Can you say... Budget 2010?

Saturday, October 24, 2009

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Forget about the Budget 2010, I found a much more interesting thing for you to read! :D


Taken from an article in The Star (Italics are my own comments):
KUALA LUMPUR: Who in their right mind would pay RM42,320 for a laptop?
(Uh... no one?)

Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara Balik Pulau in Penang not only paid the price but bought two units of the same brand – Acer Aspire-5052ANWXMI, at a whopping price of RM84,640, said the Auditor-General’s Report.
(...oops. Shame on me for being wrong!)

In addition, the college purchased 450 units of computer CAD with network card at RM3.45mil for 12 labs. Each 19-inch monitor costs RM8,500 while a 17-inch monitor costs RM7,500.

“A check with local companies showed that the market price for the latest model is between RM5,350 to RM6,500 each. Worse still the computers, Precision 390 Dell, that were supplied are no longer in the market,” it said.

Also purchased were 15 laser printers, Hewlet Packard P3005X, at the price of RM7,722 each when the market price was about RM5,000 per unit.

In reply, Mara said the equipment were purchased in a lump sump and there was no price breakdown for the laptops.
(What the fuck. Can somebody explain to me what this means?)

The price breakdown was only done after the equipment was supplied for the purpose assets record and it could not be used as a basis for reference.

“Nevertheless, Mara has created a task force and is conducting a price adjustment for all the equipment,” it said.

The report also stated that the college had paid between RM1,398 and RM2,945 for 204 teaching manuals.

“Checks found that the teaching manuals supplied were bound using comb binding. The teaching manuals obtained at a cost of RM358,476 is a waste because they were never used,” it said, adding that the supplier has been notified to provide the original version of the teaching manual in hard cover.

Mara also spent RM2.08mil buying computer software it didn’t need.
(I think this is my favourite sentence in the whole article.)

[For the unabridged version of this horrifying tale, click here; my blog can take no more!]
With such bizarre and exciting events back home, who says it's hard to keep reading Malaysian news? :D

Posted by Zhi Wei at 6:56 AM Comments

I love fast internet.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

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I found this profound, moving and beautiful presentation by Benjamin Zander on TED. It's over 20 minutes long, but trust me, it'll be worth your time. This includes readers who don't have the lovely luxury of speedy internet which I am enjoying here in London, haha. :)




His presentation said a lot of things that I usually say about what music means to me, and what I think music means to people in general. And that's not a self-absorbed attempt to put myself on the same ground someone as accomplished as Zander; rather, to demonstrate my point about the wonder of music, which is its transcendent, universal value which allows it to reach out to the hearts and minds of many, especially to those of the ordinary people of the street.

More importantly, the manner in which he speaks about music is deeply inspiring. It is purposeful, empowering and sincere. This is what I call passion; passion which we should all aspire to discover within ourselves. Sometimes, I think it could be the highest (and rarest) value one could achieve: to live with passion. Because, as I've mentioned before, I can't think of people I know who can tell me genuinely that their day-to-day living experience holds a greater meaning which extends beyond their everyday routine.

What a saddening thing to know.

Posted by Zhi Wei at 11:01 PM Comments

The London entry: as a result of much procrastination.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

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A million apologies if you have been waiting for me to update about London!


Unlike most other entries you will find on the blogs of 1763512735123 other newly enrolled university students, I will not be adhering to the standard blogging procedure which is putting up random pictures of the London people/architecture/me with famous landmarks/whatever. Why? Because I'm such a non-conformist and I'm cool like that.

...Actually, I just haven't been taking pictures. Ha ha. :P

I figured that since I'm going to be here for three years, I have plenty of time to snap the same kind of photos that every bloody tourist/new student seems to have on their Facebook profiles. Sometimes, the tourist-y camwhoring process can be so self-indulgent that we forget to appreciate the finer details of our environment for what it is!

Speaking of which, the street performers here are amaazzinnggggg! There's nothing street about their performances, I tell you. Especially the ones at Covent Garden! There was this male opera singer once - initially, I was completely sceptical, but as I got closer, it quickly turned into an overwhelming feeling of awe and respect. Such showmanship! Such talent!

Now if only we had something similar in Malaysia. ...but it'd probably draw Rempits like a moth to a flame, which would ruin the whole environment, really. And I think Malaysians aren't too generous when it comes to paying the street performers, without which the street performing scene would not be able to survive. :( *long deep sigh*

By the way, if anyone's wondering, I think my dreams of busking in the streets and tubes of London are GONE. :(((( ...Legally, anyway. You see, you need a license to busk around here, and I checked the UK government website; they're not accepting applications for buskers anymore! :( So my only option is to do it illegally, haha. What say you?

On the not-so-hippy and slightly more academic front, my lectures have already begun. I'm currently taking four courses: 1. Accounting, 2. Economics, 3. Mathematics and Stats and 4. Foundations of Social Policy. The fourth is an outside option which isn't final yet, really. I have the choice of picking and outside option because I don't want to take a fourth maths course... I haven't confirmed my choice because there's a pretty diverse number of courses to choose from. See Paper 4 here to look at the approved list of outside courses that I can choose to do.

I'm very interested in doing a language course, but it adds to many hours to my week, which I'd rather spend doing other things on my own time. And then there's politics! Economic history! Philosophy! Social policy! Choices, choices! So many things, so little time. :(

Now I have to run again. Laundry calls.

Posted by Zhi Wei at 10:56 PM Comments

first entry from London!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

2 comments

LONDON IS GOOOOOOD.

Will update soon, I promise! :)

Posted by Zhi Wei at 6:08 PM Comments

ordinarypoetsings is up!

Saturday, September 19, 2009

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ORDINARYPOETSINGS.

I have finally set it up! To my dear listeners yang disayangi, from here on out, everything related to my music will be posted in detail on the website above. Lyrics, musical inspiration, random information, etc. :) I want to share my music with the world, so tell all your friends! :D

Also, I have a new song; it's called So Julie. :) For more information, click the link!

If you're not interested in my music, eh, well. Then you can go back to your mental squishing of my Raya penguin. :P

Posted by Zhi Wei at 12:03 AM Comments

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