Malaysia's Petrol for Foreigner Cars

M'sia bans fuel sales to foreign cars near borders

Petrol stations close to Thailand affected.
Malaysia has announced a ban on the sale of its subsidised fuel to foreign cars at all petrol stations within 30 to 50 kilometres of the country's borders, news reports said yesterday.
The ban, which is to take effect on Friday, affects petrol stations in the five states closest to the northern border with Thailand and the southern border with Singapore, Malaysia's Domestic Trade Minister Shahrir Samad said.
(Taken from http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/28May2008_news07.php. )

Is a bad news for most of Singaporean and Thai people who used to enjoy cheaper petrol/fuel bought from Malaysia.. Malaysia’s diesel and petrol prices are among the lowest in Asia due to high government subsidies. When this new regulation take effect on Friday, 30 May 2008, many Singaporean will deter from visiting Johor Bahru and also will affect most of Johor Petrol stations. "Buying cheap petrol is one of the privileges and what attracts the Singaporean to go there. But with this implementation, it may deter people from visiting Johor.

In the past, I myself also like to go Johor Bahru just to top-up my car's tank... Just drive in to JB - pump petrol - than back to Singapore....... If the traffic in the causeway no jammed, within half an-hour I already reached back Singapore, and I can save about S$15-20.00.

Now I can not do that anymore... If I want to pump petrol, at least has to drive in further about 30-50 km from the causeway/Malaysia's border. Ooppssssss............ has to use the petrol first before can pump in.

Still thinking how to solve this problem, hehe!
Any suggestion from you?
Or shall we just change to CNG as an alternative of Petrol high price? Uh.. uh.. we did not choose CNG option when we bought our recent car...

The Great Singapore Sale 2008

If you lucky, you can win a new Subaru car. And for tourists, there are some special promotions for you. Want to find out further...? Just click http://www.greatsingaporesale.com.sg/

Enjoy your shopping... spend wisely.. and do not forget to bring your own bag to save the earth.

If have some spare money.. just call me to help you to spend it.

Henderson Wave Bridge

Monday, 19 May 2008, public holiday in Singapore, Vesak day.
In the morning, we went out to have breakfast with Jimmy & Joanie, then proceeded to Henderson Wave Bridge.
This bridge is a part of Southern Ridges, a 9 km chain of greenery, in which consist primarily of three large hill parks - Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park.
Henderson Waves, at a height of 36 m, is Singapore's highest pedestrian bridge. A wave-shaped, steel-and-timber structure, it spans 274 metres across Henderson Road.
Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong officialy opened Henderson Wave Bridge together with Alexandra Arch on 10 May 2008.

Next time we will try to go to Alexandra Arch and the other chains of Southern Ridges.

Further info taken from Channel News Asia (CNA) :

To enjoy the view on foot, one must be prepared to spend at least two and half hours to cover the entire attraction. Harbour views in the day and city lights at night are some of the sights one can enjoy while strolling along the Henderson Waves bridge. At a height of 36 metres or 12 storeys from the road, it's the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. The 300-metre bridge links up the parks at Mount Faber and Telok Blangah Hill. The bridge is constructed using steel and all-weather timber which can be found in Southeast Asia. As a lot of wood was used in the decking, the National Parks Board (NParks), which is maintaining the structure, said smoking will be prohibited for safety reasons. Beyond the Henderson Waves Bridge and a one-kilometre hilltop walk, you also get to experience the meandering forest walk and earth trails. But NParks assures that these are harmless. The 1.3 kilometre raised walkway, with heights ranging from three to 18 metres, brushes the canopy of the secondary forest of Telok Blangah Hill.

More information about SOUTHERN RIDGES can be obtained from here.

West Coast Park

Sunday, 18 may 2008

About evening time we went to West Coast Park, near Pasir Panjang Road. We thought since at West Coast area, we can enjoy the sunset.. who knows that the sunset is not very beautiful.

This place is good for picnic and outing with family and friends, including BBQ party. Many people come here for in-line scating/blading, jogging, cycling, fishing, camping, fly the kites, exercise or just play at the playground or marsh garden . Also the car with pedal (I dont know what you call the thing).

This place only have 1 McDonald for refreshment... and just expect a long queue when you order the foods. If you come with more people, better bring your own food for picnic.

Car Park is available, but always have to wait especially if weekends or public holiday. You can drive further up to find another car park. Or just take bus service no. 175 and 176, and stop along the park.

More information of West Coast Park, can click here .

Smile.....

One in a million shot. All captured with one photo



God's way of saying "Have a nice day!"

Happy Mother's Day, 11 May 2008

EIGHT LIES OF A MOTHER
This story begins when I was a child:
I was born poor. Often we hadn't enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her portion of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say ..'Eat this rice, son! I'm not hungry. 'This was Mother's First Lie.

As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just two fish, she would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat the what was still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten. My heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said, 'Eat this fish, son! I don't really like fish. 'This was Mother's Second Lie.

Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes which she filled with fresh matchsticks. This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One wintry night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candlelight. So I said, 'Mother, go to sleep; it's late: you can continue working tomorrow morning.' Mother smiled and said 'Go to sleep, son! I'm not tired. 'This was Mother's Third Lie.

When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn, Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the bell rang, I ran to meet her. Mother embraced me and poured me a glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as my Mother's love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said ..'Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!'.This was Mother's Fourth Lie.

After Father's death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our family's life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing our family's condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house came to help us solve our problems big and small. Our other neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they often advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying ..'I don't need love! 'This was Mother's Fifth Lie.

After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every morning just to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She said, 'I have enough money! 'That was Mother's Sixth Lie.

I continued my part-time studies for my Master's Degree. Funded by the American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies. With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in America but Mother didn't want to bother her son; she said to me... 'I'm not used to high living! 'That was Mother's Seventh Lie.

In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I was heart broken because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said, 'Don't cry, son! I'm not in pain! 'That was Mother's Eighth Lie.

Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died ...YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL!

M - O - T - H - E - R
'M' is for the Million things she gave me
'O' means Only that she's growing old
'T' is for the Tears she shed to save me
'H' is for her Heart of gold
'E' is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them
'R'means Right, and right she'll always be,

Put them all together, they spell 'MOTHER' a word that means the world to me.
For those of you who are lucky to be still blessed with your Mom's presence on Earth, this story is beautiful. For those who aren't so blessed, this is even more beautiful.

Juan & Theo

Sekitar pukul 9 malam hari Sabtu kemarin, tiba2 handphoneku berbunyi karena ada sms masuk.
Eh.. dari adikku, Shirley. Setelah membaca isinya, aku jadi tertawa geli, karena ternyata yang ngirim sms itu Theo (diketikkan oleh Juan). Isinya:

Ini pantun dari Theo:
IKAN HIU IKAN BADAK (hehe... mana ada sih ikan badak?? atau emang ada ya???)
artinya
I LOVE U MENDADAK.

IKAN HIU IKAN CUCUT
artinya
YUK LANJUT (katanya sih yang ini ngopy dari iklan di TV)

SAMSUNG TRIO
artinya
SALAM SAYANG DARI THEO

haha... langsung aja aku balas (setelah berpikir lama sambil ngobrak-ngabrik internet..):

BUAH MANGGA BUAH KEDONDONG
artinya
THEO SAYANG JANGAN BEGITU DONG.......!

Terus kemarin malam waktu nelpon adikku itu, dapat cerita tentang cita2 Juan & Theo: jadi arsitek dan kontraktor. Lha.. kenapa koq jadi arsitek dan kontraktor??? Karena mereka pingin banget membangun sebuah rumah tingkat 4. Tapi setelah dihitung2 ternyata harus tingkat 6...... waktu ditanya kenapa koq mesti tingkat 6? Jawabnya:
Tingkat satu untuk papi dan mami (maksudnya untuk aku dan bagio)
Tingkat dua untuk papa dan mama
Tingkat tiga untuk Juan dan istri
Tingkat empat untuk Theo dan istri
Tingkat lima untuk Ie Anna dan Om Hai (Sepupuku yang di Jakarta)
Tingkat enam untuk anak2nya Ie Anna/Om Hai......

Duh........ waktu aku denger cerita itu.. hatiku rasanya mak les dan terharu.. Kayaknya koq indah ya kalao bisa hidup bersama di hari tua dengan keluarga sendiri. Bisa saling bantu dan saling jaga. Aku berdoa, semoga cita2 ini bisa terwujud. Amen.

Psalms 133:1
BEHOLD, HOW GOOD AND HOW PLEASANT IT IS
FOR BROTHERS TO DWELL IN UNITY!

Strawberry Quick...!!!!

Just received the article below.. if it is true, all parents out there must be very careful with your children of what they buy or consume outside the house...
Hope this article can help our future generation from being ruin by the drugs!

This is a new drug known as Strawberry quick
There is a very scary thing going on in the schools right now that we all need to be aware of.

There is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and pops in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and it is being handed out to kids in school yards. They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick.

Kids are ingesting this thinking that it is candy and being rushed off to emergency in dire condition. It also comes in flavour of chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange.

Please instruct your children to not to accept candy from strangers and even not to accept candy that looks like this from a friend (who may have been given it and believe it is candy) and to take any that they may have to the teacher, principal, or parents immediately.

Pass this email on to as many people as you can (even if they don't have kids) so that we can raise awareness and hopefully prevent any tragedies from occurring.

NARKOBA jenis baru dengan nama Strawberry quick.
Perlu kita waspadai, telah beredar disekolah-sekolah sesuatu yang mengerikan. NARKOBA Crystal berbentuk bulat, mirip dengan permen POP ROCK rasa Strawbery (kalau kita kemut bisa berdesis di dalam mulut). Aromanya persis seperti Strawbery dan saat ini sudah beredar bebas di lingkungan sekolah. Namanya Strawberry Meth atau Strawberry Quick.

Anak2 berpikir bahwa barang tersebut adalah PERMEN (gula-gula), berhati-hatilah karana permen ini dapat menyebabkan kondisi sang anak bisa masuk RS dan ketagihan.
Selain rasa strawberry, ada juga produk dengan rasa Coklat, kacang, Cola, chery, anggur dan rasa jeruk.

Peringatkan anak kita untuk tidak menerima permen jenis ini dari orang-2 yang tidak kita kenal, meskipun dari teman mereka atau dari siapapun.

Sampaikan pesan ini ke rekan yang lain untuk mencegah terjadinya hal-2 yang tidak kita inginkan.

Hunting A New Car

Past few weeks we went out to hunting for a new car.
Our current car already coming to 7 years old and since the new car price now is cheaper, so is worth to change it.

We went to:
Borneo Motor and took a look at Altis.........





Komoco Motors and took a look at Avante.........






Road Shows at Toa Payoh Hub and took a look at Axio, Wish, Honda Fit.......
Turf City and viewed the Axio..........

After some consideration and thinking, at first we wanted to choose Avante because of its price and model.

Last saturday, we went to Jurong East Library to return and borrow books. On the way back, Bagio needed to buy something from NTUC and nearby NTUC got road show from SunAuto. Happened this company is my office's neighbour at Jurong Port Road. We just stopped by and took a look of what sort of cars and prices they offer.
Being served by Ernest... we asked many questions. And since their offer for our old car is quite attractive, we decided to choose their car. And we signed the agreement to buy Toyota ............... (*will write again when we get our new car*)

The bank loan currently is set at 2.5% interest. You can opt for 100% loan with maximum repayment of 10 years (depend on your household annual income to be approved by the bank).
Yesterday (Tue, 6 May) we got the approval bank loan, and today (Wed, 7 May) bidding for the COE . If everything go smoothly, by next month we can get our new car.

We hope that this car will be good and useful for our daily living and His Testimony.

Happy Birthday...

1st May is the first birthday for Jessica and Jennifer of Robert and Vonny.

5th May is Agnes' birthday.

6th May is Julianto's birthday.

May our God and Jesus Christ bless and lead your future footsteps.

Have a wonderful day!