Getting a haircut is essential

Today 13 April 2020 marks the 27th day that Malaysia has been in lockdown. The restriction would have ended tomorrow on the 28th day (1st extension from the original 14 days). However, the government has decided that it is necessary to impose a second extension for another 14 days to fight this Covid-19 outbreak. The MCO will now be in force until 28 April 2020, for now at least.

In making the announcement on this so-called third phase of the movement restriction, the Ministry of International Trade & Industry (MITI) declared that a number of businesses would be allowed to operate, joining the other essential services previously mentioned in the first order. Among these are barbers and hair salons, although with the proviso of doing haircuts only. This little bit of news caused wide surprise amongst many. The Penang state government decided not to follow the federal government's move. Social media was rife with comments questioning the wisdom of uplifting the restriction for getting haircuts. The association for barbers and hairdressers came out with statements that they would see out the MCO. Even the Health Ministry requested the move to be reconsidered.

Hmmm.... one ministry requesting another ministry in the public domain. There is a disconnect somewhere.

Anyway, if I'm given the choice between cutting my hair or cutting the grass in the compound of my house, I would choose the latter. Because :

1. The grasscutter can do his work without the need to be in close contact with me.

2. A compound where the grass is neatly trimmed and free of weeds and 'kemuncup' is soothing to the eyes and calming to the nerves.

3. Sporting a long (but stylish) hairstyle is not alien to me.

Take care friends. Stay safe. Grit your teeth and wait for the sunshine.

With batchmate Rommel Abu Hassan, somewhere in the UK in early 1980s

Not all government advice is worth following

Failing in style is not always a bad thing

'If a thing is worth doing, it's worth doing badly.' - G. K. Chesterton

In July 2009, I wrote a post about Heroic Failures, where I shared a story from a book written by Stephen Pile. That particular book was bought when I was a student in the 1980s. After a lapse of more than 20 years, Mr Pile has produced another compilation of similar stories.

This latest book is titled 'The Not Terribly Good Book of Heroic Failures'. It is a collection of stories from all over the world about people who not only did not succeed in what they wanted to do but managed to do (or not do it, depending on your point of view) in some style. While it is hilarious to read of other people's bungling attempts, there are some inspiring stories too. Just goes to show that sometimes, if you're going to make a mistake, make it a big one, embarrassment aside.

I'll share two snippets from the book.
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1. The Worst Moment for a Crime

Choosing the right moment is vitally important in any crime. Mr David Goodall of Barnsley, for example, set off in January 1979 to do a little bit of shoplifting. Once inside the Barnsley branch of British Home Stores, he had hardly stolen his first item when he was simultaneously seized by eight pairs of hands. The shop was holding a convention of store detectives at the time.

2. The Least Successful Equal-Pay Advertisement

In 1976, the European Economic Community pointed out to the Irish government that it had not yet implemented the agreed sex-equality legislation. The Dublin government immediately advertised for an equal-pay enforcement officer. The advertisement offered different salary scales for men and women.
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On 30 March 2020, the Women's Development Department, an agency under the Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga Dan Masyarakat (a ministry I won't attempt to translate into English) published four (4) public advisory posters on their Facebook page. Each poster carried different tips on ways to improve family relationship during the Movement Control Order restriction. The posters immediately came under heavy fire from various sections of the community for being sexist and disrespectful to the role of women in the household. This prompted the head of the department to issue a formal apology and the posters were withdrawn the very next day. Even the apology was criticized for having a condescending tone.

In light of what happened, I felt that Mr Pile's book is somewhat relevant. I would like to suggest to the person/team from KPWKM who produced those posters to try get hold of this book (or any of the other Heroic Failure books) so that you may be relieved to know that you are not alone in making blunders. Your posters (although now retracted) are being quoted by many media channels over the world.

But what is past, is past. Take some time to chill and re-group. Come back with a better and knockout campaign to redeem yourself. Malaysia Boleh!

Poster No.1 : Work from home... but dress-up too

One local destination a month (2nd edition) - Part 2 : Kelip-kelip Sungai Cherating, Kuantan

Our visit to Kuantan was made in early February. At that time, the coronavirus issue was not yet pandemic. The daily numbers for new infections were still in single digits and life was pretty much normal. We still traveled to a few places in the weeks before the Movement Control Order came into force. I do have a post in hand for Part 3 of this series but anything after that is uncertain.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we drove up to Kuantan to attend the wedding reception of the son of a former teacher. Cikgu Hussain was a history teacher at MRSM Kuantan in the late '70s. I did not take history as an elective subject so, strictly speaking, I was not his student. But Cikgu Hussain was also a warden, so that makes all of us who stay at the hostel as his responsibility too. He was a very firm but cordial warden. Very well-liked and respected by most students, even the naughty ones. This is demonstrated by the large number of former students who made the effort to fulfill his invitation.

In planning for the trip to Kuantan, I decided to include a visit to the firefly conservation area at Cherating. My blogger friend, Jehan Bakar had posted about it on her Facebook page a few times. I sent her a whatsapp message asking if it was a good time to take the boat trip up Sungai Cherating. She promptly replied that is was okay and offered to make the advance booking for me since she personally knows the tour operator.

Kelip-kelip Sungai Cherating is located about 35km north of Kuantan town, on the coastal road to Kemaman, Terengganu. I've traveled on this road many times during the years I worked at a water treatment plant project in Dungun. I never knew that there was a firefly conservation area at Sungai Cherating. I had never been on a boat trip to watch fireflies before. Now is a good time as any.

From our hotel in Balok, we took a leisurely drive towards Cherating and reached the jetty a few minutes before 7pm. After registering and paying for our tickets, we were asked to wait in the briefing room. The tour is run by a gentleman named Hafiz who gave an introduction of the particular species of firefly that has made the mangrove banks of Sg Cherating as their habitat. There are thousands of firefly species in the world, he says, but the one found here is unique to the area. A Japanese researcher has identified the species as pteroptyx bearni. They are the non-synchronous type, meaning that they don't flash their lights in tandem. As a comparison, the fireflies at Kuala Selangor are the synchronous type. He told us that he would be calling the bugs to fly down from the trees towards us in the boat. It is a skill he has mastered after years of observation and study. The bugs are of the size smaller than a housefly but larger than a mosquito. His final request to us before we headed for the boats was not to catch (or kill) any firefly and not take photographs. Just enjoy the experience.

It was a cloudless night that evening. Thousands of stars were brightly shining in the sky. Since my knowledge of astronomy is practically nil, I could not name any. But I enjoyed the sight nonetheless.  The moon was nearly full and it was quite bright. Hafiz assured us that the brightness would not hamper our sight of the fireflies.

The tide was rising and the current was coming in swiftly from the sea. The high water level meant that the overhanging branches of the mangroves were very close to the water's surface. The boat traveled upriver for about an hour or so. At certain locations, Hafiz would slow down the boat and indicate to us where some of the fireflies are congregating. Right side at about 3 o'clock. Or on your left, 10 o'clock about 2 meters above the water. Here and there he would call out such directions.

Af first, we couldn't see anything. Then Hafiz would flash a pocket-light while lovingly calling upon the bugs as if they were his sweethearts. The tree branches would suddenly glow with hundreds of tiny pinpricks of light. These lights would then fly down towards the boat passengers who mostly watched in awe. I don't exactly know how Hafiz does it; the pocket-light could have been of a specific wavelength or he could have flashed it in a certain sequence. What he mentioned in the briefing about his skill was there for us to see.

Some of the bugs would land on us, seemingly unafraid. I managed to guide one into my hands which were cupped so as to create a dark hollow. Indeed it was a tiny creature and magical too. After watching it beam out a few pulses, I let it go and watch it fly back to the trees.

It was truly an experience to remember. Nature and its beauty.

The only drawback throughout the tour that I can think of is that we could not remain stationary at any one spot with the boat engine switched off for too long because of the fast-moving current. To experience the scene in relative quiet of the night would have been perfect.

Kelip-kelip is the Malay name for firefly. Visited on 08 February 2020

Sungai Cherating upstream view before dusk

Briefing room is reasonably sized and has information posters

En. Hafiz conducting the briefing prior to the boat tour

MCO Day7

We are into the 7th Day of the Movement Control Order, imposed by the government in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. Another week to go, provided that the restriction order is not extended. It looks to me that a further extension of the lockdown is very likely because the rate of new infected cases is still on the rise.

I've found that the best representation of the Covid-19 infection curve is given by Bernama. Yesterday 23 March 2020 saw the highest single-day increase since the first discovery on 25 January 2020. There were 212 new cases, bringing the total to 1,518 persons to date. The so-called 'flattening of the curve' has not yet happened.

Infographic from  Bernama

After two consecutive days of being totally at home, I had to pop out to the supermarket because our grocery stock has run low. This time I drove alone to AEON Mall at Bandar Dato' Onn, about 15 minutes from where I live. As expected, the traffic on the roads is very light, surreal even. The open-air car park at the mall was perhaps only a quarter full. AEON had designated only a single entrance and a separate exit. At the entrance, a security guard used a thermometer to scan my temperature while another squirted hand sanitizer before allowing me to stand in line. The floor is marked with tape at regular intervals to designate the distancing requirement as advised by the health authorities. AEON controls the number of people in their store by allowing some to enter only after the corresponding number has left. Generally, most shoppers came alone and went about their business in a calm and quiet manner. No standing close to each other or clambering for stuff on the shelves. I could be having a bad BO problem and nobody would notice, hehehe. Most edible items on the shelves are adequately stocked. Only fresh eggs seem to be sold out.

In line with the government directives, only the supermarket section is open. The general merchandise sections plus all the other tenants are closed. Overall, I believe that we Malaysians are a well-mannered and compliant lot. Of course, there are few jerks who are too stubborn for their own good. God may have created all men as equals but unfortunately, some chose to be stupid on their own accord.

Take care everyone. Covid-19 is now a worldwide problem. It has become more difficult to name a country that has not been affected by it compared to those that have.

Standing in line before being allowed in

Update 25.03.2020 @ 3.00pm : The MCO is extended by another 2 weeks to 14 April 2020.

After Day 1 of Movement Control Order (MCO)

In the previous post two days ago, I mentioned my intention to drop by Larkin Sentral Market on the first day of the MCO. I changed that decision. Instead of going to the largest wet market in Johor Bahru, we went to Mydin Hypermarket at Taman Rinting to see if the situation is different from our experience at Tesco.

Before I describe the situation at Mydin, let me first briefly recap my Day 1 MCO :

1. Our youngest son safely arrived home around 4.00 am after driving from Shah Alam. He was previously working at a restaurant and had resigned before the government announced the partial lockdown. I was slightly worried that he might face problems in getting home due to the inter-state movement restriction.

2. A message came in my MRSM Kuantan alumni whatsapp group confirming that one of our friends has been infected with the coronavirus. He was part of the group we call Kuatagh Pioneers (the first batch of students enrolled at MRSM Kuantan) who held a reunion at Jakarta the weekend before. Among those who attended the reunion were some former teachers. The implications of this bit of worrying news are still being contemplated. Nonetheless, my prayers for the infected senior and that no other participants of that event had been affected.

3. My wife and I went to do some grocery shopping at Mydin Mall in Taman Rinting. There was very little traffic on the road, indicating that the MCO does have some effect. The situation at the hypermarket was calm and orderly. Apart from the hypermarket itself, the other tenants within the mall were closed. A few stalls in the foodcourt were in business but only for takeaways. The number of shoppers, I would say, is about average on a normal weekend. The hypermarket was well-stocked. There were no empty shelves although some essential items have a purchase limit for each customer. I did not see any shopper hoard stuff into his trolley. Overall, I applaud the Mydin chain for managing their business quite well in these trying times.

4. On the way home, we stopped by one of our regular restaurants that sells nasi campur. They had a large array of pre-cooked lauk pauk, all for sale on takeaway basis only. I was happy that they were open for business because, judging from the number of customers, they are providing a much-needed service too.

Another 13 days to go unless the Prime Minister decides an extension is required if the outbreak does not reverse its upward trend. Let's hope and pray that this pandemic ends soon.

Enough toilet rolls at Mydin for everyone

Panic buying

Yesterday 16 March 2020, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced a Movement Control Order that is intended to curb the Covid-19 virus outbreak. The Order would be effective tomorrow 18 March 2020 and last up to 31 March 2020.

I do not intend to go into details of the restrictions contained in the order. Just to note that it did spark a spree of panic buying among some citizens in this country. While the government has gone to great lengths to assure the people not to panic (provision stores and markets would be allowed to operate), there is no way to prevent certain segments of the community from hoarding stuff as if the world is about to end. In some ways, that is understandable. For the majority of Malaysians, it is a situation they have never faced before. Uncharted waters. Unknown territory, We are human beings after all... we fear the unknown.

Earlier today I decided to drop by a local supermarket to see the situation for myself. I chose to go to Tesco at Setia Tropika which is actually not our normal place to shop for groceries. I thought that maybe this relatively smaller supermarket would not be a target for hoarders. How wrong I was.

The rows and rows of empty shelves were quite astonishing. Many of the essential items are sold out. Tesco had run out of stocks to replenish.

I picked up the few items I need that are still available. At the checkout counter, I asked the cashier when the panic buying happened. She said that it was yesterday evening. It was crazy.

Well, the actual 2-week restriction period will start tomorrow. I'll probably make a quick trip to Larkin wet market to see if there are some people still in panic mode.

Fresh vegetable section

Canned food

Total wipeout of toilet rolls. Only kitchen towels left

Just a few bags of rice remain

Frozen foodstuff all but gone

Online impostor

Social media can both be a boon or a bane. Very useful at most times but can be dangerous too.

A few days ago, I received an early morning whatsapp message from a friend. He's checking to see if I had actually sent him a Facebook Messenger request to connect. I quickly replied that it was not me and thanked him for letting me know.

I then went to my Facebook account to put up a status informing friends that my account has possibly been cloned and for them not to respond to any message from this fake account. A few minutes after that status update, some friends replied that indeed, they had received message request from someone suspicious. I then did a Facebook search on my own profile and true enough, there was another account using my name and photo but without any personal details. It was created about 12 hours earlier.

I made a report to Facebook about this fake account and my report was acknowledged by them via email. The next day, I did a similar search and found out that the fake profile is no longer there.

What do such impostors do with these clone accounts? From the feedback that I got from friends who had been similarly cloned, one trick that these impostors use is to send messages to other friends on our list with request or appeal for financial aid. Some trusting friends would mistakenly think that we are actually in need of such help and therefore would send the money.

Anyway, it was a good thing I managed to act quickly. I again sent a whatsapp message to the friend who gave me the heads-up. It's good to know that I have friends who check up on me once in a while.

Whatsapp and Facebook. Two social media platforms that I depend too much on.

Screen capture of the impostor's attempt to connect with a friend

One local destination a month (2nd edition) - Part 1 : Tikam Batu, Kedah

Once in a while, I take the rural roads rather than the highways when traveling. This is especially true if I'm in no particular hurry and have no fixed duration to reach my destination. In such instances, I would be on the lookout for interesting places to stop.

We were in Penang in early January to visit our besan (my daughter-in-law's parents). While up north, I decided to make the short trip to Sungai Petani in Kedah to visit an old friend whom I've not seen since our student days in the UK. This friend is recovering from some ailments and had been out of work for a number of years. I had actually visited him a few years earlier but at that time, he was in the CCU of Sungai Petani Hospital so I did not actually manage to speak to him at all.

From Penang island, we took the ferry across to Butterworth. I decided to head on to Sungai Petani on the old Federal Route 1. The main objective was to make a stop to see a rice harvester machine that is being used as a prop next to the welcome signage at the Kedah border.

Mesin Padi Tikam Batu is located just after Merdeka Bridge that spans across Sungai Muda. This river forms the border between mainland Penang and Kedah.

According to media reports, the rice harvester and signage was erected by Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani in February 2019. It is quite a novel idea and I appreciate the council for making the effort. The location is perfect, with wide paddy fields in the background. Although not quite a tourist destination, I hope the council would maintain it well.

I stopped by the location only for a few minutes and regretted not looking at the machine in detail. I would have loved to know the manufacturer and specifications, even though the harvester could be just a mock-up. Online searches have not yielded any details.

Welcome to Kedah, the premier rice-growing region in Malaysia. Visited on 02 January 2020

Rice Harvester