Last call for oversea Malaysians: postal voter registration.

 

FYI, parliament dissolved this morning. You can registered as postal voters latest by 1159pm (Malaysia time, GMT+8) today.

More info, visit the SPR website-> http://www.spr.gov.my/

p/s: Very likely SPR website will be down. You could download application form, FAQs, guideline at:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1hn6bw0s1js1wdk/Vx3tI4VqUE/SPR

Let's change!

Registration as postal voters for Malaysians abroad

more info see http://www.spr.gov.my/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=34:pengundian-pos-di-luar-negara&Itemid=189

I just got mine sorted:

STOP LYNAS, SAVE MALAYSIA

We can not predict the impacts of radioactive materials/wastes generated by LYNAS on our health and the beloved country. The best way is to stop LYNAS from operating in this country. Every effort counts and helps. Voice your stand now, tell the public and the goverment: STOP LYNAS, SAVE MALAYSIA

(image source: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=286941871371562&set=a.160088354056915.39161.159764004089350&type=3&theater)

高举反莱纳斯标语拍照上网, 网民冀226全世界一片绿潮 http://ow.ly/9hGwg
《独立新闻在线》 - 揭内部电邮发现地下管子裂痕 党团促政府暂缓稀土执照彻查 - http://ow.ly/9hGxk
Lynas ‘devil’ waiting at every doorstep | Free Malaysia Today - http://ow.ly/9hGxH
Turn back! | My Sinchew -  http://ow.ly/9hJsm
Gov’t fails to learn from Bkt Merah tragedy | Free Malaysia Today -  http://ow.ly/9hGy5

How #Malaysian Students can vote from overseas

The coming election is likely to fall in March, you still have chance to register as voter/ convert to become absent voter. Remember, every vote counts, use your ballot to shoot down those incompetent reps.

For more info, please refer to the following link

http://www.ukeconline.com/how-students-can-vote-from-overseas/

Say no to airport tax increase by #MAHB #MALAYSIA #KLIA

As the picture implies

100 important questions in plant science research

I have opportunity to read a recent publication in the New Phytologist entitled "One hundred important questions facing plant science research", it is an open access paper (you can download freely from Internet without subscription) available at:

One hundred important questions facing plant science research - Grierson - 2011 - New Phytologist - Wiley Online Library: http://bit.ly/o7VC1Z

These questions are grouped into 5 categories: society, environment & adaptation, species interaction, understanding & utilizing plant cells and diversity.

From my opinion, this is a well written thought provoking paper. It addressed questions and challenges facing in plant science research, and the needs to incorporate multi disciplinary approach. There is no rocket science in this paper, no extensive used of jargon, it's readable and comprehensible to anyone who has completed pre-u biology, a-level or stpm degree.

In oriental culture, students or parents tend do choose / encourage to pursue field which are regarded as high prospect like law, medicine, accountancy,pharmacy etc. Hopefully this paper will increase our awareness on the significance of plant science research and enhance our appreciation to plants. Also, hope this paper can encourage more people to involve in plant science research (according to my previous master supervisor, only 10% bioscience researchers are involved in plant science research!)

The following questions are my favorite pick:

How do we ensure that society appreciates the full importance of plants?

How can we attract the best young minds to plant science so that they can address Grand Challenges facing humanity such as climate change, food security, and fossil fuel replacement?

How can we translate our knowledge of plant science into food security?
Which plants have the greatest potential for use as biofuels with the least effects on biodiversity, carbon footprints and food security?

How can we use plant science to prevent mal-nutrition?

How can we use knowledge of plants and their properties to improve human health?

How can we translate our knowledge of plant science into food security?

What are the best ways to control invasive species including plants, pests and pathogens?

Can we increase crop productivity without harm-ing biodiversity?

 

Hope you enjoy reading this paper;)

REGISTRATION OF VOTERS: Postal Voters / Absent Voters

There’s a rumour that Malaysia General Election to be held this year. I wasn’t aware that Malaysian students study abroad have to register as  Postal Voters / Absent Voters (http://www.jimlondon.net/con-voter.html).

For these reason, I have emailed the Election Commission of Malaysia (SPR) regarding the voter registration matter. Although I not sure if they’re going to take 3 months to update the voters’ list, as happen in normal voter. Certainly, I agree & have signed the petition by Malaysians Overseas - Right to Vote (https://www.facebook.com/MyOverseasVote). Every Malaysian should be given right to vote.

The reply from SPR as follow:-

Tuan, Terima kasih atas minat tuan dalam urusan pilihan raya khususnya terhadap bidang pendaftaran pemilih. Untuk melayakkan tuan menjadi seorang pengundi pos, tuan mestilah dalam golongan seperti berikut; 1.anggota tentera dan pasangan 2.penjawat awam yang bertugas di luar Negara dan pasangan mereka 3.pelajar yang sedang menuntut sepenuh masa di luar Negara dan pasangan mereka 4.anggota polis dan pasangan Pasuka Gerakan Am (PGA) 5.pegawai pilihan raya yang bertugas semasa hari pengundian 6.ahli Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya MalaysiA 7.mana-mana orang yang ditetapkan oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya melalui warta. Untuk mendaftar sebagai pengundi tidak hadir / pengundi pos, tuan mestilah membuat pendaftaran melalui Penolong Pendaftar yang telah dilantik oleh SPR dengan syarat mengemukakan maklumat alamat di luar Negara dalam Borang Pendaftaran dan dikepilkan bersama borang tersebut.Permohonan tuan untuk mendaftar sebagai pengundi tidak hadir/pos boleh dibuat dengan cara HADIR SENDIRI dan membawa kad pengenalan milik sendiri ke mana-mana pejabat Pesuruhjaya Tinggi atau Keduataan Malaysia atau pejabat Konsulat Malaysia di luar negara.Sekiranya tuan mempunyai sebarang pertanyaan lanjut berhubung perkara ini, tuan bolehlah menghubungi (because I’m voter from Perak) PEJABAT PILIHAN RAYA NEGERI PERAK BLOK A, TINGKAT 1, BANGUNAN PERSEKUTUAN,JALAN PANGLIMA BUKIT GANTANG WAHAB,30000 IPOH, PERAK DARUL RIDZUAN atau di talian 05-254 4195.Sekian, harap dapat membantu.

Tribute to Bersih warriors

Salute to peaceful protesters on Bersih rally (http://bersih.org/). They showed high degree of self-discipline, passion, & determination to soldier on despite of high-handed action by the authority. 9th of July 2011 is certainly an historic moment!  I am touched and this further reinforce my intention to come back and contribute to my country. Together we strive for a better future.

Tears nearly came out after watching the following clips:
http://youtu.be/3UNT8C13hRs
http://youtu.be/kqGOphA5dMU
http://youtu.be/xMtV7zj5yMA
http://youtu.be/64Gg8l0Hkcc

Related news:
BBC News - In pictures: Malaysia reform protests -  http://ow.ly/5AAqc
BBC News - Malaysia: Police fire tear gas at banned rally -  http://ow.ly/5AAqo
Thousands of Malaysians Rally for Changes to Elections - NYTimes.com - http://ow.ly/5AAqN

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BBC中文网 - 国际新闻 - 大马抗议千人被捕反对派领导受伤 -  http://ow.ly/5AA5k

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BBC中文网 - 国际新闻 - 大马抗议千人被捕反对派领导受伤 -  http://ow.ly/5AA5k

Question

My tweet to deputy edu. minister, Dr.WeeKS, he yet to reply. Since there are many tweets from him regarding the JPA scholarship matter. Most tweeples asked the appeal & application procedures which is not my main interest. I would concern about the continuous monitoring efforts of the recipients, so it prompted me to send the following tweet:- 

*********
YB this may not relevant to your Q&A on JPA issues with
fellow Tweeples recently. As I received funding here, neither funded by the
gov. nor JPA, I wonder is there any measures/continuous monitoring efforts to
ensure these scholars are performing well throughout their studies? i.e. their soft
skills development in addition to academic credential. Also, any survey on
these recipients career prospects (science & engineering fields) after
their studies?

This is because I recalled there were academics critiqued poor
interview, presentation & communication skills of the scholars who went to postgraduate
scholarship application here despite of the impressive CV. Besides, some degrees
they pursued in UK are not well tailored for postgraduate research.

Of course,
these were independent cases, as I believe majority are doing well. However, we
can’t deny the significance of continuous soft skills development whether they
are getting gov. scholarship or not. After all, we hope to have students that
are capable to compete in international arena instead of “jaguh kampung”
***********

Omg, since when Valentine becomes a debatable issue ?

Outrageous statements from the leaders show that again we are in retrograde step of development. Couldn't you  perform better, find out solutions for nation issues of great interest instead of arguing on Valentine?

short talk-speechless

Speechless when the proposed Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC) had dissapeared from the New Economic Model (NEM) owing to the pressure by racists, PERKASA. Thumb up to Dr Zainal Aznam for pointing up the problem. Is the dream of 2020 vision achievable?

DAP joins call for equality panel to reverse brain drain - The Malaysian Insider -  http://ow.ly/3UcQu

FYI: Malaysians Overseas - Right to Vote

To whom it may concern: I refer to the message below and wish to draw your attention.

 

Hi,
I wanted to draw your attention to this important petition that I recently signed:

"Malaysians Overseas - Right to Vote"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/myoverseasvote/

I really think this is an important cause, and I'd like to encourage you to add your signature, too. It's free and takes just a few seconds of your time.
Thanks!
------------------------------

The following info maybe of interest (adapted from the Facebook page):

Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/MyOverseasVote

Website: http://www.myoverseasvote.org

Background info:

BACKGROUND
• Over 1 million Malaysians are estimated to work outside Malaysia. Of this, roughly 40% work in Singapore and 20% in other Asian countries.

• There are 11 million registered voters in Malaysia, out of a potential electorate of 15 million.

• Under the Election (Registration of Electors) Regulations 2002, only members of the Armed Forces, public servants, students and their spouses living overseas are eligible to register and vote as absent voters.

• Our legal advice is that the discriminatory provisions are an abuse of the Election Commission’s discretion under the law and a violation of the grant of equality under the Federal Constitution.
OUR AIMS

• To end discrimination against Malaysian citizens who are living or working outside Malaysia.

• To re-enfranchise Malaysian citizens overseas, and to re-engage them in charting the future course of Malaysia.

• To bring legal proceedings against the Election Commission challenging the discriminatory provisions in the 2002 Regulations.
YOUR ROLE

• Sign up to our Facebook page ‘Malaysians Overseas – Right to Vote’ or follow our Twitter feed @MyOverseasVote

• Pledge a donation / get involved by emailing malaysiansoverseas@gmail.com. We are looking to raise RM200,000/£40,000 in order to fund our legal action.

Food security: The Future of Food and Farming

With reference to the information from the respective website:

This report provide an overview of the evidence and discuss the challenges and choices for policy makers and others whose interests relate to all aspects of the global food system.

This report is intended for:
Policy makers and a wide range of professionals and researchers whose interests relate to all aspects
of the global food system: including governance at all scales, food production and processing, the
supply chain, and also consumer attitudes and demand. It is also relevant to policy makers and others
with an interest in areas that interact with the food system, for example: climate change mitigation,
energy and water competition, and land use.

Source:
Foresight. The Future of Food and Farming (2011)
Final Project Report.
The Government Office for Science, London.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/foresight/our-work/projects/current-projects/global-food-and-farming-futures/reports-and-publications

I have downloaded a copy to Kindle, would be nice to read what are the strategies proposed to overcome the food security issue in the future.

Other info:
Genetically modified crops are the key to human survival, says UK's chief scientist | Environment | The Observer - http://ow.ly/3KaBg

dog abuser

Shocked with the news reported in the Malaysian insider, as follow:
Dog abuse video triggers online search for culprits - The Malaysian Insider -  http://ow.ly/3JVEt

(picture source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dog-abuse-video-triggers-online-search-for-culprits/)

Stop this insane & inhumane treatment of animals. Stern action must be taken against this foolish act!

Is Oral Sex Safe?

I watched this programme on BBC iPlayer recently (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00xhdzl/Is_Oral_Sex_Safe/). Unfortunately, the video can be viewed with UK internet IP only.

As we know, oral cancer is mostly caused by smoking or drinking ( tobacco & alcohol). Apart from that, there is an increasing trend show that oral sex, a dangerous pleasure contributes to oral cancer as well. This is caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted.

HPV is the causative agent of cervical cancer in women, and it can be prevented through vaccination. Compare with cervical cancer, HPV-related oral cancer is relatively rare at the moment, but we can't deny its future impact and it is estimated that 80% of the adult population carrying it without having any symptoms in their lives (note: the virus in one's body is not necessarily develop into cancer).   

Intriguingly, the risk of getting HPV-related oral cancer is 5 times higher in men than women (according to the interview session in the BBC’s video). A thought provoking question arose in this video was:”since men has high chance of getting HPV-related cancer, why don’t the government offers vaccination programme to boys as well, considering a cost of getting a HPV jab is extremely expensive (~£300-400 for the jab)?”

Although I don’t know the status of HPV vaccination programme in the country, but certainly I will encourage my female friends to get a HPV vaccination if it is affordable, ( if not, I think a regular smear test is worth doing).

I like an interesting quote by a doctor in the video :” if you are afford to get a jab, why don’t go for it? instead of saving the money for the hand bag of the season :)

Bear in mind that "Health is the greatest wealth".

Summary of the video mentioned above is as follow:-

Darren was diagnosed with oropharyngeal cancer, a rare form of mouth cancer, at the age of only 31. But that wasn't the only shocking news that he had to deal with. Most oral cancers are caused by smoking or drinking, but Darren's was caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is sexually transmitted. Darren had caught it through having oral sex. New research shows that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of HPV-related oral cancers amongst young people.

Jaime Winstone sets out to discover why the statistics are rising and whether anything can be done to stop this trend. Sadly, she has an intimate relationship with cancer - as filming began, her close friend Paul died from pancreatic cancer aged only 26. Whilst his cancer wasn't preventable, Darren's was.
HPV is recognised as the cause of cervical cancer in women and so, two years ago, the government introduced a national vaccination programme for teenage girls. But if a vaccine exists, why isn't it also given to boys to protect them from developing HPV-related cancers? Although this oral cancer is still relatively rare, the HP virus is common, with an estimated 80 per cent of adults having it, without any symptoms, during their lives.

Jaime's journey takes her to meet Dr Margaret Stanley, an expert on HPV and Professor Hisham Mehanna, a head and neck specialist at University Hospital, Coventry whose research has shown an increase in HPV-related oral cancers. Jaime talks to teenage boys about what they know of HPV and to teenage girls about why they are reluctant to get the freely available vaccine, before confronting the Department of Health over why they currently don't vaccinate boys as well as girls on the NHS.

Part of the Dangerous Pleasures season on BBC Three.

more & more straight-A students

Read the following tweet this morning:-

 

RT @SinChewPress: 2010年初中評估考試（PMR）成績標青，是過去4年來成績最好的一次，總共有3萬零863人考獲全科A（7.02%），比去年增加了2千675人。

it means:”Excellence 2010 PMR result, the best achievement over the past 4 years. There’re 30863 students obtained straight As (7.02%), an increase of 2675 students compared with last year”

 

I am wondering every year we're producing so many full A students from public exam. Is this a sign that we hv better students quality? Or exam is getting easier? Or ironically they are good 'exam answering machine'? How these excellence results link to their personalities, character building and mentality?

Why Study Plants?

Impressed with the launch of “Teaching Tools in Plant Biology” in one of the high-impact Plant Biology’s journals- The Plant Cell.

 

I believe most of my friends know that I am a postgraduate student in Plant Science. The first article- Why Study Plants? clearly illustrate my intention & passion to carry out studies in this area.

 

This article is written for general public, easily understandable without the excessive used of scientific jargon. You can download the article &/ power point presentation at (YouTube video is available as well):

 

http://www.plantcell.org/teachingtools/TTPB1.dtl

 

Hope you enjoy reading this interesting article. Cheers

 

APPEAL FOR PTPTN REPAYMENT EXEMPTION (borrowers who graduated with First Class Honours)

To whom it may concern (PTPTN REPAYMENT EXEMPTION for borrowers who graduated with First Class Honours):

Please join the following group:-

Group Name: APPEAL FOR PTPTN REPAYMENT EXEMPTION

**It’s a closed group, therefore you have to sign in to your Facebook account.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_157840467593335

It's network group created for Malayisan PTPTN borrowers who graduated with First Class Honours but not entitled to loan exemption, united we stand and spell out our wish to be exempted from the loan repayment.

**The admin are compiling the names for further appeal actions.

Cheers

Register to vote. Do it Now!

I refer to the blogpost on Niamah blog.

If the 13th General Elections are going to be called for March 2011
then the last day to register as a voter is
December 15, 2010

There isn't much time. Register to vote now!

You can register to vote at any Malaysian

post-office. Nation-wide. 

Do it soon. Before December 15, 2010.

If you’re unhappy with the current situation, use your ballot as the bullet to “shoot” down the incompetence people representatives.  

Remember, every little help, everyone plays a role here. We have to be proactive, initiative, responsive &creative on nation issues, instead sitting there waiting for solution.

Once again, I would like to urge you:

Do it now! Register to Vote! Action is Power!

The petition to save our forests

Got this info from my schoolmate, Han Yeong.

Please find the info as follow:

http://www.38degrees.org.uk/save-our-forests

The petition text:

"Save our forests - don't sell them off to the highest bidder"

• Don't let private companies chop down our woodland.
• Protect trees for the conservation of wildlife and the enjoyment of the public.

“

The government wants to sell off more than half of our national forests to private firms. This could mean ancient woodlands are chopped down and ruined. Wildlife would have to make way for Centre Parcs style holiday villages, golf courses and commercial logging.

We need to stop these plans. Ancient forests like The Forest of Dean and Sherwood Forest are national treasures - once they are gone, they will be lost forever.

A huge petition will force the government to rethink its plans. If we can prove how strongly the public are against this, they will have to back down. Please sign the petition now.

”