Malaysian University Ranking 2008

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This is the world ranking involving Malaysian Universities issued by THES-QS for the year 2008:

University of Malaya (230) [up][2007: 246]
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (250) [up][2007: 309]
Universiti Sains Malaysia (313) [down][2007: 307]
Universiti Putra Malaysia (320) [up][2007: 364]
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (356) [up][2007: 416]

Ranking of foreign universities that have branch campuses in Malaysia:

Monash University (HQ: Australia) (47) [down][2007: 43]
University of Nottingham (HQ: UK) (86) [down][2007: 70]
Curtin University of Technology (HQ: Australia) (232) [up][2007: 235]
Swinburne University of Technology (HQ: Australia) (401-500) [NA][2007: >500]
Al-Azhar University (HQ: Egypt) (NA) [NA][2007: >500]

Highest Rank South East Asian University: National University of Singapore (30) [up][2007: 33]
Highest Rank Asian University: University of Tokyo (19) [down][2007: 17]

Moon Sighting in Malaysia

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For those who doesn't know anything about moon sighting, maybe its time for you to get some knowledge about it. Do homework please. According to the perspective of most Arab students in Malaysia, our country doesn't do moon sighting but fixed the date (pre-decided). This could probably due to the fact that some local calendars portrayed the date of Eid as fixed, just like other big days. I do heard some Arab students got wrong information from locals too. I don't know what to say about these locals but I do believe they are not qualified to talk about the moon sighting or any other religious issues. For those Arab students, I don't totally blame you for your misunderstanding. There are a lot of things you still need to learn about our country.

Does Malaysia really do moon sighting? Based on my knowledge, yes. First of all, let's take a look at the calendar below. Most established calendars in Malaysia will have "SUBJECT TO CHANGE" quoted at the bottom side, indicating the date is not fix. Go check your calendar.

Below are some pictures of moon sighting activities in Malaysia:

Moon sighting at Putrajaya

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Moon sighting at Bukit Malawati, Selangor

Pulau Angsa. Moon sighting was lead by Selangor's Deputy Mufti, Abdul Majid

Bukit Malawati. Moon sighting was lead by Selangor's Mufti, Dato' Tamyes Abdul Wahid

Port Dickson. Moon sighting was lead by Negri's Mufti, Dato' Murtadza Ahmad

Brunei. Last but not least, moon sighting was also conducted in Brunei

When they think I'm a Vietnamese, Filipino or Thai...

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Everywhere I go in Vietnam, no one guessed me right. They might rather think I'm a Vietnamese too. Whenever I started speaking English, then only they realized that I'm not. These sentences are very common when I'm in Vietnam:
"Oh I thought you are Vietnamese"
"Are you from Thailand?"
"Are you Filipino?"

Dr Alfonso from Upsalla University, Sweden and some European participants also think that I'm a Vietnamese. Well, this is the look of Asian...

I'm a Malaysian. The slogan "MALAYSIA TRULY ASIA" to some extent I feel it's so right...

Penagihan Dadah - Lambang Penguasaan Lelaki Melayu

Dadah
Fakta Penagihan Dadah 2007 di Malaysia:

• 97.60% lelaki

• 72.62% Melayu

• 70.00% terdiri daripada golongan belia dan majoriti adalah berumur antara 19-24 tahun

• 79.17% berpendidikan hingga sekolah menengah (sekurang-kurangnya tamat tingkatan 3)

• 92.03% mempunyai pekerjaan (majoritinya buruh am)

• 62.56% merupakan penagih heroin/morfin, manakala penagih ATS (10.28%)

• 55.65% mengakui mula terjebak dengan dadah disebabkan oleh pengaruh kawan

Sumber: Agensi Dadah Kebangsaan

Dari segi peratusan penduduk, Bumiputra di Malaysia adalah sekitar 66% dan Melayu itu sendiri adalah sekitar 55%. Jadi peratusan Melayu itu tidaklah sebesar mana (walaupun majoriti) jika dibandingkan dengan jumlah penduduk. Tetapi, bila masuk bab penagihan dadah, peratusan Melayu adalah terbesar iaitu sekitar 73%. Tambahan hampir 20%. Maka kesimpulannya, bidang penagihan dadah adalah di bawah penguasaan Melayu. Tahniah aku diucapkan! (Bukan senang nak menguasai sesuatu bidang itu).

Sebenarnya aku sedih dan kesian dekat bangsa aku ini. Benda-benda yang buruk senang sangat diserap. Bohsia, bohjan, mat rempit, mat metal, punk... semuanya penguasaan orang Melayu. Yang aku pasti gejala-gejala ini disebabkan oleh pengabaian agama oleh masyarakat aku sendiri. Nama saja Islam tapi rata-rata tiada pengetahuan tentang ajaran agama anutan mereka itu. Lagi satu aku tengok, masyarakat bangsa aku ini semakin tidak berani menegur yang salah.

Happy Ramadan

RamadanAssalam'alaikum

Hari ini 1 Ramadan 1429 bersamaan 1 September 2008 adalah permulaan Ramadan di Malaysia dan beberapa negara lain di dunia. Saya ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan Selamat Menyambut Ramadan.

Today is the first Ramadan in Malaysia and some other countries across the globe. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you Happy Ramadan.

RAMADAN KAREEM
RAMADAN MUBARAK

Streamyx downgrade - I learned my lesson..

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RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT! - My Internet Bill for June is RM232.11

Two months ago I applied for downgrading my streamyx package from RM77@unlimited to RM49@60 hours. The reason I downgrade my streamyx is because I already moved to Kulim. And will only be in Taiping in the weekend – Saturday and Sunday. So I believe 60 hours internet usage a month is enough for me. Last week I received my internet bill. It should be a combination of a two months bill, so I thought the amount should be around RM98 or a bit more but will not exceed RM120. What I got was really surprising. 232.11 Ringgit. My bill is RM232.11 for last month. Is this my other event of Ripley's Believe It or Not? I think so. Regarding the bill, what had been printed is true but I'm hoping the amount is false.

Since the bill did not mention any detail about the package and internet usage, so I checked through the internet. There it is... - Streamyx Home Basic 384 Kb - RM20@10 hours. This is clearly a WRONG package. No wonder my bill shoots up so drastically. Well TMnet, thank you very much. Now I really feel like maglooba (up side down). Although frustrating, I didn't go hysteria. Because I know this is a test from Allah. Alhamdulellah.

Sudden Motivation
Besides I got a new motivation from Tariq Sabah, my Palestinian brother. He told me that he already subscribed to a home wireless internet (1.0 Mb – RM88@unlimited) for his rental house in KL. Contrast with me that I went downgrading. Should I go back to the streamyx unlimited? Yes, I think I should. The difference between the two plans is only RM28. When I was a student I used the RM77 ~unlimited streamyx plan. Now as a working guy I downgraded my streamyx plan to RM49 ~60 hours. My allocation for internet is RM100 a month. So what the hell am I doing? Besides there is no guarantee my internet usage will not exceed 60 hours.

Back to Streamyx Unlimited
So this week I changed my off day from Sunday to Friday because I need to be in Taiping on Friday (Telekom Malaysia will close on Saturday and Sunday in all states except Kedah and Kelantan). Today (Friday) I went to the customer service at TM Taiping (the place where I registered my streamyx). TM admitted their mistake and apologized to me for the miscalculated bill. They will soon issue a new bill. Then I told them I want to upgrade my streamyx plan back to the 512 Kb - RM77 ~unlimited. They said "with pleasure". DONE! Everything went so smoothly. Alhamdulellah.

I learned my lesson
I think I learned my lesson well this week. If we are not sure with our decision, don't rush into it. Discuss with sombody we trust, seek advise from him. Two heads are always better than one.