There are a few reason the notorious jam happens. One does not need to be a highway engineer to figure that out. The poor people in Serdang gets no fucking exit in the MEX, while Damansara / PJ gets 7 highways (Federal, LDP, Kesas, Sprint, NKVE, Penchala, NPE)! What, people in Serdang not worthy of the attention of the Malaysian Highway Authority? The jam in Serdang has been going on for aeons! I remember the condition was already very bad during my brother’s graduation, back in 1999. All because of the lousy exchange in front of South City Plaza / Mines area. Heck, there wasn’t even South City Plaza at that time! And at one point, the authorities had one chance to make things right when they upgraded the Balakong interchange in front of Mines. But being their fucking usual “tidak-apa” attitude, everyday minum kopi makan roti, they chose to ignore the worsening condition of traffic going into Balakong from MRR2 and Serdang. Fuck you, the MP of Serdang at that time Datuk Yap Pian Hon! Oh I forgot, you are from MCA, and you’re supposed to shut the fuck up when the corrupt UMNO goons says so.

Then there is the condition of the wet market in the centre of town. It’s been there since the town was established and frankly it has way expired! MPSJ promised to move the fucking market elsewhere. That was even before I moved to stay in Seri Kembangan. Nothing much changed since.

The booming city where I stay isn’t helping the situation. Apart from Jusco, there is now a coming Giant and an entertainment hub at The Atmosphere. It’s right next to a tolled LDP, so people who wants to go to KL without paying the exorbitantly priced highway toll have no choice but to go through Serdang town. Even if they want to pay toll, the exchange going to LDP / Cyberjaya in front of The Atmosphere gets jammed up every morning and evening. A big turn off!

So the people staying here cannot do nothing but just endure this, day in and day out.  X-(

Popularity: 1% [?]

1. Automatic car are useful in city drivings because of the stop-and-go situations involved. But they are getting more and more useful in highways.

2. Why do we use the highways? What is the basic thing that you expect in return of paying a hefty sum at the bloodsucking toll booths? The convenience, the time you save, the assurance that you will arrive IN TIME for that 8 am meeting in JB. What if you cannot get that? What if you are stuck in a stupid jam from KL to Ipoh for 5 hours? Who will pay for the lost of time and opportunity? PLUS should give us a rebate for every hour that we are delayed in our journey!

3. I agree with those who drives in the emergency lanes. “If I do not drive in those lanes, somebody else would anyway. It might as well be me.”

4. Speed limits are only beneficial to the police who radar-scans us.

5. Elsewhere in the world highways are used to divert traffic from a heavily congested area and maybe make a little profit, just enough for general maintenance of the highway. Malaysian highways are designed from a profitability point of view.

That said, safety on the road is still necessary. Make sure you are in physical fit condition before you undertake that 300 km exodus back to your hometown. Have a safe trip everyone and SELAMAT HARI RAYA!

Popularity: 1% [?]

BWUUUAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

I can only afford an uncontrollable insane laugh! Come on Malaysia! Not another one of your tasteless jokes! Can this be one of your publicity stunt again? I mean, seriously, what do you expect to put in your machine? A 1.6 litre turbo CAMPRO engine? Well, here’s news for you! CAMPRO engines are lousy, inefficient and unsafe! Just the other day, a poor young mother burnt to her death when her Gen-2 fitted with the CAMPRO got hit on the engine compartment and caught fire! And this is not the first time I heard of such news. And don’t get me started on the potential driver. The son of a big-shot. Ring a bell? The last Malaysia F1 joker driver was also a son of someone influential who pushed him into the game, and look at the mess he has made for Malaysia!

For you who bought Proton cars (my poor self included), it’s time you stop supporting Proton and start buying from a REAL car company.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Those not familiar with the word drift might relate this to the act of floating along with the current of water flow. The drift that I claim is crazy is not some nuts who is floating on water, rather it is applicable for a weird lateral movement of a car.

Allow me to explain. A car is designed to assist human in getting from point A to point B. Most of the time, point A to point B does not lie in a straight line. One turns the steering wheels to steer the car wherever one intend the car to go. According to Newton’s First Law, a body in motion tends to stay in motion IN A STRAIGHT LINE. To make a body (in this case, the car) turn, an external force is applied to it. The act of turning a car involves force exerting on the car.

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Popularity: 1% [?]

How many of you have ever encountered the hospitality of a Malaysian driver on the road? And I mean that in a sarcastic way. (I can almost see your hands raised up from way up here) I want to share with you what I have encountered, both as a victim, and as a bully myself!

Before I go on, allow me to give a comment to all of you Malaysian drivers out there, the proper way to overtake a slower vehicle in front of you. There are a few unwritten rules that, if broken, is considered a blatant violation of your personal rights as a road-tax paying road user in Malaysia.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

Yes it’s true, I am planning to sell off my trusty old 350D. It’s been with me through thick and thin, through a lot of adventure to a lot of trips. I blame it on “technological refresh” that forces me to upgrade my camera to catch up with my skill. I hate to admit it, but I have outgrown my camera. This is a good thing really. It means that I have learnt a lot from this camera, and I need to move on.

Yes, that also means that I want to upgrade my camera. I have not got my hands on any cameras yet, but the 40D looks very possible. Again, nothing is solid yet. I am just throwing news out, just to test the water. Anyway here is what the spec of my camera looks like:

Canon 350D with EF-S 18-55 kit lens with box, charger, original softwares, cables, manual, neck-strip, 2 original NB-2LH batteries and original Canon battery grip BG-E3. Perfect working condition 8/10. No more warranty. Would like to sell it as a set for RM1350. Free camera bag, 8 GB card and UV filter for kitlens. Price is negotiable. COD in Seri Kembangan.

I attach in here a very rough picture of the camera, for lack of a proper camera to take its own picture:

My old camera

Selling off with the grip

It's in perfect working condition

Please excuse the lousy photos. It was taken with my camera phone.

*Sigh …* what to do? Need the money for my kid’s milk powder and diapers….

Update: The camera has been sold barely 24 hours after I have posted it online.

Popularity: 4% [?]

In my entire life of living (more than 30 full years of them) I have owned two cars, one a basic Proton Iswara 1.3 (manual) model, and a Proton Wira 1.5GL (auto). Both cars served me well. They does the job well. 4 wheels, roof over my head (although the Iswara has already developed holes by the time I sold it), air-conditioned (always spoilt), and it gets me from point A to point B. No complains on that.

But Proton, being a Proton that we all know, has never really “grown up”. I liken this to a baby, suckling from his mother from birth, right up till he has come of age, when he can do things on his own and earn a living independently from his mother. Imagine, a 20-year-old baby still suckling from his mother?! His younger brother Perodua has already matured by leaps and bounds and has recently overtaken Proton to become to number 1 car maker since the year 2006!

Is that standard accessory with the Proton?

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Went on a Langkawi trip with my entire family. It marked a few firsts achievements with that feat. My first time trip to bring the entire trip on a airplane. Hui Yan and Yan Yan’s first airplane ride, although I highly doubt that Hui Yan will have any recollection of it. My parent’s first AirAsia trip to LCCT. On that early morning of 4th March 2009, Cheng’s hubby Kar Weng came to fetch us to LCCT on his hydrogenized Saga BLM 1.3. (It did not feel sluggish although it had a full load with 5 adults and 2 kids. More on that later)

Yan Yan led by my father walking to the plane to Langkawi

Arrived at Langkawi finally after struggling to calm both the girls down. Hui Yan finally succumbed to tiredness in our lap, something extremely rare.

Upon touching down, we went to the nearest car rental counters. After haggling the price with 3 dealers, we finally settled for a …… Proton Wira 1.5 Auto! The exact same car I drive to work everyday! Bummer! Well, it’s RM150 for 3 days, what more can we ask for?

The car is so-so only:

• It’s got no alarm, have to key-lock manually.
• Gear box is jerky going from stand-still
• The rear sensor is busted

Otherwise it’s a fine car, fuel-injected, very powerful and good for a round of hard-cornering.

Hotel Helang. Eagles are everywhere!

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Popularity: 7% [?]

I thought I’d tell you what it feels like to be an NGV user, apart from the obvious decrease in monthly expenditure on vehicle fuel. Especially my experience in the many refueling stations that I have patroned over the duration of my NGV usage.

As I mentioned previously, I work in Cyberjaya. Therefore I frequent the Petronas in Cyberjaya the most. Most of the stations are the same, they employ some foreign worker (most likely a Bangladeshi) to do the work. They do most of the manual labour of attaching the hose to your car, turning on and off the valve, and getting the money from us customers.

Since the range of one full tank of refueling is only about 190 km, I almost always have to go refuel at very regular intervals, sometimes once a day if I go to a lot of places. Let me share with you how a normal refueling process go.

A typical NGV pump. Note the pressure indicator at the top

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Popularity: 8% [?]

I have promised that I will write an eulogy in remembrance of my old faithful, my green Iswara ADP 7466. Affectionately known as “The Green Monster”, this car really brought back many years of memories. This is going to be a long write-up, one that took me months since I bought the replacement car, the Toyota Altis in March 2008. So here goes.

My last road tax paid for the Iswara, EVER!

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Popularity: 14% [?]