Kaki Supper

Famous Speech By The President Thomas J. Whitmore (Bill Pullman) at the end of the movie – Independence Day, 1996 :

In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world and you will be launching the latest aerial battle in the history of mankind.

Mankind – That word should have new meaning for all of us today.  We can’t be consumed by our petty differences any more.  We will be united in our common interest.  Perhaps it’s fate that today is the 4th of July. And u will once again be fighting for our freedom.  Not from tyranny, oppression or persecution, but from annihilation.  We’re fighting for our right to live, to exist.

And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in ONE voice.  We will not go quietly into the night!  We will not vanish without a fight!  We’re going to live on!  We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our independence day!

Another credit card fraud scheme forwarded to me by a friend. Pls be aware!…

I just want to share the incident that happened to me yesterday. I received a call from a woman by the name Lisa claiming she is calling on behalf of Bank Negara. She introduced herself formally and explained to me that Bank Negara is concerned for credit card users in Malaysia who overspend their limit and put themselves too deep in debt. So, Bank Negara is introducing this new “MBF Countdown Backup” card for all owners of credit cards all around Malaysiaand will soon be a compulsory thing. The card, according to Lisa, will be swiped everytime a transaction is performed using your credit card and this will enable Bank Negara to monitor our spending. And in return, we will get discounts ranging from 5% to 40% for different merchants.

Then, this is where my stupidity sets in. Because she spoke to me in Bahasa Malaysiaand the background noise implicates that it is a bank working environment, and above all this, she was able to readout to me my 16-digit credit card numbers and particulars and even my outstanding balance with the credit card, it convinced me that this could be a new system implemented by Bank Negara. So, when she asked for my 3-digit approval code written behind the credit card, I “STUPIDLY” gave it to her.

Then after all this was charade was over, Lisa informed me that a charge of RM480 will be charged to my credit card as a starters fee to waive off the annual fee. This woke me up!! So, I questioned Lisa on why do I need to pay for something that Bank Negara wants to implement to help the people of Malaysia(not a very noble cause). Then she explained to me
that they are from a company calling on behalf of Bank Negara. And she said all the banks are well aware of this system. She then passed me over to her manager, Mr.Zakri or Mr. Z (similar to the MIB) or something. This gentleman then
tries to assure me that this is not a fraud or scam.

Then after his long-winded speech about the benefits of their card (no longer Bank Negara’s), I told him to hold the approval of the card as I don’t need it. I told him that I will call my bank to verify this card and get back to him. He agreed to my suggestion and even gave me 2 of his contact numbers for me to get back to him (03-40422522 and
03-40424288). So, when I called both my credit card banks regarding this matter both banks told me that there was no such thing. Immediately I told that I might have fell for a fraud telephony case and wanted to cancel and suspend all my credit cards. The banks suspended my cards and agreed to send me a replacement card. Then when I called back Mr. Z at the number he gave me, a different lady attended to me and passed me on to a chinese lady who spoke in mandarin to me in a very heavy China accent. I told them that I have called my cc banks and cancelled my cards and specifically told her that I do not agree to their terms and I don’t want their offer. She explained to me and assured me that they will delete my cc details and not charge me for anything. So, all this happened yesterday.

Being paranoid, I called my banks again this morning to double check if any transactions had gone through yesterday after I cancelled my card. And guess what. Those m#^*!#fkers actually did try to charge me but the banks did not let the transactions go through. I consider myself lucky coz I acted a step ahead of them.

Lesson from all of this, never ever entertain telephony offers that involve credit cards. 2 of my colleagues fell for these scams before and 1 of them was lucky enough to have the bank recognise it as a fraud case while the other 1 lost RM3000.

The Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) making noises in their annual delegates conference, they want 3,200 petrol stations nationwide to open at 7am and close at 10pm. That is unacceptable idea as their decision will affect all consumers in our country. They should get the approval from government and also think for the consumers too.

The government had also warned them in concerning this topic. In Malaysia, “Petrol and diesel fuel are controlled items under the Supplies Control Act 1961 and under the Act, no one can determine when controlled items can be sold or how much, except the Government. It is the Government’s responsibility to ensure that the supply of petrol and diesel fuel is adequate at all times”. Since 90% of petrol stations are owned by oil companies and operated by dealers, the two groups better to consult with the Government to find alternative to solve the problems.

We think that is possible to close certain stations early in some areas, but some would have to operate 24 hours a day especially nearby highway and town. If they close at 10pm then that will brings inconvenience for those back from shopping malls and cinemas, at the same time they are cutting off their business too. If they open only after 7am, then how about those stay far and start their journey earlier? Many parents fetch their children to school, some going to market very early morning, some company start work early too…. Besides petrol station is also a good rest place for those travel long journey at night. If they close then many lorries or transporters will be suffering.

If that is security issue then they better work out with police and improve the security system… Petroleum are profit making business, added many of these companies are earning hundreds million, we all couldn’t understand how they claim that is incurring high operating costs, if that is true please proof it to the people… or else better Give up kiosks & let others to take up the business…

Finally the issue brought up to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and the plan to close petrol kiosks at 10pm has been called off, the present operating hours will continue… hope this topic will not come back again…

If you notice your Credit card statements, there are no reward points for using credit cards to purchase fuel at petrol stations.

The petrol dealers now again want the consumers who pay with credit cards at their kiosks to absorb the 2% transaction cost charged by banks.  They should not pass on every costs to the consumers…

For anyone who are interested to know the method of calculation for the 10% of co-curriculum mark in Malaysian secondary schools, you can click the link below to download the PDF documents:

 Presentation Slide             Handbook (KPM)