Sydney Day 3

Its the third day, taking things slow now. Woke up late, decided to drive to Hawkesbury Turf Club which was having its race day today. Its about 65km away and a nice leisurely drive through the suburbs. 











In Malaysia there are just 3 turf clubs. Two in HK. In the state of NSW alone, there are 4 city tracks (bigger races, Canterbury, Rosehill, Randwick and Warwick Farm) and 4 provincial tracks (Illawara, Hawkesbury, Newcastle, Gosford). They really love their racing in Australia. Now multiply that with the other states, thats why you have horse racing everyday, plus greyhounds and harness (trotting).

Its very nice to drive to a provincial track, the people are very laid back, everyone comes dressed casual, drink lots of beer and wine and families wander around the track having picnics. Plus you get to see real horses racing and you can have a bet as well. You get to see more country folks at provincial tracks and its kinda nice.

Prior to that, headed to Marrickville (about 25 minutes from the city, an enclave of Aussies from Vietnam) to get my fill of pho. They do this very nicely thanks to great tasting OZ beef. Side note, OZ chicken dishes are tasteless, take anything with chicken its tasteless due to the "healthy feed" for the chicken.

If you visit Sydney, you will inevitably visit Star City, the casino. There are plenty of good places to eat there. The hard to book a seat, Momofuku is here. Failing that, you should at least try the Messina gelato, unbelievably good.

The famed patisserie Adriano Zumbo is here as well. His shop is quirky, he has revolving small desserts much like the sushi revolving thing that you can pick and eat.

Possibly catching Legally Blonde the musical sometime later in the week.

Sydney Day 2

Gee, this travel blogging is not exactly a lot of fun. Had to send photos from my I-phone (which does not take sufficiently good photos like the new Samsung phone) to my email before I could post about it. The first photo is the beautiful QVB, wonderfully restored by Ipoh Gardens, a fact not known by many people.

The 3 levels huge Apple store on George Street, eternally packed. No, I did not buy the new mini I-pad. Tempted though.

Anyway, tried to do all my shopping needs in one afternoon. 

Another mega store, Louis Vuitton, thankfully, no need to buy anything there for anybody (gulp).

The ravishingly beautiful and large Zara store.

So what did I buy? Stuff I couldn't get back home. Bought tons of stuff from Dymocks Bookstore.

 This one even our wonderful piracy industry did not put it in their list. Its probably the funniest series made in recent times. So glad to snare these two DVDs.



Yes, I have a strong penchant for horse racing and horse racing personalities and stories. More wonderful books to add to my reading list.

Went to my usual pizza parlour, as long as they made a decent pizza, I always have my own alacarte order: tomato paste, cheese, pineapples, garlic, chilli oil and anchovies ... mamma mia!!!

Took my pizza to Watson's Bay or better known as The Gap. There had been too many suicide attempts in the past that they had to put up fences and signs like this around the place.

Anyone who was an overseas  student in Sydney for the past 30 years would have eaten at this place in Chinatown. Its called Minh Hai and they serve this huge crispy grilled maryland chicken with rice, sauce and soup. Nostalgia food.
  

Towards the evening, ended at the only casino game I willingly play, Texas Holdem. At least we do not lost to the casino (they just take a cut of the pool) but to one another. Thats my table. Did OK, left after 3 hours, tired already. Yes, the table had 7 Asians and one gwailo.

Sydney Day 1 (Morning/Noon)

Great smooth flight, nary a hitch, the winds were behind us all the way we made the trip in 6 hr 50 min instead of 8 hr, amazing. Taxi cab flag fall was at A$3.80 (RM12.50) and the 12km trip to Kings Cross cost A$52 (RM165). Nice...




















Now time to pick up my car rental. If you plan to drive, you should anyway, its brilliant and you cannot get a better deal than Bayswater Car Rental, the one with the "No Birds" tagline. Don't ask why they have that tagline. All in it only cost A$33 odd per day inclusive of insurance.

The guy at the front desk was from Thailand, we chatted about Thai politics, and then gave me a really good deal. The car I have had JUST 12km on it, ...  it came in yesterday. Now I know what its like to be a high ranking UMNO-putra seeking out corporate deals from Ministry of Finance and EPU.

Landed a bit too early to check in the hotel, so grabbed a hot ham and cheese croissant from Infinity Bakery @ Darlinghurst, plus a flat white and headed for Centennial Park, should be sparse this early in the morning. What better way to enjoy breakie than with the animals and fauna.

Some friends commented why go to Sydney during summer ... well cause the weather's perfect, December/Jan are the worst months. Nov is still good, landed in the morning with 18C, sun shining bright, no sweating 24C in afternoon .... dipping to 18C by 6pm and probably 14C come midnight.

Finally checked in, many wondered why I did not stay in the city. Its silly to stay in the city, parking is horrendous, probably cost you A$80 a day. I am staying at Coogee, Crowne Plaza, have a look at the view from my room, the  you'd understand why. Anyway, its just 20 minutes from the city.

Sydney Confidential

I will be making a quick trip to Sydney, flying off tonight. It was kinda last minute as I had not planned to do so. However, my closest auntie just had a minor operation so I thought it was best to make the trip with the stretch of holidays this coming week. 

I used to go to Sydney every year but haven't been doing so as my last trip was some 3 years ago. The majority of my relatives are in Sydney and most do come back to visit anyway. 

Another reason to get away was that I can sense too many things happening around me all at once, most of them good stuff. Its good to get away and stand back and refresh, to look at things anew. Things couldn't be better at Murasaki ts, while its hectic, and while waiting for the office to be fully renovated, its my last chance to get away for sometime as I will be pouring myself back into the mix later on.

I thought I will try to do a travel blog for the next 7 days for this trip, see whether I can cut it as a travel blogger for a change. I kinda know Sydney very well as I was driving a taxi during my university days, all in I studied and worked there for almost 10 years. 

Yes, the first question everyone ask when I say that is why did I come back. I was too young and while I love Sydney, its not my backyard. I like the transparent and incisive newspapers, but most of the news articles were not about the people I really cared about. Maybe in my naive ways, I wanted to see what I can do for my country. 

Realistically, the bulk of the businesses in developed countries like Australia belonged to the big corporations. It is not entrepreneurial enough. In Malaysia, you can come up with a good idea and find funding relatively easily. Heck, you may even get to have an appointment with the CEO of most top 100 companies in Malaysia after just one or two layers of contact and networking, something you cannot possibly dream of doing in Australia.

So, in my rush, I packed packs of heong paeng (from Ipoh) and two packs of freshly ground almond powder. Its my second time bringing over the powder, I always like the look on the faces of the Customs and Immigration officers when I show them the packets of powder, so blatant, looking so much like cocaine...lol.

Why AES Should Be Halted

Getting to the Bottom of the Automatic Enrichment Scandal (AES)

by Koon Yew Yin

Slowly but surely, the ugly side of the AES is emerging and revealing itself to be yet another scam of the Barisan regime.  This one aimed at enrichment of a small group has been cleverly camouflaged in the name of public interest.

Fortunately, this time around the scope for undeserved enrichment is so overwhelming and the disregard for prudent principles of transparency and accountability so obvious that even some UMNO leaders are protesting.  These late protestors from Barisan are way behind the curve on the issue and are jumping on the bandwagon of opposition political and public protest to prevent damage to their own election prospects but it is an indicator of how unacceptable the current AES proposal is.   

I predict that the AES will be dead in the water before long.  But it is important that any suspension or abandonment of the system does not prevent the authorities and the public from having a full and open inquiry on how this particular scam has managed to get through all the responsible authorities, including the cabinet at the highest level. 

Such an inquiry is necessary to ensure that the full truth comes out, lessons are learnt and an appropriate speed deterrent system is implemented – a system that is not riddled with weaknesses and drawbacks, and does not enrich a few at the expense of the public.     

Who are responsible for the debacle?

Poor Minster of Transport, Kong Cho Ha must be having sleepless nights trying to defend the indefensible.  And he must be kicking himself for foolishly putting his job on the line in repeatedly pushing for the implementation of the system.

It is likely that Kong will be made the scapegoat for this debacle. But let us not forget that this scam was cooked up some time ago. Various other crooks, sorry - slip of the finger, I mean cooks – as yet unnamed – were involved in the preparation of this billion dollar dish.  According to federal estimates for the budget year 2013, the government expects an additional RM1.02 billion in revenue from AES enforcement – all this coming from the Malaysian road user.

The origins of the outsourcing of speed cameras and speeding tickets go back to the Abdullah Badawi administration – possibly during Dr. Ling Liong Sik’s time as Minister of Transport.  Apparently, despite objections from some ministers who argued that enforcement should remain within the government’s domain, the project was pushed through by the Transport Ministry during Chan Kong Choy’s tenure. 

After 5 years as the Transport Minister, Chan stepped down officially due to health reasons in the midst of the RM4.6 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal. Following Kong Choy’s resignation, Ong Tee Keat was at the helm of the ministry, and the project was finalized during his time. Since Tee Keat has been dubbed Mr. Clean by his MCA supporters, he should come clean on the AES and provide an explanation on his role in it and answer the questions raised.

 

Why so much outrage?

Firstly, there is more than a strong whiff of cronyism about the project and the way in which it has been privatized which runs against principles of responsible government and common sense.

Allegations have been made that Ates Sdn Bhd and Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd which have been awarded the contract have strong political connections.  According to PKR assemblyman Chang Lih Kang, the major shareholder of Beta Tegap Sdn Bhd is the niece of a Johor Umno assemblyman and comes from a family of "renowned Umno political figures" whose parents were previously elected to the state legislative assembly.           

"With the extraordinary connection between the largest shareholder of Beta Tegap and Umno, another instance of sheer cronyism is evident. If this is not cronyism, how on earth does the government deem a dormant company without expertise in the related field is worth rewarding a lucrative AES contract?"  Chang asked at a recent press conference.

Secondly, the system comes embedded with an extremely lucrative revenue sharing arrangement to benefit the project concessionaires.  According to reports, the two companies can claim between RM600 million to RM800 million for the services and the equipment involved in installing 831 cameras in traffic hotspots nation-wide.

This disclosure has infuriated members of the public who strongly support road safety but are concerned at the opaqueness of the implementation process and are suspicious that the main purpose appears to be to benefit various cronies.

Claim for AES Compensation Coming Up Next

The two firms awarded the contract to implement the enforcement system claim to have spent between RM300 million and RM400 million each to set up and operate the system.  If the system is to be abandoned, they will insist on being compensated for their expenses to date. 

But how believable are their estimates of expenditure?   One skeptic has worked out in great detail the expenses involved in the establishment of the AES.  According to him a total of $24 million would be more than adequate in setting up the company, main office, staffing , maintenance and vehicles; establishing a roving maintenance team at 8 locations; setting up the server, monitoring and control system; and purchasing cameras for one year’s operation (see http://unofficialversion.wordpress.com/ for the full breakdown ) 

As a long time engineer and business man, I find the breakdown of expenses provided by the skeptic credible and believable and the concessionaires’ estimates incredible and unbelievable. 

Should Compensation be Paid

We can be sure that the two companies will have insisted on full compensation clauses built into the contract should the Government back out. They will have the paper evidence to show that they have spent hundreds of millions in setting up the system.  

So it looks like either way – whether the AES is implemented or not - the two companies could be laughing all the way to the bank with their bloated claims.

There is only one way to stop this daylight robbery.  This is for the Malaysian public to kick up the biggest fuss possible and to demand that the full truth of the Automatic Enrichment Scandal - including its real costs – emerge before any compensation is to be paid.      

Shoprite @ Lucky Garden

A great find over the weekend. There is this place called SHOPRITE @ Lucky Garden, behind TMC that brands itself as a specialty grocer. They stock only premium items from the US, the Philippines, Australia and UK.

Its a small shop but the selections are wonderful. You can get great candies, condiments, sauces, snacks and even hard to get instant noodles.

I love the OZ products but the find here is not many people know that the best tasting butter cookies and instant noodles are from the Philippines, and you can get then here.

We all are eating healthier and eating better. Previously we may be munching on 3 bags of chip a month, now we see it as a luxury to even do it once a month for health reasons. That being the case, we eat less but we should eat better. Its always difficult when somebody starts a business to try for a niche market. This is a good strategy and I would always support smart people trying to do smarter things.

And Then There Were Three ....

Just found out that there is another great reason to patronise Lewis Gene, they have two magnificent desserts from the famed Tommy la Baker. The La Joconde and Lemon Tart, both excellent.

http://malaysiafinance.blogspot.com/2012/06/peut-etre-le-best-breadmaker-in-country.html

As I have mentioned before, the two best places for coffee (espresso type) are Artisan @ Taman Tun and Bangsar Village II, and Whisk @ Empire Subang and 1 Utama. Now I have just discovered the third link and they are soooo good, they could be number one.

I am talking about LEWIS GENE. Its a funny name for a  coffee place. Actually they are a distributor of the very high end crafted coffee making machines, which you will see being paraded at their outlet. Most are in the five figures category. 

Try it and try not to like it if you can. Again, they are good because besides having excellent product to begin with, they make their coffee meticulously and with care. Oh, the food selection is so-so because they do not operate a full fledge kitchen but the French Toast is to die for.

They are at Solaris Mont Kiara, one floor up from Chilla Cup.