Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by windvind

How to start back a ghosted conversation?

windvind — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 20:37:15 +0800

Met a girl from a dating app, she was more beautiful in person. First date was coffee date only she insist on paying as she was 10 minutes late.
I fell we had a reasonably good date and we talked in the cafe and when for a walk in a park. Invited her for dinner but she said she had dinner plans with her family, she suggested second date. Coming to the date she walked to the cafe so I insisted on walking her home, and we hugged goodbye before i left.

Second date was beer and finger food on a weekday night. She was dressed well with make up. We went to kind of a craft beer place nice atmosphere abit crowded. We talked alot more with slightly more personal questions. She laughed alot. We had some repeat question as we been texting before that. Half way through she suggested to go eat ramen next time as she knew a good place nearby. She picked both dates and location. I complimented her dress which i think was a big mistake, it was a super low cut top until her ribcage. It turned out to be a blouse and skirt instead. I should have complimented other things as complimenting on her blouse might make me sound perverted. Apart from the repeated questions this was probably the only really bad part of the date. Walked her home again and hugged goodbye.

So we text for abit the next few days. She always replies slowly even before the first date. But this time suddenly she ghosted me for 3 to 4 days. Then she only replied a one sentence reply "wishing i had a good holiday". I ended up ghosting her too and its been 3 weeks since we spoke. During the 3 weeks I matched and went on another date with another person who kept talking about her dog and her cheating ex-bf. Through this date I realized I connected and liked the first girl better.

Overall I had a good experience with the first girl. I should have made a move earlier and i feel if i don't make a move now it would be really over.

I know its not recommended to text a ghosted person but i don't mind burning the bridge if needed. Also, she did suggest a 3rd date but it never happened.

Any suggestion how to start back the conversation?
I was thinking, Hei ______, thought i catch up with you. How have you been? What's exciting apart from work. ( she is a workaholic ).

A girl you just met stares at you over 20 seconds

windvind — Fri, 02 Oct 2020 10:41:28 +0800

Background story. I when to an adult language exchange more like a English club sort of thing, I used to go on and off when invited as i dont need to learn English and was more interested in a real language exchange (English-Local Language). I was the only foreigner there and the rest are locals. So there I met this girl, she was a new comer and she came late so she sat at the side of the table facing us, we both did not interaction much during the language exchange.

After the activity, we went for beer afterwards to a Japanese Izakaya. There was 2 girls and 3 guys. The arrangement was from left - female, male, female (her) and opposite side left - me and another guy. We both sat most furthers away from each other. We just talked about random stuff and i noticed when she talked she or I talked, she always looking at me to see my reaction. I thought she was looking at the guy next to me as he was sort of a leader in group and he was leading the conversation most of the time. As I could not speak the local language well, I did not participate much and only listened in.

But then, I'm sure she was looking at me as she just stared straight at me and I was looking back straight at her, after 15 secs I looked away and broke eye contact and smiled at her but she kept staring at me continuously without any reaction. Because of the sitting arrangement we had some distance between us but when you are looking at someone eye to eye for 15 seconds is feels like a long time. It was so weird like she was looking into my soul or wanting to eat me alive. I have never had such experience in my life. Also, I asked for her name and made a mistake pronouncing it and she was abit upset maybe not upset but she made a commend that I was pronouncing her name wrong, while others said i pronounced it correctly.

She is quite young compared to me as she is still in the last year of university while I have been working for almost 6 years. I'm dont think she is interested in me plus I'm a non white foreigner which is preferred in this part of the world. Her personality was quiet but gave polite yet slightly sarcastic remarks during some of the conversation with others, made me feel like she was a chili padi.

Although the staring was quite unpleasant to be very honest, it did piqued my interest and give me a very strong impression of her. I also remembered her name correctly. I also decided to join the next meet which is later today.. I'm going to pay more attention to her today just to see if it repeats and see how it goes.

Any takes on this, when a girl looking straight at you for over 10-20 seconds more than once at least 3 times.

Update: She did not stare anymore this time. Spoke to her more, mostly small talk as she was sitting opposite me. She remembers my name. Learned that she is single just broke up with her bf. Shifted back to her parents place because of Covid. Studying arts in a private university, lives in uptown area. Talked abit about her family. Very straight forward person. Do not drink alcohol.

The staring was probably a one time thing, nothing special. Reason for thinking this way, only i was asking questions. She answered all while she did not ask much about me. The end.

Shock by colleague

windvind — Mon, 28 Sep 2020 12:21:19 +0800

I was brushing my teeth after lunch in office.
Then my colleague wanted to use the basin in pantry also, so i let him use first and i continue brushing.
He pressed on the handwash soap, added abit of water and put it into his mouth.
After gargling he spit it out.

I'm shocked and in disbelieve now.
I never thought of using soap as toothpaste. I never knew you can use soap as toothpaste.
Any one else do this?

Edit: I dont work in Malaysia. Everybody takes turn to brush teeth and there is only 1 sink in male and 1 sink in female toilet so some people use pantry toilet to brush. There is around 60 ppl working in the office alone excluding the production staff and 4 toilet in office building.

1MDB CEO gets 194% increase in pay Year on Year

windvind — Sun, 20 Sep 2020 09:35:41 +0800

This is crazy. Wow. Let's not talk about this being government money for a second.
Of cause all this is pale in comparison to what Najib and J.Low got.
Now we see politicians in GLC's again in 2020.

Just look at those crazy salary + bonus is way way way out of normal for a failed company that is a lost making and insolvent company.

Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman
Before joining 1MDB salary was 500k per year. (RM 38k per month)
After joining 1MDB 1st year, 2012- RM 1.105m. (RM 65K per month + 5 month Bonus)
2nd year, 2013 - RM 2.134 m (RM 97k per month + 10 month Bonus) increase of 194%

Another CEO Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi 2009 - 2013
Salary per year in 1MDB RM 2.97m + 197k of director fees. (RM 99k per month + 18 month Bonus)

Next and last CEO, Champion!!
Arul Kanda Kandasamy
2018, Jan to Jun - RM5 million salary package for a six-month period, monthly pay RM 833k per month.
His exact salary and bonus not yet release but would be in due time. Going to be huge.

Others
SRC directors pay Datuk Suboh Md Yassin and Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil, fees amounting to RM84,583 and RM74,583.
Nik Faisal was paid RM335,533, and a bonus of RM533,000 for 4 months work.

Malaysia Kaya, Malaysia Boleh.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): Former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) chief executive officer Mohd Hazem Abdul Rahman was offered almost triple his salary in his previous company to join 1MDB, the High Court heard today.

During examination-in-chief today, Mohd Hazem, who is testifying against former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the 1MDB-Tanore trial as the 10th prosecution witness, said he received a salary of RM65,000 a month as chief operating officer (COO) when he first joined 1MDB in August 2012.

Mohd Hazem said that when he was promoted to chief executive officer (CEO) in March 2013, he received a salary of RM97,000. Furthermore, during his tenure, he received a five-month bonus in his first year when he was COO and a 10-month bonus when he was CEO.

In 1MDB, Mohd Hazem oversaw the development and operation of the independent power producers the company acquired, as well as the development of Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) and Bandar Malaysia.

Following his resignation as CEO in January 2015, Mohd Hazem was succeeded by Arul Kanda Kandasamy.

Prior to being offered the position as chief operating officer in 1MDB, Mohd Hazem was working as managing director in Sime Darby Auto Conexxion, during which his last drawn salary was a mere RM38,000 a month.

Comparatively, the High Court had previously heard that Mohd Hazem's predecessor, Datuk Shahrol Azral Ibrahim Halmi, received RM99,000 a month as CEO and once received a bonus of 18 months’ pay.

Shahrol said his 18-month bonus was a reward from Najib, purportedly due to his outstanding performance as 1MDB CEO.

On top of his salary, Shahrol also said he had as 1MDB director received RM179,000 annually as director’s allowance and RM1,500 for each board meeting attended.

Shahrol was 1MDB CEO from late 2009 until March 15, 2013

In the 1MDB-Tanore trial, Najib is facing four counts of abuse of power for using his position as prime minister, finance minister and 1MDB board of advisers chairman to receive gratification worth RM2.28 billion.

On top of that, he also faces 21 counts of money laundering involving over RM4.3 billion. If convicted, Najib faces up to 20 years' imprisonment.

CEO salary
Arul Kanda Salary

Anyone left Malaysia during CMCO for work?

windvind — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 17:17:07 +0800

I noticed that there is flights out of Malaysia from foreign airlines to Malaysia after the 9 Jun CMCO period.
I understand the CMCO is going to be lifted and replaced with RMCO on 10 Jun 2020.

I cant seem to find much information or procedures on the immigration website or on the home ministry website I tried emailing them and there is no reply from them. I remember that there was an old article during the start of MCO that stated that Malaysia's are able to leave Malaysia for work related purposed if they have a work visa during MCO but are not allowed to come back during the MCO period and if we come back there is quarantine. But nothing after that.

I went to the local police station and they were unclear on the rules also and told me to come back one day before the flight so they can issue interstate travel document.

I have obtained a job overseas as was supposed to start on March however i was able to delay it to Jun as there was just no flights between the 2 countries.
However, i notice there are daily flights now and want to find out if any one else managed to leave Malaysia during this period.

My company has bought tickets for me to travel after the end of CMCO. Any experience or help with be very thankful to me. Thanks.

Malaysia’s Preventable Coronavirus Disaster

windvind — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 23:54:49 +0800

Malaysia’s Preventable Coronavirus Disaster
The country’s newest leaders should have jumped into action immediately. Instead, they wasted precious weeks jockeying over cabinet positions.

On March 1, Malaysia’s recent political crisis moved to a resolution after nearly two weeks of drama. Muhyiddin Yassin, a member of Parliament, was sworn in as prime minister, ending a chaotic period during which his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, resigned; the ruling coalition disbanded; and numerous politicians switched sides and jockeyed for an audience with the king in the hopes of being appointed prime minister.

That very same day, on the outskirts of the capital, 16,000 members of an Islamic missionary movement called Tablighi Jama’at were wrapping up their four-day gathering at the Sri Petaling mosque complex.

The attendees would pack their bags and go home to communities across Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. And they would take the coronavirus with them. According to Malaysia’s Ministry of Health, at least 943 of the country’s 1,518 confirmed coronavirus cases, as of Monday, have been linked to this single event, now dubbed the “Tabligh cluster.” Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, and Cambodia have traced mounting numbers of confirmed cases back to the Sri Petaling gathering, where about 1,500 of the attendees were foreigners. Eight of 14 coronavirus deaths recorded in Malaysia to date are also directly linked to the Tablighi gathering.

The Tablighi gathering took place at a moment when the pandemic’s global death toll had reached more than 3,000 and numerous nations had already started shutting down public events. But as the days and weeks ticked by, Malaysia dragged its feet. As the number of cases grew, mosques and churches stayed open, sporting events were played, and business continued as usual.

Over the next nine days, as cases quietly spread within Malaysia—and global outbreaks meant that the virus was hardly an obscure phenomenon—members of the country’s new ruling coalition spent more time figuring out their own political status than they did on the pandemic. The National Alliance Party brings together several key members of the previous administration, including Muhyiddin himself, and former opposition parties like the United Malays National Organization. It’s an untested group, under a brand-new leader, working to assert authority after the resignation of Malaysia’s most senior statesman. In the end, this political upheaval may have proved a deadly distraction—one that lost the country crucial time in which to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

“Basically, the first few days were spent putting a cabinet together, with as many positions as possible. The obsession was to cement the coalition,” said James Chin, a Malaysian political scientist at the University of Tasmania. Muhyiddin ended up assembling an unusually large cabinet of 70 members of Parliament. “With regards to the virus, they were given advance warning, but I don’t think they were well prepared—partly due to political drama and partly because health care bureaucrats didn’t think it would spread so fast to Malaysia.”

Chin said health officials continued to work under the false pretext that COVID-19 was a foreign or imported threat and misapprehended the importance of community spread through domestic events like the Tablighi gathering.

“Malaysia’s ongoing political turmoil caused some setback to the fight against coronavirus,” said Swee Kheng Khor, a senior health policy fellow at the University of Malaya. “The nation spent 14 days without a health minister in the transition between governments.”

Adham Baba, the 57-year-old member of Parliament from Johor who was finally appointed as health minister March 9, was trained as a general medical practitioner and served previously in the country’s Higher Education and Youth and Sports ministries.

“He’s a nice enough guy,” Chin said, “but some of his directives have been questionable at best. Public opinion of him is not very high right now, especially after his viral TV appearance.”

Adham went on a public program called Bicara Naratif last week and advised people to counteract the coronavirus by drinking warm water because it could flush the virus down until it gets eliminated with stomach acids—a baseless claim that came under swift criticism from the public and medical practitioners alike.

“One big miscalculation was that [Muhyiddin’s government] had a choice to hire the old health minister back—Dzulkefly bin Ahmad, who was quite capable and could have smoothed the transition—but the optics were bad because he was part of the previous administration,” Chin said.

On March 13, the government announced a ban against mass gatherings “literally three hours before Friday prayers last week,” said Karl Rafiq, an independent policy researcher who lives in Kuala Lumpur. “So of course those prayers happened, too, around the country. But that’s our leadership for you.” The following week, on March 18, Malaysia finally sealed its land border with Singapore and enacted a two-week “movement control order,” which bans Malaysians from leaving the country, mandates a 14-day quarantine for those returning from abroad, closes all nonessential businesses and schools, and prohibits all mass gatherings. But even that order was marred by poor planning and communication, leading to surging crowds at the border crossing, police stations, and grocery stores. On March 25, Muhiyiddin announced that the order will be extended until April 14.

A number of steps that are finally in place today in Malaysia likely could have been enacted sooner.

A number of steps that are finally in place today in Malaysia likely could have been enacted sooner, including closing houses of worship, tracking Tablighi gathering participants more vigilantly and with more cultural sensitivity, and giving more notice for the movement control order. For some context, neighboring Singapore raised its domestic risk assessment to “orange” more than five weeks earlier, on Feb. 7, encouraging people to cancel or defer nonessential large-scale events to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The Ministry of Health did not respond to requests for comment.

“You should not change governments in the middle of a health crisis—that’s just not good for the country,” echoed Lainie Yeoh, an art director based in Kuala Lumpur. “Everything they’ve done in response to the pandemic has been a series of very questionable decisions.”

Such frustration is understandable. More than two weeks elapsed between the Tablighi Jama’at event and the movement control order, giving the coronavirus plenty of time to spread. At the event, worshippers slept in packed tents, held hands with each other, and ate from shared plates, one Cambodian attendee told the South China Morning Post.

Malaysia’s Preventable Coronavirus Disaster

FP news is a well respected paper. On a good note, WHO commended Malaysia dealing with Covid-19, but i could have been much better.

Points to discuss (newly added)
1. We could have added a interm health minister and not only interm prime minister.
2. Malaysia has a very low hospital bed count/1000 people. We have 1.98 beds/1000 people, way lower than developed nation. We really need to improve on this for next wave of disease. This includes private and government hospital beds. Our 1.98/1000 is similar and close to what African counties have.
Malaysia 2020 hospital bed target
3. If only our political songlap less and no 1MDB.We could have a bigger budget spend more on healthcare.
4. Our DG and health department is actually doing a very good job with our resources. Should health ministry be given a higher budget? What spending can be reduced.
5. How we can improve our preparedness in the future? Should we introduce a dorscon system like Singapore?