Truly “The Sickest Mannequin Challenge” in Malaysia

Truly “The Sickest Mannequin Challenge” in Malaysia

by | Jan 11, 2017 | people, society, video

"The Sickest Mannequin Challenge"

Video by P.S. the Children

Child Trafficking is a serious problem in Malaysia

Underaged boys and girls are sold or abducted from all neighbouring countries into Malaysia for prostitution and child labour.

Sex

Children forced to engage in sexual acts for money

Begging

Burmese children are smuggled into Malaysia for begging

Labour

Children work up to 17 hours a day in rubber plantations

Scavenging

Children used in recycling garbage dumps in urban areas

A country can be involved in Child Trafficking in 3 ways

Origin

Where the children come from

Transit

Where the children are moved through or kept temporarily

Destination

Where the children will finally end up

Malaysia is one of the few countries that is counted to be all three.

Traffickers take advantage of children imported from less developed countries such as Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Eastern Europe, Russia, Uzbekistan, India as well as those from impoverished local families.

While some traffickers keep the children here, others use Malaysia as a stopping point before sending their ‘products’ to places as far away as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Europe, Canada, USA, Australia, and South America.

> 1,000,000

More than 1 million children are being brought into the sex market ever year worldwide.

That’s 2 innocent children forced into prostitution every minute.

“Did you ask to have sex with all these men?”

“Did you ask to be sold as a sex slave?”

“Nursery Crimes” by P.S. the Children

What does the Law say?

Currently, those who are caught dealing with child trafficking or prostitution in Malaysia are charged under the Child Act, a series of laws meant to provide protection for children in need.

Although the Child Act was amended recently, the punishment for sexually abusing a child is simply a fine of RM50,000 and/or no more than 15 years in jail, a small price to pay for such a heinous crime.

In addition, prosecuting paedophiles and child abusers in Malaysia is difficult due to the common citizen’s lack of awareness and a culture that encourages “hushing up” these kind of events. The arrest of paedophile Richard Huckle last year caused massive outrage when it was revealed that he had managed to sexually abuse hundreds of young children before getting caught.

Unfortunately, the current laws are not enough to shut down all the traffickers working in this day and age. While the Child Act and Penal Code covers physical harm or abuse, some crimes fall into a gray area which makes it harder to prosecute.

The main problem is that while the government has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Malaysia has NOT implemented the Optional Protocol on the sale, prostitution and pornography of children. There are also currently no laws concerning crimes conducted against children online, which is concerning as children are particularly vulnerable to online predators who may sexually “groom” the child without ever meeting them in person.

In an interview with R.AGE last year, Unicef Malaysia representative Marianne Clark-Hattingh noted that legislation in Malaysia needs to be updated in order to keep up with the rapid development of communication and multimedia technology.

“Online abuse and exploitation most often takes place in the deep privacy of the mobile phone, the computer, or any other electronic device. It can move anonymously from the private to the public sphere, and across countries and borders, quickly,” she said.

What can you do to help put a stop to this odious industry?

For a start, you can sign the petition below from the Citizens Against Child Sexual Abuse calling for new laws and harsher punishments to be set up. By pressuring the government to act, we can send a stern message against child abusers and traffickers and stop them in their tracks.

Support laws to cover sexual abuse crimes

Sign the petition

And then, share this video and article because raising public awareness and admitting that we have a real problem in our own backyard, is the first step towards fighting this uphill battle.

“You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

William Wilberforce

Are parents responsible for child abuse?

Violence against children is unacceptable. But child abuse is rampant in Malaysia, and mostly done by parents. Does poverty makes abuse justifiable?
Watch video

New tread, not threads

New tread, not threads

by | Jan 10, 2017 | Auto, Branded Content, sports

New tread, not threads
for Chinese New Year

Chinese New year sees every increasing road traffic accidents, don’t become another statistic, make sure your vehicle is in top condition before heading home.

January will see the annual exodus of more than a million vehicles filled with people leaving the cities to return to their hometowns during the Chinese New Year.

With the increased traffic on Malaysian highways during cultural and religious holidays, we also expect to see an increase in the number of road accidents. In 2013, 158 fatalities were recorded, while the total number of accidents was 11,788 compared to 13,550 in 2014. 2015’s holiday season saw 17,632 accidents, resulting in 199 deaths.

Accidents in 2013

Accidents in 2014

Accidents in 2015

It isn’t just the festive seasons that see road accidents, of the year 2015 in total, authorities recorded 489,606 road accidents. Out of which 6,193 were fatal accidents.
While a large number of these accidents are attributed to human factors such as:

Driving faster than the speed limit

Racing

Running red lights

Changing lanes without signaling

Using mobile phones while driving

and some are due to the neglect of the driver leading to mechanical failure of the vehicles.

The most commonly neglected parts of a car are often some of the most important components, for example, the tyres. The tyres are the only thing between the main body of the vehicle and the road, they travel thousands of kilometers a year and are in contact with the ground all of the time, all year round, they are in control of your steering, braking, acceleration and absorbing all the bumps that the road may throw at you, so it makes sense that they should be regularly checked and changed.

Research by the AA has revealed the alarming risks motorists are taking, it found that  1 in 10 road traffic accidents could have been prevented by decreasing braking distance with new tyres.

Improperly maintained tyres can reduce the performance of your car, increase the risk of skidding, and lesser known, increase fuel consumption, leading to a corresponding increase in CO2 emissions.

Under-inflated tyres can reduce the braking distance by a huge amount, which is dangerous because even a few centimeters can mean the difference between getting away scot-free and ending up in a fatal accident.

Malaysian weather is wet, and when it rains and roads are slippery, braking distance severely increases. To prevent this, road users must ensure that tread depth is at least 1.6mm thick so that braking distance isn’t compromised.  If you can only afford to replace to tyres, put them on the rear axle, this is because it’s harder to control a skidding car when the tyres of the rear axle is compromised.

Road users should also carry a spare tyre with them at all times. Not only because it’s safe, but also because failing to do so can affect insurance breakdown coverage if they don’t.

Malaysia hopes to cut its accident numbers in half by the year 2020, and just like the years before, road safety measures will be stepped up just prior to the balik kampung high-times and the authorities will be deployed to the accident-prone hot-zones.

Despite this, Malaysians must be vigilant and ensure that their cars are properly maintained and do not pose a risk not only to themselves, but to others.

Keep your treads thick and your family safe this Chinese New Year with Michelin CNY promotion!

Michelin is giving out a free travel organizer with a purchase of two tyres or two travel organizers with a purchase of 4! The promotion lasts until the 27th of January 2017 and is available at all TYREPLUS and Michelin outlets.

For more information

Breathe better with cleaner air

Breathe better with cleaner air

by | Jan 6, 2017 | Branded Content, Lifestyle, Tech

Breathe better with cleaner air

The transboundary haze plaguing Malaysia annually has raised the public’s awareness on the importance of good air quality. Consequently, there are now a plethora of air purifiers in the market. As such, shopping for one can be a daunting task.

We surveyed the market to give you a brief review of what is available in Malaysia. Below, we compare the attributes of air purifiers from five popular brands – Coway, Cuckoo, Dyson, Panasonic and Sharp.

A good air purifier is effective in both removing airborne particles and improving indoor air quality. The objective of the air purifiers is to minimize the hazardous health effect of polluted indoor air in a user friendly manner by continuously reducing the concentration of particles in the air to a minimum, especially the smallest particles (nano particles, below 0,1micron) as these are considered causing the most severe health problems.

Coway has four air purifiers available in Malaysia. The Dolomities has a 4-step filtration, the Indicator and Tuba have 5, and the Lombok II has 6. All of them feature Coway’s Anti-Flu HEPA™ Filter that eliminates cigarette smoke, micro dust, bacteria, viruses and germs. Indicator and Lombok II have a resistive barrier discharge (RBD) plasma and filtration system that generates charged ions that capture airborne particles and sterilise moulds and germs like Aspergillus, Nigermand and E.Coli and decompose harmful gases like formaldehyde. All but Dolomities have a deodorisation filter.

Source: Coway

Cuckoo only has one air purifier in the market, simply named B Model, which is certified with the Clean Air Mark by the Korean Air Cleaning Association. It features an 8-level filtration, which consists of 5 filters – “Pre-Filter, Allergen Plus, Harmful Gas Relax, Deodorixing, 4-in-1 HEPA” – and a plasma ionizer. Cuckoo boasts of filters that are 1.5x larger than those of regular air purifiers (300×465).

Dyson, meanwhile, boasts of filters capable of capturing pollutants as small as 0.1 microns. Moreover, Dyson’s 360° Glass HEPA filter is engineered to draw air from all around, allowing free positioning of the machine. A layer of activated carbon granules captures odours and potentially harmful toxins like paint fumes.

Dyson’s patented Air Multiplier™ technology draw air through the filter and accelerate it through the machine, creating a long-range stream of smooth air. It’s the same technology used in Dyson’s bladeless fans.

The Dyson Pure Cool™ and Pure Cool™ Link are also low maintenance. Some purifiers rely on you changing, washing and drying your filters every month or so. Waiting for the filters to dry can result in up to six hours without a purifier. It takes fewer than 60 seconds to replace Dyson’s filter, and only after using it for 12 hours every day for a year.

Dyson’s 360° Glass HEPA filter is engineered to draw air from all angles

Panasonic, meanwhile, feature long-lasting filters (other than the pre-filters). The filters of the F-VK655A last 5 years while those of F-VXK70A lasts 10 years.

The key technology in Panasonic air purifiers is nanoe™ – it claims that this technology inhibits 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, reduces 90% of odour after 30 minutes, and even restores moisture back to your skin! A nanoe™ is a fine (5-20nm) and weak acidic water particle with a reactive substance and an electric charge. nanoe™ possesses the characteristics of removing hydrogen from viruses, bacteria, odours and allergens. It has a lifespan 6x of normal ions. The nanoe™ dimension is one-billionth parts of vapour, which enables it to easily penetrate textile fibres and eliminate bacteria and odour.

Sharp has a similar technology, which it calls Plasmacluster Ion technology, that powerfully and quickly removes airborne particles.

Mechanism for removing bacteria from the air using Plasmacluster (for illustration purpose only)

Source: Sharp

Filtration aside, there are other unique characteristics that may sway you to consider them.

Sharp, for example, has two air purifier models that can also double as a mosquito catcher! Some of the Panasonic and Sharp models are also humidifiers. Cuckoo has voice guide enabled — you can choose between English, Malay and Mandarin.

Dyson air purifiers double as fans and arguably the most aesthetically-pleasant air purifiers in the market. Not that because they are fans, they tend to be louder than others when on higher fan speeds. Nonetheless, they are quieter than regular blade fans. Moreover, while other air purifiers rely on big AC motors and large filters to purify the air, taking up valuable space in your home, Dyson purifier fans use a small efficient DC motor. Its compact footprint makes it smaller than conventional purifiers.

Dyson purifiers can be set to automatically monitor, react and purify the air — multiple sensors  detect changes in conditions, before automatically adjusting airflow to maintain your target air quality. Live air quality metrics are then sent straight to your Dyson Link app (for Pure Cool™ Link machines). You can also control your purifier remotely via the app.

Brand Model Power Consumption Airflow Rate Noise Level (dB) Pollution Indicator Weight (kg)

Indicator

 5.6 – 38.0W 1.9 – 5.1 m³/min 21.1 – 48.0 Colour Indicator 7.9

Lombok II

 13 – 72W 1.6 – 7.1 m³/min 20.0 – 70.5 Colour Indicator 12.0

Tuba

 106W Max 4.2 – 16.8 m³/min 31.2 – 52.5 Colour Indicator 25.0

B Model

 16.4 – 33W n/a n/a -Colour indicator

-Contamination figure

-Voice Guide

 11.4

Pure Cool™

 56W 33.4 litres/s 63dBA
(Max Setting)		 Colour indicator. Detailed reported shown via Dyson Link App. 3.03 (desk)

—

3.2 (tower)

Pure Cool™ Link

 56W 418 litres/s 63dBA
(Max Setting)		 Colour indicator. Detailed reported shown via Dyson Link App. 3.03 (desk)

—

3.2 (tower)

F-VK655A

 12 – 54W 1-5.5m³/min 10 – 58 Colour indicator 11.9

F-VXK70A

 n/a 1.1-6.7m³/min 18 – 54 Colour indicator 10.2

 

Brand & Model Power Consumption
—
Airflow Rate		 Noise Level
—
Pollution Indicator		 Weight (kg)

Indicator

 5.6 – 38.0W

—

1.9 – 5.1 m³/min

 21.1 – 48.0

—

Colour Indicator

 7.9

Lombok II		 13 – 72W

—

1.6 – 7.1 m³/ min

 20.0 – 70.5

—

Colour Indicator

 12.0

Tuba		 106W Max

—

4.2 – 16.8 m³/ min

 31.2 – 52.5

—

Colour Indicator

 25.0

B Model

 16.4 – 33W

—

n/a

 n/a

—

Colour indicator, contamination figure, voice Guide

 11.4

Pure Cool™

 56W

—

33.4 litres/s

 63dBA
(Max Setting)—Colour indicator. Detailed report shown via Dyson Link App.		 3.03 (Desk)

—
3.2 (Tower)

V6 Entry

 56W

—

418 litres/s

 63dBA
(Max Setting)—Colour indicator. Detailed report shown via Dyson Link App.		 3.03 (Desk)

—

3.2 (Tower)

F-VK665A

 12 – 54W

—

1 – 5.5 m³/min

 10 – 58

—

Colour Indicator

 11.9

F-VXK70A

 n/a

—

1.1 – 6.7 m³/min

 18 – 54

—

Colour Indicator

  

10.2

Decent air purifiers are not cheap. Coway and Cuckoo air purifiers can also be rented if you prefer not to buy them outright.

Coways range from RM2,500 to RM4,500 or RM85-150/month to rent. The Cuckoo B Model is RM2,988 or RM120/month to rent. Dyson’s Pure Cool™ Link tower costs RM3,399 while the desk model costs RM2,599. Panasonic models range from RM599 for the entry level F-PXJ30A with 20m2 coverage, to RM2,999 for the F-VK655A. Sharp air purifiers range from RM549 to RM2,619, with the two mosquito catcher models costing RM769 and RM1,049.

Dyson's Trade in Campaign

If Dyson tickles your fancy, you may want to take advantage of its trade-in campaign running from 10 Dec 2016 to 29 Jan 2017. Enjoy 15% off all Dyson technology (vacuum cleaners, bladeless fans and purifier fans). When you trade-in any vacuum cleaner, desk/floor standing fans or air purifiers. Terms and conditions apply.

Trade-in now

Gastronomical delights amidst Desa Aman Puri

Gastronomical delights amidst Desa Aman Puri

by | Jan 5, 2017 | Food, place, travel

Gastronomical delights amidst Desa Aman Puri

Desa Aman Puri is like a melting pot and a haven for various types of gastronomical delights.

From the authentic Italian cuisines served at Bel Pasto Italian Pizza and Tak Fook Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant to the famous Hakka Lui Cha at the Big, Big Bowl Cafe and Indian Nasi Beryani at Anuja Restaurant, Aman Puri has a lot to offer to people, both to the locals and those living in the Klang Valley.

Although it is a mere 10-minutes’ drive from One Utama heading towards Bandar Sri Damansara at the tail end of the Puchong-Damansara Highway (LDP), the prices of food here are far more reasonable by comparison to restaurants in Petaling Jaya.

The restaurateurs here have to learn that if they raise their prices, especially after more people flock this way, they will no longer be attractive be attractive to foodies from Petaling Jaya and beyond.

In the past few years, the place has become popular for all kinds of cuisines, with more new restaurants such as Restoran Fei Fei Crab and Restoran Lan Je being set up here. The original Fei Fei Crab is in Petaling Jaya, while the first Lan Je restaurant started in Rawang.

Those that fail to maintain their standard or where the food is pricey simply do not survive here due to very tough competition not only within Aman Puri but also from other restaurants within a radius of 5 kilometers.

A number of restaurants have come and gone, but the ones that survive more than a year are doing well.

Nancy Choo, 63, for example, used to operate a stall in Aman Puri where most people know her as Auntie Nancy’s eatery. Since closing down her stall, she has joined forces with her daughter, Angie Lim, where the mother-and-daughter pair has a bigger variety to offer at Lim’s Big, Big Bowl Café. Choo has a strong following; therefore, her presence at Big, Big Bowl has helped to boost the business a lot.

Judging from the photographs in their Facebook page, Lim also was operating a successful business when her restaurant was previously based in Kepong.

Nancy Choo, 63 and her daughter Angie Lim

One of the dish from Big Bowl

Apart from their signature dish, the Hakka lui cha, I like Lim’s fish fillet noodles and her pan mee. Her laksa noodles is also good and worth trying. What is interesting is that her noodles are all hand-made. I have yet to try her mother’s cooking. I will do it when I travel in that direction.

Adjacent to Lim’s Big, Big Bowl Café is Love Earth organic restaurant, which is also worth checking out especially its Taiwanese soup noodles. However, most guests may not like their self-service concept, which is sometimes a big letdown especially when there are hardly any other clients during off peak hours.

For the crabs, both Tak Fook and Fei Fei come to mind. During special promotional seasons, Tak Fok for example can offer crabs at RM25 a kilogramme. The owners are a young couple from Hong Kong. This is their original restaurant, where it is mostly packed at night.

Restoran 168 specialises in both dry and soup pan mee but surprisingly, despite pan mee being a very common dish, the place is often packed in the morning. Just behind is the Penang Chew Jetty where the proprietor once operated from a small stall in Aman Puri.

 

One of the dish from Bel pasto

The best restaurant in my opinion is still Bel Pasto, operated by one Italian chef, who prefers to be known only as Sam.

This restaurant is famous for its authentic Italian cuisines because the chef is Italian himself and very passionate about his food. Try his Tiramisu, and comparing his prices and the quality to other café, it is value for money! Every time I introduce guests here, they give him the thumbs-up!

Bel Pasto is the kind of place I would bring my foreign guests. A year ago, when I had some visitors from Canada along with their children, they enjoyed the food so much that they decided to give us a treat in return at the same restaurant.

Food is good, but…

Like in most other places around the country, Desa Aman Puri needs a good facelift.

Alfresco-style seating may be popular with Malaysians who prefer the street food to posh restaurants, but having huge but ugly looking canvases will not do a lot of good to guests from overseas. It is time that the local council improve the image of the township.

Rubbish is also strewn all over the place and some drains remain uncovered after the concrete slabs used had been removed. If properly covered, some of these public drains could provide some useful parking spaces.

Selayang Municipal Council Zone 23 councillor, Ng Wei Keong, has promised that he will look into the facilities and the cleanliness of the place, but it may take a while before the local council staff work on improving the area.

 

The state government has sponsored the bins; they should therefore keep their own places clean.

With a little effort from the restauranteurs and the public perhaps to keep the place clean, Aman Puri can become a haven for all the salivating food lovers.