Monthly Archive for November, 2009

Need to assist the SJK(C)s

Published on November 30, 2009 in Thought. 7 Comments

From the point of view of providing space and opportunity for a good six years of primary education, I must say most of the SJK(C)s in the country have done admirably well.

These schools are being sought after by parents of not kids who are Chinese but also non Chinese parents as well.

Of course, it helps when the Deputy Prime Minister who is also Minister of Education went on record to say that these primary schools did well in the subjects like mathematics and science.

But it is a fact that the majority of these schools do not get capital grants from the government to build or provide classrooms and other hardwares so it is up to the school boards to raise funds for such purposes.

Of course, it is no mean feat to carry this burden to raise funds to provide new classrooms as well as furniture when the needs arise.

In well populated areas, the Board is constantly asked to build more except when there is no more space left within the school compound.

How often we hear or read about ‘greening’ this and that?

Published on November 30, 2009 in Green Technology. 14 Comments

I am sure quite often especially if we are paying more attention to the subject.

And I am sure we will hear and read more on the subject as we get nearer the much talked about Climate Change Conference at Copenhagen in about two weeks time

As important as the conference is being viewed and touted to be (and I must say it is indeed an important event) yet many doubt that the outcome may not be measuring up to the high expectations.

Already there are signs of disagreement and even conflicting expectations depending on whether you are coming from the developed or developing nation.

Will there be a convergence of views and stance is anybody’s guess!

As for me, I will leave the advocacy part to my honourable colleague, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and his delegation to put across Malaysia’s stance on the matter.

I wish the Minister success.

But as a parting word, I like to remind what Dr Hermann Sheer, the most ardent advocate of worldwide solar pv usage, said at the recent solar pv industry conference in KL.

Dr Sheer said that the past industrial revolutions in the world did not come about through international treaties but by the nature of each technology being useful to mankind.

Make sense don’t you think so?

So do we need an international treaty to save the world from environmental disaster?

Think about it and let me know your views.

How important is Bakun power to Peninsular Malaysia?

Published on November 25, 2009 in Energy and Green Technology. 15 Comments

There is much debate recently on this question and I do not think that it will stop just because of this posting. Still as Minister of Energy, I must try to convey to readers of this Blog how I feel about the subject matter and hopefully provide some facts and to an extent some intelligent answers.

Let me begin from this point of view.  Bakun power is needed for Peninsular Malaysia based on the following reasons:

  • to ensure security of supply after 2015. Presently, there is a healthy generation surplus margin of nearly 50% and this margin will drop to 25% by the year 2015 as electricity demand will grow by 3 to 4 percent a year and there is no ‘plant-up’ plans from now until 2015.
  • to reduce dependency on fossil fuels which currently supply 90% of the power generation fuels in Peninsular Malaysia thus it is too dangerous to depend on this two rather limited and expansive fuel sources.
  • to ensure a reliable source of supply for the Peninsular as the Government is of the view that Bakun presents almost no fuel supply risks.
  • to provide a comparatively cheaper source of energy for the Peninsular consumers since the life  cycle analysis of electricity generation costs, Bakun power is still cheaper.

Of course, there are other permutations as to costs of transmission, safety issues and even economic risks as well. And there are yet others who argue that Bakun power should be allowed to stay in Sarawak and not brought over to Peninsular Malaysia. As I said earlier, the debate is not going to end with this posting. I am sure there will be other venues and opportunities for such debates to be done and conclusions drawn.

On the part of the Government, a decision on the matter has to be made. For reasons given above as well as the fact that the Federal Government has sunk in the capital investments, it has been decided that there is a necessity to bring  Bakun power (1,700 MW)  to Peninsular Malaysia commencing 2015 when the two submarine cables have been properly laid and becoming functional. This is as seen from the Federal agencies’ point of view and I am sure there will be other views. I am prepared to hear those who may not agree.

Majlis Mesra Sepayung Sebumbung @ Kpg Luak, Miri

Published on November 24, 2009 in Program@Miri. 2 Comments

One obvious thing about 1Malaysia Concept first put up by Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib soon after he took over office as PM is that ordinary folks in Sarawak has been practicing it daily.

Here is an example from my own constituency P219 Miri.

Last saturday evening (21st November) I was invited to attend a ‘pemimpin bersama rakyat’ function at Kpg Luak, Miri.

My colleage, ADUN Datuk Lee Kim Shin, was present.

Apart from Datuk Lee and myself, the entire gathering (about 200) was from the kampong and all are Malays.

Significantly the theme for the night was: ‘Majlis Mesra Sepayung Sebumbung’ and the Ketua Kaum pledged support on behalf of the kampong for Datuk Lee and myself.

It did not matter to him one bit that Datuk Lee and myself are non Malay.

Thus 1 Malaysia is embodied in the way ordinary kampong folks react and do things without a thought about racial origin.

To me it is this type of spontaneous reactions and actions that really matters and not some ‘cooked up’ and pretentious activities that do not have real ‘roots’.

What are your feelings on this issue?

Renewable energy (RE)

Published on November 22, 2009 in Renewable Energy. 24 Comments

Renewable energy (RE) is beginning to be more and more becoming the ‘buz words’ of the times nowadays.

Any source of energy which do not deplete with usage is an RE so solar, wind, wave, thermal, biomas and hydro are all classified as renewables.

Furthermore, some of these sources of energy are free and we need not pay for its supplies. What we need to pay is for the technology to extract or harvest these sources and to pay for the delivery of these energies in the form of electricity or gas for our applications.

Thus the challenge is to be able to extract or harvest the RE at the cheapest costs possible thereby benefitting all. Most experts predict that these costs in the production of RE will come down further than what it is today.

On the other hand, the extraction and generation costs of fossil fuels which because of its finite nature can only go up and up.

We know that fossil fuels releases CO2 as we burn it for electricity production.

Therefore, as we progress into the future and bearing in mind that Malaysia being a country blessed with plenty of sunshine and rain as well as lush vegetation, we should as much as possible embrace and institute the use of RE.

I must admit that RE cannot as yet replace fossil fuel and can only lessen our dependence on the latter. It is important that we have a healthy energy mix going towards the year 2020.

The continued development of hydro electricity will further enhance the use of RE in the country.

A Further Word On Safety Culture

Published on November 18, 2009 in Thought. 1 Comment

I am particularly happy to note that at yesterday’s (17th November) Solar PV Conference held at the Marriot Putrajaya, the Organisers and the hotel put up a useful power-point briefing on safety of the hall and the evacuation procedures at the hotel in case of fire. This was done even before the event actually started. This is a good example of how to instill the culture on safety on everyone who was present in the hall (and I was told that there were roughly 1,200 participants at the conference). Yes, it is always a good start to any function or event that those present in the hall be made aware of what to expect and how to react in the event of an unexpected incident such as a fire outbreak. Of course, the power-point presentation can be improved further by making it more informative and interesting so as to get attention of the audience.

I must point out that I am not on a crusade or anything of that sort. In many countries, it is standard operating procedure (SOP) to conduct such briefings in any meeting or function gathering even when everyone present is familiar with the layout of the room/hall. Once it is being adopted as a standard operating procedure, it will no longer be unusual, strange or awkward to do so. And if you think about it, what is so wrong or unusual when organisers make it a point to take care of the safety aspect of the participants or audiences? Surely, we should praise those who are conscious of safety whatever and wherever the occasion and place maybe. I take this opportunity to congratulate Suruhanjaya Tenaga and Marriot Putrajaya for their thoughtfulness and making it happened during the Solar PV Conference yesterday. Please carry on with this type of briefing in ALL your future tunctions and I am pretty sure you WILL make a difference and thereby helping to make such safety briefings a SOP in future.

GHG and land use requirements

Published on November 17, 2009 in Thought. 0 Comments

I read with keen interest as to what is developing within the RSPO with regards to GHG and land use requirements.

It has to be borne in mind that by tightening the grip on palm oil producers, the importers/users are not doing the industry any favour since they also would like to see palm oil easily available worldwide.

Both sides of the equation need to seek solutions to the issue at hand rather than setting targets which are unrealistic and cannot be implemented with any level of success.

Like most Malaysians who are proud of the palm oil industry, I wish everyone at the RSPO’s 6th General Assembly success in all their future undertakings.

Need to conserve clean water?

Published on November 17, 2009 in Water. 11 Comments

 Yes or no ??

 this is a decision the country must make soon in order not to fall into the complacency trap.

We have so much of rainfall; when there is flooding in Kelantan and Terengganu so where is the need for water conservation.

Yet we are projected to have clean water shortage going into the future; particularly the Klang Valley with the increasing high concentration of population.

Any effort to conserve must be all encompassing including domestic and commercial users.

Any views on this subject?

Youthful Activities at Kampong level

Published on November 17, 2009 in Program@Miri. 0 Comments

I was at Kampong Tanjong Batu, Padang Kerbau, Miri to launch a futsal tournament amongst the youth teams.

What struck me was the resourceful way the organisers went about clearing a sandy pitch from a plot of unused land in front of the kampong’s surau so that the tournament can take place. What is glaring is that our youthful participants are happy enough to play futsal on simple sandy patch roughly hacked out of unused kampong land!

But the land though unused is owned by a co-operative and there is no other land reserved for recreational purposes.

The point here is that our land use planners should have seen to it that there be some plots reserved for recreational purposes in every kampong and housing estate in the country.

How else do the authorities keep our youth away from unhealthy activities unless they can have a place to play games like futsal?

By the way, I pledged to build a futsal court for the young as well as the not so young futsal enthusiasts of Kpg Tanjong Batu by next March.

A Personal Experience But A Lesson To Be Learnt

Published on November 3, 2009 in Thought. 5 Comments

Over my career which spans some 26 years as an MP and a member of the Government, I had climbed onto all sorts of stages to deliver speeches as well as performing other functions which needed to be done based on the organisers’ schedules. Last thursday night (29th Oct.) I was invited by a prominent multi-national company to a posh dinner at a 5-star international standard hotel in downtown KL city as Guest of Honour. Being asked to make a speech was nothing unsual; however, what did happen on stage over the next minute or so was completely incomprehensible and totally unexpected! As I was walking towards the microphone to deliver my speech, I just fell into a sort of void that separated one part of the stage where I was walking from the other where the microphone was placed. Of course, I was completely unaware that there was any danger of my falling off  the stage. Obvious question is: why I did not avoid the danger and walked around it instead of into it? In fact, this is the very question I asked myself when I landed at the bottom of the estimated four feet high stage. Why would I want to hurt myself by doing the rather foolish act of falling off the stage in front of so many dinner guests?  Five days after I am still struggling to find the comprehensible answers as to what happened that night.

Thank God I was not badly injured as a result of the fall. My left shoulder blade was fractured at two places along with some torn/bruised muscles resulting in my left hand being in a sling to restrict movements so as not to aggravate the injuries. My left leg (shin area) was badly bruised by the fall and it had to be bandaged up till today. Of course my ego was badly bruised as well having to exist from the function in a wheelchair.

I am thankful to my hosts who arranged for me to be sent by an ambulance to the Prince Medical Center for medical attention.

What is the lesson to be learnt? I submit there is a big lesson that we all can learn from this rather unfortunate episode i.e. on the issue of safety. First of all, the way the stage was setup for the function is important. I have no comment as to the reason for having a T shape stage; it was the organisers’ right to choose the type of stage they had wanted but with having me as the guest of honor, the organisers should have briefed me on the layout and coached me on the movements on stage once I was on it. My attention would then be drawn to any ‘danger’ spots and then it would be incumbent on me to avoid such spots.  Secondly, I am of the view that the stage should be designed in such a way so as to be safe for people going on stage. On the night in question, the stage was covered  with black or dark materials and as the lighting in the hall was darken, it was difficult for me to see the way towards the microphone and this was compounded by the strong spotlight which was trained on me. Thirdly, the position of the microphone on stage that night was at one side of the T shaped stage. For the safety of the speakers the microphone should have been placed in the center of the T shaped stage thus providing easy and danger free access. And fourthly, by having a person on stage to guide the speaker to the microphone before he/she speaks and then to guide him/her down the stage is good practice. On the night in question, I remember there was a girl on stage but unfortunately she did not warn me nor guide me to the microphone otherwise the incident would not happened.