By-election number 16 - a new record

Just when you thought that 15 by-elections since the March 2008 election was "just one too many", the Kerdau assemblyman, Datuk Zaharuddin Abu Kassim, unfortunately just passed away due to heart-attack, setting the stage for an all-time record of 16 by-elections in a term!

Condolences to the surviving next-of-kin. May the late Datuk Zaharuddin be remembered for the good deeds and contributions that he has made in his brief tenure.

So, the latest compiled list of by-elections:-


Date of by-election / Seat / Location / What happened to the Incumbent
  • 26 August 2008 - Parliament - Permatang Pauh - Incumbent Resigned
  • 17 January 2009 - Parliament - Kuala Terengganu - Incumbent Died while playing badminton (probably due to heart failure)
  • 7 April 2009 - Parliament - Bukit Gantang - Incumbent Died of heart attack
  • 7 April 2009 - State - Bukit Selambau - Incumbent Resigned
  • 7 April 2009 - State - Batang Ai - Incumbent Died of stroke
  • 31 May 2009 - State - Penanti - Incumbent Resigned
  • 14 July 2009 - State - Manek Urai - Incumbent Died of heart attack
  • 25 August 2009 - State - Permatang Pasir - Incumbent Died of heart ailment
  • 11 October 2009 - State - Bagan Pinang - Incumbent Died from blood disorder
  • 25 April 2010 - Parliament - Hulu Selangor - Incumbent Died of brain cancer
  • 16 May 2010 - Parliament - Sibu - Incumbent Died of liver cancer
  • 4 November 2010 - Parliament - Batu Sapi - Incumbent Died in a motorcycle accident
  • 4 November 2010 - State - Galas - Incumbent Died of colon cancer
  • 30 January 2011 - State - Tenang by-election, 2011 - Incumbent Died of blood infection and complications due to diabetes
  • 6 March 2011 - State - Merlimau - Incumbent Died of heart attack
  • 6 March 2011 - State - Kerdau - Incumbent Died of heart attack
As Datuk Zaharuddin just passed away yesterday, the date of the by-election has not yet been set. Hmm, this might make for a morbid addition to our very own Malaysian Book of Records.

Link to sources:-

When should you change to new tires?

One important and frequently overlooked component of your car is literally where the rubber meets the road. I'm talking about your tires. All four of them (five if you count the spare in the boot, two if you ride a motorcycle, or eighteen if you're like Optimus Prime).


Getting a grip on the importance of tires....

Brakes stop wheels from spinning. It's the tires that stop the car from moving. If your tires can't grip the road, your car will continue to move long after your wheels have stopped turning.

When you turn the steering wheel, the wheels turn accordingly, but it's your tires that make your car move in the direction of the front wheels. If your tires lost their grip on the road, your car will continue to move forward instead of in the direction of the wheels (this is called under-steering).

When you accelerate from a stationary position, the spinning motion of the wheels is translated into forward acceleration by the tires. If your tires did not bite into the road, you will still be here long after others have gone....

The tires on the cars that you and I drive have grooves or treads. These are not for decorative purposes but have several functions, one of which is to remove water from under the tire when travelling on a wet road. If the tire is unable to do this, a layer of water that forms between the tire and the road will result in loss of grip and control (this effect is known as hydroplaning) in the same manner that a water skier glides over wafer.

Formula 1 cars have tires with practically no treads, called "slicks" for ultimate grip on dry surfaces. Of course, they are not meant for driving on wet roads, so when it starts to pour, the drivers have to very cautious to avoid spinning out of control.


How deep is your groove?

"Wear Bars"

Still within spec (>1.6mm)

Over time, due to wear and tear, the treads in your tires will grow shallower. Their ability to evacuate water will become diminished up to a point where they have to be replaced for safety reasons.

In the US / UK, regulatory requirements are for tire grooves to have a minimum of 1.6mm. I'm not aware of any such regulation here in Malaysia, yet. Then again, the laws here are still catching up with the rest of the world (rear-seat belts only became mandatory fairly recently) and we're still using only Euro 2M grade fuel.

Back to the groove, so, how does one measure tread depth? One way is to use a specialised measuring tool or gauge, which is possibly only available at the tire shops. No, your standard ruler is not accurate enough to measure 1.6mm.

Another method that seems to be quite famous is to use a coin, and make some visual reference, example, "using a US penny, as long as any part of Lincoln's head is obscured, the tread is deep enough". Trouble with this method is the non-standardization of coins, and parallax error (where the position of the observer affects the outcome of the measurement).

Fortunately, tire manufacturers nowadays are incorporating "wear bars" into their tires to clearly indicate when the groove depth is no longer safe.

Of course, when checking for tire wear and tear, don't always assume that tire wear out evenly. Tires that are over-inflated will wear out faster in the center, while tires that are under-inflated will wear out faster at the sides. Keep tires inflated as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer.

I do not have any experience with filling tires using Nitrogen (which you have to pay for at the tire shop), so I can neither confirm nor deny the claimed benefits associated Nitrogen-filled tires. Anyone out there have any stories to share?

Of course, if you use your car under "extraordinary" circumstances (drifting or on track), you may have uneven wear on one portion of your tire. So, when checking the condition of your tires, do rotate and look all around them.

Though different tires are made with dissimilar compound composition according to their individual manufacturer's processes, in general, high-performance tires tend to be softer. This is what makes them so "sticky" with superior road-holding. Unfortunately, as a result, they tend to wear out faster. My current tires, Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric, are just over 2 years old, but are quite worn out already (of course, I have brought them onto the tarmac of the Sepang F1 circuit twice, so it's somewhat expected!).


Happy Birthday, Tires!

3+ years old. Still usable for another year....

5 years old. Times up!!!

Speaking of age, do you know how old your tires are? No, the clock does not start ticking only when you buy them from the tire shop, but as soon as they roll off the assembly line. Tire manufacturers indicate the tires manufacturing date on the sidewalls, in the form of a 4 digit date code. The first 2 digits indicates the work week, while the next 2 digits indicate the year.

In general, you should use tires which are more than 5 years old, as the material becomes hardened and brittle over time. An old tire has an increased risk of blow-out, especially when travelling at high-speeds / extreme temperatures.

Not many people seem aware of the tire manufacturing date code, so the next time you change your tires, do make it a point to confirm the date code of your "new" tires with the dealer. Don't accept a tire that is already above 3 years old, no matter how cheap it is. Safety comes first!

Also, take note of this when purchasing 2nd hand tires. Yes, sales like these do take place from time to time, especially on web forums. Even if the tires are minimally worn out (you remembered about checking the groove depth, right?), the tires might already be close to their "expiry date"....


Double or Nothing

When changing tires, ideally, changes should be made in pairs, unless the other tire is relatively new with deep treads too. Using a new tire on one side of the car, paired to an older worn out tire on the other side of the car would compromise the handling characteristics and result in a less stable ride. And since the new tire now has a more recent manufacturing date, you will end up having to replace the other tire sooner (ending up with the same problem of mismatched tires).

Should new tires go in the front or in the rear? Contrary to intuition and common believe, new tires should always go to the REAR. Why?

If the front tires lose their grip, the car will have a tendency to carry on moving forward. This is known as under-steer. While not so good on the racetrack, for normal drivers, this is kind of behaviour is predictable and safe, as it's easy to control.

If the rear tires lose their grip, the back of the car will have a tendency to swing around (over-steer). If one has no experience, this can easily develop into an out-of-control spin.

Therefore, new tires with their better grip, should go to the rear, for safety reasons!


A, B, C (Alignment, Balancing, Crossing)

In order to keep tires performing optimally and prolong their useful life (through minimizing wear and tear), do consider to get the following done at regular intervals (every 10,000km):-

  • Alignment. Front and rear pairs of tires should be parallel and pointed in the same direction. If the are not, the will be increases resistance to forward motion (imagine a skier slowing down by turning both skis inwards), which results in higher wear and tear. While doing alignment, they will usually adjust the camber angle too. Ideally, the tire should have a slight negative camber (good for cornering), but too much of it would result in uneven wear at the edge of the tire.


  • Balancing. Each tire in not perfectly symmetrical along the axis. These geometric imperfections cause vibration when the wheel is turning, effect amplified at high speeds. Placing counterweights at specific points on the rims during balancing serve to ideally eliminate these vibrations which can only be felt at high speeds. Nonetheless if not corrected will result in an unstable ride, with increased tire wear.

  • Crossing or rotation of tires. In general, the front tires wear out faster than the rear ones, more so in a front-wheel driven car, because the front wheels have to steer the car as well as move it. Crossing or swapping tire positions ensures that all tires wear out evenly. The usual pattern for crossing tires is to swap the front and rear tires on the same side. Since some tires actually have a rotation direction and can be mounted wrongly if swapped to the other side of the car. Look on the tire for "ROTATION==>" and "SIDE FACING OUTWARDS" indications. Some cars have different front and rear tire sizes. In this case, with directional tires, no rotation is possible.


Some of us may spend just 30 minutes in our cars daily (work is just a short drive away, but too far to cycle or walk). Others may spend long hours at the wheel. Regardless, it's important to be aware of the condition and age our our tires, as it does not pay to skimp on this very important component of our car.

When the time comes, don't be a cheap-skate - change it!!!

Ascending Gunung Datuk


Some time ago last year, I joined a couple of my colleagues to climb up Gunung Datuk, a Recreation Park located somewhere between Rembau and Tampin in the state of Negri Sembilan (GPS Co-ordinates N2 32.598 E102 10.148).

We gathered in the company parking lot early in the morning, and set off in two cars. In our team were myself, Lew WK, Chong FC, Lim KS and Kua BG (plus his brother-in-law). Another climbing member, Goh NK, could not make it, unfortunately. Our first stop was a nearby coffeeshop, where we ate breakfast. Famous here was the assortment of buns (or "pau"). A word of caution - don't take a lot of the spicy anything hot and spicy, if you are planning to climb up the mountain later. Kua's brother-in-law found out the hard way....

Climbers were required to register and pay a small fee (RM3.00) to the park administration.

Gunung Datuk was not really high (only 870m/2900ft above sea level). While this was rather low compared to, say, Gunung Kinabalu, the climb itself was much more difficult, since at places, the angle of ascent/descent was almost vertical. Unlike the climb to Laban Rata (Gunung Kinabalu), the path here was practically without anything to hold, so on the way down, I had to literally turn around and sit down as I slowly made my way downwards, one step at a time.

Note that again, unlike Gunung Kinabalu, there are no real resting points along the way (this means no points to refill water, and certainly, no lavatories). So, be prepared....

Now, getting to the actual *summit* of Gunung Datuk required some climbing up ladders. I can say that I made it 99% up Gunung Datuk, as my internal risk assessment did not allow me to move forward. So, I maintained position at my 99% point and watched my friends ascend to the top of Gunung Datuk, more effective position for me to function as cameraman. Not for me, and it's my decision, so it won't come back to haunt me in future (unlike that *other* mountain which I have yet to give up on).

Well, for all the hard work and effort, we made it all the way to the top and back down again by afternoon. Thankfully it did not rain that day. For me, this was the first time I successfully made it up to the top of anything with the word "Gunung" (Mountain) in its name - here thanks to my friends, who were kind and patient enough to wait for me all the way, who shared supplies and also brought along extra walking staffs (which helped immensely on the way down). Of course, a pocketable compact camera, like my Panasonic Lumix FX-520 was preferable to my usual DSLR.

I strongly recommend this place as a "training ground" in case you're planning to climb another mountain, if you're from Melaka / Negeri Sembilan, as it's close by, will only take half a day, and is physically demanding enough to prepare you for the next challenge!

New Facebook Profile - Better, Worst or No Effect?

Facebook is unlike the other social networking site I know (Multiply) and blogging platforms (like Blogger) as the layout is practically fixed and standardized for all users (as opposed to allowing user customization via templates and themes). Where as for other sites, the freedom of creativity is left to the individual, Facebook basically locks down the template and just leaves you to worry about the contents.

There was a "relayout" done recently, not the first, as this has happened several times before.

Strangely, the change was not implemented immediately. There was a choice given to switch over to the new profile first, while Facebook was systematically rolling out the new layout to all users. Well, since it would be a matter of time until everyone was migrated, I opted to do nothing and let things happen in due course. Who knows, maybe they would change their mind and call the whole thing off?

Here's what the old profile page looked like:-


Here's the "warning" from Facebook that change was going to happen, soon (with the option to *Upgrade Now*....):-


And finally, one day, I found that I had been *upgraded* to:-


At first glance, my immediate observations were:-
  • At least the color scheme is still the same! :)
  • No more tabs at the top, but now along the left side, beneath the profile picture
  • 5 recent photos where I've been tagged are now on the top of my profile page
  • 3 by 2 friends list on the left is now replaced by a long column of friends
Well, that's it. I'm not really sure if this would have any real effect on me or my browsing experience on Facebook. For better or for worst, or perhaps it doesn't really matter at all? Anyone out there with interesting opinions to share?

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