24 March 2016

Are millennials to blame?

When people talk about millennials, most of the time you never hear any thing positive. Often people will be complaining of their "attitude problem", lack of interest, not hard working, no initiative, cynical, lazy, disrespectful, etc. - the list goes on.

Though there is some truth in this - I wondered what made them like that - what makes them different from previous generations and are they really that bad.

The former questions are harder to answer but the answer to the last questions is clearly a big "No!". These young people can be really passionate about a number of issues affecting society. Often it turns out, it is the Baby boomers and X-gen who are the cynics.

The millennials grew up with scandals, corruption, and an extremely competitive World. I was shocked when I learnt that only kids with 8 As in their STPM or  4 flat A -levels could enter University of Malaya. People say kids do not play outside anymore and blame gadgets but I realise that now kids do not have time from homework and tutions, piano, swimming and taekwondo lessons to go out and play. Many parents in the city do not even let their kids out of sight for fear that their kids might get abducted and I think about my childhood where I could just go out and ride my bike and roam around the neighbourhood for hours.

I recently met up with one of my ex-students and was shocked when he told me his salary in a well known MNC. It was just RM 500 more than what I used to get in my first job after my MBA 15 years ago. That's right - salaries have not increased in the last 15 years. Prices of everything has gone up several times and in fact several businesses here are taking consumers for a ride blaming everything from petrol prices to GST and of course the Government. But the fact is that for many their profit margins are way over the top. For example, it is crazy that Bananas are cheaper in the UK as compared to Malaysia. The bananas in the UK come from the West Indies or South America and is cheaper than in Malaysia which is a tropical country and where Bananas are grown.

Employers continue to complain that Millennials are not loyal and lazy Blah! Blah! Blah!

You pay them peanuts while expecting them to work like dogs like we used to several years ago - leaving the office only in the evening after the boss leaves with no overtime. You expect them to continue working in high pressure environment without complaining while you drive around in luxury cars which can buy a medium cost link house.

Talking about houses, many of these millennials have no hope of ever owning their own house in the Klang Valley unless they have generous parents who buy it for them or at least help out with the initial down payment.

No wonder the Millennials have an "attitude problem".


16 February 2016

Zika virus, Microcephaly and Larvicides

According to a group of Argentinean doctors, larvicides and not the Zika virus is the cause of Brazil's Microcephaly outbreak. According to 'Physicians in Crop-Sprayed Towns', the outbreak is due to a chemical called Pyriproxyfen, which was sprayed into water supplies in various towns in Brazil in 2014 including the state of Pernambuco where the malformations were detected first.

Read the article in Tech Times here.

Monsanto was not happy with their name being linked to the outbreak and released a response on their blog saying "Neither Monsanto nor our products have any connection to the Zika virus or microcephaly."


07 January 2016

Gated communities and Nepali guards

Right outside our front gate we have 2 Nepali security guards manning a temporary gate. There is another one patrolling the neighbourhood on a motorbike. And right across the road, there is another security guard, from another company, also Nepali, guarding a shop lot which is currently under renovation.

The security guard were hired by neighbourhood security committee with most families in the neighbourhood contributing to a fund. We are not unique and it looks like the whole Petaling Jaya in Selangor is full of gated communities.

To be honest, I do feel much safer and feel that we made the right choice to rent this house. However, I wonder what happened to Malaysia while we were away for nearly 8 years. It was not like this back then before we left for the UK. There were a few gated communities but they were rare and meant for guys in a different social class altogether.

Is the security situation so bad that we need to have guards in every neighbourhood? Isn't it the role of the police to take care of public security?

Looking at the bright side, reports of crime has reduced and the situation has led to the growth of a massive industry in Malaysia - the security firms. 

10 November 2015

10 October 2015

Advice on buying watches below $500

As some of my close friends and family members are aware, I am a big fan of watches - mechanical or battery powered, analog or digital, it does not matter. A lot of people also come to me for advice on buying watches and most are interested in good quality affordable watches. And of course I depend on the various watch blogs and forums out there, besides advice from some knowledgeable friends who are also watch fanatics. Some of the sites I frequent includes the famous A blog to watch, Hodinkee and the Watchuseek forums.

Recently I found out about another watch blog called Watchjudge.com. Rob has written a post called 'Best Watch Brands under $500: Affordable Timepieces Made with Actual Craftsmanship'. I found the article to be well written and quite balanced. Some actual good advice. So if you are looking for an affordable watch, I suggest you go through the article before buying one. 

02 September 2015

KLIA 2 vs Sydney airport

Just got back from Sydney. I had gone there to attend my youngest sister's wedding. It was a tiring but really fantastic experience and our family is now bigger. It was fantastic that our family was finally together again after decades literally.

Anyway, I was comparing my experience flying in and out of Sydney with that of KLIA 2 (I flew with Air Asia X) and I realised that Malaysian Airports delivered a much more satisfying experience.

Getting through customs and immigration was a breeze, not just because I have a Malaysian IC but queues were much less and the process was quite efficient. Maybe it was because I was flying in the evening when there are less flights. In Sydney, they require you to take off your jacket, belt and remove the laptop (if you have one). I am not sure but wonder whether Malaysia has better scanners.

Once I went through immigration controls, there were ample places to sit down comfortably and have an affordable bite. Duty free shopping is much more cheaper in KL as compared to Sydney on most of the items as well. Wifi signals are strong with relatively fast connections. The wifi in Sydney was dismal. I could not even surf the net properly let alone chat via Skype.

And then there is the paperwork. I had to fill in 2 documents when I flew into Sydney and one while flying out. There were none to and from KLIA2.

Overall, a lot of things that Sydney can learn from KLIA 2.




20 August 2015

Classics - Love Hurts - Nazareth with Munich Philharmonic Orchestra

One of my old time favs.



Love hurts, love scars, love wounds
And mars, any heart
Not tough or strong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud
Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts......ooh, ooh love hurts

I'm young, I know, but even so
I know a thing or two
And I learned from you
I really learned a lot, really learned a lot
Love is like a flame
It burns you when it's hot
Love hurts......ooh, ooh love hurts

Some fools think of happiness
Blissfulness, togetherness
Some fools fool themselves I guess
They're not foolin' me

[1] I know it isn't true, I know it isn't true
Love is just a lie
Made to make you blue
Love hurts......ooh, ooh love hurts
ooh, ooh love hurts

[lead:]

[repeat 1]

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