The Star Online: Citizen's Blog (2nd Batch)

These are the 2nd batch of posts I submitted to The Star Online's Citizen's Blog. Some were published in the hardcopy paper. Take time to look through, have a nice day!

Title: Ensure a safer neighbourhood
Content:
For a busy commercial area such as SS15, Subang Jaya, it is quite frightening to hear the number of snatch thefts and mugging cases. Although these cases are not new but they continue to arise with increasing frequency and boldness. Even worse is when some were committed in broad day-light!
The criminals seem to prefer targetting students as SS15 is an education hub, multiple colleges located in close proximity. Many have fallen victim and 3 such cases happened to my friends.
One was when my friend's handphone was snatched as he was taking lunch. A man all of a sudden blatantly walked up, took the phone (which was right next to my friend as he ate) and walked away. Not many days after, his brother fell victim to a similar tactic. Both happened in broad day-light and plain sight!
The third case i mentioned was when another friend of mine was threatened with a machete (parang) on the way home to her house in the SS15 housing area. She was forced to toss over her handbag containing many valuable belongings.
Thankfully none of them were hurt. However, we will never know what will happen when the next crime strikes. As such, something has to be done to deter these vile criminals from perpetrating such heinous felonies. A neighbourhood watch could be formed in conjunction with the police force on constant patrol rounds throughout the day, everyday.
Act before we regret.


Title: Good ol' Malaysian Time
Content:
Malaysia is famous for many things, but none as infamous as our very own Malaysian time! Appointments and events have to be set at least 1 hour before the actual scheduled starting or meeting time as there are bound to be people who arrive late. Some blaming their alarm clocks or most citing traffic jam as the most common excuse.
But it is now indeniable that Malaysian time has become very much part and parcel of living here in Malaysia. It is not to say that punctuality is not practiced, but those who fail to stick to the appointed time tarnishes the image of those who do, just as the Malay-language proverb goes, Nila setitik, rosak susu sebelanga.
When we come to think about it, it really seems like Malaysian time is actually adhering to the original time zone of Peninsular Malaysia before it was synchronized with East Malaysia's time zone. So I guess our biological clocks still did not adjust to that change.
Let us designate a day where all of us synchronizes our watches and practice punctuality throughout the day. Not an easy feat, but hey, we have the spirit of Malaysia Boleh!


Title: Going too far (Published)
Content:
After reading the article regarding the April Fool's joke, involving the mechanic, businessman and his thugs, that went too far, one would think the extent to which such a prank should be carried out. The persons who carry out such tricks should have thought of the consequences to which their actions would result in.
Not only did that person not forewarn the friend early enough, it caused such a chain reaction that was detrimental to all who were involved. Ties and relationships can instantly turn sour, even worse would be when physical harm is brought onto the victims.
As such, humour should be done in good nature, good intentions and good faith. While some might think of it as a good joke to pull, but 'One man's meat is another man's poison'.
This 'joke gone wrong' should serve as a lesson to be learnt the next time you are feeling mischievous and looking to have a laugh at other's expense. Think before you act.


Title: Lecturers should encourage early submission
Content:
This story was related to me personally, a lecturer turned down an early submission for a lab report and my friend was told to hand the report in on the deadline itself (a couple days later). Unbelievable, but it actually happened. Which leaves me wondering why the lecturer would not want to accept assignments handed in early.
Lecturers should in fact encourage students to submit completed reports, assignments, project write-ups, etc. before the deadline. The mentality displayed by the lecturer mentioned above leaves much to be desired and in fact tarnishes the image of lecturers.
It also gives the impression to the students that the lecturer is not interested in their work and would in turn reduce the motivation and morale when completing the work. Not only that, by not accepting early submissions, it encourages students to leave it to the last minute as anyhow the lecturer would not collect early completed materials.
So rather than be overwhelmed by a deluge of reports on the given deadline, the lecturer can proceed to mark the early submissions first. This will not only definitely reduce the amount of work to be done later, but as well as help the lecturer manage time better.
Encourage diligency to be one of the best policies.


Title: Encouraging foreign personal investment the way to go
Content:
It is entirely encouraging to know that the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme was launched and response is growing. This programme is a good way to invite investment from abroad which will spur the local economy. Not only does it help stimulate the economy, it helps to bring global recognition to Malaysia as not merely a business, travel and sports hub but also a wonderful place to plant and grow family roots here.
Right now with the new rules, it would better entice foreigners to invest in Malaysian property. MM2H is shaping up to be a commendable move by the government. As with more personal investment from foreigners, this could in turn attract more multi-national companies to set up shop here and further boost foreign investment.
However there should be a minimum investment level applicable to all states for the MM2H programme, as currently it can be quite deceiving with the range fluctuating from RM150,000 for most states and RM250,000 to RM350,000 for a few.
With that aside, with more exposure to the programme will induce more interest towards it. So, kudos to the MM2H programme and kudos to it's implementation. Here's towards making Malaysia the melting pot of a truly global culture. Cheers!


Title: Hype and it's role
Content:
Hype is now an all integral part of our everyday lives now. Like it or not, the media has a great influence on us all. To achieve that influence, the most effective tool is building hype to everything. That is the reason we have billboards, commercials, teaser movie trailers, banners, flyers, etc, it's all part and parcel of building hype to draw the public.
Hype basically can make or break anything, be it new or old. That is what advertising campaigns are for. All that publicity and exposure created in the media can bring success and international recognition even to the worst of the worst. So it goes as no wonder that more and more publicity stunts are done as the days roll on.
The best example industry to show hype doing what it does best would be to look at the movies. Cast an award-winning element into the production mix, remake a classic movie or make a movie adaptation of a best-selling book and hype will instantly grow. Even worse are by having the actors have bad publicity which in turn creates hype and finally ticket sales, lots and lots of it. Befuddling but that method works everytime, the effectiveness of reverse psychology.
Media creates the publicity, publicity leads to public interest, public interest leads to anticipation, anticipation leads to hype and hype is what drives sales and reaping the profits of another effective advertising campaign.
So welcome to the world where we eat, hear and watch hype. Welcome to the world of media.


Obi-Kwan Kenobi, 2006