I hate my internet!!

ARGHHHH... I'm seriouly losing my patience over the internet service i get here...

I'm paying RM98 a month, and i was promised a 3.6mbps WIFI service... When i do the speedtest... i've never get anything more than 0.8mbps... not even A QUARTER of what i was promised?!?!?!!! What's wrong with all these crooks in Malaysia??

Why can't we have something like this???????

10mbps for 5 pounds, 20mbps for 10 pounds, and 50mbps for 35 pounds!! and i can assure you, when they promise 10mbps, they mean it... if you dont get at least 50% of the speed 80% of the time... you get a full refund!!!

So, what's wrong with Malaysia?? i'm paying... RM98, or 18 pounds, for 3.6mbps... (no.. actually it is 0.8mbps)...

Hopefully DiGi will be able to come up with something better than this... I've seen them promoting their wifi services quite heavily... Let's wait and see...

Ethics?

Does people get more grumpy when they have a toothache?!?! I certainly do...

I have been suffering from severe toothache since two days ago... and yesterday, I went to the dentist to sort the problem out... Luckily enough, my company would pay for the dental treatment if I go to one of their panel doctors, which I did!

Perhaps the dentist knew that it is my company who pays the bill, he overcharged me by a huge margin...
Consultation Fee + X-ray = RM60
A course of antibiotics + some pain-killers = RM60

So, the total bill came up to RM120, to my horror. The pain-killer was a generic drug, which probably wouldn't cost anything more than RM10, which means the antibiotic was expensive! The dentist also suggested me to do a canal treatment, and quoted the price as approximately RM1000!! I'm not sure if that's the fair price to do a canal treatment in Malaysia, but it certainly came as a shock to me...

Here comes the ever popular debate on which is the best healthcare system to have...

1. In the UK, the government, NHS (National Healthcare Services) pays for all your medical and dental expenses (up to a certain extent). All medical personals and dentists have to register with NHS. However, it is compromised by the high income tax that you have to pay... (up to 40% for certain high-income group).

2. In Malaysia, the government pays for a very limited amount of your medical expenses, and there is always a super-long waiting list for patients. There are lots of private clinics / dentists out there where you can go to.

All else equal, I think the Malaysian healthcare system is better, in that you pay less tax, and save up or buy insurance to cover your own medical expenses. It certainly rewards people who takes care of their health, and who are financially prepared for the future. The UK centralised healthcare system charges everyone the same, and treat everyone equally, be there drug addicts, heavy smokers, or binge-drinker.

And because the Malaysian system is less regulated, the downside is, these private doctors/dentists can always overcharge you any amount they want! A dentist can charge you RM2000 to remove a tooth, while charging someone who appears less able to pay a far cheaper price. (Notice that the private practisioner in Malaysia always prescribe medicines themselves, and wrote the price of the medicines/treatment on the diagnosis card, i.e. how much they want to charge this patient!)

Well, I think one important difference is that the UK doctors might treat the patient in the best interest of government's expenditure and patients' health; whereas the private doctors in Malaysia might put more priority on profit maximising...

Sorry to say, where are the medical ethics and integrity???? GRrrrr....

Disclaimer

FYI, the recent post regarding GM bankruptcy was an April fool prank. I wrote the article myself... And because it was April fool, so I'm not taking any responsibility in case you had executed a complete sell-down of all your shares.. hahahaa...

Anyway, the prank might not have tricked someone as smart as you... (yes, you, who is reading this now...) But it was convincing enough to spread like a wild-fire in my division mailing chain... I hope no damage has been done to our investment portfolio, or else i'm so dead...

Breaking News! (Just released 1-2 hours ago)

Bits & Pieces: 01/04/09
General Motors Corp. Filed for Bankruptcy
Following President Barack Obama’s decision that a prepackaged bankruptcy is the best way for General Motors Corp. to restructure and become a competitive automaker, GM had, in the evening of 31 March 2009, officially filed for Bankruptcy protection. After a last-minute frenzied lobbying attempt by the GM Management team and the White House and the Congress failed to find a way of saving the company, GM, which was one of the World’s biggest company by market cap had officially gone bust.
Obama also is prepared to let Chrysler LLC go bankrupt and be sold off piecemeal if the third-largest U.S. automaker can’t form an alliance with Fiat Spa, said members of Congress who have been briefed on the subject and two other people familiar with the administration’s deliberations.
While Obama two days ago gave GM 60 days to come up with deeper cost and debt reductions than the biggest U.S. automaker proposed in a viability plan submitted last month, the “quick and surgical” bankruptcy his administration described as an option appears to be inevitable, the people said. Obama personally signed off on asking GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner to step down, as he did on March 29, they said.
“Our focus is on accelerating the speed of our operational restructuring and reducing liabilities and debt on the balance sheet,” GM spokeswoman Renee Rashid-Merem said in an e-mail. “GM will take whatever steps are necessary to successfully restructure our company.”
Chrysler spokesman Todd Goyer didn’t immediately comment.
A panic sell-down in global equity market is expected today, to the extend not lesser than the Sept 16 collapse after Lehman Brothers failure, people familiar with the matters said.

I’m a Musicon Celebrity thanks to Maxis Broadband.

Contrary to popular believes, being a celebrity could be dreadful, and is probably the worst job in the world… as if we, as celebrities, have more than 24 hours a day! (Not to mention we have ZERO privacy in our lives.)

Hmm… why don’t I give you an example to illustrate how we spend a day? Let’s look at what I did last Saturday to deserve this half a million US dollar salary.

Early in the morning, I went fishing with Captain you-know-who on the ‘Flying Dutchman’… He is a great story teller, but can be really annoying at times. (Btw, he always thinks he is the coolest guy in the Carribean…)


Then, by 9am, I had to get into the office and be ready to tackle the next crime. Call us the Andy-s Partners.

Later, I had a lunch date with Ayumi in the park. Oops, here are the paparazzi. Let’s put on a fake-smile, and spend the next 30 minutes explaining: “No, she is not my girlfriend!”

Immediately after the lunch, I got a call from Jay. Oh, he was having a concert at that time, and wanted me to make a cameo appearance because Jolin had a food poisoning… Alright alright…



As a preparation for my next piano duet showdown with Jay, I decided to take a piano lesson with Lang Lang. It was him who taught me how to play with passion, how to play to impress!

Late afternoon, I thought I should head outdoor to catch some evening breeze. Having known him for years, Tiger is always just one phone call away for a golfing session.

Before the day drew to a close, I called two of my best buddies out for a Karaoke session to unwind myself. We thoroughly enjoy ourselves there!

By the time we finished our supper, it was well past midnight. Dragging the tired body to bed, I barely had enough time to recharge myself before the next dawn!

zzZZzzZZ...

Now, who said being a celebrity is all glamour and no work?!?!

Thank you...

There is no denial that Malaysians are blessed with some of the best food in the world, nasi lemak, roti canai, mamak... you name it... For people who is lucky enough to live in Malaysia for life, it will be hard for them to understand what others are missing. The effort that the chefs/hawkers put into making the food so yummy is never fully appreciated. I wonder how many Malaysians trully know how long or how many steps it takes to prepare a satay, or roti canai, or even rendang ayam.

In the past few years,
in the cold + gloomy + wet winter days;
In the place where the best food available next to fish & chips is baguette with all sorts of fillings,
or cold sandwiches for you to grab from the fastfood kiosk;
Nothing can be more heart-warming than getting back to your flat
and surprised by a huge bowl of prawn noodles prepared for you;
Nothing can be more exciting than smelling bak kut teh or curry chicken
whilst you are opening the door of your flat;
Especially after a long long day in college...

I am really thankful;
and blessed to have you guys as my housemates!
Thank you!

How???

If you were me, which one would you buy first?
A. Rice cooker
B. Car
C. House
D. Bed – Mattress
E. Piano
F. Listed shares

Ahh.. I wish I am loaded...

Wish List...

American Idol Season 7 runner-up, David Archuleta, released this album in 8 Dec 2008. Those who followed the American Idol season would acknowledge David's superb vocal! and I'm a huge fan of him myself... Still in his adolescent, his vocal is simply amazing, so matured, rich, and expressive...

I bought his debut single, 'Crush', on iTunes, as I just couldn't wait for the Disc to get on Malaysia's shelf! That single has since been a real hit globally, and it will soon go platinum, less than 6 months from its release. Even a Malaysian chinese-based radio channel, MyFM, has been broadcasting the song repeatedly over the past few weeks...

Can't wait to get my hand on the CD!