International Engine of the Year Awards

BMW's got a stranglehold on the awards.

But my attention is drawn to the fact that turbo engines won 7 out of 10 awards (excluding the award for fuel economy, which precludes everything besides a hybrid or alternative fuel engine anyway). Albeit the 1.4 TSI in the VW Golf GT is a superturbo ie. supercharger plus turbocharger.

I reckon this should put an end to the age old NA vs turbo and supercharger vs turbo debates.

A review of the 1.4 TSI superturbo below.

Are bumi professionals really 'sidelined'? Maybank's 50% bumi requirement

So... Maybank has backed down, reversing an earlier decision requiring all law firms in it's panel of solicitors to have at least 3 partners where one is a bumi with at least 50% stake in the firm.

Looking at the original requirement again, there is a much more insidious side effect of the partnership structure which Maybank had intended to enforce:

Partner A (bumi): 50%
Partner B (non-bumi): 49%
Partner C (non-bumi): 1%

Where there are a 3 partners (the minimum required), you'll find that the bumi partner (A) automatically becomes the senior or managing partner with the single largest stake in the firm by default.

Since the definition of Maybank's requirement prohibits the other 2 partners (there must be at least 2 in addition to the bumi partner) from holding more than 50% in total - partner B can only hold a maximum of 49% with partner C holding a minimum 1%.

Imagine if you're a firm, comprised of 2 non-bumi lawyers (father & son, for eg), currently engaged by Maybank. What happens? If you want to keep Maybank as a client, the 2 non-bumi partners effectively have to cede majority ownership and control to a new bumi partner.

And because the non-bumi partners need the new bumi partner more than he needs them (REMEMBER!... there is no reciprocating requirement that 100% bumi firms become 50% bumi / 50% non-bumi), logic dictates that the non-bumi will be gifted that 50% stake at token or no cost; and will put in less than 50% of the hard work (simply because he can't be fired!).

This is exactly the reason why the 38 year old NEP is rubbish! There is no link to personal effort and motivation. Affirmative action will never be successful if it is not based on hard work and severe consequences for underperformance.

The Aftermath...

As expected, Maybank's U-turn has drawn out some supporters of racist policies:

Senators Support Maybank's Pro-bumi Policy

"...to narrow the gap between the Bumiputeras and non-Bumiputeras in terms of the number of legal firms that were made panels of solicitors in the banking sector."

"I want to ask Hong Leong Bank and Public Bank, how many bumiputera legal firms have they appointed as their panels?"

"...appropriate to enhance Bumiputera interests in legal firms involved in the banking sector."

"...all the while, it was difficult for Bumiputera legal firms to get contracts or deal with other banks and Maybank's move should not be regarded as racist.

And from bumi accountants:

Bumi accounting firms sidelined too.

"...bumiputra accounting firms had to abide by unreasonable conditions that made it difficult to compete with foreign and non-bumiputra firms."

"Many bumiputra accountants who work with international audit firms left to set up their own firms but were not given any chances."

"Large companies also do not believe in the capabilities of bumiputra firms and there are financial institutions that impose conditions like having at least eight partners before we can be selected”

For all their racist rhetoric, the senators and bumi accountants raise a couple of very pertinent questions...

Are bumi professionals less successful compared to their non-bumi counterparts? Is this true? Do we have the data to support such a broad, motherhood statement?

ASSUMING that it is indeed true... where I disagree violently with them is the fact that they propose all sorts of racially delineated numerical solutions but like pantiless ballerinas dancing on a polished mirror floor, they skip over the main question... ie. WHY?

Why are bumi professionals less successful? The bumi accountants have said as much... "large companies do not believe in the capabilities of bumiputra firms." Why is there a gap between the perceived capabilities of bumi and non-bumi accountants?

Are bumi professionals really being sidelined? The accountants mentioned that financial institutions impose "unreasonable" conditions like requiring firms with at least 8 partners. Is this a business requirement (since financial institutions are big, complex entities and only a large, well staffed firm can handle the work)? Are non-bumi firms with less than 8 partners excluded exactly like their bumi counterparts? If they are, where then is the discrimination? Why don't bumi accountants simply setup firms with 8 partners or more? Why don't bumi accountants join larger firms?

Are bumi professionals on par with non-bumis in terms of abilities and skills? Let me give you an example specifically in the accounting profession. Accountants with local university degrees become fully qualified accountants (registered with MIA), after simply 3 years of work experience. Everyone else (read overseas degrees and professional exams) has to first gain entry into an affiliated professional accounting body like ACCA, ASCPA or MICPA (and this entails passing some professional exams), plus the 3 years of work experience before they can register with MIA.

If you tell me that local accounting graduates (local degree only), professional qualification holders (professional exam only) and overseas graduates (overseas degree + professional exam) are all of the same quality... I'd say you're talking crazy. This is the same "apples = oranges" thinking that equates a 1 year matriculation program to the 2 year STPM. And I haven't even started on the horrendous English language and problem solving skills of local graduates.

Since bumis form the bulk of local university graduates (by virtue of the education quotas, although there's no shortage of equally badly trained non-bumi local graduates), is it really an entire race that's being sidelined or is it more a rejection of the type of training that they tend to acquire?

So, should you adopt a non-racial solution to improve the training program for locally trained accountants... so that they can take advantage of market opportunities, OR should you modify market opportunities along racial lines in order to accomodate badly trained bumi accountants?

Singapore F1 GP is GO, GO, GO! All lights are green.

Singapore finally clinches the F1 GP. First race is Sept/Oct 2008 and very possibly a night race (Bernie said so).

"I think we can drop the possibility of a day race" - Bernie Ecclestone responding to scepticism of a night race.

This is great news. Imagine, a F1 race that's a single train or bus ride away from your doorstep. It actually takes longer to walk from Sepang's carpark to it's main door - (there's supposedly a shuttle bus... but I've never actually seen one though I've been there twice) - compared to the MRT ride from most HDB estates to Marina Bay.

Corporate vehicle for Singapore F1 GP registered

After exactly a month with no news whether the Singapore F1 was going to go ahead, Today newspaper reports that a company called Singapore GP Pte Ltd, (helmed by the man who's been holding talks with Bernie Ecclestone since the beginning of the year) - has been incorporated with the registered business purpose of "event promotion".

Hopefully, a confirmation of the race will come sooner rather than later.

Previous blogpost about the Singapore F1:

Sickening: Singapore still dragging its feet on F1 GP.

Citizens of Middle Earth, Rejoice! For the Children of Hurin come forth to dwell amongst you

The title of this review is somewhat misleading. The reviewer no doubt means the author (Christopher Tolkien) when he refers to 'the next generation'.

That's because the Children of Hurin are of the first age of Middle Earth... ancestors of Aragorn and the Dunedain, many generations before.

This is the first 'new' book about Middle Earth. I have not read it, but I will be mighty interested to see if it is new material or a rehash of JRR Tolkien's drafts of this tale (already published in The History of Middle Earth series).

HAMAS, Farfour and the Talibannies

Inspired by the success of the TALIBANNIES...

The HAMAS terrorists have created Mickey Hamaouse, also known as Farfour (Palestinian for Fuckyou).

This just goes to prove that no matter what your religion and however omnipotent your god may be, even he has to concede to the power of Saturday morning cartoons.

Malaysia to blacklist sexy female singers

According to AFP, Malaysia is threatening to blacklist and stop the performances of sexy female singers, no matter "how famous" they are.

If you ask me, this is tantamount to telling all contemporary female entertainers to skip Malaysia. I can't imagine Beyonce, Fergie, Sammy Cheng or Utada Hikaru giving a shit what the Taliban... oops, Malaysian govt want, much less send their outfits here to be vetted and approved before the concert.

Another good move, Malaysia. Show the world what a glokal country we are. Glokal: adj. meaning modern amenities, kampung mentality.

nb. the babe pic accompanying this post is totally gratuitous. Just a sample of what we'll be missing.

Malaysia orders cover-up for sexy singers

(AFP) - Malaysia is cracking down on foreign singers in skimpy outfits and will blacklist performers who don't follow orders to cover up, a report said Wednesday.

Officials in the mainly Muslim nation, which last year fined a promoter over a concert by the hit-making Pussycat Dolls, said they would take special aim at female singers -- and give no leeway to famous names.

"If they wear eye-popping outfits and if they behave improperly or indecently, or say things that touch on religious, social and cultural sensitivities, the officers have a right to stop the show," immigration official Mohamad Ramlan Che Hassan told the New Straits Times.

"The singers can continue to perform if the officers' advice is followed. If they don't, the singers and their managers will be blacklisted," he told the paper. He could not be reached directly for comment.

Conservative Muslims in Malaysia regularly express outrage over rock concerts which are deemed overly sexual and immoral.

Ramlan said he had warned an unnamed top Indonesian female singer she would be blacklisted if her performance was too sexy.

"She is known for her gyrating performances. When she performed in Malaysia in 2005, we received a lot of complaints that her sexy antics were bad for our youth," said Ramlan.

Shift Happens - what the world will be like in 15 years

Thought provoking statistics and predictions. End of the day, keep learning new stuff. Always keep learning.

glumbert.com - Shift Happens

A photo of the apple of Raja Nazrin's eye, Zara Salim Davidson.

Here's a much better picture of Raja Nazrin's bride-to-be.

The photo of her that Utusan Malaysia printed really didn't do her any justice. Here's one newspaper that's itching for an irate phone call from the Perak palace, I reckon.


Below's her profile as published by Bernama. Convent Ipoh girl.

My sincere best wishes to the royal couple.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- Zara Salim Davidson, the bride-to-be of the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, was one of the top students at the University of Nottingham and a former Perak state swimmer.

She graduated with first class honours in chemical engineering in July 1995.

Incidentally, her father-in-law-to-be, the Sultan of Perak, read law at the same university and was conferred the Bachelor of Laws degree in 1953 before being admitted to the English Bar in 1954.

Born in Ipoh on March 22, 1973, she is the youngest of four children of William Davidson and Sharifah Azaliah Syed Omar Shahabudin. She has three elder brothers.

Zara, who has a strong interest in foreign languages, had studied at SMJK Convent Ipoh and represented her school in squash and tennis from 1988 to 1990.

She also represented Perak in swimming between 1981 and 1987.

After completing her A-Levels at Prime College here in 1992, she left for the United Kingdom to study chemical engineering at the University of Nottingham and graduated with first class honours in July 1995. She also won the top student award for her final year project.

Zara joined the Business Evaluation Department in the Corporate Planning Unit of Petronas in December 1995 and was part of the team responsible for the successful establishment of the Kertih and Kuantan integrated petrochemical complexes, whose foreign partners included BP, BASF, Dow Chemicals and Mitsubishi.

She then became a Project Analyst in the Petronas Petrochemical Business Unit and was part of the core team developing the Petronas brand essence, which now forms part of the Petronas global branding strategy.

Between February 1999 and October 2000, she was Product Manager at Petlin (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, a Petronas joint venture with DSM of the Netherlands and Sasol of South Africa. She was also part of the Petronas project team to operationalise the largest single-train Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plant in the world at Kertih.

Zara left Petronas in November 2001 to become Account Manager at Formis Network Services Sdn Bhd and then assumed the post of Vice-President of Partnerships & Alliances at Formis (Malaysia) Berhad, a technology-based company listed on Bursa Malaysia, between 2003 and 2005.

Between 2005 and 2007, Zara, who is a certified life-saver and adventure sports enthusiast, became Managing Director of Forthwave Consulting Sdn Bhd, a hydrocarbon technical engineering and software development company in Kuala Lumpur.

-- BERNAMA

George Dubya Bush is actually pretty darn funny

No doubt you would have heard by now that US President Bush did yet another 'dubya' when making a speech during the Queen of England's current visit to the US. I've attached the video below. His impromptu comeback in response to the laughter was classic.

Mr Bush messed up at a ceremonial welcome for the Queen at the White House yesterday when he spoke of a visit paid by the Queen to mark the 200th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from Britain "in 17 - in 1976".

After the Queen looked up at him from beneath her wide-brimmed black hat, he winked at her, before turning to the laughing audience and telling them: "She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child."

Bush Blooper With Queen - Bicentennial

What I realised was that George Dubya Bush actually makes a pretty good stand up comic. War monger or not, I reckon Saturday Night Live or Comedy Central could give him a gig if/when he gets kicked out of the Whitehouse. Take a look at this video I found, of Bush speaking at the Radio & TV Correspondents dinner. It's damn funny (although general knowledge of US current events is required to get some of the punchlines).

President Bush Address to Radio-TV Correspondents 3-28-2007