I AM BACK

It is a rainy Sunday evening today. Sitting alone in the office and while surfing the net, I suddenly remembered my personal blog. I logged in and found out that the last I visited my blog was in 2010. 3 years has since passed and so many things has happened in my life, leaving me as a transformed person in certain aspects. Financially and professionally, I have gained a little and lost a little. But deep down, I am still the same old Mukilan - stubborn, lazy, spend-thrift, an angry man inside but calm outside and never forget to scold God and religion.

2010 was a rewarding year. Business was very good. Managed to settle a few debts which I inherited from my first divorce in 2002. But, I am a poor debt-collector. A lot of my students did not pay their fees and I was forced to write-off a few thousand ringgit. I ventured into a new business but in the end lost RM15,000 to an old childhood friend.

My relationship with my second wife was not good. It was getting from bad to worst. She openly demanded for a divorce. She went to the extent of sending me a divorce petition but I refused to sign it. So, our war extended to 2011 and in June 2012 we were officially divorced. But, I lost my 3 room walk-up apartment which  I loved dearly. I worked very hard to buy the apartment and I have a lot of fond memories of it. Anyway, there is nothing much I can do about it. What is broken is broken, what is gone is gone. But, life has to go on.

The year 2011 was not so good. My business volume was down by half. I was struggling throughout the year. My mother's health was getting bad. Both her kidneys failed. In September 2011, she was admitted in the hospital and the doctors said she has to go through dialysis. Fortunately, my father was a civil servant. So, the government took care of her medical bills. But, I couldn't afford the daily expenditures. On most of the days, I will have less than RM10 in my pocket. On 8th December 2011, 3 days after her birthday, she breathed her last. I had only RM5 with me. But, somehow I managed.

After my second divorce I had a few relationships, but none worked out. I have become wiser now and very careful in choosing my companion.

My reputation rose in the last 2 years. I left the Malaysian Dravidian Association and formed Periyar Rationalist Integrity Movement for Enrichment with my friend Vinthai Kumaran. I became the Vice-chairman and my friend is the Chairman. We managed to raise RM42000 within 18 months of its inception, I was also asked to take over an ailing NGO in Kluang. I conduct Thirukural and Tamil classes for the students around Kluang.

I wanted to shave my head for good and I finally did it in June 2012. I am happy now for I have done something that I always wanted to do but too worried about the negative comments from those around me.

I have a bought a car - Perodua Alza. So, life has got a little easier.

I have developed a new hobby, gardening and revived an old hobby, photography.

I am taking my father for a 15 day South India tour. This is something which I wanted to do for a long time. After overcoming a series of obstacles, I have finally done it. I am writing this post on the eve of our departure to India.

I now recall Frank Sinatra's song "I did it my way"

Regrets. I had a few,

but then again,

too few to mention.

I did what I have to do,

and saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course,

each careful step along the byway.

And more, much more than this,

I did it my way.

Yes, there were times,

I'm sure you knew,

when I bit of more then I could chew.

But through it all,

when there was doubt,

i ate it up and spit it out.

I faced it all and,

I stood tall

And did it my way.

Auditor General's Report- Deja vu

by Rashvinjeet S. Bedi
The Star - 5/10/2013

Every year, when a new Auditor-General's report is published, the mismanagement of funds and irregularities highlighted in previous reports are forgotten amid fresh outcry for accountability of public funds. These are just some of the “old” cases in the respective years reports that made the news.


2011
1. Rail expensive: Delays to the 329km Ipoh-Padang Besar electric double-track rail project cost the Government an extra RM3.6bil in costs - on top of its RM12.49bil contract value.
The project was found to have been delayed by 669 days, incurring additional costs on, among others, land acquisition (RM698.17mil), compensation for squatters (RM37.64mil), consultant’s fees (RM265.96mil) and electricity reconnection chargers (RM203.48mil).

2. The Defence Ministry saw cost overruns in excess of RM1bil in the construction of married quarters facilities (RKAT) for members of the Malaysian Armed Forces.
Based on the audit, the cost to develop 38 RKAT across the country stood at RM3.206bil as of December 2011, nearly double the ceiling allocation of RM1.742bil set under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

2010
3. Off target: The RM142mil RazakSAT remote sensing satellite, which failed to operate fully a year after its 2009 launch, was found to be off-target when capturing images.
The Auditor-General’s  Report said the images, which were supposed to be observed from Sungai Buloh and Subang, had deviated 37km from its original target.

4.Boxed in: Almost RM64.7mil worth of new scientific equipment had been left in their boxes for as long as three years due to the delay in building the Assembly, Integration and Test (AIT) laboratory.
The delay was caused by the late approval of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry to construct the laboratory.

5. Paid for no work: Payments totalling nearly RM1.7mil were made to contractors without any work being done at three state funded religious schools in Sabah.


2009
6. Quiet theatre: The RM43.84mil Shah Alam Royal Theatre was found to have been unused since being completed in August 2008. The building, which was intended to stage plays and orchestra performances, had not been utilised after the contractor handed over possession to the Shah Alam City council.

7. Rich council: The Bentong municipal council paid RM871 for a toilet sign that could have been bought for RM65. The council overspent on furniture and fixtures by RM80,594 including RM38,700
on a set of spiral pendant lights that cost between RM1,500 and RM9,200 in the market. A total of RM49,420 was spent on 14 nyatoh timber leg armchairs, or RM3,530 each, although the market price for a unit was RM990.


2008
8. Super-expensive-computers: Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara Balik Pulau in Penang purchased two units of Acer Aspire-5052ANWXMI laptops for RM84,640.


2006
9. Screwed by prices: The National Youth Skills Institutes (IKBN) under the Youth and Sports Ministry was found to have paid RM224 for a set of screwdrivers that had a market price of RM40, a car jack that cost RM50 was bought for RM5,700, a digital camera that cost RM2,990 was bought for RM8,254.  For the 13 items that the report highlighted, the Government paid RM8.39mil more than the market price at that time.

10. Under utilised: The Customs Department  under-utilised its RM290mil information technology system but were planning to spend another RM451.30mil to develop a new one.


2005
11. Extra expenses: Selangor incurred an additional RM21mil in expenses for the delay in constructing two slaughterhouses. The original cost to build the two slaughterhouses
was RM8mil.

12. More repairs needed: Despite RM65.51mil spent on construction costs and a delay of two years, the Gelami Lemi Fresh Water Fishery Research Centre in Jelebu, Negri Sembilan, had to undergo further repairs. The contractor, did not follow specifications, resulting in poor construction.

2004

13. Deals Gone Bad: Three water privatisation deals caused the Sabah state government to be saddled with debts of RM888.08mil.

14. Out of order: The RMAF said it was unable to repair flight simulators for the Hawk and F/A-18 jet fighters in Butterworth because of a lack of funds. This was despite it signing a RM50.3mil contract covering training, hardware and maintenance with a
private company in 1988 and extended to April 2005.

15. Complex under-utilised: The RM25mil International Sea Sports Complex in Labuan was left unutilised for nearly two years since it started operations in June 2001. In 2003 and 2004, only 51 activities including the Labuan International Sea Challenge, Labuan
Arts Festival, Aidilfitri Open House, and governmentdepartment and private functions were conducted at the complex.

16. Delays increase cost: Delays in building four district police headquarters (IPD) plus quarters in Raub, Gua Musang, Kerian and Perak Tengah caused the Government to suffer at least RM5.85mil in losses.

2003
17. Way above market price: The Government paid up to 36% above the market price for certain medicines used in public hospitals and clinics despite sourcing them through open tenders. Although 140 contracts worth RM425mil were awarded through open tenders between 2001 and 2003, 83 contracts worth RM283mil went to one supplier while the rest were distributed among 11 others. 2002

18. Below par pool: The so-called international-sized pool at the RM45.5 million Darul Ehsan Aquatic Centre fell short of the required measurements set by the swimming world's governing body, Fina. The length of the aquatic centre's pool is less than 50m, the standard for an Olympic-sized pool. 1999

19. Expensive tailoring: A total of RM3.02mil was paid to alter uniforms at the Armed Forces between 1997 and June 1999. The alteration fees for the 11th Royal Malay Regiment at Semenggo Camp, Sarawak, was RM31 per uniform while for the 15th Royal Malay Regiment Sri Miri Camp, it was RM68. At the Sungei Besi air force base, it was only 70 sen.

1998
20. Expensive Door: Yayasan Melaka, a foundation fully-owned by the state government to provide scholarship for poor students, purchased a door for RM25,000, toilet and floor mats worth RM11,000 and 25 designer briefcases worth RM38,750 among many others without calling for tenders or supporting quotations. Altogether, the foundation was found to have breached financial procedures in spending a total of RM639,423.

21. No letter for RM1.6bil in loans: Two loans totalling RM1.6bil were given to Perwaja Terengganu Sdn Bhd in 1997 and 1998 in which no letter of agreement was signed
between the company and the Government.

22. Failure to check account: The Defence Ministry failed to monitor an account which paid for the purchase of military equipment from the United States, resulting in a discrepancy amounting to US$32mil (RM121.6mil). As there was no monitoring done, about US$66.7mil (RM253.5mil) was withdrawn from the account although the
equipment supplied was worth only US$34.7mil (RM131.9mil).

1997
23. Poor revenue management: The Immigration Department in Damansara Town Centre did not bank in 4,680 bank drafts worth RM32mil in 1997. They were not cashed within the bank draft's validity period of three to six months. Of the amount, only 1,757
bank drafts worth RM14.97mil were recovered from those who issued the drafts.

24. Medical tools lying idle: Audit checks found 55 pieces of medical equipment worth RM1.41mil lying idle in government hospitals and dental clinics. The equipment included two operating microscopes each worth RM49,950 in Muar and Kangar Hospital, both unused for more than 19 months.

1995
25. Fund for disaster victims abused: The Malacca state used money from an emergency fund meant for flood and fire victims for the purchase of five Mercedes Benz cars for state executive councillors, a RM279,250 on an official car for the Malacca governor's wife, a RM271,500 car for the Chief Minister and a Proton Perdana costing
RM60,644. Other purchases included RM13,160 for a computer table and RM13,300 for two chairs. Altogether RM10.18 million for 29 expenses was drawn from the emergency fund in 1995.

1993
26. Exorbitant seminar: The Melaka state government paid RM194,204 for a political party seminar. The Chief Minister's Office paid for the purchase of fountain pens as souvenirs for the delegates and organisation costs totalling RM168,394. Another RM25,810 was for a dinner for seminar delegates. The government also undertook three purchases involving RM216,084 without calling for tenders in 1993. They include the purchase of 1,434 food packets costing RM81,594.

Madrasapatinam

I generally don't enjoy Tamil movies except for a few movies starred by Kamalhaasan, Satyaraj and Sivaji Ganesan. But there is one particular movie released this year which really attracted me. The storyline is somewhat different from others. It blends history and romance. The casts were selected carefully and in my opinion they gave their best.
I am not good at writing movie reviews. so,I copied the following movie review from Wikipedia.
The movie begins as an elderly English woman Amy Wilkinson (Carole Trungmar), almost at her deathbed in London, wants to come down to Chennai in search of a young man Ilam Parithi (Arya) whom she last saw on 15 August, 1947 to return a Thaali (the sacred thread tied around the neck of the bride by her groom) of his mother, which he gave her as a sign of stating that she belongs to India and nobody can separate them. However, after a turn of events, she had married another man from her hometown and thus felt that the thali was no longer her property.
Amy Wilkinson arrives in Chennai with her granddaughter Catherine (Lisa Lazarus), equipped only with a picture of Parithi that was taken sixty years ago. Wilkinson interrogates various people about Parithi's whereabouts. In the process, she recalls the events when she had first visited Chennai, and the chain of events that took place:
A young Amy (Amy Jackson), the daughter of the Madras Presidency Governor, visits Chennai (then called Madrasapattinam) along with her translator Nambi (Cochin Hanifa) and encounters Parithi, whom she calls "brave man". Parithi, a member of the dhobi (launderer) clan is also an experienced wrestler who trains under Ayyakanu (Nassar). He openly opposes the British officials who attempt to build a golf course in the dhobi clan's dwelling place. He challenges a cruel racist officer named Robert Ellis (Alexx O'Nell), who is also Amy's suitor, to a wrestling match to decide the fate of his clan's home. Parithi is successful, and Ellis vows revenge.
Following a series of secret meetings between Parithi and Amy, love blossoms between them, and Parithi affectionately calls her "Duraiyamma", a polite term of addressing British women. However a major threat comes in the form of independence for India on August 15, 1947, which means that all White officials and their families, including Amy, would have to leave India. On the eve of independence, all of India is celebrating. However Amy and Parithi, determined to be together, run away and are hunted by an angry Ellis and his force. An Indian policeman helps the two of them by hiding them in a clock tower on top of the Madras Central Railway Station, but they are discovered by Ellis. After a fierce fight, Ellis is killed and Parithi is badly wounded. Amy helps Parithi to escape by casting him with a life-raft into the Coovom river, before she is captured and taken back to London. She had never known if Parithi survived, or what his fate was.
Back in the present, Wilkinson is urgently called back to London to have a life-saving operation. But she is determined to find Parithi and, by chance, encounters a taxi driver who assumes that she would want to visit a charitable trust named Duraiyamma Foundation. The driver shows her around the foundation, which has organisations providing free housing, education and medical care (which were all promised to the dhobi children by the young Amy several years ago). She realizes that the Duraiyamma Foundation was established by Ilam Parithi, and named after her.
When she asks the driver what became of Parithi, he leads her to his tomb, and reveals that he died twelve years ago. She kneels before the tomb and claims the thali necklace as her own. She declares "It's mine!" before quietly passing away on Parithi's tomb. Her granddaughter mourns for her, and the taxi driver is dumbfounded to learn that the old woman was "Duraiyamma" herself. The epilogue shows Parithi and Amy (as they were in their younger days) in the afterlife, depicted as a 1940's-style Madrasapattinam. As the credits roll, a series of montage images are shown, illustrating the transformation of Madrasapattinam of the 1940's to modern-day Chennai.
I normally don't feel sad after watching a movie but this movie made me ponder about life's difficulties, separations, and the sorrows that accompany it

Asliza-my old friend

It was 1975. I was in Standard 5 Red (1st class) in Sekolah Tunku Mahmud (1). As usual Ravindran, my best friend and i always sit together in the class. Our class teacher was Mr. Robert Gan. We had the same teacher as our class teacher when we were in Standard 4. I think he must have noticed our friendship when we were in Standard 4. So, when we progressed to Standard 5, he seperated us. He made us sit at the opposite corners of the class. Ravindran was made to sit at the left corner and I was made to sit at the right corner of the class.

My neighbour was a long-haired sweet looking girl. She was a quiet, shy and a reserved person just like me. Unlike now, those days, I don't talk to girls at all. There are a lot of female classmates that i have never spoken to during my schooldays.

So, how am I to spend the rest of the year sitting beside this girl? It took sometime for us to break the ice. I slowly begin to talk to her by asking for a pencil or eraser. Most of the time I go to school without stationeries. I usually borrow from Zam-Zam who was sitting behind me. So, now I got an additional person to aid me. Our friendship slowly blossomed. I remember there were a few occassions when she teased me. According to her, I helped her by putting a tick for inaccurate answers just for her to gain additional marks. But I can't remember that.

The days passed by and we became good friends although not very close. The reason was I didn't want to be teased by my friends. I can't remember much about us, as both of us were very shy. But, I was kind of respect her. So, who is this girl? Yes, she is Asliza Ahmad.

She left our school a year later after her father was transfered to Kuala Lumpur. Since then I did not hear about her until March this year through Facebook. At first I was a bit reluctant to contact her as I was unsure. She started the conversation by asking whether do I still remember her.

Our friendship is now reestablished after 35 years. She has been an air stewardess and held many other positions in the airline industry as well as in the corporate sector. She is very knowledgable and dynamic.

She is now staying in Shah Alam and has a lovely son. We communicate almost daily. Both of us have so much to talk but so little time.

I punish you, if you don't vote for me!

Malay rights group Perkasa while welcoming the RM3mil allocation given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to a Chinese school reitreated its stand to delay allocations to the Chinese voters following their lack of support during the Hulu Selangor by-election. According to its president, the suggestion was merely to make the community "repent and realise" that they should be grateful.

Looks like Perkasa has forgotten that it is serving the people. If it doesn't deliver the people will punish it in the next general election. It is not the other way round. If the people don't vote for you, you punish them till they repent.

Who is this Perkasa to punish voters? Who is living on who's mercy. Is it the people living in Perkasa's mercy or Perkasa living in the people's mercy? Perkasa's arrogance is surely going to cost the Barisan a lot. If left unchecked Perkasa's statements can cause racial tension in this country. Perkasa thinks that it is the master and the people are the slaves. They have failed to realise that the political landscape of this country has changed. There are more young voters now and they are not faithfull to any particular party or leader. Politicians have to deliver if they want to retain their seat.

The people of this country should reject organisations like Perkasa to enjoy continued harmony and prosperity.

Another song by Sudirman which tells about my love life.

Malam Ini
Artis ” Sudirman “

Malam Ini Kau Bermesra Denganku
Malam Ini Kau Bermanja Denganku
Hari Esok Kitakan Berpisah
Akukan Pergi Meninggalkanmu

Jangan Kau Terharu
Memang Sudah Nasibku
Tetapku Belai

Lambat Launnya
Kitakan Bersua
Berdoalah Saja
Semoga Berjaya

One of my favourite singers is Sudirman. I like all his songs but my favourite is Terasing. Although the song was written in the mid 80's, when I just left college, but today the lyrics are somehow seem to describe my life perfectly.

TERASING

Kegelisahan didalam kedinginan
Meniti sepi keseorangan
Sebuah kematian yang tiada bernisan
Sendu mengiringi perpisahan

Ruang nan luas diri bergerak bebas
Namun keupayaanku terbatas
Segala mimpi menjadi api
Perit membakar diri

Sebuah cinta dan harapan
Menjadi debu berterbangan
Tersekat nafasku kabur pandangan mataku
Amat tersiksa diriku
Kerana kehilanganmu

Oh Oh mengapakah terus mengharap menanti
Walau cukup kusedari
Kau tak kan kembali

Pemergianku mengisi permintaan
Biarpun dikau masih kuperlukan
Kita dikatakan pasangan bahagia
Kini terasing luka