Spotted this on the afternoon of the 9th of June 2008.

Now I am not sure if Ferrari paid the owner of the car to display its name on the car, but I think the answer is most likely no.

Of course there are quite a lot of people who like to “decorate” their cars like this.

Perhaps without us realising it, we’re giving the relevant companies free advertising. And in many cases, we even bought the stickers to be stuck on our cars. So not only are we giving free advertising, we are paying for it!

Shouldn’t it be the other way round?

If Ferrari pays me money to advertise for them via my car, I would gladly envelope it with their stickers.

1947: I read in The Star online, posted 1727 that it’s all mere rumour. However, it’s true that stations will not be accepting credit cards “for the time being,” due to the service charge issue. According to the paper, rumour has it that gas kiosks are closing for 3 days from Wednesday because “kiosk dealers nationwide were demanding higher commissions following the recent fuel hike.” The paper further said that officials from Shell Malaysia and the Sabah Petroleum Dealers Association has confirmed that no such closure will happen and that a Sabah Shell spokesman said that their retail stations nationwide will continue with normal operating hours. However, it seems that people were not taking any risks, with even Keningau seeing queues as long as 2 kilometres! Well, if it really is, news sure travels quickly these days, doesn’t it?

1920: Got a forwarded email from a friend that said: “Just got the news that the Petrol Dealers Association has asked all petrol station across Malaysia to stop selling petrol/diesel on Thursday
(6/26) - close their station. The Ministry has called them for a meeting today to avoid all this but so far no news yet. So if possible fill up the tank on Wed.” So probably it’s best to avoid the madness now, and fill up tomorrow if necessary. Most likely the association and the relevant ministry will come to a compromise and everything will be back to normal come tomorrow.

1818: A senior member of the local media informed that gas stations owners are asking for additional commission. If not ALL gas stations in Malaysia are going to close for 8 hours on 26th June (Thursday).

1755: A brother informed that there are long queues at all gas stations in Tuaran and Tamparuli.

1702: A friend informed that he’s been queuing for 45 minutes at a station in Kota Kinabalu: rumour has it that gas stations are not going to sell any fuel starting tomorrow, for reasons as yet unknown.

1629: A brother informed that he heard many are filling up: rumours are making the rounds that gas station workers are going to stage a boycott. 4th of June 2008, déjà vu?

1438: first of countless blog entries on this matter featured on giuk.net appears

TV Smith went to Sabah recently and took breathtaking photographs, then published them in his website, including a stunning photograph of Kota Kinabalu’s sunset, taken from his hotel room.

Being a fan of sunsets, I don’t think I have seen one better captured on camera. Talking about sunsets, I think we need to slow down more and appreciate these amazing, huge “paintings” in the sky that lasts only a few minutes every day; I don’t think even Michelangelo could match these great frescoes of the heavens. In fact, on Sunday around 6.30pm while at Grace Point I saw this on the sky:

OK back to TV Smith: he also took some street photography that ranks among the very best I have ever seen, including a photograph of whitewater rafting in Kiulu while being watched by a buffalo.

Heck, he even managed to make Kampung Likas look beautiful!

By kampung I mean places so remote that it’s more than likely you had to spend the night sleeping on the floor or in a car.

I’ve had a few encounters like this over the years, in places like Kg Morodobou (Kota Marudu), Kg Libang Laut (Tambunan-Ranau border) and Kg Talantang (deep in the jungles of Kiulu).

One of my most memorable experiences is helping to carry musical equipment, including heavy amplifiers, guitars and loudspeakers through miles of muddy and mountainous jungle paths to a relative’s wedding reception in a remote village. Yes, people who live there definitely don’t need to purchase any strength equipment at all: you’d get your weight training whether you like it or not. Definitely no electricity there, had to use a generator. The “stage” was a bamboo floor simply put onto the ground. To top it off, it was raining heavily throughout the reception, the tarpaulin cover was leaking (rainwater was dripping onto the instruments!) and I slipped and fell at least once on the slippery ground, ruining my clothes. Truly Woodstock stuff.

Then at another reception several years later, I gingerly made my way downstairs after trying to sleep through all the chatter, only to find the stairs almost impossible to go through.

The latest kampung wedding reception I attended was last month, although it was not as extreme as my previous experiences.

At the usual receptions held in halls, restaurants or hotels, you probably won’t find the following:

The JKKK Chairman himself barbecueing wild boar:

Extremely loud band playing right next to the newlyweds’ bedroom, but this boy couldn’t care less:

Then I witnessed, for the first time ever at a wedding reception, the band performing Metallica’s “Enter Sandman”. I only had a mobile phone to video the momentous event, but you get the idea:

Click here to see the video

Oh no, not again! Talk about Monday blues and the the amazing speed at which Penampang gets flooded these days.

I was at the office when my son called around 4pm saying water from the river has reached downstairs. Never mind I thought - relatively, it’s usually a mere puddle the 2nd time.

How wrong I was.

When I finally left the office at 5.20pm after receiving a frantic phonecall from the wife a few minutes earlier saying the flood has returned, it was already raining … you guessed it right … cats and dogs.

It was a big mistake leaving the office at that time - I should left the office much earlier - it took me 90 minutes to reach my wife’s office on the other side of the city, where it should’ve taken 30 minutes at most, and during the best of times, less than 10 minutes.

Another tip is to switch on the radio to the local channel - they usually give updates on flood situations - I was in front of Sutera Harbour when the police went on the radio saying the road in front of Airport View Hotel was flooded - no wonder it’s jam packed on both roads from Kota Kinabalu city centre leading there!

Predictably, due to the delay caused by the traffic gridlock, I could not even reach my house - Inobong road was severely flooded - I think up to waist level at its peak sometime in the evening.

So we spent the night at my wife’s sister’s house near the river but on a hill.

I woke up early the next morning to survey the damage, and this among what I saw:

FRIGHTENING SIGHT: 6.13am: view of Moyog river from Penampang Proper near the bridge -it’s the same level as the road

WITHIN TOUCHING DISTANCE: 6.20am: the Moyog a mere few feet from the bridge

EXPENSIVE CARS ARE NOT EXEMPT: 7.44am: An upmarket SUV stranded on the roadside, Jalan Inobong

INSTANT CAMEL TROPHY TRACK: 7.50am: A Mitsubishi Pajero gingerly making its way in knee-high water on Jalan Inobong. I think last night it was at least waist-level at this spot.

IS THIS A ROAD OR A RIVER: 8.11am: partial view of a flooded 400m stretch of Jalan Inobong

FORCED TO TAKE NATURAL DISASTER LEAVE: 7.46am - yours truly giving thumbs-down while braving Jalan Inobong clad in office wear

To make the thrashing of my day complete, a colleague SMSed around midday to inform that a few rooms at the office were leaking. I think we really need to stock up on a used cisco or two, just in case…

If I have ever done live blogging when floodwaters downstairs are rising, now would be it.

In Penampang, not-so-heavy rain started 4 something pm, but by 6pm the Moyog river was already threateningly swollen. So, it’s 25th April all over again.

Thank God, it was not as bad as the last time.

The meter-high barrier around the house was swamped just after 7pm:

As at 7.18pm it was chest-level…

…which of course would again showcase the disappearing staircase:

Here are how the above pictures would look like during flood-free times, respectively:

Monitoring the water level every 15 minutes, it peaked at a few inches more, around 8.30pm.

So this latest event seems to have summed up my weekend so far.

First, it was a full-day working Saturday from 7am, when we had a statewide network and applications disaster recovery drill.

This drill had already caused some of us to skip the company family day in Kundasang which so happened to fall on the same day. Never mind, I thought, I still have a friend’s wedding in Tamparuli to look forward to. But no, by the time I left the office in Likas around 4, it was already raining cats and dogs.

I had to double up shopping at Central Plaza because the wife said the river’s going to spill over anytime.

Sorry, title of post is not entirely accurate - as you can see clearly, the notice was not only in English but the other main languages of the country too, so definitely there’s no excuse of not understanding it. Quite mind boggling, especially as I could see that some of them are even wearing luxury watches.

—————————————

Spotted earlier today near the cashier counter on the 5th floor.

Instead of the expected pieces of paper / envelopes containing suggestions, you can see other things instead:

Perhaps any transparent locked box with a hole on top immediately means donation box to some people?

By my own standards, I was deeply immersed in Kaamatan celebrations this year: I was at KDCA Hall on both 30th and 31st, even wandered into the KDCA Hall for a few minutes during the height of Unduk Ngadaumania, and also attended the Malaysia Open House : Tadau Kaamatan 2008 event at Padang Merdeka.

31st May 2008 (evening)

During that lull in the late afternoon of the 31st of May 2008, between the announcement of the state Level Unduk Ngadau 2008 results at KDCA Hall, Penampang and the start of the Open House, a little bird informed me that:

At 10 this morning, Terminal 1 Airport, Kota Kinabalu, 5,000 people welcomed Stacy AF6 home from KL. At 3 this afternoon, only 300 people were at the same airport to welcome to Prime Minister.

Both made an appearance at the Open House, Stracie / Stracy “Terlebih Sudah” Angie Anam’s maiden public performance in her home state after being crowned Sabah’s first ever AF champion.

Judging from the thunderous roar as she made her appearance singing “Rumandawi” during the parade of the Unduk Ngadau finalists, I guess that’s definite confirmation that it’s the end of normal life for Stacy. No more obscure performances at Q-Ball Donggongon at which I was fortunate enough to witness just before she entered the “academy” earlier this year. Now any photos with her will surely need custom picture framing.

She apparently performed at least 2 other songs:

Unfortunately, I missed those, perhaps because I left just before 11pm when Den Bisa was performing his part.

The event was broadcast live over RTM TV2, but I was told that the 2-hour transmission’s video quality was not up to scratch, as well as, disappointingly for many people, ended just as Stacy was starting her performance.

I was informed in the morning of the 31st that Stacy was going to perform at 6pm accompanied by a bamboo orchestra (Sound of Borneo), of which I know at least one member, and an interesting character at that. So while initially I didn’t fancy the thought of braving the crowds in Kota Kinabalu, my daughter’s constant pestering and the thought of seeing “The Undertaker / Sandboy” live on the big screen finally got the better of me.

I was there by 7, a full hour and a half before the VVIPs made their grand entrances, but no photos because the camera had been destroyed by my son a few weeks ago.

My observations:
- good weather, hence the grass was dry enough to sit on, and not too warm
- the organisers gave away free food starting 6.45pm (an apple, a few biscuits and water), in a plastic container.
- it’s a huge production, and very well done. The highlight of course is the main event, a non-stop 6-segment action, song and dance extravaganza, the set list summary being the following (in Malay):

The whole thing kicked off with a bonfire being lighted outside the main stage and Abu Bakar Ellah (Ampal) being carried to centrestage. The 3rd segment was where I felt truly transported into legendary Kaamatan stuff when Gundohing Dousia Moujing and his band of bobohizans made their entrance. For those not in the know, he’s the 6th direct descendant of the Kadazan’s legendary warrior Monsopiad (by my own calculations, lived probably in the 18th century), and has one of the coolest job titles in the world: Keeper of the Skulls [Penjaga Tengkorak], all 42 of them, which were the result of Monsopiad’s head-hunting activities. I left in the middle of the 5th segment because it was getting a bit late.
- the press, protocols, security made the red carpet path totally jampacked when the PM came in. The maidens lining the path should’ve been taken out by that time.
- there were so many invited guests present that the speeches’ (there were 4 of them) introductions took a very long time
- I swear I saw Loh Gwo Burne, the man who took the infamous VK Lingam videos and now MP for Kelana Jaya coming in via the red carpet path, and paused a few times along the way to pose for pictures among the pretty maidens lining both sides of the path
- Rachel Wesley, 15 of MyStarz LG fame, and a student at Kiulu, was impressive
- As usual my favourite singer, Evaristus Gungkit was asked to perform
- Linda AF2 performed a rather disappointing, karaoke-quality only version of Jambatan Tamparuli. Her expensive-looking wireless mike also stuttered
- Clarice John Matha, performer of my vote for the Kadazandusun 2004 song of the year performed “Salam Do Kaamatan”
- Visuals for the big screens screwed up big time during the performances in between the speeches, causing louds howls of displeasure from the crowd; fortunately it was OK during the main six-segment show
- the technicians seemed to be asleep during the Huguan Siou’s speech - could hardly hear what he was saying.
- in his speech, the PM mentioned that this years’ celebration seemed more orderly and it could be due to the Minister in charge to be a Sabahan
- After announcing the goodies earlier, including that Cabinet Commitee on Illegal Immigrants, I hope the PM saw with his own eyes the many illegal immigrants in attendance at the Open House

31st May 2008 (early afternoon)

A downpour early in the afternoon and the drizzle afterwards didn’t dampen people’s spirits, rather probably it’s more a blessing: a chance to cool down.

With two kids in tow, the only places I could hang around for long was at the back (blow-up playground) and the Murut house, but overly aggressive, intoxicated individuals spoiled the mood somewhat.

I checked out the insides of KDCA Hall just before the announcements of the final seven Unduk Ngadau contestants. Was surprised that it was not really totally packed like sardines and that the aircon was adequate.

Unduk Ngadau results:
1st: Leonie Gontuni (Penampang)

The most difficult part of any pageant is the Q&A session, which she handled very well, that could’ve been the clincher, although some people might still say the judges were mostly bent on ensuring the crown “returned” to Penampang this year:

Click here to read more & see more videos

I was up on an errand at a major township in Penampang, when up on the first floor, I saw this:

It was easily reachable, yet cleaning was not done. Who’s responsible for cleaning this, the District Council or the shopowner?

Perhaps the next question is: how many cigarette butts can you see?

Car breakdowns and other personal emergencies aside, some things that’s totally beyond your control just spoil your mood.

On the morning of 12th May 2008, this sight confronted me on the only way out to work:

Later on the same day, I was out purchasing spare parts for my car at the famous Hup Seng Heng car spareparts dealer in Kolombong when someone came in to buy a car window glass. Apparently he discovered his car had been broken into at Beverly Hills:

Then how about the amazing traffic jam of 30th April 2008? It had never been this bad before. A journey that normally takes a few minutes stretched to 45 minutes. Strangely there were no accidents or anything visible that one could blame for the situation, which never repeated itself again, so far.

You have anything similar experiences you’d like to share?