Surveys - How True Are They?

Well, market surveys are really important. They give detailed analysis of the consumers' wants and needs.

Basically surveying a market is like spying the enemy in war. One simple survey can provide information so vital that determines the winner.

Well, I guess you've all watched enough Hollywood films to know the significance of spying.

The point is, recently, I've been contacted by an ex-schoolmate, let's call him John. He told me he's working for, say, TV3. And he politely invited me to take a survey.

Well, a survey wouldn't kill, I guess. I mean, people do those things so often. The only time my sister came back from Singapore, well, the first thing she did upon arriving home is to give out survey forms to my mother and me. And then on the way out to lunch, we stopped by a friend's house, where she passed out more forms.

Well, one may think she only came back to do the survey.

Anyway, let's go back to John's case. So I agreed to take the survey. But it came with something else.

John actually asked me to give a specific answer for a question. Let's say the question was "which TV channel do you watch the most?", and he requested that I answer "TV3". I was like, uh? Isn't this rather dishonest?

He called back seconds later, using presumably his company phone, and the survey begun.

Of course, John wasn't his real name. And the company he's working for isn't TV3. But I was shocked at how far people would go to boost the profitability for the company.

I also took another survey the very same day. It was an evaluation for the cashier of Jusco, and I was given the courtesy to fill the form up for buying a RM0.83 bottle of mineral water. I handed out RM50 to her, and she passed the small piece of paper along with a pen to me.

"How would you rate the service of the cashier?"

I glanced at the cashier. With her smiling menacingly and giving me the give-me-a-bad-review-and-I'll-keep-your-change look, I quickly ticked "excellent", filled in my name and contact number, and passed the form back to her.

Well, actually I handed her a RM10 note, but well, I'm willing to exaggerate for the sake of the dramatic effect.

And there are other obvious cases too. For example, Jay Chou recently advertised for the ellesse watch. But I doubt he uses them. And all those stick thin models on the posters of Osim may not even use Osim products at all. And you think all those long, silky, soft, and smooth hair of Sunsilk TV ad is a result of constant use of their products? If you think so, it's time for you to wake up.

So this is how the world go round?

I don't think I'd like be a spy in the future.

Moving On to Next Station

Two years at Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC).

TARC Administration Block.

Some liked it, some hated it. Some chose to stay, some chose to leave.

Sad to say, I'm among the latter.

Going up in TARC.

I still remember the first day in TARC. I was burning hot with a high fever, and had to find my way around the largest college in Malaysia.

There are always new things to look forward to in TARC every year.

I walked two steps, stopped, took a long draught from my bottle, and continued.

Several steps later I stopped again, thirst got the better of me.

Basketball court.

After a while I wondered where the toilet was.

The worst was that all three lessons on the first day were not held due to the absence lecturers and tutors.

I also remember recounting this story to my English teacher. She was so fond of the story she paid me the best compliments in class.

The fountain near Communication and Information Technology Centre (CITC).

I can't help but wonder why I never got satisfying grades for my English modules in TARC. Boy, the teachers at this college are sure hard to please!

One of the many gardens at TARC.

Well two years later I found myself graduating with a diploma. Diploma in Technology (Mechatronics Engineering), to be precise.


And, sadly, I find myself leaving the college. I've decided after much dilemma, more trauma, and even more drama, that I need a fresh start in a new environment.

New robot arm of automation lab... specially for Mechatronics students!

Not to say TARC's no good, hell, no. In fact, I was actually kind of sad making the decision to leave. The facilities aren't exactly top notch, but they are more than satisfying. The library is full of useful, albeit slightly old and outdated books. The food in canteen may not go well with everybody, but it's hard to find a meal costing less than RM2 nowadays. There are several good and memorable teachers around, many of which managed to recognise the potentials of talented students and hesitated no further in exploiting them.

Me getting my scholarship "certificate" from former principal, Ms Yoong Lai Thye.

I also managed to join a society for the duration of my diploma course. As the factory visiting manager of Mechatronics Society, I arranged two visits to Perodua Manufacturing Sdn Bhd's factory in Rawang during our second year. Many may think it wasn't enough, but believe me, arranging a single such visit takes months.

Group photo at Perodua. Great photo by S. H. Lim and Ms Kintan.

Other than the visit, I was also involved in the society's fund raising events as a rather unimportant salesperson. For the first fund raising event I helped the seniors sell electronic gadgets such as MP3 players, pendrives, memory cards, mice (the computer type), webcam, etc. For the second event we took the exact same corner and sold flowers and soft toys to visits to the graduation ceremony. We sold so much flowers the other day. Too bad the soft toys didn't sell that well.

Flowers for sale! Toys for sale! Anyway, why would a college student be buying soft toys? No wonder it didn't sell well!

I was also one of the six facilitators for our Programmic Integrated Circuit (PIC) workshop, also held by our society. Assembly language programming was never my favourite language, human or computer, but I did it for the participants', the society's, and also my benefits.

School in the forest, or forest in the school?

Then there's ProDEx. I still can't believe some people think that idiotic robot looked like Darth Vader. Being a Star Wars fan, I never thought it looked like Vader until the name appeared as the caption of the photo in the school magazine.

"Darth Vader" appearing on TV. The lady to the left was our principal, Ms Yoong Lai Thye.

We also played some "childish" toys too. Remember our Robocup? I truly enjoyed that assignment. How often do you get teachers who give you marks for playing toys?

Me and my group's Edubot. Whoever took this wonderful photo, thanks a lot!

There're also the countless times we made ourselves famous among students and teachers alike. It's just a sense of satisfaction when a lecturer says "that DMH2, EE2 group, never quiet!" Or a student mumbling, "you're from DMH? Sir says you guys are troublesome." And of course the usual quotes like "Bad! Bad! Bad" and "You look handsome today, Sir!"

Bowling session with Ms Bong. Bottom from left: J. H. Yip, H. P. Tan, Me. Top from left: M. W. Yeo, L. H. Ngue, Ms Bong, Y. L. Koo, M. J. Tiang with his girlfriend, and P. C. Soo.

I really enjoyed my life in TARC. However, as Ms Ng Foong Kee, one of my favourite lecturers in TARC, puts it, "friends are passengers of life, and life is just like a journey on a subway. Sooner or later you'll have to get down at a station, and bid goodbye to the fellow passengers around you." Or so I remember her describing it more than one year ago.

Good ol' hostel.

Well, I think I've reached my interchange station. I bid farewell to those who have sat and stood with me throughout the 2-year-journey in the train so far. So if I've left bad impressions on you, please forgive me, and you probably won't see me ever again. For those who liked me, I hope our journeys intersect again some time in the future.

Mechatronics Society notice board.

I wish all my fellow classmates (ex-classmates, actually) the best of luck in their future endeavours. So long, my friends.

Bon voyage. Credit of the photo goes to S. H. Lim.

Sights of Pulau Ketam

How did you spend National Day? Dad went to Pulau Ketam for outdoor painting with some of the art teachers and students of Art Specialist Klang, Art Speciallist Millennium Bukit Tinggi, Masean Kajang, and Masean Setapak. Mum, Minyi, and I tagged along with him. Before going I knew I would be embarassing myself - I expected myself to be the only one who doesn't draw.

Anyway, we set off early in the morning. We reached Port Klang, and after a bit of sightseeing (AKA waiting) we boarded a ferry left for Pulau Ketam. Long gone were the days when we take open-air boats for transport between the mainland and the island. Most people now take air-conditioned ferries, what a shame.

Sight of Port Klang.

Upon reaching Pulau Ketam, it was low tide hour and nobody failed to notice the amount of crabs in the mud.

Pulau Ketam jetty.

What are we supposed to be seeing here? Hang on... what are the block spots on the mud?

A close up of the photo above. Holy crabs!

It's no wonder they call the place Pulau Ketam, which means Crab Island in Malay.

We then walked to a small wooden house lent to us by a relative of dad's (or mine XD). Being born in Pulau Ketam, dad naturally knew many of the residents there. He greeted people every few minutes in Teochew, which makes the place rather homelike. In Klang the Chinese speak Hokkien, and Cantonese in KL. I'm rather stressed having to understand all these three dialects besides the regular Mandarin, English, and Malay. Not to mention Matlab, C++, assembly language, VB...

Dad used to live in this house before he migrated to Klang. This is the only place in Pulau Ketam I've ever seen my relatives at. Mum says dad's room was upstairs. The house is built right across the Pulau Ketam main road.

Pulau Ketam is a swampy island. It's swampy and muddy everywhere, and all the roads are elevated a few feet from the ground (to allow the water to rise during high tide), normally made in wood (for smaller paths) or cement (main road). It's not that easy to get lost in Pulau Ketam, as long as you stick to the main road. The main road stretches from the Pulau Ketam jetty to the other end of the village. Motorcycles and motorcars are not allowed in the island, hence the villagers rely on bikes and boats to move around.

The villagers there riding on bikes. It is common sense to stay on the left of the road as to allow bikers to overtake you, regardless of whether you're on foot or on bike.

We walked around the island for a while. The town centre consists of shops distributed across two roads. During public holidays these roads would be crowded with tourists. Most of these shops are restaurants.

The town centre in the evening.

One thing you should be careful is that there are many dogs in Pulau Ketam. I thought we were supposed to expect cats in a fishing village. But then again, maybe dogs were brought in to get rid of the cats. The problem is not with the dogs being fierce to the people, but they aren't er, potty trained. I thought I was unlucky enough to step on a trap once, until one of us got it three times in two days. Dog shit is practically everywhere, it's not uncommon to see piles of them lying just inches away from each other. That place should be called Crap Island after all.

After a bit of chatting and rest, we (or rather, they) went out for a bit of painting. Dad strayed into one of the little paths, settled down, and started drawing. Well, seeing the fact that I don't draw, mum took dad's camera and gave me a bit of guiding at photography. Please take note that none of us are photographers, but mum knows which scenes to snap, while I know the camera better than most people of my age, so we make a rather good team.

Dad working on his acryllic painting on a wooden path.

There are many beautiful scenes in Pulau Ketam. I wondered how funny mum and I looked, pointing the camera and shooting aggressively at almost anything at all.

The many things owned by a villager.

But not everything is candy and lollipop in Pulau Ketam. For some reasons the villagers there are rather unethical at managing their garbage. They just discard everything out of the elevated platforms into the sea, river, or swamp. This caused eyesores among the beautiful and peaceful fishing village.

Trash! Taken few feet away from the spot where dad was painting.

More trash! Wallpaper, anyone?

Trash is just anywhere! In fact, walking along the main road and you'll be surprised to find rubbish bin only at two spots - beside the police station and near the jetty. Oh, yes, they do have a police station. And stop asking whether they have cellphone reception - cellphones work fine there!

Well, anyway, back to the photo shooting. I was quite surprised that mum and I managed to come off with a few fantastic snaps before dinner. Some of them looked so good that I couldn't believe just how much a simple point-and-shoot camera could do.

A fishing boat.

A speedboat erm, speeding through the main river between two long rows of fishing boats.

The sun was setting.

The golden last ray of the sun.

Nice contrast. It would be better if the man on the picture were to lean back. That way the sunset rays would lay upon his torso and face, upgrading this picture with better lighting.

Pulau Ketam is inhabited mainly by Chinese. However, there is also a very small number of Malays, which relocated to the island mainly because of their jobs as government officers. There is a significant number of indigenous people, or what we call Orang Utan Asli. One of dad's relatives told mum and me that despite their status as Bumiputras, they got as much financial support from the government as Chinese fishers do. These people aren't high fliers, and they just want a simple life. Most of them borrow speedboats from Chinese traders to fish, and in return they sell all of their catch to the traders. You can try to offer higher price for their fish, but good luck trying, as they're very loyal to their traders.

Pulau Ketam indigeous people. It took me numerous attempts to get this photo, and I'm not really satisfied yet.

When the night got darker we went back to our place, before setting out for dinner. Along the way I couldn't resist the beautiful sights of the island and shot a few more times.

Along the way to dad's friend's seafood restaurant. The telephone and power cables are annoying - they seem to fit in here, but it's often hard to translate these things into beautiful elements in a work of art. Mum frequently omit things like these in her paintings.

The food there was good. The fish are juicy and tender, the prawns are sweet, and oh, the crabs so good.

After the meal, we went back to the house, where they talked about the paintings they drew that day.

The paintings. Mum's is the one at the bottom left corner, leaning against the cabinet, featuring a boat. Dad's beside mum's. The small picture on top of dad's is another of mum's, and Minyi drew the one to the right of mum's smaller picture.

We then went to bed after much discussion. Mum and I went to stay for the night at a hotel owned by another of dad's friends. I know I'm talking as if my dad knows every villagers of Pulau Ketam, but the truth is most people in Pulau Ketam knows most others, seeing the size of their population and that they have nowhere to go in the island. They are very friendly too - one of the boys joined us in most of our activities and played with the youngest of us.

The boy taking photo with one of our teachers. The two became good friends after the latter gave a bit of food and living advices to the former.

We woke up before dawn in the morning, and took a boat for a bit of a tour around the island. The boat belongs to dad's friend (again).

Sundawn from the boat. Nice reflection, huh? Stupid cables! Why can't you be something like coconut or palm trees for a change?

Further out to the sea. Beautiful waves, beautiful boats, beautiful sky, beautiful clouds.

The fishing village at dawn. Nice ripples, huh?

The driver (er?) of the boat even took us to some of the Orang Asli villages.

An Orang Asli hut. Built in the middle of the sea, the only way to move around is by boat. It is protected from waves and currents by the trees around it.

Our chauffeur even had the courtesy to bring us to the saltwater fish farm. It is basically a floating structure, with no parts touching the bottom of the sea. Empty barrels are used to support the weight. Nets are used to trap fish between the structures of the farm. We spotted a dog trapped in one of the many spaces, and one of us rescued the poor canine.

The fish farm. Spot the dog!

Fish feeding. Feeding fish. Fish feeding by feeding fish with fish feed. The fish are feeding on the fish feed during the fish feeding session.

I'm not sure what they were doing, but somehow I know this is how fish harvesting looks like.

After the unforgettable journey on the boat, we went back to the island for breakfast.

Rows and rows of boats on the way back.

On the journey back to the island. Walk the plank!!!

Klang is famous for Bah Kut Teh. In Pulau Ketam, the smell of their Bah Kut Teh is very similar to that of Klang, seeing the fact that the two are in close proximity of each other. However, they sell something different, called Seafood Bah Kut Teh here. I didn't have chance to try it though. Three other famous delicacies here are Fried Lala (拉拉煎, dunno how to translate that to English, but a must-try dish of Pulau Ketam), Teochew mooncake (flat piece of cookie, harder than regular mooncakes but much less sweeter - I love it!), and fried ice cream (ice cream wrapped inside a layer of dough and then deep fried). The village boy is munching on a piece of fried ice cream in the picture shown previously.

Me after my breakfast. Not a very good picture, but then I didn't snap this.

Then we packed our things and went back to Port Klang. During the journey, Minyi dropped (accidentally, I presume) one of her shoes into the sea, and had to move around half-bare-footed. Then we took a train from Port Klang back to Klang.

We are advised to have tickets, which means it is OK for us not to heed the advice?

After spending more than one day in Pulau Ketam, I have to say I'm quite impressed of the carefree and relaxing life of the village, and also the beautiful sights of the island. However, I can see why my dad prefers Cameron Highlands over Pulau Ketam - the villagers need to learn to take care of their garbage the proper way, not to mention the need to potty train the dogs there.

I love fish though. Fish in the dishes, I mean. Some people say "fish are friends family, not food", but oh well...