My Understanding Of The Usage Of RON 95

From 1st September 2009, the Malaysians were introduced to a new petrol called RON 95. On 3rd September 2009, an article was published in the Starbiz section of the Star entitled “Saving With RON 95” (please refer to the above image). From the headline, it made me want to rush to the petrol station and fill up my almost empty fuel tank of my Gen-2. However, hoping to be a smart consumer, I felt the urgency to check on the story first. Thus, here’s the result of my findings.

Firstly, let’s see if those Malaysians who rushed off to fill their cars’ fuel tank upon reading the article “Saving With RON 95” really save their precious Ringgit. On the surface, by switching from RON 97 to RON 95 the consumer saved RM 0.25 per litre or RM 10.00 for a 40 litre tank. This is just the price difference of RON 97 and RON 95.

Secondly, when we allowed for time comparison, effectively there is no saving at all! Prior to 1st September, we were using RON 97 at RM 1.80 per litre. After 1st September, if we switch to RON 95, the price is still RM 1.80 per litre. In other words, the monthly budget (if there is one!) for fuel consumption remains constant. There will be no reduction, so don’t ever dream of increasing the budget of other items such as food or clothing.

Thirdly, after having compared the price difference, to pursue the value for money analysis, we have to study the products in detail. What is the difference between RON 97 and RON 95. For that matter, what is RON?

RON stands for Research Octane Number. It is an octane rating number and is a measure of the resistance of fuels to detonation (engine knocking) in spark-ignition internal combustion engines. Detonation reduces the engine efficiency thus affects the vehicle’s performance. The higher the number, the more resistance to detonation the fuel is.

Therefore, switching from RON 97 to RON 95 will reduce your vehicle’s performance, hence, the saving of RM 0.25 per litre. One welcoming note though, all Perodua and Proton cars are compatible with RON 95 (this statement is taken from the above-mentioned article “Saving With RON 95”).

Do you think we have covered all avenues. Sorry. There is another issue to consider. Do you drive the following vehicles? Suzuki Swift Sport, Honda Civic Type R, Mitsubishi Airtek Turbo, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Range Rover and Skoda 200FSI. If you do, you might have to adjust your monthly budget. Using performance vehicles such as these made the usage of RON 95 a no-no! These vehicles are incompatible with RON 95.

Finally, taking this matter a little bit further, for those of you who are on the look out for a brand new Hari Raya vehicle to parade it on your “Balik Kampong”, I would suggest to include in your checklist an additional question to the salesman – “Is the vehicle RON 95 compatible?”.

In Real Life

In real life, what is important, in a relationship, is how you "accept" a person as a whole. It isn't about what YOU would like him or her to be. It isn't about his or her willingness to do whatever YOU wishes him or her to do.

Looking for a partner who is "perfect" for you in this world that is full of imperfections seemed impossible. Some will have to wait for a long time to meet his or her match. Others could be considered lucky not to have waited for a long time. However, some made drastic moves by willingly forgoing their rights to be with someone just because they couldn't find their "perfect" partner.

Perfection seemed to be their major blockage. "Where do I find this person?"."Is there such a person?".

Well, he or she might be staring at you now! Lo and behold! He or she might be sneaking behind you as you are reading this article. Turn around and accept whatever imperfections he or she has and make sure these imperfections are "perfect" for you. Have a look at this video clip and see what I meant.

Felt Betrayed By My Own Leaders

On Thursday morning July 9th, 2009, I, unusually, loss my appetite for breakfast. Seeing the day’s headline of THE STAR made my wife’s delicious fried meehoon was left untouched, although I only had tuna sandwich for my last night dinner. The dreaded decision made by the Honourable Minister of Education was the main cause of my sudden disinterest in the first meal of the day.

Before Thursday, I was praying very hard daily that our education system is left undisturbed well, at least, not until after the year 2014, when my youngest daughter will be starting her post-secondary school education. My prayers were not answered after all. My daughter will have to switch to learning Mathematics and Sciences in Bahasa Malaysia when she is in Form 4 in 2012. Bearing in mind that when she started schooling way back in 2003, she was used to the system of learning Mathematics and Sciences in English. Sadly, for the sake of somebody trying to show that he or she is doing a good job in his or her ministry, my last child has to endure two of her remaining years in secondary school learning Mathematics and Sciences in Bahasa Malaysia. It felt like an Olympic 110m hurdler failing to clear the last two hurdles and finishes fourth in the finals, the first placing for a finalist not to get an Olympic medal.

This is not the first time, I felt that I have been betrayed by my own leaders when it comes to my children education. In 2003, my son who was just starting Form 1 was made to learn Mathematics and Sciences in English after six years getting used to learning them in Bahasa Malaysia. I would sometimes shed tears upon seeing him struggling to adjust to the new system and getting unfavourable results in his monthly tests. Trying to motive him to continue learning is another challenge for me and my wife. However, what made us encourage him to continue learning Mathematics and Sciences in English was because at the institutes of higher learning in Malaysia, English is the medium of learning. From that moment on, we have willingly accepted that fact.

We thought it was going to be a sun-shining day, but it looks like it is going to rain in the afternoon. My youngest daughter who had learned Mathematics and Sciences in English for nine years, will have to quickly adapt to learning them in Bahasa Malaysia for two years, and finally reverts back to English if she is qualified to attend an institute of higher learning of her own choice. Attending meeting, discussing issues in detail and making decisions in an air-conditioned room seemed to be an ordinary routine for some, but we the rakyat will have to bear the consequences.

(This article was sent to editor@thestar.com.my on July 9th, 2009)

The Other Side of A Reunion

by mzauri@pc.jaring.my

“Malam ASPUTRA 2009”, that was the theme given for a reunion dinner hosted by the Alumni of Sekolah Menengah Sains Tuanku Syed Putra, Kangar, Perlis on July 4^th, 2009. It was held at Hotel Singgahsana, Petaling Jaya. Former students of the school starting from the SPM Batch 1976 until the latest batch, came from all over Malaysia, hoping to meet long lost friends, honouring their former teachers who were responsible, at least partly, for making them what they are now and enjoying the good food, good music and good company.

As I glanced around the hall, I could see happy faces, faces in tears (tears of joy), a lot of handshakes, a lot of hugging and a lot of cheek kissing. I could hear a lot of laughter, a lot of shouting and a lot of crying (cry of joy). Forget about good food, forget about good music and forget about the speeches! They just want to be together, they just want to hear the stories of their friends, the adventures that they had, their trials and tribulations and their triumphs. They would like that night to be a never-ending one. Some groups even held post-dinner gatherings at the coffee house of a well known hotel nearby or at “Kedai Mamak” opposite that hotel. The laughters could be heard until the early hours of the morning.

Walking away from “Kedai Mamak’s” table to start my journey back to where I came from was very hard. My pace was very slow and my body felt weak, showing the resistance to part company with my friends, some, whom I have not seen for more than thirty years! My mind started to wonder around.

I thought about those who attended the dinner. For those who live around Klang Valley, some came in chauffer-driven luxury cars, some in spouse-driven family cars and some car-pooled. For those who live outside the valley but made a point to attend the dinner, there are some of them who came by public transportation. I noticed that whatever transportation that were mentioned, all of them received the same enthusiatic handshakes, the same power hugs and the same pressure cheek-kissings among themselves. This is what you get when the friendships are based on sincerity and lillahi ta’ala.

Khushairi and I had the privilage of accompanying two former teachers, Cikgu Baharom and Cikgu Munir, to the reunion. The moment we arrived at the teachers’ houses to pick them up, we could observe the teachers’ enthusiasms, looking forward to meet their former proteges. Travelling from Kangar on PLUS Highway to PJ with the two of them really made the journey enjoyable. A lot of historical stories about our school, our teachers and the students were made known to us, some stories, we have never heard before! However, in between their stories, both of them kept on repeating how excited they are to meet all of us.

Being able to attend the reunion, made me consider myself to be very lucky. There were a number of my friends who made plans to attend the much awaited event, however, when the reunion came, they were unable to do so. I felt sorry for Azizi Ahmad Termizi, his medical review (wrist fracture) the day before the reunion did not permit him from attending (it seemed similar to EPL where you have to pass your fitness test before playing for the club). Dino, too, made an effort to come, but in the end, could not do so. Everybody who were able to attend wondered how it would be if ALL of us could come. That will be THE DAY (OR NIGHT!).

Those who were able to attend had their own stories, too. First, I would like to mention Cikgu Munir’s predicament. When Khushairi invited him to the Reunion, he said that he could not confirm immediately. Later, we learnt that his wife is partially paralysed. His attendance would depend on his son’s ability to get leave from work to take care of his wife during his absence. That night… there he was entering the hall, dressed smartly in light blue coloured batik shirt, smiling as if nothing was bothering his mind.

During the weeks leading to the reunion, I had heard stories of those whose, either spouses or family members, having long term illnesses but carried on the reunion promotion without any hesitation on their part. They politely declined when I asked their permission to mention their names. Were we lucky enough to be able to attend the reunion calmly and peacefully?

After the reunion, those who were from the valley would have been in the arms of their loved ones as early as midnight. Others would have to wait their turn, either later in the morning or afternoon or even evening the day after. The choice for the location might be tied to the addresses of the majority of the alumni members, however, everybody made a point to attend, wherever locations they might be settling in.

Lastly, that early hours of the morning, before I entered through the automatic doors of the hotel I was staying, I could still hear my wife’s voice persuading my youngest daughter, Deqda, “Abah have been working from our own home all this while. Now, let us give him some time to spend with his friends”. Dearest Ina, thank you so much for that kind and considerate words. I really appreciated them. May Allah rewards you for your kindness and sincerity.

“SEE YA, NEXT YEAR”

Taking A Break @ Genting Hill View Resort

28-6-2008 & 29-6-2008

Two and a half hours after parting with Munif at Desasiswa Bestari, Muadzam Shah, Ina, Deqda and I arrived at Genting Hill View Resort. The resort is about 12km from Genting Highland (GH) and it's elevation is much lower than GH. This was a scheduled stop and a part of our itinerary when we planned our trip to send Munif for UNITEN Registration Day. Click HERE for previous posting. It was supposed to act as a resting day for the drivers (that's me and Ina) before continuing our journey back to Perlis. Although there was air conditioning device inside our room, we hardly switched it on because the surrounding tempreture is cool.

D-Day for Munif

30-6-2009: 8:30am

It was D-Day for Munif. He had to sit for "Make Up Test". The first scheduled paper was Finance. He seemed ready to take the test, unlike 3 days ago, when I still had the feeling that he was not ready and not fully conscious. Both of us accompanied Munif to the examination room. It turned out that there was another student (according to Munif, his senior) taking the examination with Munif. Munif was able to glance through the notes he had prepared before he was being called into the examination room. We said goodbye and good luck to Munif and left him in the care of the invigilator.

I would like to take the opportunity here to thank COBA, UNITEN KSHAS (especially Puan Siti Marzam, Puan Wan Nurul Huda and her ever cooperative assistant Puan Nora) for their effort that enable Munif to take the "Make Up Test". "Make Up Test" is a replacement test for students who were unable to sit the Final Examination due to health and emergency circumstances. In Munif's case, he was still recovering from motor vehicle accident during the scheduled final examination and needed to rest, as advised by the doctors.

May Allah granted success to Munif, Ameen!

Munif as a UNITEN Undergraduate

It's been exactly a year now since Munif registered as a UNITEN undergraduate at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Campus, Muadzam Shah, Pahang. I could still remember the instant our Gen-2 entered the township of Muadzam Shah, my first thought was "This is the perfect place for Munif to study." However, I was 100% sure that Munif would not concur with my opinion.

The gathering place was the Main Auditorium. The lobby was packed. In one corner, there was a grandma in tears being consoled by her granddaughter who was holding a UNITEN registration folder. Beside the Main Entrance, a pair of three years old twins playing "Police and Thief", whilst their eldest brother, in UNITEN formal dress code was trying to calm them down.

After a short briefing, we were instructed to go to Desasiswa Bestari, an apartment complex for male undergraduates. Munif was assigned to a 2 rooms apartment, DB5-00-05. His roommate was Abe (Business Studies from Klang, Selangor). Makyo (Business Studies from Ipoh, Perak) and Ajeem (Business Studies from KL) were the occupiers of the other room. Although he was the only Accountancy undergraduate in the apartment, Munif seemed contented. I have known Munif as a person who is not choosy when it comes to making friends.

Before we left, we helped Munif to unpack his belongings. I also helped Munif to identify the best spot for his "Blue Cube". When it was time to part company, we were taken aback when Munif rested his head on his mother's shoulder and shed tears. I understood the situation because this was the first time ever, Munif would be far from home and away from us. I and my wife had agreed not to reveal our real emotion in front of Munif, trying to mitigate the impact of being separated.

I felt I was right in bringing Deqda to her brother's registration day at the UNITEN although she had to skip two days of classes. I hope, from the atmosphere, she will be more determined to follow the footsteps of Kak Long (an undergraduate at UIA) and Abang Munif.