Park it right

I came across this advertisement in The Edge, issue 919 on Ford Focus' attractive feature called "Active Park Assist".

Sometimes, I find it quite difficult to park my car in parallel with the road. Parallel parking is the least enjoyment that I have whenever I am out there, on the road, driving to my destinations.

I think this feature will attract the ladies and women. I am not being stereotyped here folks, but sometimes, I find that quite a lot of women (not all) to be way too cautious when it comes to driving; and many of them have troubles and deep hesitation when it comes to parking. Truth is, sometimes you have to wait minutes before they can park right. Imagine if it is a two-lane road with one lane being used for parking!

Therefore ladies, cheer-up! Your misery of having to park parallel with the road is now solved with this new feature on Ford Focus.

Get into the store, now!

The Power of History in Marketing PR

In my diploma class (Saturday, 14 July 2012), my lecturer Mr Zachary talked about the power of history in marketing PR.

He said that history, particularly the year that the company was established is crucial in gaining respect and attention of the consumer. He further cited one example where people will have confidence in a brand whose establishment transcends over time.

And after the class, I went and bought this week's The Edge (issue 919, page 17), and lo and behold, the advertisement by Citibank confirmed what I have just learnt today! How interesting!

The ad is about Citibank's tumultuous journey which spans for over 200 years! Wow! No wonder then that people have confidence in Citibank compared to other banks!

The cost of cars these days!

This story appeared in The Star, Saturday, 14 July 2012.

The story was written by Datuk Alan Tong, the Group Chairman of Bukit Kiara Properties. He is one prominent writer in The Star (every Saturday), and I enjoyed reading his writings.

The issue that he brought-up in his latest column is about the cost of cars. According to him, cars nowadays are costing us a lot. I can understand his reasoning: first, we have this dasar (policy) of protecting the interest of our national cars (Proton).

Proton these days has vastly improved in terms of quality; but when it comes to the car price, the amount presented is somewhat pathetic, if I may say. I have no qualms of the car's quality: the new Preve is really nice. But the price? Oh lord...

To me, in this day and age, Proton needs to be competitive in terms of car price. I am always baffled as to the cost of Proton cars: there is a vast difference between the cost of the car in our home country and the country abroad.

The cost of imported cars (Toyota, Suzuki, Honda etc.) is not as high as you might imagined, but the tax imposed is ridiculously high. For example, the website here says that for cars whose engine capacity is less than 1.8L, the tax is 140%. That is so a lot!

Going by simple calculation, if the cost of an imported car is RM 40, 000, then a 100% tax would mean that the car is now priced at RM 80, 000. What about 140% tax? You can calculate that yourself.

Proton needs to compete healthily with other car manufacturers. The authority must try to find a balance between making Proton a profitable company and at the same time, reducing the ridiculously high tax of other imported cars.


My question is, why is the tax so high? Whose interest are we protecting? Whose pocket are we filling? Is the amount paid is worth the service offered?


Tepuk dada, tanya selera.

A strange mathematical logic

This story appeared in The Star, Saturday, 7 July 2012.

I find this story to be a rather strange one. This is interesting to note. At some conference in Penang (few years ago), I presented a notion that a number divided by zero will give rise to a number that tends to infinity; which in another word means that it is NOT possible that a number could be divided by zero. In most of my class, I have inherently iterated to all of my students that it is a heinous crime against mathematics to affirm that a number, say x, divided by zero is equal to zero, viz. x/0=0.

Now, here in our mainstream local newspaper, a grave mathematical mistake has been blatantly displayed out in the open. And I, as an academician with strong background in mathematics, can only laugh! :)

Anyway,  I am sure that there is another way if explaining where the RM30b will disappear to in the event that RM30b is to be divided by zero. One wonder and fret for a while as to why would such a huge money needed to be divided by zero. Logic tells me that monies (in whatever amount it may be) needed to be divided equally among the shareholders, not by some "zero ghostly" person.

Scientist turned CEO

This story appeared in The Star, Saturday, 14 July 2912.

This is a story of a scientist-turned-CEO. His name is Frank Appel. Okey, sorry. Dr Frank Appel. He hold a PhD in neurobiology but guess what? He is the CEO of DHL, an international logistic company.

I am inspired by his story because my story is somehow related to his story. In my case, I currently hold a master's in applied physics, and in a week or two, i will be joining a corporate world as a public relations officer. And in this case, my academic qualification is not at all related to the field that I am about to join.

Anyway, the story of Dr Keppel inspired me to keep walking in the path that i am now treading. Even though he has a very high academic qualifications (and not to mention that in this case, a PhD in neurobiology -- which in ordinary case, would not guarantee a C-level job) it doesn't mean that his future will be limited to universities and academic institutions; instead, he is now a respected CEO in the corporate world.

A sad divorce case

This is a sad story. The story appeared in Berita Harian, Friday, 13 July 2012.

The story is about the divorce of an elderly couple in Kelantan, a PAS-led state. They both have been married for quite a number of years (I think more than 30 years). The husband is apparently a follower of PAS while the wife is apparently a follower of UMNO.

The article claimed that the wife has been divorced by her husband for her political views.

To me, this is simply outrageous. Everyone is entitled to have their opinion and views. If the wife is an UMNO follower, so be it. The husband has to respect her and not divorce her for her different view.

On the other hand, if the husband is a die-hard fan of PAS, then the wife should respect him for his view and not try to hurt his feeling by joining political parties of which he is not fond of. The wife should understand that marriage transcend beyond political beliefs: marriage (coming from someone who is not yet married) should be about respect, honour and understanding.

My conclusion on this issue is that the marriage did not work-out because of the absence of mutual respect between the wife and the husband. In the end, in order for a marriage to work, both partners should have mutual respect on one another and they should not be carried away by their political view.

Kasut!

This is my comment in relation to the article published in Personal Money, July 2012.

The word "kasut" in English is "shoes". Speaking of kasut, jeez, i wonder how many shoes do the women have. But hey, men too are having many shoes! I personally know a man with far too many shoes and his collection beats that of the ladies. 

His shoes range from Aldo, Zara and Topman and he is a very stylish man :) Well, as for me, i only have a pair of shoes and a croc which I used for work. And yes, I don't normally wear a pair of nice 'executive' shoes to work except for formal events.

Anyway, women and shoes are inseparable. Why do I say so? Okey, take for example, my mom. Her car is filled with at least one type of shoe that she used for work.

Another good example will be my girl-friends: sometimes, their cars are filled with three to four shoes.

This goes on to prove my point that women love shoes and shoes to women are like milk to baby :)