Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Hermespan

Do you live in Malaysia?

Hermespan — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 23:09:57 +0800

Third try lucky?

Who populates this forum?

Hermespan — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 22:40:42 +0800

My first attempt to post a poll failed (incorrect format?) So, I am trying again. After viewing I learned that one cannot put a space in between lines. Or perhaps numbering them was what did the trick. Darned, second time round I forgot to add an important choice: 'I *don't* live in Malaysia. Selecting 'edit post' does not give me the option to change poll. And 1. my job is here' should be changed to 'my job or business is here'. What to do?

Do you live in Malaysia? WHY?

Hermespan — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 22:15:03 +0800

I do not know how to do this in order to tally results automatically and also how to be able to answer yes to more than one answer.

Slum neighbours-wife-beating husband, nagging wife

Hermespan — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 13:58:49 +0800

OK, this is somewhat of a bait and switch, wanted to get your attention. This post is only in a very small part about spousal abuse. It concerns living in a low-class shared accommodation as a foreigner.

Straight off, the obvious answer is to move. Not my business. If she is such a fool as to stay with him, and them all being such jerks for staying where they are not welcome, I would be a fool to not move. But my circumstances do not allow, as probably theirs don't either.

However, I am posting this to see sort of relationship is normal for working class Malaysians and how to deal with other aspects of this low-cost shared accommodation. I speculate that this it is probably common in every country without a civic society (huh, I thought Malaysia *was* civic?) I do not want to go to any authorities or get embroiled in a law suit, just solve the problem sensibly and simply.

Yeah, 'you get what you pay for' But *am* I?

I rent a room in a converted shop-house. When market conditions for the service business changed the operator had decided that money was to be made dividing the middle and upper floors and converting into basic rooms. I presume she is not licensed to operate a lodging and I don't care as the day-to-day manager of the business is a trusted old friend. I took the opportunity to rent a room for RMY250 per month. There are five rooms on this top floor with shared WC, washing area and huge common area. Weird thing is all rooms, whether concrete block or wooden walls, whether they have a window or not, and regardless of their size - they are all the same price (unless I am being lied to).

Skip to 'The big issue is this...' to save time reading my obsession with minutia..

I rate the living conditions with numbers.

Pluses (5/5 is good)

- cheap (or me anyway) 5/5
- suitable as a 'lock and leave' store room 4.5/5
- view of trees 5/5
- inherited for a cheap price the AC unit of previous tenant 5/5
- next door young Malay neighbour is quiet and polite, rarely here in fact. 5/5
- one youngish Malay tenant entirely absent (works in Singapore) 4.5/5
- family tenants (mixed couple in 30s) very clean in their habits 5/5
- couple sweeps and mops twice a week, including shared area 5/5
- their baby is quiet, more or less 3.5/5
- 100% honest friend of 22 years of knowing him is day-to-day manager of business downstairs 5/5
- I finally have a tacit arrangement with family tenants of when we each cook and use dining table 2.5/5
- husband of couple is soft-spoken, polite and causes me no grief. He is gone 10 hours a day at work 4/5
- their two young boys are well-behaved and act as free security guards! 4/5
- steel gate on interior and exterior of room 5/5
- distant room shared by two 23ish Bangla workers, they are at work all day 3/5
- locked steel gate at entrance to floor 5/5
- windows are steel-barred 5/5
- sunny and large enough clothes drying area 3/5

Minuses (5/5 is good)

- questionable physical security, so I felt I had to spent equivalent of two months rent to add a steel gate to the interior access door 1/5
- no organized regular cleaning of common areas and staircase. Impromptu by us and management 3/5
- two Bangladeshi tenants are a little dirty in their habits (leaving cigarette butts, not cleaning dishes frequently, etc) Management complains about it but I do not see their supposed throwing food out the window onto the lane 4/5
- both my wood doors are cheap hollow ones (not ideal for noise reduction and security) 3/5
- windows are single pane 2/5
- on the street not far away near itinerant food vendor, punks park their cars with stereos on loud at 1 a.m. 2/5
- roof can leak if strong wind with rain (pending repair). I worry about my TV and books when I am out of town. 2/5
- because of above my exterior door now is warped and does not close 3.5/5
- no sink, just a hole in the floor outdoor area 1/5
- WC door closes only 80% 1.5/5
- Bangla boys refuse to refill mandi (washing tub) after use. This is despite being reminded multiple times 2/5
- pigeons in ceiling 2/5
- only one electrical outlet, so I live with a tangle of extensions. To get a new line installed would cost me. 3/5
- the boys do not go to school.They appear to be bored out of their minds 3/5
- clothes drying area has no covered space, and with nightly rains... 3/5
- I am the only vegetarian here, and since there is not enough space in my room I had to explain to all my neighbours and post a sign in three languages that the fridge is my personal property and must not be used for non-veg food (if in fact there is any room at all after I use it for my purposes). 3.5/5
- the family rarely goes out, thus I never has the common area totally to myself. They are (vibe-wise) hovering to get back into the common area.This is not relaxing, so I go back to my room rather than eat in what is supposedly for all. Why should I feel intimidated by my neighbours? Today, for the first time in six months, I had the place to myself. It was a miracle. 2/5
- there is something like a caste system here. The family thinks (judging by their behaviour) that they should get special privileges, I am next (because I am close friends with the operations manager, and he has my ear), the girl is a non-entity whose pleas for a more reasonable set-up vis-a-vis neighbours are ignored, the absent tenant is irrelevant, and the Bangla boys are banned from the kitchen and dining room. Seriously! I have invited them in to the table several times but they are afraid of the guy I call 'Tamil Tiger'. Or maybe it is his witch of a partner. Curiously, she is a technical Muslim (marriage?), yet doing an obviously animist/Hindu ritual daily with frankincense and a cocoanut. Apparently the boy's father is a cop in JB.

This place is like some US soap opera (daytime TV drama) of conflicts!

The family and the Bangla boys fought over this right of access for months. The excuse by the family and the management is that as they are not perfectly clean they have to cook out under the rain! To be clear - I would not rather have Muslim roommates, for the simple reason that they cook more flesh foods than Hindus, and I have a Brahminical streak. But damn it, we are all equal paying renters. The eating habits of my roommates are not my business as long as it doesn't affect me. If they pay the rent they can cook beef everyday and fill the air with the aroma of roasted cow and I have no right to complain. I think the cleanliness issue is a red herring. I see it as plain anti-guest worker discrimination.

But these are just the small points.

The big issue is this...

One room is occupied by a common law couple with two kids and a baby. She is Tamil Malaysian, he is Sri Lankan (I think without working ID). They have two young boys and a new baby. When I paid my deposit they were not here. When a room became available (admittedly the best room) and I came back to Malaysia I was told that the children
were 'visiting temporarily'. That was half a year ago. I presumed the woman was just fat. Turns out she was pregnant. So, my next trip back meant another half-tenant.

So, what is my issue having a family as roommates? The woman is very rude in her behaviour - very loud, constantly nagging her mate. I don't understand Tamil, but just her tone of voice gets to me.

The husband had navigated himself into the shared area and was sleeping on a mattress there. For weeks on end. My next door roommate, a young female was disturbed by this, especially since he was turning the light off so she couldn't find her way easily.

In addition, they were claiming the dining room table as theirs - mob rule. I had to fight for my rights to use the common area. They spread their stuff all out over the table leaving me no place to prep my food and sit and eat.

They live in the public space more than anybody else here. By their vibe, they don't make me feel comfortable, not welcome doing same.

And they quarrel a lot. At one point when they were arguing loudly, even smashing dishes and getting into rough physical altercations. After 2 a.m. for God's sake! I complained to the management, as had already my next door neighbour. I wrote an email to management. Within a few days the top manager of the business came and told the woman she has to behave herself. They should find a new place.

My conversation with the landlord went something like this...
"We are going to wait until the baby is older"
'That is vague - how old, ten? Did they give you a commitment of any date?'
"No"
'I feel sorry for them, they have no place to go.'

I didn't tell her that if she feels so sorry for them, let them move into her big middle-class house in the suburbs and she can be so humanitarian. I have since learned that the family is paying more rent. How does that make the living situation better for fellow tenants? It doesn't. This is clearly all about money. The top boss doesn't give a shit. And my friend is in a delicate position, he can't criticize his boss.

My rational arguments received a deaf ear - five people in a room intended for 1 or 2 tenants, and spreading out into the shared area. All that has happened is that now, 1) they leave me space to cook, eat and sit at the table, 2) they fight less (but they still fight - on coming back from Singapore, within 12 hours I heard somebody hit somebody twice), and 3) now the boys sleep in what they have claimed as their share of the common area, instead of the 'husband' doing so.

The man continues to assault the wife (or maybe she is hitting him, I do not see, only hear,but judging by the sound of things he is the assailant). It sounds like he gets fed up with her bitching and hits her. I have seen the boys terrified. But I can't get involved in a family conflict by inviting them into my room for protection. When I commented to the management about this domestic violence I was laughed at, that in Malaysia men do this. Implication : I am a naive westerner. I find this appalling - not the physical abuse, but the social acceptance of it. I am reminded of one Tamil Saiva guru whose message was 'for world peace, first stop the war in the home'. Malaysian men abusing their wives, is this socially accepted here?

Here I have not dealt with general positives and negatives of living in Malaysia (such as loud azan and lack of public transport), rather only what is unique to this place.

I had very little of these problems living in Cambodia and Thailand, though to be fair I had private accommodation or lived with westerners.

What gets to me is mostly the indifference of management. They don't evict the bad apples. I am told that the reason no upgrades are made in this place is that the tenants don't appreciate it and break things. I am not convinced that this is entirely true.

I am in a bad spot because I need this storage space to keep my stuff secure (I travel around Asia and am out of the country for months at a time), but I am sorely tempted to move to Penang, until I can get out of this country for good (Thailand is an obvious choice). Thing is it could be more of the same nonsense in Georgetown or Butterworth. And Penang is much more expensive than a small town in Johor.

Maybe someone has a better solution...

Am I living in a slum? What to do (other than the obvious - move)?

Fellow westerners be warned - get your own place or do not come here. Due to making a poor choice I have to go back to keeping this place as only a pit stop, a temporary storage room in between trips. Malaysia cannot be my second home. This probably explains why, unlike Thailand and other countries in the region, most expats are married couples here in high-level positions who can afford decent accommodation. Ditto for toursists? I have had the opportunity to see the underbelly of Malaysia.

Door grille/iron gate for rented room

Hermespan — Wed, 03 Feb 2016 18:24:58 +0800

Context: in rented room the floor which has an accordian (collapsible) steel gate w/ a padlock. I leave my room for months at a timd and keep not exactly valuables in there. I want to install a security gate right at my private room for sdcurity and also for the purpose of fresh air when sleeping (leave door open).

Having difficulties arranging construction and installation of steel gate for such an interior door. One guy says he is coming to give quote but doesn't show up. Another guy doesn't make clear he is really a door installer and will be sub-contracting out construction. Chinese, Tamils and Malays none speak little enough English to get technical. I ask them to bring samples of thicknesses and hollow vs. solid, then an explanation of grades (top, medium and low with comensurate prices).They seem to think I am being too demanding. I call around to local workshops and nobody answers the phone.The retail shops specialize in fancy stainless for the rich.

Where does the price-conscious consumer get custom work? I am not interested in luxury, only basic functional design.

What surprises me though is these items aren't ready-made. I mean 84.5 X 205 cm (aprox) is standard door space. You could make say three sizes. But instead I have to start from scratch.

Every shophouse I see has those accordian folding steel gates. Most stairway entrances at hallway level have such gates as I am looking for. Yet the manufacturers seem to not have sales demo shops in my city, but instead are factories outside of bus lines.

It is quite annoying living in low rental housing, on top floor without concrete ceiling. I don't mind the sound of pigeons but I am not happy about no solid ceiling at all. If my neighbour was a thief, or invited one into her room, all he would have to do is climb over the dividing wall and through two false ceilings.

So, at least I will add a door gate.

Best uncomplicated/old fashioned mobile service?

Hermespan — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 14:23:26 +0800

I am getting fed up with the difficulty of getting a human being on the telephone within a reasonable period of time (not 20 minutes).

To this old man, customer service does not mean service by email, not logging into an online account and doing it yourself, does not mean having to walk into a shop that sells upgrade plans and phones, a phone company should offer duh - service by one of their salesmen or technicians by phone obviously.

But Malaysia seems to have become worse than the rest of the world - Canada and Thailand for xample. Or maybe I am out of date and even Cambodia and India are this way too.

Who is the market leader in mobile customer service - you pay more but you get accurate detailed information, fast?

Digi seems to be trying its best to avoid human aural contact.

Even the hotlines I have for them no longer work!

The other challenge I am finding is simplicity and transparency in plans. Every company I have contacted so far has so many, and quickly changing plans that I can't keep track. And they keep sending me spam and having strange terms like 'if you don't cancel when you leave the country your acccount will automatically deducted until it is empty.'

Looking for a straightforward honest plan that is easy to understand and stable. No bells and whistles. No 'this week promotion'. Just pay per minute. Good value is secondary.

Otherwise it is as if I am dealing with gangsters. Almost as bad as banks.

Baoding exercise balls - where?

Hermespan — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 07:25:49 +0800

Cannot find those Chinese balls that fit in hand. Suitable for over typed hands overusing computer.

I live in a high Chinese population town in Johor yet cannot find.

Feng shui, sports stores, health food stores - nobody sells.

Must have falen from fashion.

Top three padlock, chain and hasp suppliers?

Hermespan — Wed, 13 Jan 2016 01:21:11 +0800

Hi,

I am in a small town near Batu Pahat and not happy with the quality of padlocks, steel chains, hasps etc. avaailable here to secure my rented room. I am a tenant in a shophouse that has been modified for low-income housing (i.e. mistresses, illegal foreign workers, people who are never here because they work in SIN, etc).

Even tonight a neighbour was broken into.

I have viewed on Youtube all kinds of reviews of top-quality locks from Europe and USA but don't see them being sold in my small town. The best are off-brands for 30 or 75 MYR. But it appears that top quality imported is 20X and more of that price. Are there some Malaysian or Chinese locks that are excellent, that landlords trust their property to?

What I am looking for is going shopping to set up my apartment for security, but without spending three times my monthly rent for a lock!

So, this question is two-fold...

1. What brands for sale in Malaysia are both high quality and not expensive, i.e. good value?
2. Who sells them in Johor and Malacca?

Example products...

1. padlocks, the best of what is made in MALAYSIA or at least SE Asia, maybe China - not Japan or USA (for economy)
2. Hasps: ditto, hardened steel, reinforced hinges etc
3, chains: as bolt cutter resistent as possible. I went into my local hardware store and she offered to cut any length of chain for me while I waited. I left the store!
4. screws: 3" not these tiny little things that my landlord is using.
5. anchors: for the thin wood frame and into the concrete (they might be concrete bricks for all I know)

Bottom line: I live in a taman where there have been robberies and thefts before. I need to be able to lock and leave my place for months.

But I am not keen on a trip to KL to buy luxury products.

Certainly there must be a place in JB or Batu Pahat with professional level supplies.

I am willing to sacrifice #1 (local made) is necessary, and buy imported.

I leFt a message by email in English with one place in JB but they haven't yet responded.

Danok to Betong (both in Thailand) via Malaysia

Hermespan — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 21:27:15 +0800

Hi, I am a gwailo cheonging (I believe you guys call it) in Ban Dan Nok opposite Bukit Kayu Hitam. I won't bore you with the action here as you can read all about that on Sammyboy.

I have a question for experienced travellers in Kedah. Is it faster & simpler or slower and a hassle to get between the Thai border towns by going through Malaysia rather than Thailand itself?

On google maps it looks like 2.5 vs. 4 hours not counting border crossing times. In other words, it might be faster to go Thailand->Malaysia->Thailand than Thailand->Thailand. Plus one less bus ride through insurgent territory. True?

I travel by bus mostly and I can't don't have any accurate and up to date information. Rome2Rio website suggests that I can take a Cepkat Ekspres bus from the Thai border to Baling, but that it only operates once a day. It doesn't say what time. Then I have to take a 25 minute taxi from Baling to the Betong border.

I don't speak Bahasa Melayu and Malaysian bus companies are notorious for not picking up the phone. My plan is to leave tomorrow morning but my worry is I cross only to find out that I missed the bus to Baling.

Why Betong? Dan Nok is not farang-friendly, 'entertainment services' are poorer value than Pattaya, but mostly I am vegetarian and it is tough to survive in this town of fried chicken and goat curry. I hear that a much larger percentage of ethnic South Indians party in Betong than Danok. Where there are Tamils there will be idly, dosa, and uttapam. Here all there is is a grotesque huge Ganesha statue.

Have any if you forum members done this - travelled from Dank to Betong via Malaysia? If so, how did you do it?