Taiping Holidayz

We decided to go to Taiping for the ongoing mid-term school holidays. My last visit to Taiping was about 15 years ago. The journey from Sg. Buloh to Taiping took us about 3 hours inclusive of the umpteen coffee and ciggy breaks.

Our choice of lodging was at Flemington Hotel which sits at the edge of the Taiping Lake Garden, about 5 minutes from the town itself. We got the lake-view rooms and it is very highly recommended that you request for one too if you intend to stay here. Waking up in the morning with the lakes, trees & hills as a backdrop view is priceless. The hotel is reasonably priced with excellent service to boot…right from the security guards to the housekeeping maids. The staffs accommodated all our whims & fancies and made the stay a memorable one. They have 4 F&B outlets, namely the RainTree Cafe, Lounge, Sky Bar and a Chinese Restaurant. The place is less than 2 years old. I made full use of the lounge to get reacquainted with Kahlua & Bailey’s Cream after some beer in the pool. The rooftop pool was also a nice place to chill out. I would only be staying there next time.

view from the Chinese Restaurant

view from RainTree Cafe

RainTree Cafe

lounge

lounge

SkyBar

Just a friendly reminder to folks planning to visit the Taiping Zoo…just forget about the much hyped Night Safari (even though I’ve not taken that Safari). The animals are not going to pose in the dark for you, they have to do the same during the morning shift too and taking pictures in the dark is never easy. You will be able to fully experience and enjoy the Ecological settings of the zoo much better during daylight. They even have train rides going through its enclaves in the morning. The storks are free to roam wherever they wish to go and that is what wildlife is all about. It’s also situated in the Lake garden area and about 3 minutes from Flemington.

The Maxwell Hill(Bukit Larut)  is about 3 minutes from Flemington. The Burmese pool is also located there. I decided to forego this one cause I wanted to be there by 7.30AM to catch the land rovers that will be taking you up the hills. The thought of rounding up the crew at that time was not an easy task…next time, maybe. 

The other place that we visited was Bukit Merah lake town resort. The fastest route from Flemington will be the straight road via Jalan Kamunting Lama and thence the Plus Highway (12 o’clock at the Kamunting roundabout as you’re heading out of town. It’s the next exit after Taiping, heading North. The place opens at 10AM. It is advisable to visit the Orangutan sanctuary, Eco-park and all the other rides before you go to the water park. The Orangutan’s bear an uncanny resemblance to us humans, right to the finger nails. I didn’t know that the females menstruate when they come of age and unfortunately for these primates they’re not spared from getting most of man’s dreaded disease i.e. heart complications, diabetes, kidney etc. As usual, outside food is not allowed but you can carry all these food stuffs and eat them along the way. The only place where it’s fully restricted is at the water park. They will safely store your eateries when you enter the site and return it upon your exit. If you’re going there, please remember to rent a 2 seater float at the entrance, it will safe you the long journey back from the pool area as you need them for some of the rides. A lot of souvenir’s can be purchased at the food stalls here...ladies accessories & fridge magnets are in abundance.

Orangutan Sanctuary

some of the animals at the Eco-park

The king cobra: the blurry stain of it's venom is visible on the tank.

Last but not least is the lake garden itself. It’s a must see if you’re going to Taiping. There are plenty of greeneries and lakes here to keep a nature lover like me grinning from ear to ear. It’s one of the largest gardens that I have come across. On weekends, it’s the place where newly weds come to take their after wedding photos. I witnessed at least 15 entourages while I was there on Sunday. 

Overall Taiping offers a variety of places to explore with lots of food available at cheap prices. It’s also a shopping haven for clothes and other fashion accessories. I will definitely be back for more.

I’m coming Home, I’m coming Home…

I’m coming home, I’m coming home, tell the World I’m coming home

We got up early that day, at 4.00am to be precise. I was all geared up to go back to my hometown in Segamat. It’s been like many months since my last journey. I have always been putting it off due to a vote of no confidence with my car engine condition. The mechanic had recently given me the all clear and I was relieved to say the least. It was something that I have been looking forward to for a long time now. I left the house at 5.00 sharp. I took the Sg. Buloh toll road heading towards Elite. The roads were super clear, the main reason I choose to travel at that particular time every time around. A lot of people prefer to travel back after dinner, which is actually peak hours at the highway, especially on weekends. I have to go through heavy traffic every day of the week on my way back, that should suffice as far as my relation with traffic jams are concerned. No, I don’t get caught in the morning jams as I leave early to work too. My idea of driving in KL is basically, start the car, stop at the tolls to collect the ticket & to make the payment and get into parking mode in a jiffy. That’s definitely a no go when you leave Sg. Buloh anything after 6.30. The whole journey itself gets an extension of one hour if you’re lucky. When you drive early in the morning, you’re practically the king of the road. Now, I don’t exactly drive a Beemer or Merc but I’ll do my darnest to give you guys a run for your money when the situation arises. I drive an Iswara 1.3(M), but my baby is cool when it’s under pressure any old day. I don’t take too kindly to people hogging the road. When you drive on the highway, the speed lane is meant for that only, speeding! If you want to drive safely at 110km per hour, you should stick to the second or third lane. The first lane is strictly for cruising only. To aid us, we even have rear-view and side-view mirrors to watch our backs, so that you can move aside when we go through. A lot of drivers do not follow these policies as they think the road tax that they pay covers this privilege too. If you want to drive safely, take the emergency lane. Inadvertently, you the slow coach are causing havoc on the road. The other drivers are all cursing you due to your selfishness and these wrong conditions can be the cause of a major fatality. So, pretty please, scurry along to the last lane and do your safety dance.

The Elite is my favourite Malaysian highway of all time. The roads are broader and the curves are smooth, it’s an absolute delight to fly by. It’s where you practice before you take flights out from KLIA or LCCT. I normally drive for an hour or so before I stop for a ciggy in Negeri. As we were nearing the Pedas-Linggi stretch, the cars in front were slowing down and a sea of brake lights can be seen going off over yonder. It was a good 40 minutes in that crawl before we reached the scene where the fire brigade was clearing debris from an earlier accident involving a car and lorry resulting in a massive explosion. Wonder what really happened there? It was full speed from there to make up for lost time. My next stop was at Tangkak toll for another ciggy. Another 30 minutes from there and I was back in Motherland. It is a glorious feeling of euphoria when I reach the main Segamat traffic -light that leads to the old road heading to either KL or JB… no substance will be able to match that high. I touched down in my sister’s place at about 8.35. After the formalities we settled down to have breakfast with the whole family. The kids were very excited as they have not seen each other for a long spell. There were a lot of things to be explored and experienced within the next two days.

I left to my mother’s place after the meal to bring her over to my sister’s. Our home there was just recently ravaged by the flood. 

It’s becoming an annual affair now and it has nothing to do with natural disaster, it’s wholly man made. The encroachment of swampy land around Sungai Segamat has resulted in this new development. When it rains continuously for a day or so the water level rises, the water is then released unlawfully from the upstream Bekok dam by the gate-keepers, that is the main cause for this flooding. Then the politician come around to offer peanuts in the form of “wang ehsan” which will not even cover the basic cost let alone extensive home repairs. I was told by my friends that more reclamation work is in the pipeline, guess we’ll just not learn from our previous mistakes or is it because the return of investment is much more rewarding to the contractors and the Majlis Daerah Segamat Utara as compared to the thousands of people who will be homeless temporarily. My brother was stranded on our roof top for 24 hours hoping to be rescued. That didn’t happen, so he had to make his way out when the water receded to about four feet. Everything in the house was damaged. The process of cleaning up alone took them two weeks. It is so sad the way humans are treating Mother Nature, the day of reckoning is not far off now. There’s no light at the end of this tunnel, it’s too dark and scary to even imagine that scene.

My mum was still sorting out the house after nine weeks. I was glad dad was not around to live through this misery. Some of the neighbours have put up the house for sale sign. I don’t see any quick sells as I wouldn’t pay 20K even though the actual price is 120K. My soul bleeds when I think of this dilemma. I left the house with my mum feeling so gloomy. I spent some time with the kids right till about three. I had made plans with my high school buddies to meet up for tea. The rendezvous point was at a friends stall in Buloh Kasap. The guy was away for a wedding so we met at Sekolah Tinggi Segamat instead, our alma mater. Bambang, Fendi & Zoraidi was already waiting there. 

My hide-out during form 3

I last met Fendi about two decades ago. His uncle was the Assistant District Officer during our school days. We used to jam in his house to watch blue movies when his uncle left town. We were inseparable back then, the ring leaders. What I would do to re-live just one day from that age. We adjourned to a nearby stall in Gubah. There we met with Zaidi and Nawab. As usual, we were poking fun at all our ex-teachers and friends. To be fair, the teachers were really a caring bunch. They don’t make teachers like that anymore. We didn’t appreciate them those days and took them for granted. I salute them all for putting up with all my antics. We had two rounds of drinks before we dispersed, our next engagement will be in July, 9th for STS'79 - '83 batch Walkathon.

I went back home to do my workouts prior to our family dinner outing at eight. It was Chinese food and it was simply yummilicious. I don't bother to do calorie count at such occasions as I do the dinner rounds only twice a month and it's no holds barred, everything goes. I had a couple of beers with my brother-in-law after that. The binge did not last long as we were stuffed after dinner. Thus the first days curtains were brought down with sounds from the wilderness. I got up at six and my sister was already cleaning the house. In our family, all of us are early birds. The agenda for morning was a jog at Rock Garden, the infamous place between our school STS and Convent school. 

JKR club house – billiard joint

The placement of the garden was so convenient to the lovebirds from both schools that were separated by the Rock Garden. I used to walk to and fro daily through this gardens to go to school. The District Office and the Sultan's rest house was located in its vicinity. I can safely say this was the place most visited by me during my years in Segamat. I wanted to trace back my steps taken during those years. I walked all the way to the school back entrance. This place has changed for good, the gate was sealed permanently. 

The back gate to STS

There was a new playground near the gates outside the school with nicely laid rubber sidewalk leading back to the garden. The changes reminded me that the past can be reminisced but it can never be experienced wholly again. This moment that we go through will be déjà vu in the nearest future but the exact setting cannot be reenacted fully. It makes you appreciate that moment as it will not be under the same conditions again. I left the rockies and went for a long drive, not going anywhere in particular, just driving by looking at this place and reminiscing about those carefree years. It felt like a loss but with a realization that there is so much to be grateful for.

I had a late breakfast that day and moved along lazily until lunch. After lunch it was shopping time, strictly adults this time. The kids were left at home with Mum. We opted to go the new shops around the second bridge, plenty of shops there to feed a shopaholic’s addiction. You get just about all the accessories needed for oneself. I bought a pair of Bermuda khaki shorts and some t-shirts. The ladies took a longer time to do their stuff so I just laid back and chilled. After that we headed to the old Segamat town to purchase a touch screen phone for my sister. We got back by 7pm. I did my gym and proceeded with dinner an hour later with the whole family. It was more like snacks and juices at the Jalan Genuang stalls. We finished early and went back home to just relax in the living room. The thought of going back to the city on the next day was not so appealing but life has to go on.

I got up early as usual the next morning. All the occupants were already awake by then as it was a school day. My daughter was on her approved annual leave. My nephews were getting ready for school. They bid their farewell and my sister sent them to school. Soon my brother-in-law left to work. We had our breakfast and got ready to go back home. It was ironic that my mother, sister and her daughter was there to send us off. On the way back we stopped at Tangkak to buy some fruits. I wish I could go to Gunung Ledang but with the ladies in tow it would be close to impossible to do that in a short time. I went there last during my solo trip back to Segamat. During that visit I had gone to Ledang on the way back to KL. I climbed up the mountain alone at 6.30am to take some photos of the sunrise. I have never gone there alone before, that too at dawn. The feeling was spooky as I knew I was not alone. At one kilometer up, the habitat is thick tropical foliage. You ascend at some spots by hoisting your way up using huge roots. The view from 1.5 kilometer’s up is simply magnificent and breathe taking. Without these trees, waterfall and mountain, we will not last here on Earth. This realization will not dawn on mankind until it is too late to turn back the clock.

I’m so grateful to the Almighty that I’m able to witness this soul satisfying images when I come home to Segamat every time, Thank You Lord, Thank You Lord. I look forward to my next trip back with anticipation.

small AXE

Why boasteth thyself, Oh, evil men
Playing smart , And not being clever?
I said, you're working iniquity, To achieve vanity (if a-so a-so)
But the goodness of Jah, Jah… I-dureth for-I-ver
So if you are the big tree, We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp), To cut you down

(courtesy of Small Axe, Burnin’ album - Bob Marley & The Wailers)

~This post is dedicated to all my brothers and sisters who have been victimised by corporations who seek to use human capital as mere machines to realise their huge profits~

 

It is fair to say, almost all big local entities have already paid or are in the process of paying out their yearly bonus, share allotment and other staff benefits by now. This remuneration is rightfully paid out based on the staffs’ annual appraisal. The benchmark says if you achieve your KPI then you should be receiving your dues. In the real world there is another thing called office politics aka kiss your bosses butt among other things. If you can carry this last act with perfection, then your name in the company's hall of fame is assured. The sky is the limit then.

I had grown up in the give your utmost loyalty to the management as they put the bread on the table cliche. That is technically very wrong as it is your customer who does that. The bosses are just there to help you along to your early death or dismissal, whichever comes first. Take my boss for instance, one of us could probably collapse at our work place and the dude might just glance that way and think to himself why is that person creating so much of commotion and scurry along as if nothing happened. That's cold and inhumane any which way you look at it. The b*sta#d? pure evil if you ask me… a bloody Hitler personality with the looks to boot. A person like that ought to die alone in the gutter when they're old. Okay I'm not going to wash my dirty laundry in public...but I'm pissed man.

If the employee's have done their job well why do we have to look for scapegoats just to give meaning to the “bell curve” .The bell curve was not created by Alexander Graham Bell but the guy who cooked it up was Carl Friedrich Gauss . The Wikipedia says the graph of a Gaussian is a characteristic symmetric "bell curve" shape that quickly falls off towards plus/minus infinity. The parameter a is the height of the curve's peak, b is the position of the centre of the peak, and c controls the width of the "bell". Wiki goes on to say that, “If there are three grades, A, B and C, where A is reserved for the top 10% , B for the next 20%, and C for the remaining 70%, then scores in the percentile interval from 0% to 70% get grade C, scores from 71% to 90% get grade B, and scores from 91% to 100% get grade A”.

The whole exercise is to weed out the worst score card holders. This is alright with me provided you practice it professionally and ethically without being biased against creed or colour. That is easily said than done.
Let me tell you a story. I have a non-management friend (these things do not happen at management level), he did not receive any sort of bonus or whatever else for two consecutive years. The guy had a heart attack after the second year. Thank God he survived after forking out about 25K of his own money to fight the dreaded disease. The following year he got his bonus via divine intervention but was dropped again this year… the wrong place to score a hattrick and my prayers are with him. We are talking about a loyal senior staff who has sacrificed 16 years of his life for the company. That's morally wrong because you would assume the company will take care of you when you are battling with precious life.

In trying to maintain a level of sanity in this outrageous exercise, the productive way of doing it is the superiors should advise the staff what is expected of them during the beginning of the appraisal year.  The expectations are clearly spelled out in this one to one session and any uncertainties are cleared out in this briefing. The score card should be re-visited at the first quarter end (or mid-yearly) to ensure the employee has been performing according to the pre-determined goals. Any shortcomings in performance at the end of the year can thus be accepted by the under achiever as they know why and where they have slackened. The next obvious step to be taken is to rectify the mistakes by coaching them based on their inadequacies and monitoring their improvement within an agreed time-line. Should the outcome from this post mortem be negative then the results must be discussed with The Human Resource department to reassign the individual to other units based on their positive qualities. This is never practiced in reality as the judgment is passed at the twelfth hour based on a need to submit the evaluation results. The person who got fried will never see the imminent, it will be a wicked roller-coaster ride from there. There will not be any bonus, share allocation, salary increment etc. that year, on top of which the underdog must try to shake off that non-performer tag before the next annual session. Unfortunately for us, there is no Union to ensure fair-play. The dictatorial ways will remain very relevant under these conditions. This harsh malpractise must be uprooted from the employment environment at all cost. We need to strive to be a caring society.

Well, guess what? Down with the blood sucking employers, it’s time for me to fight back and fight I shall with the help of The Almighty and my friends. I shall sharpen my axe (well sharp). This is one revolutionary that you should not have messed with…your extermination is dawning upon thee. As brother Jules Winnfield put it so coolly in Pulp Fiction… “The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee.”