Categories
Events Photography

[1658] Of 1.45GB worth of Vesak Day shots

What was a planned hit and run became an escort mission today on Vesak Day.

I dropped by the famed Buddhist Mahavihara temple at Brickfields today and wow, opportunities for great shots were abound. I just could not get enough and I ended up with 1.45GB worth of shots within the span of 6 hours. In other words, over 700 photos!

That must be a record for me.

Some rights reserved. By Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams.

And when the procession began, I followed it almost all the way till the end. It began at Brickfields and then, I found myself passing by the Old Railway Station, the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, Jalan Raja Laut and then Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and then back at Dataran Merdeka before going back to Brickfields. I bailed out at the Dataran.

And just to give you an idea of how many people were there:

Some rights reserved. By Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams.

I was near the front of the procession and as the head of the procession was returning to Dataran Merdeka, I spotted the tail just leaving the Dataran to take the route which I had taken earlier. It was that long! Crazy!

And a child claimed to be the reincarnated Prince Siddharta was there too. At first, he walked together with the monks but about halfway through, he opted to sit behind a pickup truck together with other children. And boy, he was the center of attraction!

Anyway, okay, my legs are done. I am logging off but more pictures will be available at Metblogs KL later this week.

Categories
Economics

[1657] Of price ceiling does not encourage greater yield, unless production is subsidized

I praised Shahrir Samad earlier but I am having a second thought now. Shortly after that announcement, he suggested for food production to be subsidized, much to my dismay.[1] Pragmatic may be but our current government policies are confusing. If there is a liberalization in our economy, the current trend does not seem to suggest that.

Take for example the recent effort to increase in local rice yield.

KUCHING: Sarawak will develop large-scale padi planting areas and mini-estates to achieve 100% self-sufficiency in rice by 2015.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the state government had identified eight areas totalling 43,821ha as suitable for large-scale padi production, with Sungai Seblak in Roban the first to be developed under the 9th Malaysia Plan. [Going big on padi yield. The Star. May 8 2008]

And then contrast that with call for price ceiling on rice.

JOHOR BARU: The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry wants ceiling prices on local varieties of rice to be imposed immediately to curb fluctuating prices.

Ceiling prices for the local 5, 10 and 15 per cent broken rice are supposed to come into effect on June 1, but retailers are taking advantage of the interim period to raise the prices of these varieties. [Shahrir: Impose rice ceiling price right away. New Straits Times. May 19 2008]

Price ceiling removes the incentive to increase production in a free market. Nevertheless, there is at least one way to increase yield despite the presence of price ceiling and that links back to subsidizing rice producers.

The size of the subsidy is inversely related to prices of rice under this scenario. The larger the subsidy, the lower will the prices be. We all better pray that the differential between the ceiling and market prices is small.

And dare not to even think that you will be enjoying lower spending under this scenario. Just think who is actually footing the bill for that subsidy. Yes, you and I. We are giving out our government with money to allow us to buy cheaper good. If that is unclear, we are paying the government to allow us to buy cheaper food.

How stupid is that?

We might as well not pay tax and pay for higher rice prices. A far simpler situation, do you not think so?

Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams. Some rights reserved

[1] — KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government is planning to subsidize locally-grown rice to prevent consumers from being hit by record high prices of the staple food in the world, a Cabinet minister said Monday. [Malaysia plans local rice subsidy. CNN. April 28 2008]

Categories
Economics

[1656] Of shameless plug for my column

Heya!

Before I go out with my cameras to several temples in the city to witness Vesak Day, I would like to direct your attention to my column at The Malaysian Insider. I will be there every Monday to advance libertarianism in Malaysia!

The crux of that particular article which goes by the title Food? Fuel? Dilemma? is that free prices will help determine production with regard to the concern revolving around food and biofuel. By free, it is freedom, not free, a giveaway.

Categories
Sports

[1655] Of yet another year not in the Champions League

I watched the Eredivisie play-off match for the second spot in the UEFA Champions League over the internet just now and it ended terribly for Ajax. Behind 1-2 on aggregate, Ajax just needed a goal to win on away goal rule but Boskher was impregnable. It ended scoreless and as a result, Ajax will play in the UEFA Cup competition instead next season.

Twente must be a curse for Ajax. Ajax, we, did not get the points we needed to win the Eredivisie because of a loss to Twente in the league. And now, Ajax did not get the win that we needed to enter the Champions League because of Twente.

Being an Ajax fan is a painful experience for several years now. The last time Ajax won the Eredivisie was in 2004 while the performance of Ajax in the European arena so far has been embarrassing for the longest time. I always feel like crying each time Ajax play outside of the Dutch setup. Sometimes, I have the urge to take up a knife and stick it to my heart.

Many a time, playing inside the setup is heart-breaking too and today is one of those moments. On the live stream right now, I can see Ajax fans crying while Twente fans are celebrating their victory. A father, possibly, is consoling his son whom is wearing Ajax colors with Huntelaar’s name on the back. I totally feel for the kid.

Amid the crowd, a banner, Heitinga de dankt — thanks Heitinga — is visible. The match with Twente is his last and he will be moving to Spain to play with Atletico Madrid next season. He presence at the back will be missed as much as Chivu’s so long ago. I wish him the best of luck in Spain. What a great send off it would have been if Ajax had won.

The departure of Sneijder earlier was bad enough. I think he belongs to an era of Rafael van der Vaart, Andy van de Meyde, Johnny Heitinga, Christian Chivu, Nigel De Jong, Ronald Koeman as the manager, et al — the great team that almost made it. With him and Heitinga gone, a chapter of Ajax has come to a close.

Edgar Davids is out again, possibly heading to Newcastle. Farewell to him too.

The good news is that Huntelaar has been stellar. Again, he is the top scorer for the whole league. Thank the heaven above that he will stay for the next season. And Suarez whom joined earlier this season is probably one of the best purchases Ajax have recently done. If I may say so, he may turn out as good as Ibrahimovic. On top of that, Perez returning to Ajax is a welcoming news. Perez is just one of those loyal players. He is just part of the family.

One player to watch out next season is Darío Cvitanich. He has just joined Ajax from Banfield of Argentina and scouts’ reports have been glittering.

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A video on Cvitanich, spotted at Ajacied in America.

And like all Ajax players, he is young and Ajax has the gut to invest in young players, unlike some big clubs out there.

Macro van Basten will take over the helm next season and I hope, he will turn the fortune of the club around. Being second best and playing in the UEFA Cup instead of the Champions League is just not good enough. Nevertheless, Adrie Koster the temporary manager has done a good job, honestly. He did a much better job than what Heck ten Cate had managed. With Koster at the helm and a little bit of luck, this season has been close; only three points separate the two teams and Ajax has better goal difference margin than PSV.

Close but not good enough.

Heh, now I know why whenever I play Ajax over the Championship Manager, my relationships with the Board and the fans are always strained. The game is simulating impossible individuals like me. Like what System Of A Down wrote, “…always want to play, but you never want to lose.”

Oh, did I hear you guy asking where is Feyenoord? I do not know. Probably down there somewhere. Yes, Feyenoord has it worse than Ajax. Much worse. But they get to play the UEFA Cup anyway. Barely.

Categories
Photography

[1654] Of what is a catholic?

If an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol, a chocoholic is addicted to chocolate and a workaholic is a work addict, would a catholic be addicted to cats?

Some rights reserved. By Mohd Hafiz Noor Shams.