1st Malaysia Hot Air Balloon Fiesta

Here is an update regarding my recent visit to the 1st Malaysia Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Putrajaya (the event had ended). That was one of the few rare occasions where I saw a huge crowd in Putrajaya.

First of all, I would like to comment on the poor timing. In the schedule, the hot air balloon session in the afternoon was supposed to start at 5.30pm. But, they only started preparing at that time. There was news or rumors saying that it was due to the weather. However, there was no proper announcement informing the audience regarding it (or I didn’t hear it). At around 6.30pm, we finally saw balloons flying! As for the “glow in the night” session, it was supposed to end at 9pm. But, they only started to setup the hot balloons again at 9pm. There was too much difference in the scheduling.

Other than the poor timing, the others were okay. It was an interesting event. At first, you will see an empty basket and the team was trying to setup the hot air balloon. Slowly, the balloon grew bigger and bigger. Then, the audience started to wonder, “What is this? Is it an elephant, orange or some funny shape ballon?”. The whole hot air balloon setup took around an hour. After the setup was ready, the hot air balloon took off~

There were food stalls so that the audience could go get some food and drinks if they are hungry or thirsty. The balloon business was quite good. A lot of kids had Sponge Bob with them!

Patiently waiting for the hot air balloons

The took off spot was somewhere near the lake.

The team was "blowing" the balloon.

Ready to fly off!

Hot air balloon in the air!

Other balloons were catching up!

The lovely clown balloon

By MAS. Looks like Mastercard logo

One of my favourite - pink elephant! Too bad it didn't manage to fly.

Dubai during the Crisis

Things are going bad globally - another forward news:

Laid-off foreigners flee as Dubai spirals down
By Robert F. Worth
Thursday, February 12, 2009

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai's fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage.

Now, like many of the foreign workers who make up 90 percent of the population here, she has been laid off and faces the prospect of being forced to leave this Gulf city — or worse."I'm really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here," said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. "If I can't pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors' prison."

With Dubai's economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.

No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai's major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country's reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis.

Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai's Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher."At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst," said Simon Williams, HSBC bank's chief economist in Dubai. "And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors."

Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai's six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody's Investor's Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai's most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai's roads, usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear.

Some analysts say the crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on the seven-member emirates federation, where Dubai has long played rebellious younger brother to oil-rich and more conservative Abu Dhabi. Dubai officials, swallowing their pride, have made clear that they would be open to a bailout, but so far Abu Dhabi has offered assistance only to its own banks.

"Why is Abu Dhabi allowing its neighbor to have its international reputation trashed, when it could bail out Dubai's banks and restore confidence?" said Christopher Davidson, who predicted the current crisis in "Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success," a book published last year. "Perhaps the plan is to centralize the U.A.E." under Abu Dhabi's control, he mused, in a move that would sharply curtail Dubai's independence and perhaps change its signature freewheeling style.

For many foreigners, Dubai had seemed at first to be a refuge, relatively insulated from the panic that began hitting the rest of the world last autumn. The Gulf is cushioned by vast oil and gas wealth, and some who lost jobs in New York and London began applying here.

But Dubai, unlike Abu Dhabi or nearby Qatar and Saudi Arabia, does not have its own oil, and had built its reputation on real estate, finance and tourism. Now, many expatriates here talk about Dubai as though it were a con game all along. Lurid rumors spread quickly: the Palm Jumeira, an artificial island that is one of this city's trademark developments, is said to be sinking, and when you turn the faucets in the hotels built atop it, only cockroaches come out.

"Is it going to get better? They tell you that, but I don't know what to believe anymore," said Sofia, who still hopes to find a job before her time runs out. "People are really panicking quickly."

Hamza Thiab, a 27-year-old Iraqi who moved here from Baghdad in 2005, lost his job with an engineering firm six weeks ago. He has until the end of February to find a job, or he must leave. "I've been looking for a new job for three months, and I've only had two interviews," he said. "Before, you used to open up the papers here and see dozens of jobs. The minimum for a civil engineer with four years' experience used to be 15,000 dirhams a month. Now, the maximum you'll get is 8,000," or about $2,000.Thiab was sitting in a Costa Coffee Shop in the Ibn Battuta mall, where most of the customers seemed to be single men sitting alone, dolefully drinking coffee at midday. If he fails to find a job, he will have to go to Jordan, where he has family members — Iraq is still too dangerous, he says — though the situation is no better there. Before that, he will have to borrow money from his father to pay off the more than $12,000 he still owes on a bank loan for his Honda Civic. Iraqi friends bought fancier cars and are now, with no job, struggling to sell them.

"Before, so many of us were living a good life here," Thiab said. "Now we cannot pay our loans. We are all just sleeping, smoking, drinking coffee and having headaches because of the situation."

Malaysia Industy Updates

Received this information from a forward mail:

Johor
1. V.S. Industry Berhad – 1st quarter net profit falls almost 60%. 2 of the factories are facing critical downturn.
2. Flextronics – Has shut down 4 weeks (2 consecutive weeks for last Christmas/09 New Year and this CNY) and expected to resume work only next Monday.
3. Venture – Kempas plant is down to 4-day work per week while Tebrau has retrenched major contract workers and FULLY freeze OT. Either Venture or Flextronics is speculated to cease operation soon following a Taiwanese company named Foxcon would most probably take over HP business project from them.
4. Celestica – down to 4-day work per week.
5. Beyonics – down to 4-day work per week.
6. Seagate – 3 US based VP/Directors had been fired. Top management and executive level staff cut pay 10-15%.
7. Qimonda – Germany HQ is reported to apply bankruptcy following Germany government failed to provide financial support. If such happened, means Senai plant will be closed as well. Feb – Apr will be the critical period.

Melaka
8. Panasonic to close 27 plants world wide and retrench 15,000 employees – Melaka plant to be shut down in March. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/2/6/business/3205889&sec=business

Penang
9. Spansion - CEO quits, chip maker seeks buyer http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/020309-spansion-ceo-quits-chip-maker.html
10. NEC (Prai) – work 4-day week
11. Intel to close 2 plants in Penang Island this year and shift workers to Kulim plant
12. Molex - http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20090128/tbs-molex-7318940.html
13. Agilent - pay cut 10%
14. Fairchild – work 4-days week
15. Avago – job cut about 100 ppl in December 2008
16. Molex – Chinese New Year shut down for 2 weeks

Global
http://4.jfserver.info/community/retrenchment/retrenchment_full.php?sort=firmtitle&order=desc

Chinese Orchestra @ KL PAC

KL PAC is an abbreviation of KL Performing Arts Centre, in Sentul. This is a very strange place. The place is quite spacious. There are a lot of old buildings there, some maybe abandoned. The performance hall itself is quite unique. It gives me the feeling of a university’s art school. In the compound, there is a lake and a park. The environment is very peaceful and nice.

The Chinese Orchestra was performed by a school in order to raise funds. The attendees are mainly family members of the performers and supporters. The event was well organized and in the end of the session, there was a proposal! Even though the proposal was not that great and the flowers were fake (maybe there is some special meaning to it), it all turned out well.

DSU Potluck & B'day Celebration

Last Sunday, the DSU gang had a small gathering at my place. It’s been quite a number of years since we last have this. I still remember the days when we stayed in the International House and students from each country will contribute some of their country’s specialties. It was so nice!

Gimbak - by BJun

KFC Chickie Nuggets and Mango Lassi (in the fridge) by WeiShi

Bak Kuh Teh by me

Cake by Yushu

Company Planning Session '09

It’s been almost a month since I last updated my blog. A week before Chinese New Year, I attended my company’s planning session for the coming fiscal year. It was the first time that I have joined such an event and it’s really an eye-opener. Before the event, my teammates and I had been working on some survey and analysis. The 2.5 days session in the hotel was a whole day work out. I don’t really enjoy my stay there – had problems getting a nice sleep. It’s a bit spooky staying alone in a room with 2 single beds. At times, I heard something “strange”. Perhaps, it was just my wild imagination…

My team - Team Dilbert