Entries from January 2008 ↓

Dear beloved friends of daniel, Oh oh oh, balik kampung… Oh oh oh, balik kampung… I am taking a three weeks holiday from my research study. My official holiday starts from January 28 till February 14. Within this period of time I will be spending my time in Kuching, as such I may not blog very often. Well, my flight is on January 28 (Monday), Flight AK 5708, depart Johor Bahru (JHB) at 18:05 and arrive in Kuching (KCH) at 19:30. Pray for my safety.

Thank you. Ciaoz.

Regards, daniel

3G for DiGi! It sure rhymes. I have been waiting for this, my Sony Ericsson w850i sure can’t wait to put my itchy hands on the 3G services which will be rolled out by DiGi and Times Dot Com anytime soon. On January 25, 2008 DiGi and TDC signed a definitive accord on 3G spectrum (source: theStar).

Exactly one month ago, I wrote an article on DiGi Yellow Postpaid which covered thoroughly the charges for prepaid plans. I was contented with Fuyoh last time. However, this 3G and postpaid news comes at the right timing. I am actually considering to switch from digi prepaid to digi postpaid (1 Plan). For the past three months my mobile phone usage has surged up to above RM60 per month. The highest it went was in December (festive seasons) where it amounted to almost hundred ringgit. Woaw… This is too much for me to swallow.

Cibol and Alvin are the only one I know who are on digi postpaid. I am actually putting my eyes on Postpaid 1 Plan. 13 sen flat rate!!! I can opt for call instead of sending texts soon. I mean one text cost 15 sen sedangkan one minute phone call cost 13 sen. It’s really my kind of deal, what more can I ask for? Moreover I can call my parents, who are using 012 and 082, at 13 sen per minute. That’s what a son should do often.

Look… I am looking for reasons to convince myself, not to persuade you, to subscribe to postpaid. I don’t mean to advertise on behalf of DiGi and the company pays me nothing for this post. Tak tahan lagi. Must change to postpaid once I am back at Kuching. By the way, I am taking my flight to Kuching on the evening of January 28.

Who’s interested to know the six numbers in my friends and family list? Hehe.

Ever since the opening my new blog last month, I have not the time to really sit down to write something much proper. Most of my previous posts were more like talking craps to past my free time. Time to discuss on how are the possible ways to kill your friends or bloggers. It’s time for “monster kill”, you should know this term if you play D.O.T.A.

1. Phone call

No doubt SMS is very much cheaper than a phone call yet there are times when SMS (text) cannot take the place of a phone call. I believe most of you know what SMS (text) means; it is an acronym for short text messages. At times of urgency I really hate those who insist to talk over a matter via text just because they wanted to save some on call rates.I know a few friends who when needed my help very much texted me to request for some assistance.

Take for instance, there was this friend of mine who once texted me to request me to give him a ride from the bus station to our University at the time of arrival. I had received neither prior notice nor do I had any idea he was going to arrive on that day. His text sounded very much like a demand so I decided not to give him a ride though I was free at that moment. If he would give me just a call to ask whether I was free to give a ride in a polite manner, I will most likely consider his request even though I may be busy. Okay, you might say I would behave differently if that person was a lady. Mind you, my answer will still be a “no”. No matter what, the beauty of our voice cannot be replaced by pictures or words. Do remember that. Not many people can interpret our feelings via texts but most people will be able to tell from our voice.

Principle #1: When urgent, give a call; other than that, SMS will do.

2. Blog

Blogs were not that common back then. Among my graduated friends I am one of the earliest to blog, correct me if I am wrong. But today, more and more people maintain their own blogs. Blogs have been an item of today and something most people own. It’s a place where people express their opinions or bloat out their feelings or simply just to inform others their current state of life.

Most bloggers draw motivation through comments leaved by their peers or friends, while some on the traffic they got, while some from online advertisements. One fact which we human cannot escape from is the human touch. Individuals might have different reasons as to why they blog, but the most important thing we human seek for is to receive attention from others. Most of the time, you will kill your friends off when you had not been visiting their blogs for ages or had not posted any comments on their blogs. At least, that is what I think. Am I right?

Principle #2: Give and take when it comes to blogging. Post and receive comments to let others know you care for them.

3. Internet social network

Internet social network services have been growing like mushrooms lately. I myself joined friendster and facebook. I see them as a great way to track my friends’ birthdays and updates. I created my homepage and included all those relevant information which I in my humble opinion can be shared. The most I could leak out is my IM (i.e. Windows Live Messenger) ID and email, other than that other means to contact me will not be shared online.

Internet social network is a way for us to make new friends and to keep in touch with old buddies. The heck is, there appears to be some unknown fellas who came out of nowhere and insisted to add me even though I do not know them. There were many occasions when I received an “Add New Friend Request” from someone I do not know. Most of the time I will approve the request if the fella meets two simple criteria: firstly, we have met each other; secondly, for those who I have not met he/she gave a brief introduction about themselves.

Simple as that, but most people failed to provide such courtesy. The last time I did a spring cleaning to my friendster account was one year ago. What I did was I deleted all those comments with distracting sound/music. Now, I am thinking of performing a spring cleaning by deleting some of the contacts who either had not been active or those who are just passer-bys. Okay, you may think that I am a cruel person. The thing is, how am I supposed to keep track of my 422 friends in my account? It is not that each and every one of them is alive.

Principle #3: Remember to introduce yourself if you would like to make friend with someone.

Things to watch out in the blogosphere, a lot of bloggers are complaining about their Page Rank (PR) plummeting to 0. On the other had, my PR has just rose to 3. I don’t really care bout the PR but having a PR3 is a lot better than a PR0.

Just google for “page rank” or “page rank checker” if you are interested to know more. I see no point elaborating on things which has been thoroughly documented. What other benefits can you think of if one’s blog/website has a high PR?

If we look back at the early Christian’s history, Christians had been persecuted because of their faith and because of what they believe in. Be it historically or happening in the era we are living right now, such persecution still occurs (Wikipedia: Persecution of Christians ). I want to draw to your utmost attention on the current disturbing statement issued by the Cabinet of Malaysia regarding on the ban imposed on the use of “Allah” by non-Muslims in their worship and in their publications. Let us get the picture right by going through the press statement issued by the Christian Federation of Malaysia dated 5th January 2008. I am not circulating this to invoke any resentment against the government of Malaysia but I am doing this in a manner of goodwill to promote better understanding between the multi-racial and multi-religious communities in Malaysia.

CHRISTIAN FEDERATION OF MALAYSIA (PERSEKUTUAN KRISTIAN MALAYSIA ) Address: No. 10, Jalan 11/9, 46200 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia Telephone: (03) 7957 1278, (03) 7957 1463, Fax: (03) 7957 1457 Email: cchurchm@streamyx. com

PRESS STATEMENT

THE RIGHT OF NON-MUSLIMS TO USE THE WORD “ALLAH” TO SPEAK OF GOD The Christian Federation of Malaysia expresses deep disappointment and regret with the statement of the Honorable Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Y.B. Datuk Dr. Abdullah Zin, as reported in the newspapers (The Star and The Sun) of 4th January 2008, that the Cabinet has decided against the use of the word “Allah” by non-Muslims in their worship and in their publications. It is wrong to prohibit certain sections of the Malaysian public against the use of a particular word in their daily prayers or in their publications. The word “Allah” is of ancient lineage originating from the Middle East and used by both the non-Muslims and Muslims for centuries all over the world. The word “Allah” is a pre-Islamic word used by Arab Christians before Islam came into being. The Holy Quran itself admits that Jews, Christians and Muslims worship the one and same “Allah”, (Surah 2:62, 2:133, repeated in Surah 5:69, and again in Surah 22:17). Bahasa Malaysia, the language of all Malaysians, has incorporated the word “Allah” which denotes the One and Almighty God into the language. Therefore, we maintain and we have always told the Government that we have the right to use the word “Allah” whether in our Bahasa Malaysia publications or otherwise. We urge the Government, in recognition of the universal heritage of religious terminology like “Allah” and others and in the context of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, to recognize and uphold the right of all Malaysians to the continued use of the word “Allah” and appropriate religious terminology without restrictions. The restriction against the use of the word “Allah” by all Malaysians will put the country in a bad light in the international community. (signed) Bishop Dr. Paul Tan Chee Ing., SJ Chairman, Christian Federation of Malaysia 5th January 2008

All of a sudden, I felt very afraid. Who shouldn’t be? Our leaders might issue a ban out of nowhere anytime just because they think they should. Who shouldn’t be afraid when their basic rights are stripped off? For your information, according to the 2000 census, Christianity in Malaysia is a minority religion practiced by 9.1% of the population (Wikipedia: Christianity in Malaysia). It’s a small amount, ain’t it? In solidarity, we Christians should pray and be bold. Peter and Paul when put before the Council for teaching publicly in the name of Jesus answered the Council bravely, “You yourselves judge which is right in God’s sight - to obey you or to obey God.” (Acts 4:19) Take courage and pray. Let us pray for our nation, pray for our leaders and pray for our citizens. Our faith, our freedom!