear.

Can I just say, Ueno Juri is awesome as Nodame. Its like she was made for the role. Don't get wrong, the whole Nodame Cantabile series is pure gold, but if Ueno Juri needed to justify her existence in this world, it would be doing Nodame.


Visit to the toilet. Nothing special or out of the ordinary. However, I do wonder, what that does all that actually say? It looks like an awful lot for the word "Push".



Also had some moisturising cream. Came in handy when my skin started to react to the dry air in the plane.



About an hour and a half before arrival in Brisbane supper was rolled out. The croissant was a bit too moist. I'm not sure if it is by design, but I found the food rather moist at parts. Ah well, at least far better than having it dry and hard as a rock I suppose.

Also served was some mango juice. Was so nice I actually ordered another cup, which unfortunately did not come. Decided to walk to the back to stretch my legs and get some blood moving, and get a cup of the mango juice. The cabin staff whom I asked for the drink recognised me and was very apologetic. I told her it was no issue, and that a bit of movement would have done me some good anyway.

Still, she looked like she felt bad, and gave me 2 cups of the mango juice.

I have to say I was well fed on the flight, and not just during meal times. I had a ample supply of water, through again no water bottle, just frequent refills. When I felt peckish midway Wall-E I had some crackers and sugar biscuits. Sadly they were out of the rather nice Emirates chocolate served during the meal.








Mood lighting in the cabin. Choose from 4 colours.

I have to say something about the cabin crew. They were very nice and friendly, through I wonder how they communicate. My attempts to strike up a conversation were less than successful, through it was not due to a lack of trying. 2 blacks, 1 Dubaian, 1 Asian and 2 Europeans, made up the cabin crew in economy.

Another observation is their name tags. The text in red in colour with a gold background made it a bit difficult to read their name tags, especially when the mood lighting was generally low light.



Starry night skies. Very interesting and a new experience for me.




Coming into Brisbane.

Enjoy the shots with the Skycam:


You can almost see the Gateway Bridge.







The runway, all lit up and ready for us.


Isn't Brisbane great, not having an airport curfew?


And touchdown!

Being pretty much the only flight at that hour, I got off the plane fairly quickly and made my through immigration (no queue) and Quarantine (all my food stuffs were allowed in). When I got out Brisbane Airport was completely deserted.

Took a taxi from the stand, and made my way back to my current place of residence. At 0100, there was no traffic, but I wasn't so lucky with the traffic lights, catching all the dumb ones which gave us the red light when there was absolutely no traffic in any other direction.

Final thoughts:
Emirates did not disappoint. But it was a lot more down to earth than I expected. I suppose that is a testimony to their marketing and advertising department.

But the flight was smooth (save for the usual turbulence crossing the equator, which is almost normal for me now), the cabin crew very friendly, and it was an interesting experience. One good thing about landing at ungodly hours is the complete lack of traffic, which means you get through the airport rituals fairly easily.

Being a modern full service airline, there is little to fault it with. All in all, I was happy with my flight, and have no qualms flying them ever again.

However, unless the price of their tickets massively undercut the other airlines, they don't have much going for it. Maybe if you're really tall and need the legroom, then the 34" would be a draw (just avoid certain seats). The 30KG baggage allowance is also a big draw, and would be graciously welcomed by 1st time students leaving hope to pursue their education in a foriegn land. But that's as much as I can say.

I have to say through, the more I travel, the more I see the great qualities of Malaysia Airlines when compared to their industry peers.

In conclusion, thumbs up for Emirates, and I hope I have the chance to fly them again.