BM Hill: A return to normalcy

Here's a short break from my Sabah travel blog. Today was the 12th day since we all came down from Mt Kinabalu. Today, I decided to resume my regular exercise regimen by climbing the BM Hill at Cherok To'Kun.

I had put it off for 12 days because my knees felt different. Occasionally, I could feel some slight twinges of discomfort in both knees and I needed time to heal and recover fully from all that. For about a month before our trip to Sabah, I had been taking heavy does of glucosamine and chondroitin daily to keep my knee joints oiled. I'm still taking them daily but will be cutting down on the dosage soon.

I had almost forgotten how the forest at BM Hill smelt like. It's something like three weeks since I last went there. And the hill welcomed me back by showing me new things. Like, for example, this butterfly laying its eggs:


And this butterfly that simply stayed so still as I slowly went in closer and closer with my camera. It didn't fly away:


Fungus growing on a rotting tree trunk halfway up the hill track:


Abundance of richly hued grasshoppers such as this one:


And some beautiful white flowers to boot:


Of course, I was rudely brought back to earth when I saw this flag fluttering at the junction of Jalan Kulim and Jalan Kolam. It's rather shameful to let their flag degrade to such a condition. Where's their pride?

Low's Peak: Land above the mist

Do you know how it was like to wake up at 1am? Well, not actually wake up but to pull ourselves from our warm beds (okay, not-so-warm beds) to face the bloddy cold? We had been hearing that the temperature up there - at the peak - could fall to zero degrees. Not taking any chances, we added layers to our clothes. I had three layers on and there, perhaps was my mistake.

Anyway, here you can see some of us all togged up and ready to leave the Waras Hut at 2am:


Our initial climb was up a long series of rocks and wooden steps in the dark with only our headlights on. Took us about an hour or so. I tried to make light of it but I was actually struggling and boiling beneath my clothes. I felt very uncomfortable. Then came the part where we had to climb the bare granite rock while hanging to the thick rope. I took a hold of the rope, climbed about maybe five feet and something snapped inside me. Apart from my physical discomfort, the complete darkness overwhelmed me. I gasped out to my wife that I couldn't continue further and she urged me to go back. Behind me, Poh Yong's voice rang out: : "If you are not going, I don't want to go too." Thus, See Keong was left to climb all by himself. I asked my wife to be careful and then I gingerly climbed down from the rock. My legs felt like jelly and my head spun briefly.

It took Poh Yong and I about 90 minutes to make our way back to the Laban Rata resthouse. There were hardly anyone else going up the mountain so the trail back was practically in the dark. We made a wrong detour to the Panar Laban Hut and had to turn back. At the Gunting Lagadan Hut, I lost my footing and slid down the short granite slope.

At 7.17am, I received a text message from Saw See to tell me that she reached the top at 5.55am.


She couldn't remember the time she sent but it sure took its time to reach me! Well, at least one of us reached the peak. I'm so glad.

Not many people saw this clever juxtapositioning of rocks but See Keong did. Don't you just think that it resembles the Hongkong Bank lion?

At 8.30am when I was just about to have my breakfast at the resthouse, Boon Hock arrived. About 15 minutes later, Long Kin and See Keong had also come down. Yuen Chee and Chui Tee arrived at about 9.25am and Saw See at 9.30am. My friends said they had never see our guide, John, smile. He was always the serious bloke but here he was, all smiling away:


We began our long trek down from the Waras Hut at 10.45am. See Saw's toes were in great pain despite having worn the Columbia trekking shoes, so she was hobbling along. All the way down from Laban Rata, we moved very slowly, myself helping her whenever we came to the steep steps, telling her where to place her feet. No mishaps or missteps. And I still got time to take some great photos. Here is a very dreamy landscape, thanks to the thick mist:


We reached Timpohon Gate at 6.15pm. That's 7.5 hours. Whoever that said coming down would be easier than going up just haven't tried Mt Kinabalu before. But despite the pain, it was a triumphant climb for us both. She had always wanted to reach Low's Peak and she did that; I reached my goal which was Laban Rata. No bonus for me, though.

Stay tuned for Part Three.

As an afterthought, I should add that Saw See and my friends that reached Low's Peak walked a total of 11 kilometres that day: 2.5 kilometres from Laban Rata to the top and 8.5 kilometres from the peak to Timpohon Gate.

Sabah: The land below the wind

Jesselton is the capital of North Borneo. No, wait....let me try again. Kota Kinabalu (formerly known as Jesselton) is the capital of Sabah (formerly called North Borneo). Yes, it's correct now....

Myself, Saw See, Poh Yong, See Keong, Chui Tee, Long Kin, Boon Hock with Yuen Chee (front)

Anyway, the eight of us flew into Kota Kinabalu on 5 Apr 2008. Our main mission was to climb Malaysia's highest mountain (and, so it seems, South-East Asia's fifth highest mountain). Our appointment with the mountain was made six months ago. My personal goal was to reach Laban Rata but if I could make it to the peak, it would be a bonus.

So we jetted in and went off immediately to the Kinabalu Park, only stopping briefly for lunch in a quaint little town called Tanparuri, to check into the Rock Hostel. Five of us eight had at one time or another worked together in Ban Hin Lee Bank. The five of us go back a long way. Old friends. We knew one another very well.

This hostel had none of the luxury of the Rajah Lodge which I had enjoyed about two years back with another group of friends who were from Singapore. At Rock Hostel, it was four-to-a-room on double-decker beds with no heating but we were prepared to rough it out. Communal bathrooms but they were clean.

Next morning at 8.30am, we began our climb from Timpohon Gate. Interestingly, we were required to descend for about 100 metres but after that, it was up up up all the way.

My wife and I took our sweet time to take in the 6km climb: enjoyed the fine weather, listened to the chirping of birds, marvelled at the changing landscape, amused by Alvin, Theodore, Simon and friends, and appreciated the flowers and plants. As expected, we were the last to arrive at Laban Rata. Time was 3pm.


Much of the terrain required us to climb up knee-high steps or rocks. This wasn't easy on me and I do have problems with my knees, especially the left side. But I've braved it all these years. As I was going up, I was wondering how I would be able to come down. I've heard people tell me that it would be tougher coming down since all the weight would be on the knees and toes. As for my wife, she had an unexpected minor surgery on one of her toes two weeks ago and the wound had not completely healed. So she had to walk rather gingerly.


We took about 6.5 hours to reach the Waras Hut which was about five minutes away from the Laban Rata resthouse. Again, this wasn't a heated accommodation and we had to endure temperatures of about eight degrees at night. I was covered with three layers of blanket and I hardly slept. The wind was howling and the walls were cold. So I made it to Laban Rata after all. My goal achieved. Now, to see whether I could go further. In the meantime, we were all pretty mesmerised by the display of colours at sunset, including the cloud formation. Beautiful.

Is this Mickey Mouse or is it the map of Sabah?

Stay tuned for Part Two.

Rape of Pulau Jerejak continues...

Last month (15 Mar 2008), I blogged about the indiscriminate cutting of the hill on Pulau Jerejak. I had even informed the local newspapers about this. Unfortunately, nobody was interested enough in this destruction of nature.


The clearing of this part of Pulau Jerejak is being done very systematically.


Today, as I drove by, I noticed that the hill is now totally denuded. Human being, in the name of progress, has triumphed. I'm sure the state government knows about this. I'm sure there are some pretty vocal socio-political environmentalists who have read about this but are keeping quiet. Unfortunately, nobody seems to care about the world around us anymore. What more can I say??

Storms ahead

It looks like there's going to be some stormy weather ahead for the next few days. I've just got alerted that a tropical storm is brewing in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam, the Philippines and Sabah. It's a huge depression and although it is moving north-westerly, there's bound to be some residual effect on the countries around it. Well, we are one of them so be braced for some rainy spells to come!

On top of Malaysia

Saw See at Low's Peak on Mount Kinabalu last Monday, 7 Apr 2008, at 5.55am. I'm so proud of my wife.

Football excitement is mounting

Excitement mounts as the season draws to a close. Here are the remaining fixtures:

• For Manchester United, their opponents will be Blackburn (19 Apr), Barcelona (CL) (23 Apr), Chelsea (26 Apr), Barcelona (CL) (29 Apr), West Ham (3 May) and Wigan (11 May).
• For Chelsea, they will be facing Wigan (14 Apr), Everton (19 Apr), Liverpool (CL), (22 Apr), Manchester United (26 Apr), Liverpool (CL) (30 Apr), Newcastle (3 May) and Bolton (11 May)
• For Arsenal, their games will be against Reading (19 Apr), Derby (28 Apr), Everton (3 May) and Sunderland (11 May)
• For Liverpool....well, like I said before, who cares?

Go ahead, throw your rubbish here!

I came across this sign today on my way to work. It's located right next to the bridge that connects Jalan Sepakat to the Kampung Baru market in Bukit Mertajam. Sometimes, I think such signs positively INVITES people to do just the opposite!

OFA AGM 2008

I've just returned from the most long-drawn annual general meeting of the Old Frees' Association in Penang. Some would claim that it was boring.


There were so many issues to discuss and the Chair did not play his part to keep proceedings short. As a result, by lunch time, the meeting was only at the seventh of about 15 items in the agenda.


I remember a friend telling me once that the OFA AGM was one of the very few occasions where he could enjoy listening to debates in good English. I can only say that it's also an occasion for those members who love to hear themselves speak. As for me, I went there to cast my vote for the new Management Committee. Very seldom do I fail to exercise my voting rights, just like in the recently concluded Malaysian General Elections. BTW, I left after exercising my luncheon rights, because I had another meeting to attend.

Penang's third symbolic sex organs?

Ever since I wrote about Penang's two symbolic sex organs about a month ago, I've received considerable comments - verbally and by email - from friends and complete strangers. Incidentally, everyone took it in good humour and no pricks (pardon the pun) felt outraged over the matter.

Well, just today, I came across a news item saying that the second bridge over the Penang Channel will cost around RM4.3 billion. United Engineers (UEM) will build the land portion and be in charge of making the structural girdles while China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) handles the construction of the sea portion.

What struck me about the bridge design is that there will be a pair of circular observation decks somewhere in the middle of the span.


Already, I can't rein in my imagination. It's running wild. I can't wait for them to be built. You know why? If the artist's impression is really correct, the decks will feature some exciting designs to complement our two existing sex organs. Can you imagine .... by 2011, Penang can also boast of owning the world's biggest pair of tits? Ooh, the anticipation!!

Wildlife conservation

I just want to highlight these two news items on wildlife conservation in Malaysia of endangered fish species because I'm ashamed to say that I will have a sorry tale to tell later. These news items had appeared in The Star. The first is about the Ikan Terubok, a native freshwater fish in the rivers of Sarawak:

Closed season to save the ‘terubok’

KUCHING (May 19, 2007): There will be no fishing in May and September over the next three years at Batang Lassa, in the Mukah division of Sarawak, to enable the prized ikan terubok to spawn.

If necessary, the ban will be extended for two more years, said state Assistant Minister for Agriculture (Research and Coordination) Dublin Untung.

“This is to prevent the fish from being depleted,” he told Andy Chua Chu Fatt (BN – Pujut) during question time.

He said during the closed season, all fishing activity along the 7km-long Batang Lassa river would be banned.

The fisheries division of the state agriculture department and marine police would enforce the ban.

Dublin said terubok was in high demand and its salted eggs much sought after by local consumers as well as visitors from the peninsula.

The other spawning ground for Sarawak’s famed fish is Batang Lupar.

Dublin said a study carried out by local and Australian scientists pinpointed over-fishing and deterioration of water quality, especially at the estuaries of the rivers and the spawning grounds, as the main reasons for the drop in the terubok population.

The assistant minister added that this had left little opportunity for the replenishment of the natural stock.

“The production of terubok fries using artificial propagation will be intensified so that efforts to rehabilitate the natural habitats of the fish can be carried out at a faster pace,” he said.

Dublin said the authorities were helping affected terubok fishermen, including giving them interest-free loans to take up alternative income-generating activities, like fish and livestock rearing and vegetable cultivation.

The second story is about the Humpback Wrasse, found in the seas off Sabah:

Sabah ban on humphead wrasse export

By Tan Cheng Li

KOTA KINABALU (Apr 9, 2008): Sabah will no longer export the popular and highly-priced humphead wrasse from June, in a move to arrest the dwindling wild stocks of the fish.

Director of Fisheries Sabah, Rayner Stuel Galid, said export permits for the fish would not be issued or renewed. He said there were now five companies in Sabah each with permits to export 300 fishes a month.

“Other countries, such as the Philippines, have already stopped exporting this fish. So we are being consistent with the ultimate aim of protecting this resource,” said Rayner.

Endangered species: The humphead wrasse

Ranked “endangered” by IUCN-World Conservation Union, hump-head wrasses (also called mameng or su mei) are subjected to trade limitations and permit requirements under the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species.

Sunset, sunrise

Two quite awe-inspiring photographs that I took whilst on holiday.

The first is a sunset overlooking the South China Sea while the second is a sunrise from the mountains. Breath-taking colours, don't you think?

Disconnected, reconnected

Aiyoh, aiyoh! It's been a week since I last blogged. The silence is quite unintentional, I assure you. I've been out of Penang and I thought that I could find an Internet-friendly spot to update this blog. However, I ended with no time on my hands, much less time to search for an Internet connection.

Anyway, this past week also meant that I was completely cut off from all news so I also don't know what's been happening here or there. So much to catch up on....sigh! And I know that when Monday comes along, the work that's piled up in the office will take some time to catch up with.

Daylight robbery (fleeced by restaurant)

I just received this email from someone who is complaining about being fleeced by a restaurant at Gohtong Jaya. That's about the half-way point to Genting Highlands. First, take a look at this bill and see whether there's anything to concern you:


Don't see it? Well, look again at the third item which costs a whopping RM420. That's quite a lot of money for a fish dish. Anyway, here's the story in the email. The incident happened not too long ago. In fact, just about a fortnight back:

Last week, I brought my guests to Genting Highlands. After a day 'above the clouds', we decided to have dinner at the Gohtong Jaya area on the way down.

We ordered some dishes and decided to have a steamed fish as well. So the captain recommended 'sultan fish'. The steamed fish came. HALF, and plain steamed. Good & fine.

But when the bill came, it came to over $500 !! We were shocked!! We were told the fish was 1.4kg ( & please bear in mind, its ONLY HALF A FISH ) at RM 320 per kg! RM 420!! This was daylight robbery. We were not informed by the Captain that a kg of the Sultan fish would cost us RM 320 and there was also no signs of such pricings anywhere in the restaurant.

When we checked with the cashier, she told us, its correct!!

Of cos, it was our mistake for not asking the price first.

Anyway, on the way back to KL, we stopped at Unique Seafood,PJ, where one can choose a live fish. The most expensive Soon Hock swimming in the tank is RM135 per kilo. Asked them about the Sultan fish, it is going for RM100 a kilo.

Will be sending this letter to the newspapers, Tourism board, etc etc; and friends, pls pass on to all on yr email list.

CHEATED.

Penang ferries: Icons of Penang

Penang Port Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Mohd Niana Merican Abd Kadir Merican has no business to suggest that the vehicular ferry services plying between the Pengkalan Raja Tun Uda in George Town and the Pengkalan Sultan Abdul Halim in Butterworth would be stopped once the expansion plan on the Penang Bridge is completed next year.

Even though the Penang Port may be losing money on the ferry services, it takes a totally insensitive man not to understand that the Penang ferry is synonymous with Penang tourism. The ferries, which have been plying between the mainland and the island, are among the iconic symbols of Penang.

If it's all because of losing money from the ferry services, Penang Port should look at improving their services to draw in the users instead of taking the easy way out with this suggestion.

For example, I'd like to call on Penang Port to station their Port Police along Weld Quay every Friday (and other days when traffic is exceptionally heavy) from 5.30pm until 7.30pm to prevent motorists from cutting into the queue that often stretches until the Esplanade roundabout. Please be proactive and you'll find more vehicles using your services.

Guan Eng meets Abdullah

So today's the day that Lim Guan Eng will be calling on Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at Putrajaya in his capacity as the Penang Chief Minister. It's supposed to be the first goodwill visit by a Chief Minister or a Ketua Menteri of a state not governed by the Barisan Nasional on the Prime Minister.

In the past weeks, Guan Eng had been quoted publicly that he wants to have good relations with the Federal Government and he also wants the Federal Government to continue with its commitment to mega projects in Penang such as the Second Penang Bridge but predictably, there hasn't been any public responses yet from Abdullah's end as he maintains his elegant silence.

Will Abdullah embrace Guan Eng whole-heartedly? Will there be conditions? Will Guan Eng come out from this meeting smiling or frowning? Don't read too much into this visit. Don't expect much and you won't be disappointment.

UPDATE (12.23pm): This breaking news appeared on Malaysiakini this morning:

PM: No Petronas funds for 2nd bridge
Beh Lih Yi, Apr 3, 08 11;11am
Penang CM Lim Guan Eng’s proposal to use oil money for the construction of the second link was dismissed by the premier.

* Less- than- cordial meeting

* Exchange of views on NEP

Four jailed in Singapore over Power 1 Walnut

In Singapore, four men were jailed on Wednesday for selling illegal sexual enhancement drugs, including Power 1 Walnut, in the red-light areas off Jalan Besar last year.

Khoo Teck Chye, 38, was given eight months' jail after pleading guilty to charges of having products containing sildenafil for sale at the backlane of Desker Road on 4 Sep. Tan Koh Heng, 53, Chong Kee Siong, 58, and Tan Chiew Hee, 51 were each jailed six months.

Among the charges proceeded against Tan Koh Heng was one of peddling 432 Power 1 Walnut tablets at a makeshift stall at the backlane of Rowell Road on 4 Sep. He said he bought some of his medicines from an elderly man who used to run the stall and some from unknown Chinese nationals peddling medicines nearby. Officers raided Tan Chiew Hee's provision shop at Flanders Square off Petain Road on 25 Oct and found assorted medicines displayed on the racks.

Health Sciences Authority prosecutor Ngoo Chih Min pressed the court to impose a sufficiently deterrent sentence on the four. He said between 29 Jan and 24 Mar, 18 persons were found either unconscious at home or with severe and life-threatening symptoms of very low blood sugar after taking Power 1 Walnut. There were 47 suspected cases of adverse drug reactions to the same drug.

World's first spam message

Do you know that the first-ever unsolicited bulk email was sent by someone at a computer firm known as DEC in the United States on 3 May 1978 to invite users to attend an open day in which the firm would be showing off its latest range of computers? That's almost 30 years ago.

Poor guy. He couldn't even get his email right when he spammed every West Coast user on the Arpanet. The email addresses overflowed into the body of the message. And the reaction to that spam message? Complaints, complaints and more complaints from the recipients who claimed that the system was being abused. So what else is new today? (The Arpanet was the original building block of the Internet.)

Finally, Malaysian authorities warn about Power 1 Walnut

Has it got to take 39 days before the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau makes a move to say something about the sexual enhancement dug, Power 1 Walnut?

On 23 Feb 2008, I had blogged about this drug and called on the authorities in Malaysia to uncover the extent of its presence in the country and take the necessary action against unscrupulous persons hawking it. Take preemptive action before it is too late.

And it is only today that I read in the newspapers that the NPCB's pharmacy services division has finally issued a statement and even then, it's so watered down and only echoed what has been known for a long time.

Power 1 Walnut, said Eisah A. Rahman in her statement, has been detected with the scheduled poisons Glibenclamide and Sildenafil. (Who doesn't already know this?)

She said that Glibenclamide can cause adverse reaction such as hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) while the improper use of Sildenafil may lead to low blood pressure and cardiovascular problems. In the worst case scenario, glibenclamide may cause death. (Haven't I been saying this too?)

There's not much more information in the statement except for this:

"The sale of these products is an offence under the Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984. Offenders face a maximum fine of RM25,000 or a jail sentence not exceeding three years or both for the first offence. For subsequent offences, the maximum fine is RM50,000 or a jail sentence of five years, or both. A company found guilty can be fined up to RM50,000 for the first offence and up to RM100,000 for subsequent offences."

As if this warning is sufficient to prevent smugglers from bringing the drug into the country or pedlars from selling the drug in the streets or thrill seekers from buying the drug and risking their lives. No no no ... more has to be done by the authorities. And don't tell me your hands are tied!

Proton's reputation is going, going, gone...

Once upon a time, there was a local car assembly company called Proton. It came out with a very basic first model that was christianed Saga. Thus was born the Proton Saga. Even from Day One itself, the Proton Saga was the butt of many jokes. Some said that its very name suggested that you have to push the car: sahg-ah (in the Hokkien dialect, sahg means push). Anyway, Proton survived the jokes and went on to become Malaysia's Number One car maker. In fact, the Saga proved to be a very reliable workhorse.

Then came a young upstart that began manufacturing the Kancil. Pretty soon, as Perodua began eating steadily into Proton's share, the latter sank into an administrative, creative and financial quagmire. True, new models did come out but there was nothing earth-shaking in their new engine designs or even external body work. And then there were some questionable investments and subsequent divestment of these investments.

Consequently, it began losing its market share and being the dinosaur it was, one totally clueless of how to react, Proton became endangered. The Federal Government tried to open negotiations with foreign car manufacturers with a view to sell off some shareholdings and inject in some foreign expertise. But after months, if not years, of talking with the Volkswagon group, the protracted negotiation was broken off and the government confidently declared that Proton could now stand on its own feet.

Stand on its own feet? Only time will tell if Proton is capable of it. I won't be surprised if it still has to depend on the Federal Government's patronage to rescue it every time it gets into trouble. But the damage was done. Proton's pride as the first mover among local car manufacturers has been shaken. In the past years, Perodua has managed to zoom past the old dinosaur. Perodua now claims pole position as Malaysia's Number One car manufacturer.

And as far as I can see, Proton's troubles have not stopped. Just yesterday, it was announced that Proton Savvy owners should quickly take their cars to the nearest service centre and have them checked for a possible problem with the rear wheel bearing. A recall programme has been initiated to replace them. According to Proton, the danger is with water entering the bearing and damaging it. Not wanting to take any risk, the company has decided to replace the bearings at their cost.