Of ETS : Love at first sight?

A teaser? Maybe...:)

1. A teaser? Maybe...Reality coming to Malaysian shores? Perhaps. Has it landed? Ahh...that's a Billion South Korean Won question....
2. Some may have read an earlier posting of Things to come. If you do, then you may have remembered a small picture of a covered piece of machinery. Is it heading Malaysian way? Has it landed on Malaysian shores? The answer is....well, let's side-track first...
   
3. Going into the weekend, it is better to forget about the antics of one Azhar Ibrahim in Penang State Assembly sitting, the whinning of former Malaysian CPM secretary general in Haadyai, the demonstration in Kelantan, the coming sugar price increase, the controversial BTN courses and so forth.
4. On Azhar Ibrahim, this scribe do not see the need for him to be hard-headed in refusing to offer his apology when Azhar is alledgely accussed of pointing to his buttocks in reaction to a statement from a Penang back-bencher. Maybe Azhar is a strong supporter of John Elton's "Sorry seems to be the hardest words".
5. As for the former CPM secretary general, this scribe sees that there are many other alternatives and options open to him to visit Malaysia. Why must he choose the hard way? Worse still, why must the issue be politicised? Why must the issue be highlighted in the media? He may feel that what he did was right. He may feel that he had not done anything wrong to the people of Malaysia and maybe some believe that but did he ever listen to Rod Steward's "I don't want to talk about it"?
   If I may, it is better for the former secretary general to apply for an international passport from Thailand and enter Malaysia legally to pay his homage to his ancestors (without the brou haha of the media and politicians)..Is it so difficult to do? Afterall, Thailand citizens can stay in Malaysia for at least a few weeks.

6. As for the Kelantan demonstration, this scribe has put his minds in writing and there is nothing more to add, for now. Now, it is time for me to soothe my ears with "Wau Bule"...
   
7. Sugar? We will hear more of it when the right time comes. Until then, just cut down on sugar...not because of the impending price rise but because of our love to our body and health. We need to keep in shape for the next election, don't we?
8. BTN? Honestly I see that the initial objective is noble but along the way, someone has hijacked the implementation part and turn it into a "turn over" camp. For this, this scribe feels that for future courses, it is better to have "observers" from both BN and non-BN inside the camps to ensure that BTN is tailored to implant the love for the country rather than churning out zombie-like leader-worshipping graduates.
   My reasoning is simple. If BTN is solely for the benefit of Malaysians for Malaysia, then BN or non-BN has nothing to fear. We want our youths, leaders, corporate figures to feel proud of being Malaysians and BTN maybe the remedy to our insecurities. Get corporate leaders, public and private sectors to attend BTN and let's join hands to develop Malaysia into a proud nation. And whilst we are at it, may I recommend the course fascilitators to listen to Nora's "Dipersimpangan dilema" before presenting their lectures to the participants...
   

9. Back to our posting, the double track running from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh is completed. The electrification works has also been completed. What is outstanding now is the electric train sets (ETS) or the hardware.
   
10. Rumours are saying that the first ETS trainset has landed on Malaysian shores and will be making its way to Perak soon for testing and commissioning. Watch out for the 'convoy on rails" this 5th or 6th December and you may be one of the lucky few to see the ETS. It is also said that the balance ETS trainsets will be coming soon to complete the Ipoh-KL sector fleet.
11. Unfortunately, the Minister-in-charge is too ill to make the short trip to witness the unloading of the first ETS trainset. Let's hope that, with the ETS landing, Ong TK's fortunes will be better to repel Liow TL's dreams of becoming MCA President.
12. However, let it be known that although the ETS may have landed, it is still a long way to go before it is put into service. On top of that, the ETS is not here to resolve the present komuter problems. The ETS is primarily purchased to service KL-Ipoh sector, cutting the journey to 120 minutes from KL to Ipoh. Maybe, this scribe will take the first trip together with the blogger who reveal everything swept under the carpet and unmasking the sweepers.
13. That leads us to RM 28 million question - what happens to the second hand DMU purchase? There is another round of rumour saying that the purchase has been put on hold as the commercial side of the bargain runs into dead end.
14. We need the DMU as it is one of the stop-gap options available to ease the klang valley komuter problems. What we don't need now is politicians playing god and we also dismiss attempts by agents to milk money from the Government. If it is too difficult to do, just pass us that RM 28 million and I am sure with a proper set-up, we can get the DMU in Malaysia, working to serve the commuters in no time...the problem is, there are too many "toll-collectors" lining the route. And if you add the "money changers", you can probably hear John Denver's "Living on a jet plane" buzzing in...
    
15. So, let me put a challenge again (wow, I love issuing challenges during YES ie year end sales) - why not the deputy Minister of Transport allow his political boss (hint : the man with # 1 haircut) to get his A-team (hint : Malaysia's self claimed best economics who is not a Finance Minister) to handle the funds. This scribe? I will be more than willing to handle the deal and the logistics...what say you? I just love Higgin's and Eliza's "The Rain in Spain"...
    
16. If the answer is YES - see you in Spain...:)
    

Till then...G'nite M'sia...wherever u are...