Laras Bahasa Ekonomi orang Akademik dan orang Politik Berbeza

Mohammad Agus Yusoff

Mulai 3 September 2013, harga petrol RON 95 dinaikkan sebanyak 20 sen dan harga minyak diesel pula dinaikkan sebanyak 20 sen. PM menyatakan kenaikan harga petrol tersebut adalah untuk mengelakkan masalah kepada kedudukan kewangan negara. Kata PM: "Ini mungkin akan jadi bebanan sikit kepada rakyat, tetapi kalau kedudukan kewangan (negara) keseluruhan terjejas, ia akan merosakkan seluruh negara." 

Saya tidak segera mengulas kenaikan harga minyak tersebut kerana mahu melupakan sementara hal-hal negara untuk memberi tumpuan kepada tugasan akademik yang banyak tertangguh. Namun, apabila kelmarin Timbalan Menteri (TM) Kewangan menyatakan harga minyak Malaysia adalah yang kelapan termurah di dunia selepas Venezuela, Arab Saudi, Kuwait, Mesir, UAE, Iran dan Nigeria, hati saya segera terpanggil untuk memberikan sedikit ulasan. Ini kerana jiwa saya menolak pemberian fakta yang tidak tepat dan kenyataan yang menafikan intelek rakyat. 

Jika setakat tujuh negara di atas, apakah kita hendak menafikan fakta bahawasanya harga minyak petrol di Brunei, Qatar, Bahrain, Algeria, Sudan, Libya dan Oman adalah lebih murah dari Malaysia? Kenapa TM Kewangan tidak menyatakan juga harga minyak di negara tersebut? Mengapa memberikan hujah yang salah atau berhujah dengan menyembunyikan fakta yang nyata? 

Bagi membuktikan harga minyak di Malaysia adalah kelapan termurah di dunia, maka TM Kewangan pun mengumumkan harga RON 95 dan diesel di negara jiran kita. Antaranya ialah Thailand RM4.74 dan RM3.06, Singapura (RM5.56 dan RM4.32), Indonesia (RM3.05 dan RM3.43) dan Filipina (RM5.44 dan RM4.32). Kenapa kita bandingkan dengan negara kita yang tidak ada minyak ata sedikit sumber petroleumnya? Kenapa tidak kita bandingkan dengan harga minyak petrol di Brunei, UAE, Libya, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman dan lainnya yang harga minyak mereka jauh lebih murah daripada negara kita? Inilah yang saya katakan sebagai kenyataan yang menyembunyikan fakta untuk mengelirukan rakyat, jikapun tidak untuk membodohkan rakyat. 

Untuk pengetahuan TM Kewangan, dalam konteks harga barangan ini, ada aspek yang kita boleh bandingkan dengan negara lain dan ada perkara yang kita tidak boleh bandingkan dengan negara lain. Misalnya, kenapa tidak kita bandingkan harga kereta di Malaysia dengan di Singapura atau Indonesia? Di Indonesia misalnya, jika setakat kereta Toyota Vios, mereka buat teksi sahaja. Jika di Finland dan Sweden, teksi mereka semuanya terdiri dari kereta mewah—lebih dari separuh teksi mereka menggunakan kereta Mercedes dan selebihnya BMW, Audi dan Volkswagen. 

Itu belum lagi kita bincangkan tentang harga rumah. Dengan kos harga rumah kita yang ‘over priced’ dan kenaikannya tidak terkawal, apakah harga rumah di negara kita masih yang termurah di dunia? Begitu juga dengan hutang isi rumah rakyat di negara kita. Data menunjukkan lebih enam juta isi rumah rakyat di negara ini kini menanggung hutang berjumlah RM653 bilion. Secara purata, ini bermakna setiap isi rumah di negara ini tidak kira pangkat, status dan usia mempunyai hutang kira-kira RM108,000 seorang. 

Kadar hutang ini adalah amat membimbangkan, apatah lagi peningkatan nisbah hutang isi rumah Malaysia kepada Keluaran Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK) meningkat setiap tahun dari 63.9% pada tahun 2008 kepada 76.6% tahun 2009, 75.8% tahun 2010, 76.6% tahun 2011 dan 80.5% pada tahun 2012. Rekod terkini hutang isi rumah Malaysia untuk tahun 2013 berada pada kadar 83.0% dari KDNK yang menyebabkan amaran untuk berwaspada daripada penganalisis kewangan di rantau ini.

Melihat kepada data hutang isi rumah di atas, apakah kita hendak menyatakan kadar hutang isi rumah rakyat di negara kita adalah antara kelapan terendah di dunia atau harga kereta dan rumah kita juga antara terendah di dunia? Saya berhujah begini untuk menunjukkan saya menolak data tidak masuk akal yang diberikan oleh TM Kewangan kita tentang harga minyak kita yang kelapan termurah di dunia. 

Saya juga tertarik dengan alasan yang diberikan oleh TM Kewangan yang menyatakan kenaikan harga minyak adalah untuk membolehkan kerajaan memberikan BRIM kepada rakyat. Katanya: "Bantuan subsidi seharusnya disalurkan kepada yang benar-benar memerlukan dan melalui pemotongan subsidi (kenaikan harga petrol) ini kerajaan kemudian menyalurkan Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) untuk rakyat yang berpendapatan rendah." 

Saya tidak faham kaitan antara kenaikan harga minyak dengan bantuan BRIM yang diberi oleh kerajaan kepada rakyat. Pemberian BR1M ini untuk apa? Sebagai umpan untuk menggula-gulakan rakyat atau benar-benar untuk menolong rakyat? Jika untuk menolong rakyat miskin, kenapa pula BR1M yang diberikan itu diambil semula dalam bentuk menaikkan harga minyak petrol? Tidakkah kerajaan sedar dengan kenaikan harga petrol ini, BRIM yang diberikan kepada rakyat tidak dapat menampung beban kehidupan mereka kerana kenaikan harga petrol tersebut tentulah datangnya bersama dengan kenaikan kos hidup dan kos barangan keperluan harian? Tidakkah ini tidak boleh difikirkan oleh kerajaan?

Oleh sebab itulah, saya menolak kenyataan TM Kewangan ini sebab hujahnya tidak tepat dan hujah inilah yang sentiasa diberikan secara berulang-ulang setiap kali harga minyak naik. Carilah alasan yang boleh diterima umum seperti demi kesihatan ekonomi negara, bagi mengurangkan defisit fiskal, kita terbeban dengan hutang luar, bagi faedah ekonomi negara jangka masa panjang, bagi mengurangkan jumlah subsidi kerajaan yang semakin meningkat, akibat kenaikan harga minyak di pasaran dunia ataupun sebahagian daripada proses rasionalisasi bagi membantu menstabilkan ekonomi negara.

Jikapun hendak memberikan analisis perbandingan dengan negara lain, berilah analisis perbandingan yang sesuai, bukannya untuk sesuaikan data dengan keperluan dan hujah kita. Analisis akademik menuntut kejujuran kita memberikan data yang tepat. Begitulah!

.................


Orang akademik bercakap tanpa tekanan.  Orang politik kadang-kadang ada banyak pertimbangan khususnya dalam politik dan perjuangan mereka.

Evolusi Lukis SR/HD

Berikut adalah gambar-gambar my daughter usahakan pada peringkat awal mengenal software Sketchbook :

Yang di bawah ni yang paling latest :

Dengan medium tradisi pon jadi lagu ni :

Tak Mungkin Pendeknya Barisan Sebagai Penentu Masa Hadapan

Kenapa PUBLISHING?

Sudah hampir 14 tahun aku meninggalkan Kajian Sebaran Am.  Aku yang masuk 3 tahun 6 bulan sebelum itu, telah mendapat satu jawapan baru kenapa aku pilih MC15 Publishing sebagai agenda belajar aku di sini. Secara kesimpulan aku dapat banyak perkara baru sepanjang jadi budak Masscomm dan budak Pub.  Macam-macam lah mereka itu mengonon aku akan MC15 ini.  Kursus baca doa makan dan macam-macam lagi yang didengar.

Selepas melalui kursus Pra Diploma selama 6 bulan dengan pengasuh dari Pusat Bahasa ITM, tibalah masa menjadi budak Part 01 dan masuk part 02 dah kena pilih kursus yang sesuai.  Pada masa itu Kajian Sebaran Am hanya offer 5 kursus sahaja. Public Relations, Journalism, Broadcasting, Advertising dan Publishing.  Kalau ikut sejarah Publishing paling bongsu.  Kalau tak silap tahun 1990.

Pada hari yang ditunggu-tunggu dengan mind set perbincangan yang tak bertepi dari malam tadi. Malam tadi di Seksyen 2 hingga di bucu katil double decker Perindu. 

"Ok ok aku amik Broad. (biasa la kawan ramai nak ambil yang itu. Senang nak study group. Kononn) "

Aku dah lupa kat level 13 atau 12 proses pemilihan kursus tu berlaku.  Aku minat dengan lokasi level 12 lagi. Sapa boleh confirm kan?  Setelah gembira mengukur jalan dari Perindu via CK ke sekolah SS sampailah ke bilik yang dituju.  Dah ramai daaaah. apa yang seronok datang awal pun entahlah.  Semua akan dapat masuk kursus juga.  Cuma ada sikit-sikit angin kalau kouta dah penuh, tak boleh join kursus yang kita nak.  Tak pa, ukur jalan melalui sekolah SS adalah lebih menarik.  Merka sesaja.

Balik kisah dalam bilik, dah panjang baris di laluan Journalism, Broadcasting, dengan Advertising. Steady hanya di Public Relations dan Publishing  aja nih.  Tapi berbalik kepada perenggan di atas, dah bulat hati nak masuk Broadcast. Baris juga.  Belakang Mamat Sarizal kalau tak salah aku sebab dari tadi aku tengah fikir aku berjalan dengan siapa semasa mengukur jalan ke sekolah SS tadi,  Mamat Sarizal rasanya rakan ukur jalan hari tu.  Punya la ramai kat line Broadcast ni.  Bosan pulak tunggu.  Hati menjadi ayer kosong dah. Tawar hebiar kelakunya.  

Bila dipandang-pandang di sudut hujung, aku tengok lambaian Zaili dan Bob semakin kuat menarik ke sana.  Hmmm.. best juga masuk kursus yang line tak panjang ni.  

The rest is history. Tapi aku cherish semua pengalaman, suka suki pahit payau dan aku apply setakat boleh apa yang dibelajar di sana.  Now dah new media dan aku stucked di blog ini.

Pusaka Kajian Sebaran Am

4 Hari 3 Malam

Saya ingin mencadangkan agar semua sektor mengubah waktu bekerja dari 5 hari bekerja kepada 4 hari bekerja dan 3 hari hujung minggu berdasarkan justifikasi berikut:

a) Memberi ruang kepada penganut agama Islam untuk ke masjid awal sedikit pada hari Jumaat dan penganut Kristian ke Gereja pada hari Ahad.

b) Work Life Balance. 5 - 2 tak berapa balance kan? Sekurangnya - kurangnya 4 - 3 agak balance.

c) Less travelling, less pollution. Less carbon released, less electricity used in offices.

d) Memberi peluang kepada lebih peluang percutian. Boosting local tourism. (Biasanya 3 hari orang cuti di Malaysia sahaja).

e) More shopping time. Boosting local economy.

f) Memberi peluang untuk orang mengutamakan perkara lain selain bekerja seperti berehat, beriadah, beribadah dan sebagainya. Important for mental sanity.

g) Kalau perlu, tambahlah 2 jam every day from Monday to Thursday. Tapi perlukah?

h) Memberi ruang untuk orang lain membuat aktiviti masyarakat. Too much emphasize given to office work. Community work is equally important.

i) Orang Sales pun untung. Walaupun mereka tak dapat cuti, tetapi more days off, diaorang boleh jumpa client during their off day.

j) Lebih banyak orang travel atas jalanraya KL, lebih pemarah jadinya mereka. So a day off boleh soothkan.

k) Boleh exercise. Sekarang tak cukup masa. (hahaha)

l) All extra unfinished work boleh buat kat rumah sebenarnya. We have the technology. Even now pun, some of us brings our work back home and do it on the weekend. Well, at least, we are HOME.

m) Happy worker is more productive. That's fact. Where did i get that fact from? I dont know, it must be somewhere. Mesti dah ramai orang buat research on this. Go and find it if you want. At least i know i am more productive when i am happy.

n) Performance should always be based on output and not hours input. There is no point putting hours but without input. Waste electricity.

o)Seriously, is life all about work? Kita bekerja untuk hidup ke atau hidup untuk bekerja?

p) Feel free to add your justifications.




Posting ini aku ambil dari FB azmil.abrar

Minda Celaru : Kg Semarah Padi

Mula-mula aku nak ucap tahniah kepada Melissa Saila and the gang kerana berjaya mereka satu cereka yang sangat sempoi.  Pertama kali dilayar tvkan pada Hari Raya Pertama 2012 yang lalu.  Baru-baru ini  ada rerun di saluran yang sama. 

Bayangkan kalau satu opis disumpah marah marah selama setahun.  Mau meriah seluruh opis dengan suara-suara tinggi walauon ngajak teman seopis minum kopi.  " JOMLA!!!! MINUM KOPI!!!"  Cool...

Kisah secara mudah apabila Musalmah yang memakan cempedak Tok Pengulu Siak, ditangkap dan dihukum bunuh. Akibat rayuan demi rayuan tidak diendahkan maka Musalmah menyumpah seluruh penduduk kampung Semarah Padi sentiasa marah-marah dalam kehidupan harian mereka.  Musalmah baran sebab beliau asyik kena marah dari ditangkap sehingga ke tepi pantai.  Kisah ini dikiaskan pada hari Jumaat 4 Safar 1300 hijrah / 15 Disember 1882 sehingga 20 tahun selepas itu.

Muzik latar seperti kisah-kisah filem 50an.  Paling hebat lakonan ialah dari Shiela Mambo.  Ngam betoi suara dan marahnya.  Build up karekter mula dimakan sumpah adalah seperti klip ini.



Hanya satu bahasa asing dituturkan sepanjang kisah ini - shortcut.  Itu pun rasanya pengarah melepaskan scene berkenaan untuk penonton.

Alvin Tan : 8 REASONS WHY LIVING IN MALAYSIA BEATS LIVING IN SINGAPORE

Having lived in Malaysia and Singapore for at least 7 years each, I thought that I would pen down some glaring differences between the two living environments:

1. Freedom and Lawlessness

Law enforcers are not only lax in Malaysia but also easily swayed with money, so you can avoid them most of the time and pay them off, should you get confronted with them. This situation basically means that the law does not apply to you, as long as you have enough money, which relegates the law to nothing more than a mere cost of living.

I value freedom a whole damn lot; there is no amount of security and comfort that I would trade for a high level of freedom: the freedom to speed, park illegally, litter, trespass, indulge in anti-social behaviour, etc. Freedom is crucial for happiness, period. Of course, the lack of law enforcement also means that your own rights may be compromised, but complaining about that is just being overly-dependent on the government to secure your own well-being.

Crimes and infringement of our rights in general only happen because we lack skills of self-perpetuation, such as negotiation, situational awareness, and street-smartness. The correct way to address the problem is to develop self-preservation skills, not cry to the government for protection. You will be a stronger person as well, and more like an independent, hardened adult, not like little children in a school who go reporting to authority anytime anything small happens. Take the law into your own hands.

2. Cost of Living

Relative to the average wages of both countries, the cost of living in both countries is high. However, given how strong the Singapore Dollar is compared to the Malaysian Ringgit, Malaysia works out to be much cheaper, if you can put yourself in a situation to earn foreign currency regardless of where you live. In other words, if you can earn US Dollars or Euros either in Malaysia or Singapore (e.g. by owning a software company serving international customers), Malaysia will feel like heaven for you. Malaysia has a lot of bullshit going on, but consider the fact that the cost of living in Singapore is not 20% or 30% higher; it is 200% or 300% higher than that in Malaysia.

There are also peculiar costs in Singapore that make no sense: S$500,000 99-year leasehold shoeboxes in the air and S$80,000 license to own a car (not the car itself), just to name a few. A very important fact of life is that you can truly own a house and car (no time limit whatsoever imposed by HDB or COEs) with literally less than RM100,000, or S$40,000. Anyone knows having a car at your disposal grants you an uncanny freedom that most public transport commuters can never understand.

3. Choice of Living Environments

The entire island of Singapore is the same shit over and over again: HDB flats, heartland hubs, private condominiums, shopping malls, office buildings, night spots, schools, and the occasional park/nature reserve/beach. If you hate that, tough luck, buddy. In Malaysia, if you are sick of the shitty traffic and rude people of Kuala Lumpur, move north or south to quieter suburban or outskirt areas. If you are sick of city life, move to one of the beach towns. If you are sick of the swelteringly-hot weather, go upwards and live in Fraser’s Hill or Cameron Highlands. Sometimes, the further you move away from your comfort zone, the more it feels like a different country altogether. Using the same logic, USA, Canada, and Australia should offer a greater choice of living environments than both Malaysia and Singapore combined.

4. Diversity

Diversity comes from within, but, if we define diversity as the observable differences among people and things, Malaysia is more diverse than Singapore, and it is the little things that make the most difference. For instance, Chinese, Malay, and Indian dialects actually survive in Malaysia (not just Mandarin, Standard Malay, and Tamil), depending on which part of Malaysia you go to. There are definitely more things to do than shopping, working/studying, and food-hunting in Malaysia. You can even send your children to different types of schools: vernacular schools, independent schools, private schools, home-schooling, real specialised technical schools (none of that “ITE” umbrella nonsense), or, hell, even the School of Hard Knocks, since Malaysia is not exactly a safe playground for kids.

Malaysia is more interesting, less monotonous, and interesting environments tend to produce interesting people. People who have lived in Malaysia and then went on to live in Singapore for an extended period of time eventually become more one-dimensional in their personalities over time, and vice-versa.

5. Living vs. Surviving

Both people in Malaysia and Singapore live hectic, fast-paced lives, at least if you compare the urban areas of both countries. In Singapore, almost everything is done for the money: doing well in school, doing well in the workplace, not driving out during certain hours of the day, and even marriage and child birth (since you get to buy HDB flats and get baby bonuses for getting married and having children, respectively). You know something is wrong with a country when the government has to pay its people to have sex and bang each other. People in Singapore are too busy surviving to actually live. It takes a lot of effort to even have a low standard of living in Singapore.

In Malaysia, if you are lucky enough to inherit a small home and pay off a motorcycle early on in your life, you can literally grow your own crops, hunt, or fish and survive day by day. A lot of villagers do just that. In Singapore, if you ask people to name two things that they do regularly outside of work/school that they consider hobbies, you would get a lot of blank faces. They are too busy working and studying to have free time to even pamper themselves by doing things they like or even think about their actual dreams (that would be too audacious). The sad irony is that a lot of people in Malaysia work less and play more and still make way more money or do better in their academic pursuits.

6. Empirical Happiness

Both people in Malaysia and Singapore have to put with an awful amount of bullshit. In Singapore, you have semi-competent yet greedy politicians in charge, making life a living hell for everyone with price hikes, non-sensible immigration policies, and even more new laws to curb personal freedoms or scare people into voluntarily surrendering their freedoms (CPF withdrawal age, anyone?). In Malaysia, we have lazy, blood-sucking, idiotic, racist politicians with no sense of good governance whatsoever, hopelessly-inefficient everything (bureaucracy, legal system, public transportation, education), and a lot of social crime. Empirically, however, people are complaining less and smiling/laughing/joking more in Malaysia.

People in Malaysia also commit suicide not as often as people in Singapore. People walk slower in Malaysia, and you can even see people sitting down in coffee shops for literally the whole day just chatting happily away in Malaysia. My personal experience also revealed that it is much easier building rapport with a stranger in Malaysia than in Singapore (in Malaysia, just call the other person “boss” or “bro” or “leng lui” for starters; you cannot do that to strangers in Singapore – they are too damn stuck-up). In short, people in Malaysia have not forgotten how to relax and take things easy. Try going out one day in Orchard Road and in 1 Utama Shopping Centre, look at the first 100 faces that you come across, and then compare the proportion of smiling faces, and you will feel what I feel.

7. Social Discrimination

Malaysia is known for its xenophobia and racism, no doubt, but so is Singapore – to a larger extent. In Singapore, you get discriminated for virtually anything: for being Malay/Indian (jobs with Mandarin literacy as a prerequisite), for being a neighbourhood school student (scholarship applications), for being an academically-weak student (Special/Express/Normal streams), for being a fat student (TAF Club), for being an able-bodied Singaporean male (National Service), for being a local tourist (Singaporean casinos), for being an MOE foreign scholar (the Sun Xu incident), etc. “Meritocracy” my ass.

8. The Focus on Numbers

Singapore is all about the numbers and only the numbers: GPA, CAP, L1R5, PSLE T-Score, GDP growth rate, GDP per capita, median income, net worth, crime rates, and even IPPT timings. People in Singapore are not bothered by anything that cannot be measured by a number: creativity, music/art, quality of life, and happiness (fuck the happiness index crap). It is a sick, toxic culture; people who do not perform well in these numbers are treated like dirt. I have personally received the better end of Singapore’s brand of favouritism in secondary school, and I felt sick to the core. If kindness from others to me is driven by admiration of my CAP/L1R5/whatever useless number, you can stick that kindness straight up your ass.

The only reason that Malaysians would choose to work and live in Singapore is the higher wages across the causeway. Their modus operandi has always been to work long enough there to save enough Singapore Dollars, and then come back to spend the money like a king. We already have our own clean, green, efficient, and economically-successful (and, hell, even Chinese-dominated) island-state; it is called Penang. What do you think about living in Malaysia as compared to living in Singapore?

ALVIN TAN JYE YEE

The above is taken from a note from the author’s Facebook. A third year undergraduate in Law in NUS, Alvin Tan caused a stir lately by posting photos and videos of him having sex with his girlfriend on his personal blog.

Ini yang kita nak baca.  Blogger dengan Fanpage @ FB sebok je dengan nak highlight perbuatan derang tu.  Yaaaa... memang immoral buat perangai tetapi kita dalam FB/Blog etc etc, memaki hamun, mengata semua orang tak betoi tadak sapa nak nasihat dan highlight ke?  My ass jugaklah!

The government cannot regulate love

A young Singapore man has appealed publicly to Minister in Prime Minister Office Grace Fu during a townhall meeting recently to stop foreign men from ‘stealing’ Singaporean women from local men.

During the Q&A session, he complained that Singapore men are losing out in the race to the altar because local women are increasingly favoring foreign men.

His complaint drew a round of laughter from the audience, but he silenced them with a glaring look:

“I think we shouldn’t laugh. It is an important problem and we need to solve it,” he thundered.

He added that foreign men tend to enjoy higher pay and better perks which give them an unfair advantage in the competition for Singaporean women’s heart.

Unfortunately, there is nothing the government can do about this, he was told.

“The government cannot regulate love,” Ms Fu said.

How desperate...

Kekekeh.. I think this young chap is so desperate to find a girlfriend. He could be successful in his career but his career to woo flirt women memang ke laut lah.  Nak mencari pasangan hidup pun kena minta tolong kerajaan ker? Oh kemonlah!

A bull name - Megatron (Manso)

'Megatron' bull fetches top price

Posted Wed Oct 3, 2012 8:09am AEST (ABC NEWS)

A bull named FBC Megatron Manso has sold for a top price of $60,000 at this year's Brahman Week bull sale in Rockhampton in central Queensland.

It is the largest bull sale in Australia and has attracted more than 200 vendors from around Australia.

Will Fenech from Fenech Brahmans at Craigleigh, near Wowan, south-west of Rockhampton, says it is bitter sweet to see his bull fetch the top price.

"We took him to [the] Marlborough Brahman Feature show and he won grand champion there and supreme interbreed," he said.

"He did really well at Beef Week.

"We would've loved to have kept the bull but we had a lot of interest in him, so we decided to sell but we kept a semen share."

Mr Fenech says he was surprised his bull sold for the top price.

"He's an IVF embryo - we've sold three half brothers to him, two other $60,000 bulls and another [for $35,000]," he said.

"My daughter broke him in February last year and she showed him at junior beef last year and a lot of people have watched this bull in progress with his growing pattern."

The sale wraps up today.

- steady Mr Will Fenech. What a breed kekeh...kehkeh... $60,000/7 = $8571.50 ( RM 21,428.60*/ 1 bahagian) Kalau nak buat korbanlah.

*AUSD 1 = RM 2.45

TEMASEK TIADA TELUR ITIK

WHY DUCKS EGGS ARE NOT SOLD IN SINGAPORE

Duck eggs were once used to cook familiar local favourites such as char kuay teow, carrot cake and oyster omelette. Owner of Hill Street char kuay teow, Mr Ng Chang Siang who had previously used duck eggs in his recipe says his customers prefer it as it has a richer taste and gives it a more ‘nian’ (sticky) texture.

But as prices of duck eggs became more expensive and supply turned scarce, he like many of his peers, resorted to cheaper chicken eggs over the years.

The reason for this price difference, says Mr Ong Siew Pang, former Chairman of the Kheng Keow Coffee Merchants Restaurant & Bar-Owners Association, dates back to the eggs’ origin around the 60s. Mr Ong explains that in the past, most fresh duck eggs were imported from Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, there was a shortage of duck eggs which then led to a price hike. As a result, many hawkers that were originally using fresh duck eggs in their recipe substituted them with chicken eggs.

Another reason for its unavailability here is because no approval has been granted to any supplier for the import and sale of fresh duck eggs in Singapore, according to egg supplier Mr Tan Kian Soon of Go Market. Mr Tan says the sale of fresh duck eggs in Singapore had already ceased way before he entered the business around 13 years ago.

When asked why, the Àgri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) replied that they “have not received any applications to export fresh duck eggs to Singapore”. AVA is the government body that regulates the import of food and has strict criteria for hygiene, and safety. All meat, meat products, eggs and egg products to be imported into Singapore have to come from sources approved by them.

Mr William Ho, owner of the Farmart Centre thinks that the reason why fresh duck eggs cannot be found in Singapore might be due to avian flu. He elaborates that duck farming requires both wet and dry lands for breeding. He thinks that this makes them more susceptible to water and air borne diseases and as well as avian flu. This makes it an uphill task for duck egg farms to get accredited.

“In open-duck farming, wild birds that may carry avian flu virus can come into contact with the farmed ducks. When this happens, the farm ducks will also contract the virus,” says Associate Professor Vincent Chow from the Department of Microbiology, National University of Singapore. There are two different kinds of duck farming: open duck farming (not enclosed) and closed system duck farming with proper biosecurity (enclosed, without contact with outside birds).

Prof Vincent adds that in general, ducks reared via the open-duck farming system are more susceptible to avian flu as compared to their close-farmed duck counterparts. Chicken egg farm is an example of closed system farming. However, he also says that once the ducks are infected with the influenza virus, they will fall very sick easily and eventually die. Hence, the chances of them producing the eventual diseased eggs are very low.

Yet there are no suppliers applying to be accredited with AVA as duck egg suppliers.

 Joanna Yeo & Sheere Ng

The Real Singapore

BOLEH UBAH DAN DATEH, DATAY, DAKPAN DAN DOPAN

gambar hiasan mata sahaja :

Ada siapa siapa ingat masa kita kecil-kecil dulu, yaitu tahun-tahun 70an dan 80an juga 90an akan memoriam masa pi mengaji Jahama (Juz 'Amma) atau Muqaddam dan juga mengaji Al-Quran?  Selain daripada main aci ligan seperti main tuju kasut, main police sentry, main aci sembunyi sehingga benar-benar disorok jin nakal atau pun main guli atau mata kucing?  Ada tak satu kalimat yang sangat membezakan darjat kita dengan kawan-kawan semasa mengaji?

Sebelum itu, suka jua aku perturunkan bagaimana guru-guru dulu mengajaq kami kenal huruf Al-Quran.  Berikut dipetik dari FB kawan aku hhheehe :

"Alif Dateh Aaa, Alif Bawah Eee, Alif Dopan Uuu..Aaa Eee Uuu..."

Bila jam tok guru panggil untuk checking baca ok ke tak, jam tu la yang paling leceh.  Ibarat amalan manusia penentu untuk meintas titian Sirat, ada kawan-kawan yang sekali jalan saja terus lancaq.  Ada yang kena ulang sampai tok guru bangun pi basuh muka.  Punya la benak ati ahahaha.  Gitulah manusia, ada yang mudah belajaq, ada yang payah boleh dan ada yang buat payah segala hal.

Bila kita dah tamat sesi depan tok guru, balik masok detail, mula la kawan2 kiri kanan tanya ;

" Hang BOLEH UBAH dak? "


Ok, aku nak tambah sedikit pasal "Alif Dateh Aaa, Alif Bawah Eee, Alif Dopan Uuu..Aaa Eee Uuu..."

Dari mana gamoknye datang kalimat 'Dateh' ni.  Ini kalimat ini tiada diejakan sebelum ini. Hanya tradisi lisan zaman berzaman.  Nyata sebutan di atas tu dari kawasan Negeri Sembilan dan sekitar. 'Dopan' tu mengesahkanlah heheh.

Kalau kawasan utara khususnya Perlis, Kedah, Pulau Pinang ada beza sikit nyebut kalimat ini :

"Alif Datay Aaa, Alif Bawah Eee, Alif Dakpan Uuu..Aaa Eee Uuu..."

Mudah cerita, bahawa ada sumber menyatakan ulama-ulama besar dari Pagar Ruyung yang membawa kaedah mengaji muqaddam ke Tanah Melayu.  akibat dari lidah Minangkabau yang tebal, maka penerimaan sebutan kalimat ini diterima secara tanpa bicara di kawasan Tanah Melayu selepas itu.  Namun, ada perubahan minor bergantung kepada daerah penutur.  Itu yang bunyi lain sikit di utara Tanah Melayu.

Nak mudah gini : 

Di Atas / Di Ataih (U) / Dateh (N) -asal 'Di Ateh'  / Datay (U - gaya laju heheh)

Di Hadapan / Depan / Dopan (N) / Dakpan (U )

Di Bawah - semua sama 

(N) - loghat Negeri Sembilan

Tempat lain lagu mana? Tak sempat nak beresearch sakan.  Just to share. 

Buku : Biografi Tokoh Rao

Kepada penggemar kisah sektoral manusia yang berbilang suku bangsa, boleh la membeli keluaran terbaru tulisan Zabidin Haji Ismail yang membincangkan sumbangan tokoh-tokoh suku Rao/Rawa di Malaysia.  Boleh didapatkan terus dari penulis pada masa ini.  Haaa kiranya special la sebab direct from the writer.

RM30 sahaja. Ilmu jangan disimpan. Nilai jangan dikira.

Berikut sedikit sinopsis buku ini :

Etnik Rao (Rawa) merupakan salah satu suku Melayu yang telah banyak menyumbangkan jasa dan kepakaran mereka kepada tamadun negara.  Etnik ini mula berhijrah dari Sumatera Barat, Indonesia ke negara ini semenjak kurun ke-5 Masihi kerana merantau dan berdagang. Tetapi apabila berlaku Perang Paderi 1816-1833 di Rao, ramai penduduknya melarikan diri ke Tanah Melayu kerana tidak tahan menghadapi keperitan hidup di bawah pemerintahan penjajah Belanda. Apatah lagi Rao jatuh ke tangan Belanda, pejuang dan pendekar perangnya diburu dan diseksa menyebabkan mereka meninggalkan tanah Rao mencari tempat perlindungan termasuk ke Tanah Melayu. Di Malaysia, diaspora Rao terdapat di beberapa tempat tertentu seperti di Perak, Pahang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Pulau Pinang, Kedah, Terengganu dan Johor. Justeru penulisan buku Biografi Tokoh Rao: Sumbangan dan Jasa Terhadap Pembangunan Malaysia merakamkan biografi ringkas yang meliputi ketokohan, sumbangan serta peranan yang dimainkan oleh 33 personaliti etnik ini dalam mengangkat tamadun sebuah negara bangsa. Hakikatnya, buku ini adalah sebuah dokumentasi penting kepada pengkaji yang ingin mengenali lebih dekat terhadap peranan dan sumbangan etnik Rao di Malaysia.