5 Perils and Pitfalls of Cyberspace

Active web participation is becoming a risky business for some. Irregardless of actions with intent or purely accidental, online actions may bring about some trouble (potentially life-threatening) if you are not careful.

1. Tick off your current employer. Posting in web forums, blogs and social networks while at work - Hey, aren't you supposed to be working? What are you doing on paid company time? Worse of all, the time stamp basically nails you red handed....

2. Revealing too many details about work. Things that you do at work are generally P&C (Private and Confidential) and should no go out to the Public (unless you are the Company Publicist or Spokesperson). Generally, depending on what you do in the company, writing online about your work in detail will have serious ramifications, for instance:-

• Logistics - posting exact details on outbound shipments. Not so harmful if you're manufacturing toothpicks, but if you work for Fort Knox, security of the cargo will be compromised.
• R&D - your low-cost, third-world competitor will get the latest innovative ideas off your blog, and beat you to the market while you are still busy trying to get budget approval....
• Quality / Safety / Health / Environment department - declare your non-conformance to the whole world? What about legal and other requirements? Of course, most laws state that in any violation, the MD will go to jail. Well, guess what will happen to the fellow who put the him there?

2. Tick off potential employers. These days, besides going through your resume on Jobstreet, Human Resources can also pick up your scent online. Not such a good idea to post something inappropriate (especially if it is some unfriendly opinion regarding your present employer, or if it involves booze, whip cream - you get the idea!).

3. Reveal too many personal details. Some things are better kept to yourself, such as:-

• Declaring one's sexual alignment online could result in a bounty on your head, depending on the norms of the society that you reside in (worse still if you posted it on Youtube, since now they know what you look like). Such as this case over here : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/12/23/nation/7670758&sec=nation. Is that his real name in this news article?
• On vacation / vacation plans. Not such a wise move to declare when you will be away from home for a long stretch - you might just get some unwanted visitors dropping by.
• Personal identification - identity theft is quite easy these days. You can never be sure who's on the other side of the monitor, so to speak. Some internet services ask for security questions if you forget your password. If your blog just happens to contain the maiden name of your mother, favorite color, first pet's name, etc.. then you can imagine what can happen next. Even if your personal details are only revealed to your "friends" - ask yourself, how many "friends" on your preferred social network are really your "friends"? Sometimes we try to get as many contacts / friends that we fail to distinguish between casual acquaintances and close comrades.
  

4. Get yourself sued. Just a couple of days ago, it was reported that Malaysia bloggers earn up to RM1 million annually (see http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/24/nation/7856946&sec=nation). Whether by sheer coincidence or out of malicious intent, a local restaurant owner has initiated a RM6 million lawsuit for defamation against a blogger and Google (yes, Google), for allegedly making remarks on his blog, which was claimed to cause a drop in business (see http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/26/nation/20110126145757&sec=nation). Google is being sued for displaying search results that lead to the posts of the blogger mentioned above. Well, I'm interested to see how this case turns out, as if the blogger (and Google) were found guilty, this would definitely be setting a precedence that would severely inhibit bloggers from expressing their opinion. Imagine, if you could only write *GOOD* things about products and services, then how on earth can you write an honest and believable review about anything? If I write 10 PRO's and 2 CON's about, say, Nikon's latest camera, and it doesn't sell, can Nikon claim that my 2 CON's caused the camera to flop and sue me for loss of business? On a separate front, the Malaysia government is considering for some amendments to the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 (PPPA) (see http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/26/nation/20110126205318&sec=nation and http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/26/nation/20110126160140&sec=nation). No details yet, but hopefully, this will not be a step backwards for Malaysia....

5. Get yourself imprisoned and / or heavily fined. Detained without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960. Google it for more details. That's why I don't blog about local politics. Also, if you do something that your mother would not approve off, don't go and publish it online.

Well, with all the perils and pitfalls of cyberspace, do exercise caution and common sense whatever you do online. Might be easier to do this when writing a well-planned blog article, but what can we do about spontaneous responses (such as comments on Facebook, posts in a web forum and of course Tweets) that may come out "just like that"?


[ Update - 22 March 2011 ] - Some online safety tips for parents with tech-savvy kids : http://parenthots.com/features/Keeping-kids-safe-on-FB-and-other-social-networks.aspx

They sure don't make Politicians like they used to....

The recent death of the Merlimau State Assemblyman Datuk Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hassan means that our country is now faced with an imminent 15th by-election since the last General Election in March 2010.

I've done some research from various sources (mostly on THE STAR online) and tabulated the following:-

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

First and foremost, deepest condolences to their surviving family members and close friends.

Out of 15 of them, 3 resigned, 1 died in a motorcycle accident and the rest died of poor health while in office. Each by-election costs a great deal of taxpayers money. The police spent nearly RM40mil on the first five by-elections to maintain peace and security: RM2.8mil in Permatang Pauh, RM15.3mil in Kuala Terengganu, RM10.7mil (Bukit Gantang), RM6.4mil (Bukit Selambau) and RM4.6mil (Batang Ai). (Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/21/nation/7844782&sec=nation).

Using the statistics above, if 5 by-elections cost RM40 million (Polis Di-Raja Malaysia only), then 15 of them would cost a total of RM120 million. Not including the other expenses, a large sum of which undoubtedly comes from the taxpayers' contribution.

Perhaps the voters too feel "short changed" in their "investment", having taken the time to come out and vote for their chosen representative, only to have them "expire" before time out. I only hope that, in their brief stint as elected representatives of the rakyat (people), they have managed to do some good and serve the public as best they could.

A friend of mine quipped on Facebook, "COME NEXT GENERAL ELECTION ALL CANDIDATE MUST GO THRU HEALTH SCREENING TEST". Heh, heh. Leon, I agree with you 100%!

Nominees for elections, in addition to fulfilling other requirements, should be made to undergo a full medical examination and certified with a clean bill of health before they are permitted to run for election. They do this medical screening when you go for a new job, and in some cases, before you can sign up for insurance, so why not install this requirement for our Assemblymen and Members of Parliament? This would save a lot of the taxpayers dollars, by reducing the possibility of a by-election (and its associated high costs). One should be unlikely to go from healthy to cancer / heart attack in such a short period, although I could imagine, the job would be quite stressful.

If you were nominated to run for office, but you feel yourself unsuitable, you should do the responsible thing and opt out, for the sake of your supporters. People who are in this condition should take the precious little time they have and spend it with their loved ones.

It does not matter if you are rich or poor, a mighty king or an unnamed beggar. Eventually, all of us have to go. What is important is that we do our best when we are alive, so that our good name and deeds may continue to live on in the hearts of our family and friends, long after we ourselves have left this plane of existence....

Well, having said that, I do hope that something will be done to ensure that our chosen leaders will live up to the task of taking our country to the next level.


UPDATE [20 Feb Jan 2011] : The Merlimau by-elections will be held on 6 March 2011.

Kek's Wedding Dinner

Some time ago (in 2010, yes, I'm still clearing the backlog), I got a wedding invitation from Kek, who had about a year before left the company for better prospects. I made a point to attend, as the number of friends that still have yet to tie the knot are now countable with the digits from just one hand....





The dinner was held in the hall of a Chinese school, which was an alternative to the usual Chinese Restaurant. Thankfully, parking within the school premises was plentiful, though it did take a bit of walking to get from where I parked to the entrance of the hall. Here lies the conundrum - wedding dinners are notorious for their zero success rate when it comes to starting on time. For whatever reason, very few guests ever make it to the dinner before or on time. A bit disrespectful to the new bride and groom, if you ask me....


Anyway, there was a single table reserved for us VSM / ex-VSM people. Actually, there weren't enough of us to fill up all 10 seats, so we had a couple of ladies join in to complete the table.


Out of habit, I carried along my camera on occasions like these, so I managed to snap some photos of our single table, as well as of the bride and groom (which I have yet to pass to Kek - another item on my backlog to clear list!).

Well, soon, like the rest of the gang, I'm sure Kek will join the "Father Club" and clear yet another milestone in life - best of luck to him and wife along the journey!

Penny wise, pound foolish

The phrase (or, more grammatically-correct, idiom) "Penny Wise, Pound Foolish" means to be cautious with small amounts of money, but careless with large amounts.

This was the first thing that came to my mind when I read about this particular incident in the local newspaper : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/19/nation/7827132&sec=nation

Apparently, on an unfortunate Tuesday afternoon, a Toyota Hilux was on its way to Melaka on the North-South highway when it was rear-ended by a BMW, causing the driver to lose control and crash into the embankment. The collision resulted in ~RM75,000 worth of coins spilling onto the highway, as the box it was in was flung from the rear of the Hilux.

The fate of the occupants of both vehicles were not mentioned (so I guess there were no fatalities).

Now, here, whenever there was an accident, passing vehicles would slow down to a crawl, mostly to gawk at the scene (like there was something so fascinating to be seen), and some even try to get a glimpse of the license plates for some "lottery inspiration".... :)

In this unfortunate incident, many passing vehicles stopped along the roadside. Not to help the injured, but to "loot" the coins that were spewed all over the road like chickens in a cornfield. This was in the middle of a highway, mind you, so these people were not only greedy and inconsiderate, but oblivious to the fact that they could be hit at any time by another passing vehicle (therefore become part of tomorrow's news). Here, even stopping by the road side in the emergency lane is dangerous (many time before, innocent lives have been lost as their incapacitated cars are rammed by impatient, inconsiderate drivers who abuse the emergency lanes). What more can I add to this?

In spite of pleas from the owners, these people continued with their activity until the Police arrived and contain the mess. Fortunately, no loss of life was reported.



Since the largest valued coin in the Malaysian currency today is only 50 sen (or roughly 16 cents US at current exchange rate), you'd have to pick up 100 of these just to get only RM50.00. If you can afford to drive a car, and pay the toll on the PLUS highway, what the hell are coins to you? What if you get hit and die (cheap ending 6 feet underground) or don't die (expensive ending in the hospital)?

By the way, speaking of coins, in Malaysia, legally you cannot pay for something using just coins if is is more than a certain price. Coins issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Malaysia at their face value as follows:

Denomination	Maximum Amount
50 sen	Not exceeding RM10.00
20 sen, 10 sen, 5 sen and 1 sen	Not exceeding RM2.00

Source : http://www.bnm.gov.my/index.php?ch=209&pg=657&ac=568

So, the only practical way to use these coins would be to:-
a) Given it back to the rightful owners, or surrender it to the Police
b) Change it at the bank (banks should be on the look out for these kind of people)
c) pay for cheap stuff using coins (may or may not annoy the people you are paying) until all are used up

I wonder, if there were an earthquake or natural disaster, would Malaysians degenerate to looting like you see in the news?



To all those who have taken what did not belong to them (bukan rezeki halal), shame on you!!!

[UPDATE 3.37PM GMT+8, 22 Jan 2011] : From the legal aspect, applicable to those who stopped, scooped and scurried away, the Penal Code says in Section 378 that “whoever, intending to take dishonestly any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person’s consent, moves that property in order to such taking, is said to commit theft.”....

Junior Masterchef Australia 2010

While most kids between 8-12 would be spending their off-school hours either playing or attending tuition (getting competitive these days), I was surprised to find that in Australia, quite a handful of these youngsters have developed a mastery of the art of cooking!

Today, tired after washing my car (not physically tired because of the work, but *tired* because it started raining just as I finished), I sat down to watch TV for awhile. This was quite a rare event, these days, as most of the time the TV was on for my kids, who would rather watch Mickey Mouse and Barney than anything else....

Anyway, flipping through the channels, I came across an interesting show - "Junior Masterchef Australia 2010". It was a basically a cooking contest, similar to the "Iron chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" only instead of adult contestants, Junior Masterchef Australia contestants were just kids....

Just kids - hmm, maybe I should drop the "just", as they weren't the average kids you find running around the football field or going for art class. Basically, once the 8 contestants of a heat were lined up, they were given 45 minutes to whip up their best meal to impress the panel of judges. There were 3 judges in the beginning, though one more joined in halfway through the show. From the reaction of the audience, the judges must have been some famous people in Australia, but forgive this ignorant Malaysian for not recognizing any of them....

Now, these kids weren't just cooking simple stuff like scrambled eggs or fish and chips. They put together really presentable "restaurant-like" stuff like "Gout De La Mer" and "Chocolate Fondant with Raspberry Coulis and Fresh Berries".

They were cooking using induction heaters and ovens, so there weren't any open flames. While there were a couple of mishaps, like setting the oven on "Grill", resulting in a slightly overcooked pie, for the most part, their dishes were spot on. Hmm, when it comes to cooking, I only know how to boil water and prepare basic instant noodles (Maggi Mee), so hats off to them from me!

Well, if your kids show some keen interest in the subject matter, why not support them and let them learn up the skill of cooking (under adult supervision, of course)? You'll never know, someday they might end up as the next Chef Wan or Stephen Yan (who is not related to Martin Yan, another famous chef).

For more information, do check out the Masterchef Australia website at : http://www.masterchef.com.au/

Income Tax Forms are Out for 2011 Tax Returns

Hey, hey! Barely two weeks into the new year, and we're greeted with news that the Inland Revenue Board (or Jabatan Hasil Dalam Negeri, in the local language) has started sending out the (in)famous Form BE to eligible taxpayers who have not yet migrated to the e-Filing system. So reports that Star at http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/12/nation/7778153&sec=nation, also here at http://www.hasil.gov.my/pdf/pdfam/NEWS.pdf.

Great - all we need now is the EA form from our employer (applicable for those of you who are employed, like myself). For business owners, the procedure is slightly different. For those of you who are new at this and need more information, or old hat in need of refresher (after all, we only do this ONCE a year), do check out the IRB website at : http://www.hasil.gov.my

Do remember that our Malaysian Postal Service does has a finite *bandwidth*, similar applies to the e-Filing server. Make it a point to submit your returns as early as possible, to avoid last minute jamming that happens each year, as the deadline for Form BE submission as always is 30 April. You know that holding off submission will not reduce the taxes that we have to pay, so why wait until the eleventh hour?

Food in Muar - Sai Kee Cafe and the Marina Complex

One fine Saturday, while I was in Muar on some IT-related project (nothing concerning my current employer, though....), I chanced upon the Sai Kee Cafe. This cafe was famous for it's own 434 brand coffee. According to the information available on their website at http://www.saikee.com, there were a total of 4 separate Sai Kee Cafes spread out all over the small town of Muar (though I heard from a reliable source that there were currently only 3 in operation). The one that I patronized was opposite the Muar Bus Station, along Jalan Salleh (that's the road you turn into right after crossing over the old bridge that's next to ST Microelectronics).

From the outside, the cafe hardly stood out among the rest of the shops beside it, with nothing save a worn, weather-beaten sign board to announce itself to the endless stream of motorists driving by. True, as I had driven past it many times before without noting its presence. Lucky for my wife who was much more familiar and observant than I was for these kind of things.

The specialty of the Sai Kee Cafe was the famous *Musang* coffee. A Musang is a civet-like animal, which is involved in the creation of this particular kind of coffee. How? Well, from what I understand, the Musang eats the coffee cherries, together with the seeds (beans). The beans, unsurprisingly, are indigestible, and are therefore recovered from the Musang when it, um, defecates. Through some post-processing (probably using similar technology as used in the production of Newater), the beans are thus ready for consumption after grinding as coffee. Apparently, this adds some unique flavour to the RM15+ cup of Musang coffee brew....

Besides Musang coffee, there were other types of coffee sold here, with names such as Blue Mountain, Mona Lisa and Elephant Coffee (which thankfully, is not produced like Musang Coffee!).

The menu was rather limited, basically a two sided laminated sheet, of which more than half was dedicated to the signature product, coffee. The interior and ambiance quite successfully recreated the feel of being in an old-style coffee shop. Besides a large variety of coffee to choose from, there were some food available such as toast with "kaya" (which is something locals here spread onto their bread, made from eggs, sugar, coconut milk and pandan) and nasi lemak (again, a local dish of steamed rice soaked in coconut milk, usually serve with "sambal" [hot spicy sauce / paste], ikan bilis [anchovies], cucumbers and eggs). By the way, the nasi lemak here was small and only contained sambal (it was more of a side order than an main dish).

Well, still, if you have the time, the Sai Kee Cafe is a nice place to sit down and relax with some light snacks and coffee.

Update [10 Jan 2011] : Inserted a map to Sai Kee Cafe below:

That was it for breakfast. After concluding my business for the day, we adjourned to the nearby Marina Complex, for lunch. This was the building near the Muar Jetty, the one with the large durian roundabout that I visited together with friends from 8GCC way back in the end of 2007. There was a small set-up along what was by definition a beach (actually, where the Muar river flows into the Straits of Melaka). The "beach" was lined with large rocks, so no running along the sand ala Baywatch. In the premise of Marina Complex there was a small open air joint (under the shade of trees) where you could get some fried rice or noodles. There was an option to sit indoors too, but since the area was nicely shaded with a nice breeze, the only reason for sitting indoors would be to avoid the rain. The food was quite affordable here.

Update [10 Jan 2011] : Inserted a map to The Marina Complex below:

Well, I'll be coming down to Muar from time to time, so hopefully with each visit I'll discover more interesting places for food worth mentioning about.

The Rise of Online Social Networking

During our school days, the number of "friends" that we had were best illustrated by the number of entries in our "Autograph Book". Typically, we would exchange autographs with our class/school mates, teachers and friends, with good wishes and hopes penned down, sometimes quite artistically (depending on the individual).

There are some of us who managed to develop social ties with friends far, far away, with the help of a pen, paper (and full support of the Postal service). Pen pals were yet another form of social networking, albeit one that did not update in "real time". Still, it was enough for many people to develop lasting and true friends, and some even finding their life mate too!

Then, getting off the school bench and out into the real world, coinciding with upcoming technology, keeping in touch was now via pagers and soon, cellular mobile phones (voice, SMS and MMS) and finally, e-mail (back then there was only dial-up Internet available to the masses, service provided by either TMNet or Jaring).

Fast forward to the present. With somewhat affordable Fixed line and Wireless Broadband Internet connections and free WIFI, more and more people are getting connected via Cyberspace. E-mail, once the forerunner of communication, has been relegated to "snail-mail" like its ink-and-paper counterpart, replaced by micro-blogging services like Twitter (that strangely mimicked the 140 maximum characters limits of a typical SMS).

According to an online survey conducted by TNS Digital Life (http://discoverdigitallife.com/global-digital-life-research-project-reveals-major-changes-in-online-behaviour/), here in Malaysia, 88% of the online users have at one time or another uploaded photos on the Internet. Not such a surprise when the typical Malaysia was found to spend 9 hours per week logged on to their online social network (not only Facebook, there are others too, you know, such as Multiply....). And speaking of online social networks, Malaysians were found to top the list of most online friends, averaging 233 friends on their social network. Hmm, that puts me somewhat lacking compared to the "average Malaysian"!

Online social networking sites have also made a success of their creators, notably figure being Mark Zuckerberg, the main guy responsible for Facebook (another Bill Gates in the making?). Unlike a certain product from Microsoft that is named after a "glass-covered hole in the wall", the services of Facebook and other social networks are virtually free-of-charge, and yet they manage to make good money for their creators - could it all be from just online advertising alone? Net economy is something to look into next....

Well, in spite of the technological advances and availability of online social networks, as I recently wrote in my post on reconnecting with old friends, nothing beats physically being in the company of friends, to chat and exchange stories over a cup of real coffee (your drink of choice might differ). Online social networks do come in handy however for those who are separated over vast distances (like those who are studying or working abroad) and for those of us who really cannot move about so liberally (after you have kids, try going out as often as you did before). And of course, there's always that handy-dandy feature of reminding you when your friend's birthday is coming up, so you'll never have an excuse to forget wishing him or her ever again...! :)

RON97 is now RM2.50 (not RM2.40) per liter

Just updated, based on the latest developments. The following text in grey is no longer true.
Well, the title of this post says it all - effective today onwards (until further notice, that is), a liter of RON97 petrol will now cost you RM2.40, up from RM2.30. The previous increase in RON97 was on 1st Dec 2010, not that long ago, from RM2.15 to RM2.30. This was just 1 month after a RM0.05 increase from RM2.10 to RM2.15 on 2nd Nov 2010.

So, looks like for RON97:-
2nd Nov 2010 - RM2.15 per liter
1st Dec 2010 - RM2.30 per liter
5th Jan 2011 - RM2.40 per liter
1st Feb 2011 - RM2.50 per liter (Updated 1 Feb 2011)

Does this trend mean that by first week of February, RON97 will be priced at RM2.45 to RM2.50 per liter? I hope not...!

This increase was reported in the local online news portals, such as The Star : http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/5/nation/7736829&sec=nation

For now, RON95 remains at RM1.90 per liter. Incidentally, it was increased by RM0.05 from RM1.85 on 4th Dec 2010, just 4 days after the increase in RON97 price, as I mentioned in the first paragraph above. Hmm, does this mean that by next week, RON95 prices would go up by RM0.05 to RM1.95 too? Once again, I hope not...!

There used to be around the "Premium" fuel by Shell, known as Shell Vpower. Vpower always retailed for a slightly higher price compared to regular RON97. Hmm, I wonder if they are still selling this, and how much it costs now?

Well, so that's the way petrol prices will be going, regardless of whether RON97 or, to a lesser extent, RON95. After the Government has decided to "withdraw the subsidy later and subject it to a managed float, where the price will be determined by an automatic pricing mechanism". Surprisingly, since floating, the prices have gone only upwards....

How does this affect me? Well, for the time being, not directly affected, as my car runs on RON95 (previously I used RON92 with no ill-effects, so definitely not a problem).

For those who are driving high performance vehicles which require a minimum of RON97 (like a certain species of Honda Civics), I guess they already can afford to purchase their premium cars, so to keep them running and fueled should not be too much of a burden.

For the rest of us, other alternative fuel vehicles include:-

1. Diesel - it may still a little-known fact that a diesel engine are much more powerful and fuel-economical than a petrol engine (some 30%-35%, according to the US Department of Energy. See: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/di_diesels.shtml). Plus, car makers continued refinement of diesel engines have narrowed the gap in terms of performance, noise and smoothness (as well as emissions) compared to petrol engines - a far cry to what diesel-powered cars used to be like just a few years ago! Diesel comes from the ground (oil), but bio-diesel, which comes from vegetable oil or animal fat, can also be used to run your car (possibly with exhaust gas smelling like french fries!). Does kind of make it a renewable source of energy of some sort, compared to standard diesel / petrol.

2. Hybrid Electric - all things being equal, a small engine will use less fuel than a large engine. One of the ways to make up for the loss in cubic-centimeters (and hence, horsepower / torque) is to supplement the engine with an electric motor. Available now in Malaysia are the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid and Honda Insight (from most expensive to cheapest). All of the hybrid vehicles that I see so far are Petrol + Electric, which makes me wonder how come no one has put together a Diesel + Electric hybrid vehicle, which would run on even much less $$$!

3. CNG / LPG - Compressed Natural Gass or less commonly, Liquified Petroleum Gas (also known as "Autogas"), this form of fuel became popular initially when the prices of petrol started to shoot up after the reduction of government subsidies. There are available conversion kits that allow your car to run on CNG, at the expense of some boot space and also a loss in power (compared to if you were using petrol). Unfortunately, CNG refueling stations are still a rare sight in this country, as prior to this, the main users of CNG were taxis. I believe CNG was only RM0.68 per liter - anyone know the current price?

4. Fully Electric vehicles and Hydrogen-powered vehicles - still far, far away over the horizon in terms of technical support as well as refueling / recharging infrastructure, as far as Malaysia is concerned. I just wonder, since over here, road tax is based on the engine capacity of the Internal Combustion Engine (example, road tax for a Honda Civic Hybrid with a 1.3 liter ICE costs the same as that of a Perodua Myvi, also with a 1.3 liter ICE), what about a Fully Electric vehicle with absolutely no real "Engine"? :)

5. Solar Power - Anyone in Malaysia can tell you that we live here in the Land of Eternal Summer, so a Solar Powered vehicle would be very effective here (unless it was rainy season, of course). Other than those funny shaped vehicles that university students keep building and using to break new records, I don't see any ready solar powered vehicles in the pipeline from any of the car manufacturers.

Well, looking at the way things are going, the next car that I change to would probably be a hybrid vehicle (once the technology seems stable enough), or perhaps a diesel. I wouldn't say that I've given up on petrol fuel - just that with changing times and advancements in technology, alternative powered vehicles are now beginning to appeal more to the masses....


UPDATE [1st February 2011, 6.38pm] : RON97 is now up RM0.10 to RM.2.50 per liter! See http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/2/1/nation/7913991&sec=nation