Thoughts before I go to sleep;

Not too long ago, I ranted about the fact that Asian civilizations and economies have been the dominant power for a large part of human civilizational history. The recent dominance of Western hegemony is all but a blip in the long line of our history. But as I said, whether is that a good thing or not is an entirely different matter.

Come this Thursday, January 10 2008 in the relatively low-keyed Auto Expo '08 in India, Tata Group via its motor vehicles subsidiary Tata Motors will be unveiling a highly anticipated new model, dubbed by many within the auto industry as the 1 Lakh (USD 2,500) car, or The People's car.



This not is not the sort of car that will give goosebumps to petrol heads like when Carlos Ghosn unveiled the "Godzila monster" Nissan GT-R in the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. No this is not the sort of the news that will grace tuner magazines that wanabe racer boys salivate over. It will be overlooked by all but the more serious automotive and business publications.

To understand the impact of this vehicle and what am I ranting on, consider the history.
Back in the days when motoring was the preserve of the society elite and the rich, Henry Ford invented the concepted of mass production, and the whole cost-cutting mantra of "you can have it in any any colour as long as it is black." The Ford Model T practically mobilized early America created the first wave of mass motorization via these horseless carriages.


Henry Ford & and the Ford Model T.

The next wave came from Germany, when Ferdinand Porsche (along with some motivation from the villian Adolf Hitler) created the Volkswagen Bettle. Volkswagen; which loosely translates into "People's car." The icon of the Hippies and pots-smoking 60s become one of the best selling cars in history. Almost anyone can knew of someone who owns or used to own a Bettle. Of course, then came the war.


Ferdinand Porsche, Adolf Hitler and the members of the Third Reich.

In post-World War 2 Europe, fuel were scarce. Microcars like the BMW Isetta practically mobilized the entire post-war Germany. On the other side of the Euro-Saxon conflict, the British built the equally iconic Mini. A brainchild of Sir Alec Issigonis, the Mini was created during a difficult time for Britain. Due to the escallating Suez Crisis, petrol were rationed and large cars were hugely impractical.

BMW Isetta "bubblecar"


Sir Alec Issigonis and the Mini.

Like I have always said before, studying automotive history is one of the most interesting ways in learning anthropology and modern history. Like many things in life, it is not the most exotic or expensive creation that often marks our most intense experience. Supercars might be emotional to behold, but it is simple cars like these that stays in our memory. They carried humanity through times of hardship and they are a testament of mankind's resilience in the face of adversity. The icon of the 40s through the 70s were not the is not the Ferrari Daytona GTB/4, or the Lamborghini Miura, however great they may as a work of art.

As crude oil prices shoot pass USD 100 per barrel in the midst of intensifying political tensions around the world, before retreating slightly to hover around the high USD 90s, Tata's new creation will lead us into the next phase of motorization. I see the whole issue of motorization of Third World countries as a complex moral dillema. On one hand, the explosive growth of rising middle-class of India and China will exert greater stress on our already strained natural resources. But then again, what right does the developed First World have in dictating that the "new middle-class" of Asia do not have the right to pick themselves out of poverty, from pottering around in their dangerous scotters carrying a family of 4 into the safer confines of an automobile? But imagine the environmental impact and the stresses on the already clogged up archaic road systems of developing countries like India when these millions of new middle class being to drive.



Bear in mind that in order to keep the cost of these cars low, LCC (low-cost cars) have minimal exhaust emission regulation systems nor are they fitted with many of the safety features that we in the First World often take for granted. The cost of a set of ABS and airbags alone is already more than the entire LCC vehicle cost. The rationale of LCC makers is that of choosing between the lesser evil; commuting in a bare bones car is a lot safer than overloading on a scooter.

Designing cars for the developing markets of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) is one of the main challenges for many automakers as they fight for survival in cut-throat automotive industry. Over the span of less than 2 decades, the number of automakers in the world have fallen from close to 40 to less than 16. And it can very well reduce to a single digit figure over the next decade. Markets in the developed markets of the First World have saturated. And India's Tata Motors will launch the first assault of the so-called LCC (low cost car). Suzuki, Renault, Volkswagen and Toyota are all known to be working on similiar variations of the LCC project.

The reality is that our economic system is one that makes us choose one over the other - environmental preservation comes at a cost that is working at the opposite of affordability. Our economic system is one of comparative advantage - which in this case, means exploiting another weaker nation's resources and expendable human labour at a lower cost.

Either way, the launch of Tata's "1 Lakh car" is a topic worth exploring, both from the engineering as well as social aspect. I mentioned engineering because the secret to Tata's low cost is not that of cheap materials and labour, though they do play a big role. But the key behind this is in a revolutionary way of auto manufacturing that has so far been a closely guarded secret of Tata. Just as Henry Ford introduced mass manufacturing, Tata Motors will be the next evolution. It is relatively easy to built an expensive luxury / supercar. Though I have immense respect to the creators of the Bugatti Veyron, but then again, how difficult it is to built a good car when you have an almost inexhaustible budget? Building a low-cost car, now that's the real challenge.



By the way, do not laugh at Tata Motor's new foray into the automotive sector. For the uninitiated, Tata is known for building very tough and reliable trucks and buses. They are one of the main suppliers of military trucks and vehicles to the Indian government. Oh, and not forgetting, Tata is primed to take over British icons Land Rover and Jaguar from their current owner Ford Motor Company, as Ford slowly nurses itself back from the mess it is in right now.

Talk about colonization...a couple of hundred years ago, the British made the Moguls and Maharaja's of India their puppets. Fast forward to 2008, India is now pulling off a modern day equivalent of colonization, one that is done via economic might rather than military. MG-Rover now belongs to the Chinese of SAIC. Lotus to Malaysians of Proton. I guess history has come a full circle.


This entry has been updated here.

A common sight not just in urban India but many developing countries including Laos, Cambodia.

As mentioned in my earlier post, Tata Motors has just launched the highly anticipated "1 Lakh car." The new "People's car" was launched in the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi as the Tata Nano.



Reading news of the Tata Nano's launch, there is a rising feeling of "goodness and hope" within me. One that tells me that there are many people in the corporate circles that are working to make the life of others better. Fair enough, the board Tata Group is not made up of a group of "angelic men and women" and their primary motivation for the Nano is to profit from the rapidly rising middle-class of India rather than charity.

But whatever their motivation is, the end result is that many people's lives are better thanks to the vision of Ratan Tata, the chairman of Tata Group. Preliminary information suggests that throughout the entire planning stage of the car, there is a strong motivation to encourage grass-root level entrepreneurship.

Back in 2006, Ratan Tata told this in an interview with AutoCar Professional
Tata Motors will produce the bulk of the production in its plant. This is where the entire concept becomes interesting. "What we also wish to do, which is still not fully clear and a concept at this point of time, is to create an opportunity for entrepreneurs," he says.

Low cost units in different parts of the country will assemble the car where Tata Motors will take the responsibility for training on site and other aspects related to quality, etc.

"We will give young entrepreneurs the opportunity to establish enterprises in distributed areas to produce this for us. We will produce all the high volume parts and send them as kits to these assembly units. This will also enable us to address some international markets in Indonesia, Africa, etc. On the same kind of basis.

"So what we are looking at is designing a product that can be produced in high volumes, which we will do and that can also be viable in small volumes on a batch-basis from kits. With many products, if you conceive them for mass manufacture, they cannot be produced in another form. This is what we are trying to do. It is taking more time because we have given ourselves a more complex situation," says Tata.

What he would like to see ideally, in the India of tomorrow is 10 young graduates getting together out of an IIT and saying, "Instead of having to work for somebody, we would become an enterprise of our own."

He adds, "Hopefully we would like that enterprise to also sell the vehicle in that area. We would like the service engineer to be trained by us that could perhaps serve the customer. He could use the spare parts of this enterprise to service the customer. Can we change the traditional manner in which the customer is supported on the product?"

Eventually, the idea is to not only to give India a low-cost car but create many jobs in different places for young people who otherwise would have to work for someone.

Tata believes that unconventional means would be needed to reach out to the customer. And in order to do that, one must set his goals high in terms of volumes, as conventional volumes are not going to work.

"So you have to be very bold and say that I am going to really change the paradigm of how people are going to travel, how families are going to have transport. I am going to try to get families to stop using tractors to go into town or to sit on a motorscooter in a dangerous manner.

Like I mentioned earlier, Tata's seemingly "philanthropic" methods are borned out of a problem to address the volume and cost issues. But out of it, Tata created a new manufacturing and distribution method that differs from the conventional channel used by the car industry, where cars manufactured in a factory assembly line and the vehicle can only be serviced at its own dealer / service center.

I am proud to know that an Indian company is able to grasp and understand the problems of mobility facing urban India and the bulk of lower-income Indians. Drawing parallels, what a far cry this is from our own Proton, which has become a burden to tax-payers who have been paying for the company's protection from competition for over 20 years. Only to benefit a small group of politically connected ethnic race. But that's another story.

The Nano reminds me of a similar minicar / kei-car - the Mitsubishi i. But of course, the similarities are due to the engineers facing the same constraint of keeping the overall dimensions small, maximising internal space and the packaging of a rear-mounted engine.




On the left is the Tata Nano, on the right is the Mitsubishi i.

The gestation of the Tata Nano not without problems. On the contrary, I have read numerous criticisms to Tata and the Nano, that it is extremely unsafe, that the cost cutting efforts has compromised the inclusion of many standard safety items and exhaust emission control. And also that the prospect of additional car ownership by millions of Indians will further exasperate the already chronic traffic situation in urban India and our reliance on oil. As expected, most of these criticisms come from redneck Americans.

But let's think about this logically, to the lower income groups of India, safety is relative. A bare bones 5-seater four-wheeler with seatbelts is A LOT safer than for a family of 4 or 5 riding on a motorbike! And speaking of safety, c'mon you've gota be kidding me to say that the Nano is dangerous on the road! It doesn' take a rocket scientist to figure out that gargantuan SUVs in the hands of handphone-yapping drivers, men with oversized egos and drivers who can't switch lanes properly nor concentrate on the wheel kills more people every year than Japanese kei-cars or European minicars.

If I am not mistaken, the Nano tops out at 80 plus kph, and in urban India, cities where cars, bikes, trishaws, tractors and even elephants and cow share the same road, that's a lot faster than you need to be.

It is the American's fascination for Ford F-series trucks, bling Cadillac Escallades and Chevy Suburbans that should be the subject of our environmental concerns, not the tiny Nano. The Nano, along with Japanese kei and European minicars are just the right size they need to be. There is no hint of wastefullness in them. Urban SUVs and trucks however, are the ultimate symbol of carnal automotive wastefulness.

And the US government is talking about passing the CAFE regulation bill that forces all car companies to achieve an average fuel economy of 35mpg across its products. Just 35mpg?! Big deal. The rest of us in the world drive cars that regularly tops 35 mpg without breaking any sweat.


The inconvenient truth is that we are facing the consequences of climate change because some rednecks on one side of the Atlantic have some pretty different ideas of what is style and perceived machoness.

Note to Capitol Hill : You don't need fancy E85 ethanol fuel or hybrids to achieve 35mpg. Just drive smaller cars and eat less burgers. But I guess old habits are hard to die.


The average middle-class American family of 5 rides in this.


The average Indian family of 5 rides in this.

I believe its pretty clear who needs to downsize. It is just criminal to criticize the Nano on any environmental nor traffic grounds! Now my wish is for Tata to further expand their market by introducing the Nano to other Third World countries.

A little bit on the brain-child of the Nano, Ratan Tata extracted from IHT;
Tata seems the most unlikely of corporate titans - almost preternaturally humble, unabashedly open about the company's mistakes, and also about the fact that he never really wanted to be an industrialist in the first place.

He studied architecture at Cornell University in New York. Now, after decades working for the family business, he says he is even considering opening a small architecture firm when he retires. Never married, he lavishes attention on his dogs, writes thank you notes to employees who do him favors, and is often spied driving alone on Marine Drive in Mumbai on a Sunday in one of the several cars he owns.

The Tata Group is an unusual corporate enterprise, though. Started in 1868 by Jamsetji Tata, the company has prided itself on fair business practices rather than cutthroat maneuvering or paying bribes, a practice still prevalent in some of corporate India. The group has often seemed to value employees as much as profit, agreeing to pay laid-off Tata Steel employees for the rest of their lives, for example. Ratan Tata is a distant relative of the founder - his father was adopted by the wife of one of Jamsetji's sons - and his reserved demeanor made him an unlikely corporate chief.

Tata has no heirs, and there is no likely family member to take over his role, meaning that the Tata who brought the Tata Group to the rest of the world may be the last Tata to run the company.


As mentioned in my previous post, Tata is poised to take over British automotive icons Land Rover and Jaguar. That would mean that Tata will have presence in both extreme ends of the market - the LCC low cost car minicar segment and premium luxury.

I have been looking through some of the contents in my old blog, which has seen been locked out from the rest of the world as it contains numerous entries that could get me in trouble with the government and possibly my employer - more of the later than the former. In this age of Google-ing, online profile checks and Big Brother watching over us, you can never be too paranoid

However, I feel that some of the contents ought to be brought out again. Not so much of reminding my friends, but more importantly, to remind myself periodically that these are the people who have helped me in many ways. Some of them whom I will continue to be indebted to them for a really long time.

The contents have only been minimally edited - with only the less polished introduction removed. Drop me a comment if you want your name to be hidden away removed from Google's spider-bots.

Some of content below may sound a bit corny, but bear in mind that these are written almost 2 years ago. I wa a lil bit more stupid back then. However, I decided to just republish them as it was written the first time around.

Entry dated 31st May 2006
While I might not miss this soul-less, identity-less and character-less university, I will however, miss many of the people whom I have met here. I am greatly indebted to the kindness and friendship extended to me by them. I will be forever grateful that our lives have crossed path. Below is a simple dedication to the many people that have made a difference or left a positive experience in my life over the pass 5 years in this university.

Alpha Group 4 mates
We came as naïve young kids, fresh out of high schools and feeling damn proud of our SPM results, only to find out for real that SPM was a joke that isn’t even good enough to be toilet paper. We came from different states and different backgrounds, united by our Alpha ‘captain’ James Lim. Some of us grew closer, while some drifted apart; but these were all expected natural progression for everybody as we discover ourselves better, formed our own identity and tried to find a spot in to any of the small ‘pigeon-holes’ that society has set for us. Either way, I am glad that there was a time when we spent time as best of friends, a bunch of optimistic kids whose only care in the world everyday was where to eat lunch and dinner in the entire food-heaven Melaka, what pranks to pull off, which class to skip and who shall be in charge of doing what for the next BBQ, sleepover, etc etc. For all our mischief, I must say that this is one of the most diverse group of talented individuals I have ever come across. Group 4 was a melting pot of technical, musical, literary and sports talents. We are still one of the most united Alpha group of year 2001. A toast to the good times we shared, from our first BBQ as a group after our term exam to our final slumber party in the nice apartment Wee Liem got for us before we parted ways between Melaka and Cyberjaya campus.

Calvin Foo, Jeremy Goh – For all the tutoring in Alpha and driving us Group 4ians around Melaka. Calvin, for being a fellow petrol-head. Thanks for all the car vids, mags and car talks. Jeremy Goh, for being so nice and patient with everybody around. Both of you are really brilliant individuals, make good use of your mind.

Zheng Jie – For sharing your interesting thoughts and insights in various matters, for all the tutoring in Alpha, and for helping me with the CCSC compiler for my FYP. Not forgetting all the assignments and exams from Melaka. You are a natural technical genius. All the best in your engineering career.

Zi Bin – For the inspiration and sharing your intellect. I always enjoyed an engaging conversation with you. However it must be remembered that you FFK-ed the entire G4 big time with your sudden decision to stay back in Melaka campus. And that was after you convinced everybody to move to Cyberjaya. Do remember us when you have made it to the Time’s 100 Most Influential Persons list.

Esther Wee – One of my closer friends during Alpha. Thanks for all the time spent during the carefree days. I miss those times when we used to study together in CLC. And also thanks for lending me your PC during my internship. Wish you all the best in pursuing a dream of a career in music.

Lim Chee Yong – For organizing the many BBQ and potluck sessions, often with your own money. For driving me around Penang many times, and accommodating some of us in your cozy house while we were in Penang. Sorry for the accident with your dad’s Matrix because you have to drive us around Penang despite being sorely lacking of sleep.

Wai Choong – For always being ready to help me out with my studies, assignments, lab reports even though you were in the middle of gaming session. For being generous when it comes to toll payments and for coming to help me out to fabricate my PCB. Quiet as you are, you possess great wisdom and intelligence. You have thought many about minimalism and living a life of simplicity and quietness. Our ultra materialistic and maximum consumerism world needs more counter-culture figures like you.

James Lim – The basketball star and ‘Chinese-rapper-hip-hop-dancer.’ You stood out like an annoying sore thumb during our Alpha Orientation. And everybody in G4 went “Oh man! That LOA fella is here.” But looks can be deceiving. Who can guess that someone with your looks actually hate smoking and drinking and doesn’t even go clubbing. Group 4 was united mainly because of your initiative. Thanks for driving us G4ians everywhere around Melaka and organizing all the end of term BBQs. For uniting our Alpha group and photocopying all the notes and handouts for us. I am still keeping the issue of Performance BMW that you gathered the rest to chip in and bought for me. You ought to seriously consider a DJ-ing career that could put your charisma to good use.

Janet Tan - Whatever happened to you? Voices turned you from a nice little girl into a mean lady. I still prefer the old Janet, either way I still appreciate all the post-cards all the way from Australia, the mags and bookmarks from UK. I might not show it properly but I do appreciate your thoughts on us wherever you go. Thanks for putting us up in your house during our trip to Penang.

Michelle Ding – Yes I am still keeping the ruler you gave me in Alpha, and also the tie you gave me. Thanks for the soup when I was sick, for leaving all those feel-good notes and the various gifts. And also thanks for putting me up in your cozy home while I was in Taiping. All the best in your corporate career. You are blessed with a wonderful mix of natural talents that not many people can learn, let alone posses. Not to mention the all-important-good-looks, but do remember to not get too caught up with city life that you forgot to nurture your own soul.

Neo Wee Liem – Probably one of the nicest guys I have ever met and then I don’t know what happened after that after that…postponed teenage rebellion? But still, you are one of my greatest friends during my Alpha days and I will be forever grateful for that. Still remember our long phone calls? Thanks for all the companionship. All of us in Alpha G4 owe you for driving us around in Melaka, for offering us to study in your house, your mum’s cookings – one of which was when I was sick. Thanks for the U2 shirt, and the annual Christmas presents.

Shaun, Ravin, Sheng Chao – Thanks for letting us G4-ians and friends of Group 4 bunk in at your house and taking us out whenever any of us were down in Melaka. Thanks for staying up with me and taking me out for supper when I was down in Melaka rushing to complete my FYP. Shaun, thanks for the squash racquets. Sheng Chao, my FYP presentation would have been screwed for sure if not for you. Thanks smuggling me into the Melaka campus lab in the middle of the night. You are an awesomely talented engineer. The kind of bots you built make everyone else’s project look like a joke. Ravin – You are one of those people whom I know that works very hard in keeping friendships close, which must have been pretty annoying when it comes to people like me, considering that I hardly do anything to keep old friendships close. But safe to say, I truly appreciate everything that you did with others in your mind. I am still keeping your hand-made parting gift you gave me at the end of Alpha

Soh Hui Siang – My former housemate during Alpha. Thanks for all the mamak and F1 sessions and movies, for borrowing me your car so often during Alpha. You are one of the most faithful friends I have ever come across. May our paths crossed again. Till then, all the best in your future career.

CE major friends
Camping at the library was made a lot more tolerable with the presence of you people. I will miss all the laughers shared, the lunch meals. We have shared much of our dreams and worries and heartaches with each other. My only regret was that we didn’t get close to each other until after one or two years into our university lives.

Adeline Kee, Ee Lane, Nicholas Chan, Lincoln Leong – Thanks for all the tutorial and assignment solutions that you people generously share out with others. And thanks for always photocopying extra copies of handouts for me without being asked to. I will always remember the generosity shown to me. Adeline Kee, you come from a privileged background but yet you have none of the usual associated negative pretensions. You have been a very nice and generous friend who accepts people for who they are. I will always remember you for your ‘bear-bear’ names and annoyingly ‘cute’ bear motive bags and cute-pinky-lil stationeries. Ee Lane, I can’t imagine completing half of the all the assignments and projects in my university life without you. I am sure many would say the same about you too. You are an awesome natural ‘networker.’ So often, we managed to complete our work only because we had you to leverage on your ‘extensive’ networks with the ‘gods’ and ‘demigods’ of FOE to get assistance. Lincoln, thank you for allowing me to photocopy your personal notes, they have been a great help during exams. Thanks for driving us out during the last few outings we had, for being so supportive in CG and also in CF. Nicholas, brash and direct, I like it. I love talking cock with you simple because talking-cock with you is not exactly the typical shallow cock-talk people indulge in. Get it? Thanks for the rides, assignments together, meals, movies and ice-skates invites.

Kevin Tang, Chee Han – Both of you will sure be damn annoyed that I put you together, but as Ee Lane mentioned in her blog, “You guys may hate each other..but your constant bickering had always manage to liven up the atmosphere no matter where we are and it had always been our source of entertainment in the library” Chee Han, I will always remember you for camping out in the library with me every night as I studied for my Maths 4 supplementary paper. It was a horrific experience but you stayed around each night to help me out. I will always remember that gesture. Kevin, you have a thought me a lot of technical issues through our conversations. And your antics have never failed to entertain the rest of us. Your stunt with Dr. Ajay during Embedded Systems class was the ultimate culmination of it all. As Keith said, somebody ought to make a comedy story out of you, complete with your own theme song.

Ng Pui Fun – I was really surprised that you actually took the trouble to ask around for a PCB marker pen for my FYP when I told you that dry laminator machine in the lab was spoilt. I will always remember your generosity and good heart. When I first knew you I thought you were a very hardworking girl, but later found out that you are also one of those who study damn last minute, and go to exam without sleeping the night before, and yet still score so well. How the heck did you do that? You are a very sweet and innocent girl with a big heart. I am glad to have you as my friend.

Zhan Qiang – a.k.a god. Thank you for your patience and kindness in explaining many abstract concepts and tutoring almost everybody who bugs you during exam periods. It must have been really annoying to deal with so many simpletons who just can’t understand as fast you could. My only regret was that I only got to know you a little bit better towards the final semester of our study here.

Macha Keith J. Rozario – Gosh. There are so many peculiarities about you. Where do I start? Your unending mischief? Your Cornetto stunt? Or your mess in Cyberia from your Mentos-Coke experiment? Your replacement of the word spectrum with scrotum on Ah Seng’s notes? Your confusion with your race? You might call yourself Indian but I still believed that you have Portuguese blood in you. And no, you are not Chinese. Thanks for lending me your PIC burner and getting me the mikroC compiler. They have been a great help for my FYP and for that I am greatly indebted to you. Thanks also for introducing me to the crazy C3-11-7 gang.

FOE peeps
Albert Ang – Thanks for all your tutoring and notes. Libra-camps were a lot livelier with your often sarcastic humor, especially when you love to make fun of the ‘Blur guy’. Thanks for introducing me to the C3-11-7 gang.

C3-11-7 gang - ‘Kurt-Angle’ Kok Pin, Alex, Bernie, Chris. It was too bad that we didn’t become friends earlier, with the exception of Angle. Bernie, thanks for giving me a treat on my share of Macha’s birthday cake and the satays, despite me being an almost stranger to you that time. Angle, I am going to miss your dirty jokes and all your nonsense. Tell me the address of your Cheese-Char-Kuey-Teow stall in Penang ok? Chris, you have a very learned and sophisticated mind for someone who F**ks around all the time. I thought I was bad during high school. Alex, say that again – Who the F**k? Why the F**k? Where the F**k? Maybe sometime in the future we could continue more chats on Middle-Eastern and Chinese civilization history. It was a short but blissful period knowing you.

Su Lin – Thank you for all the annual Christmas and birthday presents, and also the dinners and the trust you have in me. Not forgetting the help you gave for my Mandarin II assignments. Thanks for being thoughtful enough to buy me Sushi whenever it is convenient for you to do so. Maybe we should go for another Japanese buffet again. Just FYI, I have since taken the towel out of storage and is using it now.

Wee Ni – For being a very good, dependable friend. For the trust you gave. You have almost everything needed to take on this world, and the world is your oyster. Just have a bit more faith in yourself. I believe you are a girl destined for great things in life. As we part ways to pursue our own dreams, I am glad that our lives crossed each other’s path at one point of time. The friendship and experience have one way or another influenced me to be the person that I am today. All the best in your pursuit of a post-grad degree.

Jian Ming - Thanks for informing me about the opening at C&C. I really owe you for that one. Though we rarely see each other, but you have been a very reliable friend that I know I could always count on for help. Thanks for everything. You are gifted with a great mind, wish you all the best in your career.

Ng Xiao Wei - For your tutoring, especially in DSP. All the best in your engineering career.

Co-workers at CIE
The management sucks, the Chin family sucks and the company deserves to be in the sort of condition that it is right now. Having you guys around me made my days there a lot more tolerable.

Jason Lee. Thanks a lot for helping me with my FYP. I doubt I can complete everything in time without your help. Thanks for supplying me with all the materials, components and teaching me all your ‘advance’ techniques. Thanks for spending the entire day helping me out to find an alternative when the laminating machine in the lab was busted. It has been a pleasure learning and working with you for 3 months. Oh yea, and also thanks for the Top Gear downloads and exposing me to advance photography techniques. All the best.

Charis and Yean Chern. Better don be late all the time for your ‘real-work’ Charis. It has been a good 5 years of friendship since Alpha. Yean Chern, thanks for being a patient tutor in helping me improve my Mandarin, and for all the chats we had.

CFers - MMUCF is an organization that I have come to love and hate so much, both at the same time. The irony of this feeling still boggles me as I bring an end to my involvement in CF. I don’t remember sacrificing so much of myself and devoting so much of my time and energy and money for any other cause that is not within my responsibility. Some of these works were appreciated, many weren’t noticed but the funny thing is that either way I can still smile at the end result. It’s funny that the people that I am not very fond of and the friends that I held dear to me are all covered under one umbrella of the CF.

Siew Voon
For being a great and concerned CG leader. Thank you for the parting gift.

Peak Yin. I asked you for directions to somewhere in Shah Alam, and you surprised me by taking the effort to draw me a highly detailed map guiding me there and asking for further info from your dad. Thank you for the gesture and the arrangements for IF camp.

Poh Yee – For being a faithful friend, and for always standing on my side. And also for paying generously for all the Ipoh-Cyber-Ipoh trips. Not forgetting the annual Christmas and birthday presents that you never fail to give. P.S, Don’t get so worked up so easily and try jumping around a lil less….

Celine Chew –For cooking up various foods for your friends, from cookies to glutinous rice balls. for always lending me your scanner whenever I needed one, the little gifts that you often give out generously, sending over the ‘chap-fan’ dinners, the chats and for being a concerned friend.

Daniel Khoo – For being a supportive friend, one whom I could share many of my concerns with and one who sees eye-eye with me on various issues and for the late night chats. Thank you for not condemning me for thinking weird, and also for being a supportive friend during the few dark un-churched period.

Tan Chee Kah – My legacy will live on with you. The torch of gimhan-ism will be passed on to you, with great pride or shame, depending on how you look at it. You are one of the nicest juniors to me. Thanks for borrowing me your backpack when I needed one and thanks for being a great friend in and outside the CF.

Rachel, Benny, Chern Liang, John - For being good housemates, thanks for all the happy times together, the supper and the movies.

FIT and FCM graduates - We came in together, but all of you left one year earlier.
Chuah Ee Chia – one of my closest friends since Alpha, thank you for settling my RM2k fees for me while I was away for internship, thank you for going early to office just to do course registration for me when I didn’t have Internet access at work, and for taking time away from your lab work to help me control the presentation slides for my FYP, for bringing me to BLC, for the many gifts and the trust in me throughout the 5 years of friendship.

Liew Ju-Lian - For being a good friend, for helping out silently behind the scenes during CyberChristmas and Easter Event, for being so supportive to your CG.

Yvonne Low Wan Wern – For being one of my best friends, for putting me up in your house every time I am down in Taiping, and also for driving me around Taiping, for your mum’s home-cooked meals and treats. Thank you for being one my most reliable and faithful friend since our Alpha year.

Ong Boon Keat – For being one of my most reliable friend that I could always count on, for showing and teaching me the art of drifting, for driving me back when my car had to be sent for repair, for inviting me for go-kart races, for the pit lane pass to Asian Festival of Speed, for being a great friend since Alpha, for the rides and company when I was down in Taiping.

Lobak – For the intelligent chats and insights on various matters, for offering the Cyberia ‘parking sticker,’ the knowledge in Japanese cars and culture, for the left foot-braking, for being a very reliable friend.

Chicken Lau – A thoroughbred Michaelian, for being my friend since Standard 3 in SMI 2 Ipoh, for the 13 years of friendship between us, for putting me up in your Cyberia house when the hostel office screwed up my hostel arrangements, for being a guide to me and the rest of Group 4 when we made a road trip from Melaka to Cyberjaya in my Alpha year.

The Seniors
Colin Pal – A fellow Michaelian, thank you for dispensing me with useful words of wisdom when I needed some. And also for the effort to meet up when I started my internship, for introducing me to the CF when I first came here.

Jane Chua – For your nice hospitality whenever I am down in Melaka, for being such a nice friend to Steph, for being generous with the meal treats and for being a great company. I will the supper sessions together when you were in uni.

Kean Sing – For taking me to so many obscure and hidden food heaven around KL and Penang, for being a really good culinary-tour guide. For putting me up in your house when I was down in Bukit Mertajam, for the meal treats, for driving me around to various places of attractions in BM and Penang.

Kevin Koay - For encouraging me to critically examine what I believe in and what people tell me, for assuring me that it’s alright to be different, for helping me to discover my own little place in the community of faith, for giving me a book that started me off in a proper journey of discovery, for being there to answer all my tough questions, for teaching me so much about history and theology, for being a good spiritual mentor.

Tan Su Chen – Thank you for the tuition sessions, for your notes, for the academic tips, for the ‘Bak Kut Teh’ from Klang,

Nic ‘Martian’ Lim – For being the genius friend, for the mentally engaging chats, for being the one who is always silently working behind the scenes making sure everyone and everything is well taken care during your stay in CF, for the farewell card you made for everybody before your graduation

Niger Lim – For getting me a real bargain for my PC, for being a great wise man and a reliable friend. Thank you for your generosity and for everything that you have done for the CF and for me.

Li Lian - Thank you for the awesome cooking and for the meals, for introducing me to the world of fine-dining, for introducing me to many nice restaurants that I would otherwise not be bothered to try out.

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It's a pity that for one reason or another, I am no longer in close contact with some of the people mentioned above. But like I said many times before; people, friendship and their company should be enjoyed and cherished in the present and not to be romanticised in the past nor wished for the future. And that relationship is dynamic, so it is only normal for us to grow closer with some or further apart with others as our identities, priorities and believe system evolve overtime, as we try to find our "pigeon-hole" position in this society.

Either way, I am glad that at point of time, all of you were my good friends. It will be a period of time that I will cherish and remember. And boy did we have a blast of time. I wish everyone the best as we move forward in 2008.

I have been having some deja-vu feeling about the recent freak weather conditions afflicting Iran, China and Jerusalem.

Rare snowfall blankets Jerusalem

Snow in the Middle-East!

Severe snow hits central China

Whether are all these related to human activities or not is not the point. Climate change is happening.

Far into the horizon, I used to study in this beautiful place. Funny how 2 years of post-graduation life makes you change your perspective of this barren desert called Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Maybe its the nostalgia that picturesque images brings up in us.


The Faculty of Engineering









The infamous "UFO landing spot" and the spot for the weekly Tueday's "Morning Glory for the Jesus's friends".

It was with great sadness that I received the news of the departure of two great pillars of MMU; Prof. Datuk Ghauth Jasmon and Prof. Chuah Hean Teik. I am not sad because of their departure per se, or maybe I should rephrase myself - I am extremely displeased and mad about the circumstances of their departure!


From left : Prof. Chuah Hean Teik, Prof. Datuk Ghauth Jasmon, and the new President, Prof. Dr. Zaharin Bin Yusoff.
Hope he doesn't drop the torch.

The public nature of this blog and the sensitivity of the issue does not allow me to divulge into greater detail. But you can be bloody damn sure that I will be exercising my vote and playing a more active role in nation building.

In less than 10 years of its existance, MMU through the concerted effort of highly acclaimed academicians like Prof. Chuah and his fellow colleagues, MMU has achieved much in terms of recognition from the industries.

We students might sometimes makes fun of Prof. Gauth's speeches; he is certainly not cut as a public speaker or MC, but that does not diminish the value of his contribution to MMU. MMU had achieved what it achieved partly because we do not have Presidents who indulge in keris wielding politics rather than academics, I respect him for his forward thinking to do what is necessary to turn MMU into a world class university, sure its not perfect, but achieving what it achieved in less than 10 years is no small feat.

Personally, MMU along with UTAR are one of the few "elite" local universities that has still been relatively free from "Islamization" and the scourge of ugly partisan politics that is so rampant in other public universities. Then again, UTAR belongs to MCA, so that leaves MMU as the only one left, at least that WAS the case.

Much has been said and commented about the whole fiasco between UM and THES university rankings. There is no need for me to add further. I just hope that MMU will not go down the same path of hero-to-zero sort of humiliation. Afterall, I still carry the name of MMU, as an Alumni.

To me, MMU is probably the best hope for Malaysia to produce world class academicians. I don't have the figures but I am confident that the number of intellectual properties and publications registered by MMU far surpasses that of many other local public and private universities.

It is such a shame that we have so much to offer, but partisan and racial politics takes precedence. 50 years, and this kind of bullshit is what screwing us over.

Last Saturday, I attended a socio-political dialogue. The highlight speech of the day has to be this message by Lim Guan Eng to a certain MCA MP as he was about to leave early to meet the State Menteri Besar; "Can you please ask Khir Toyo why is it that his grandfather came from Indonesia and he is called a Bumiputera, while my grandfather, my father and myself are all born in Malaysia but we are 4th class citizens?"

More food for thought.
Myth of ‘Tanah Melayu.


Samseng UMNO.