Are the Malaysian police stupid?

It's bad enough that the stories of police brutality in our country have spread far and wide.

And then, some idiot in our police force decided to capture it on video and show it to the rest of the world - thus drawing additional attention to themselves and finally confirming what people have already been talking about for some time:







Basically, these shots were taken from a video of a Chinese girl being humiliated in a police lockup. She was made to strip in front of a female officer (pictured above), grab her own ears and do squats - it's the kind of punishment teachers give kids in school, but with clothes on, of course.

And while all this happened, she was peeped at by some other cops - one of whom took this video. He probably thought it was really funny, but he was probably thinking with the wrong head.

I guess the anti-corruption button badges aren't enough - our police force probably needs anti-perversion and anti-moron badges too.

You can read more about it on Jeff Ooi's blog (click here).

The sad thing is that I'm not all that surprised - I've been hearing horror stories about the way Malaysian cops treat people in the lockup, especially those who are mistakenly thrown in (usually guilty of association or simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time) and are abused, humiliated and mentally tortured - often released without so much as an apology.

As if recent newspaper stories of cops seeking civil action against members of the public who stood up for their rights (click here) weren't enough of an issue already - along with the other recent story of cops harrassing people at their homes (click here) - this had to come along to brighten up everybody's day.

But what's even sadder was that I thought that the cops in Malaysia were getting better - I've had some pleasant experiences recently with honest cops who were more worried about my well-being than on getting a bribe.

Something is wrong with our law enforcers and it's about time the people at the top thought about how and why these atrocities are happening. Maybe give the male cops copies of FHM so they wouldn't always go berserk at the sight of skin.

Idiots.

Wonders of the human mind...

Something weird happened the other day.

I was driving home a couple of nights ago (after some drinks) when I started singing She'll be coming round the mountain.

Dunno why the hell I did that. I just went...

She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes
She'll be coming round the mountain
She'll be coming round the mountain
She'll be coming round the mountain when she comes

...thought of this mental image...



...and then burst into uncontrollable laughter - tears and all.

Shit... it's starting again!!!

Lessons of the day - part 2

On wisdom and keeping one's mouth shut


As we grow a little older, we'd all like to believe that we're a little wiser too. That we've learnt our lessons from past mistakes and that we'd be able to confidently march forth into the future with the knowledge that - thanks to our past experiences - we'll be able to overcome all adversities with far greater grace and tact than before.

And then, God created e-mail.

One of the wonderful things about the Interweb and E-mail is that we're now able to communicate with each other far easier than before. The main reason for this is that while it may be hard to speak directly with people, it's far easier to write - because we are able to gather our thoughts and respond without having to worry about real-time cognitive skills.

And it's also far easier to forget that, unlike spoken dialogue, any written form of text - be it snail mail, e-mail, MSN messenger, etc - can be copied and pasted, thus making easier for other people to propogate your thoughts and beliefs to an even wider audience.

Normally, this wouldn't be a problem. But in this case, my actions could have a negative effect on other people whom I happen to care about. It's a very small (almost negligble) possibility, but still an unnecessary risk.

And what's even worse is that this isn't the first time I've done something that could potentially put my friends or colleagues in trouble through what seems - at first - to be a completely harmless act.

The other time was when I poked fun at one of our competitors through a highly visible Easter Egg in one of my articles.

To conclude, I'm starting to believe that we don't actually get wiser with age - we just end up finding new ways to screw up. Or maybe it's just me.

The other thing I've learnt about this little episode is that I'm a pretty selfish bastard myself. It's embarassing, but I admit that I'm more angry about doing something stupid (yet) again than worried about the possible repercussions of my actions on other people.

Who knows, I could take solace in the fact that I can openly admit this, but that doesn't absolve me of what was a very irresponsible act.

Am I sorry? Oh, yes...
Am I over-dramatising things? Well, maybe...
Am I any wiser? Hell, no...

Oh, GOD. Now, I'm turning my blog into one of those philosophical angsty ones! AAAAAARRRGGHH!!!

I really need a beer.


-------------------------------------------------------

On gaming-related injuries

On a slightly lighter note, I appear to have lightly sprained my right index finger by hitting my mouse too hard while playing F.E.A.R. (basically, a bloody awesome FPS).

And while I'm feeling miserable, I'd like to point out that even this isn't my first gaming-related injury.

I've gotten massive blisters on my thumb when Street Fighter II first came out on the Sega Megadrive in 1993 and I've even managed to cut my thumb on the steering wheel while playing Sega Rally in the arcades in 1997 (lost quite a bit of blood too).

I really need a beer.

Other entries in this series:
Lessons of the day - part 1
The Ultimate Guide to reading instructions

Doing my bit for the economy...

Well, not really but I did buy myself 48 litres of Vanilla Coke for about RM70.

This should last me till the end of next week.

But when you put things into perspective, 70 Ringgit for 48 litres of Vanilla Coke is quite affordable when you compare it to about 98 Ringgit (duty free) for 750cc of Johnnie Walker Black label. Can't remember how much it costs in clubs (RM300?)

Expensive shite... Buy Vanilla Coke instead


Have you done your part in averting this disaster? Go on... buy a crate or two today!

Lessons of the day - part 1

* updated 16th Nov 2005 with pics.

I learnt a couple of things today:

1. The thing about having a single earring on your right / left ear signifying that you're gay is - apparently - a myth that just got propogated in high-school. They haven't got any sort of preference and actually wear rainbow shirts to identify themselves to other like-minded gentlemen. Apparently.

2. Opened cans of Red Bull make excellent air fresheners for your car! Just pop a can, drink a bit of it and leave it in the cupholder once you've arrived at the club/pub.

When you return to your car after having plenty of drinks, you'll be greeted by an interior that smells of chocolate. Not only that, you'll even have some Red Bull to keep you awake for the drive home. Genius, no?

Ooh, yes... Smell's like heaven in here

Power of the bull: Just 2 hours of sleep and still going ^_^

--------------------------------------
It was a great night out. Saw a bunch of wankers revving their Ferraris and Lamborghinis in front of Heritage Row, KL.


We also saw a meteor/satellite entering the Earth's atmosphere - kinda like a shooting star, only that it was visibly on fire and breaking up into itty-bitty little pieces. We were at the mamak when I looked up and spotted this thing tearing across the sky like a burning airplane for about 3 seconds. I know I wasn't dreaming cos Aloy and Terry spotted it too.

It was an awesome sight! Wish I had my camera turned on and ready to shoot at that moment.

Unfortunately, I pointed at it with my fingers, which is supposed to be some sort of bad omen. Oops.

My Apple Power Mac G5 is completely RUBBISH

Let me take this opportunity to convey my feelings towards the @#$%ing Apple Power Mac G5 that's sitting on my office desk.

The offending bastard

I @#%&ing HATE IT!!!
I SO @#%&ing HATE IT!!!
I TRULY @#%&ing HATE IT!!!
I REALLY @#%&ing HATE IT!!!
I DAMN BLOODY @#%&ing HATE IT!!!
I, WITHOUT A DOUBT @#%&ing HATE IT with every fibre of my being!!!

GAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

The problem is, it's incredibly unstable and has been hanging / freezing / crashing at the slightest of provocations (normally doing anything that involves changing screen modes - i.e. playing games / switching video to full-screen)

But lately, even Firefox is bringing it to its knees. WHY???

It's a bloody state-of-the-art 64-bit workstation and a rock-solid UNIX-based operating system. Why is it behaving like Windows 95 on my old Pentium III 450??? I'm quite certain that, one day, the damn thing is going to burst into flames and burn this entire building to the ground.

And after that, it'll start peeing over my toilet seat, begin throwing rubbish out of the car window, jump queue in front of me at KFC and then stick an advert for some pakar urut / Feng Shui consultancy / Car care product offer / Minyak Lintah Cobra untuk tegakkan batang gembira (dengan Tongkat Ali) thingy on my windscreen wiper.

And then, it will kill my fish by turning off my aquarium pump.

Stupid computer...


And what's even more frustrating is that my old Power Mac G4 (with 1.25GHz Sonnet CPU upgrade card) is probably the most reliable computer I've used in recent memory it can go for weeks without needing a restart or without something suddenly going horribly wrong.

I used to have it right here, on my office desk. Now, it's residing on the desk in my bedroom - happily playing music, downloading torrents and doing Photoshop work without any complaints. Why can't this stupid Power Mac G5 do the same??? It's supposed to be soooo much better, with its intelligent cooling systems, super high-speed architecture and advanced power management.

But, instead, it's a piece of rubbish.

Stupid... stupid thing.

--------------------------------------

Footnote:
Actually I'm just really bitter because I was halfway writing a cheery blog entry about the three portable devices currently in my possession (the new video iPod, a Creative Zen Micro and the excellent Epson P-2000 Multimedia storage viewer).

Then, this stupid made-in-China piece of crap decided to stop working.

--------------------------------------

In the meantime, here's a shot of Charles working late in the office. One of the great things about our place is that you can come in at anytime and leave whenever you feel like it (provided you've done your share of work). The other cool thing is that we have about 13 million cameras on standby, should anything funny happen.

Better check his pulse...

The loon who just scored a goal in the background is Ravind.

Coca-Cola to end Vanilla Coke! NOOOO!!!!

I read some really bad news a couple of days ago. The Coca-Cola company is going to stop producing it's best-ever beverage: Vanilla Coke.

Screw the iPod nano... They're killing off Vanilla Coke

It will be phased out of the US market by the end of the year and in early 2006 for the UK market.

No word on when production will cease in Malaysia but, if F&N Coca-Cola follow orders from the HQ, I'm guessing we'll see the last of it by mid-2006.

I dunno about you guys but I'm going to buy about 30 crates of 2-litre Vanilla Coke bottles. And maybe a few hundred cans too.

First, we had increased taxes on alcohol. Now this. What the hell are we supposed to drink? Water?


*Yuck!*

A Wonderful Hari Raya... at KFC

Hmm... it turns out that Hanif isn't having an open house this year. Good thing I already had lunch at KFC.

*yum!*

And what's even sadder is - since everyone's gone and I've got nothing better to do - I'm actually at the office doing work. On a public holiday!!!

*sigh!*