andylaw@

For those who are working in Singapore and want to convert their Malaysian driving license after passed the Basic Driving Theory Test, I would not recommend you to obtain the extract from the JPJ Johor (nearest to Singapore) as the staff there will blacklist your Malaysian license once you obtain the extract. By the way, the extract contains your driving records and particulars. You need the extract in order to get driving license in Singapore.



My friends obtained the extract from JPJ Sarawak and Malacca and their Malaysian license did not get blacklisted. If you are still insisting of getting the extract from JPJ Johor, you need to pay the agents there for RM200 to RM250 in order not to get blacklisted. The agents will usually waiting outside the JPJ building and luring those Malaysians who want to convert their driving license. The agents will give you their company namecards and then settle for you.





I feel that it's something like asking for a bribe. So I refused to pay them as I condemn any sorts of bribery. At first I thought Singapore driving license can be used in Malaysia since my colleagues working there (staying in Johor Bahru) did not get caught using Singapore driving license. After a year, I went back to my hometown only to discover that Singapore driving license cannot be used in Malaysia. I guess it can only be used in Johor Bahru since a lot of people staying there working in Singapore.



I phoned to JPJ Johor Licensing Unit and asked how if I want my Malaysian driving license back. The officer told me to get the extract from Singapore Traffic Police.

Below is the original conversation in Malay.

Me : Selamat pagi. Adakah sini Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan Johor Bahru?
Operator : Ya.
Me : Boleh sambungkan ke talian Bahagian Perlesenan Pemandu tak?
Operator : Tunggu sebentar ya.

After 15 seconds of waiting.

Officer : Ada apa yang boleh saya bantu, encik?
Me : Saya memerlukan lesen memandu Malaysia saya kerana kadang-kala saya
perlu memandu di Sarawak. Saya dapat tahu yang lesen memandu Singapura
saya tidak boleh diguna pakai di Malaysia.
Officer : Ok, saudara perlu mendapatkan abstrak dari Polis Trafik Singapura. Sama
seperti dulu bagaimana saudara dapat abstrak dari JPJ untuk mendapatkan
lesen memandu Singapura.
Me : Terima kasih, tuan.

I went to Singapore Traffic Police Headquarter at Ubi Avenue 3 near Paya Lebar MRT to get the abstract. Upon payment, the staff gave me the abstract of driving license records. She informed me that I can still keep the driving license as the license is valid for life (no blacklisted). The good thing about Singapore driving license is that we do not need to renew it. There is only one time registration fee of SG$50 and you will get a lifetime license!



After that I went to JPJ Johor Bahru holding the extract with the hope that I can have both Singapore and Malaysia driving license back since Singapore traffic police did not blacklist me. My happiness did not last long when the JPJ staff told me that my Singapore driving license will be PUNCHED if I want to apply my Malaysia driving license back. If like that, I have no more Singapore driving license. Grggghhhhh....damn angry.

Another agent approached me after few minutes.

Agent : Apa kamu mahu? Convert lesen memandu kah?
Me : Saya mahu memohon balik lesen memandu Malaysia saya tetapi diberitahu yang
lesen memandu saya akan dipotong. Saya tidak faham mengapa polis trafik
Singapura cakap boleh simpan lesen memandu Singapura saya tetapi JPJ sini cakap
perlu potong.
Agent : You mahu kekal kedua-dua lesen? Kamu perlu bayar RM350 dan kami boleh
selesaikan dengan cepat.
Me : *WTF! All money, money, money!* Walao, kenapa mahal sangat?
Agent : Sebab sekarang perlu settle dengan dua pihak, pihak yang bertanggungjawab
senarai hitam punya dan satu lagi pihak yang akan 'punch' lesen memandu
Singapura kamu.
Me : kalau macam ini...
Agent : Siapa suruh dulu kamu tak mahu bayar RM200? Dulu hanya libatkan satu pihak,
sekarang dua pihak. Jadi mesti mahal sikit lah.
Me : Ok, tak apa. Saya boleh selesaikan sendiri. Wah, macam ini cepat kaya lah kamu.


After a while he approached another guy who wanted to convert driving license. I am wondering how much can the agents earn per month. No matter what, I will not support bribery even though it involves RM50 only.

So what I can recapitulate here is that try not to get the abstract from JPJ Johor Bahru. Get it from the other states of Malaysia in order not to get blacklisted. If you still want JB, then you pay RM200/250 to the agents.

In view of the food price increase, it is good food for thought to cook ourselves at home instead of buying food from the stalls. Thus, I have come out an idea to learn to cook myself at home. My idea was further inspired after read Chloe Ling's blog about the home cooked meal by her sister.



But I am not as advanced as Chloe Ling's sister cooking the succulent Korean food. I am only capable of cooking a simple fried rice.



Well, I used eggs, anchovies, vegetables, a big onion, light soy sauce, salt and MSG as my ingredients. The rice is best to be left overnight in the fridge or else it will be sticky.



Admittedly though, I like to hear the sizzling sound from the wok especially when I fried the beaten eggs. If the rice stick together, I will crumble it with a spoon so that when I cook it, the ingredients can mix evenly with the rice.



This was the output after I put the big onion, vegetables, eggs and anchovies. You can add prawns and green peas too.



Right after that, I mixed the rice with the ingredients and stirred it for a few minutes before putting some salt, light soy sauce and MSG.



The tantalizing smell from the fried rice made my stomach rumbling.



If you prefer the spicy food, you can replace the light soy sauce with chili paste.



That's all. It's meal time!

I will be on vacation for a few days.



Hope I won't be infected by A(H1N1).

I was busy chatting in the blog when Vicky invited me to attend a badminton competition. It has been a very long time since I last attended a badminton competition. So, I guess it's a good opportunity to see the youngsters showing their talents. The venue of which the competition is being held was rather confused me. For me, the most popular places to play badminton in Sibu are none other than Thomson Corner and Sibu Superbowl. Anyway, after being guided by her, I reached the destination safely. It's good to learn a new place (MY Centre) in Sibu. A very big thanks to Vicky!



Watching international competitions live on television is not new to me anymore. And I remembered clearly that most of the time, Datuk Lee Chong Wei lost to Lin Dan in the final showdown.



When I was inside the hall, I could see a lot of people warmed up their bodies. Some of the players were busy looking at their match schedules. After a few minutes, the organiser gave speech to all of the participants.



The match that brought to my attention was the match between a 13-year-old guy with a 20-something-year-old guy.
"It's very unfair to the younger guy", I told Vicky.
Vicky just shrugged with a big smile.
How can a guy who has not yet reached his puberty put a fight with a guy who has already experienced the bodily changes for almost ten years?
After all, I truly admired his fighting spirit although he lost to his more senior opponent. He has successfully dragged the game to the rubber set before succumbed 21-19 to his rival in the hard fought game.



Then, the most anticipated moment came when Vicky herself challenged her adversary. The match was quite interesting with Vicky's supporters gave incessant applause to her.



Every time when she stole a point from her opponent, she would try to motivate herself by clenching her fist, "Yes, I did it!". That's the true spirit of fighting. Eventually, she lost after a long fight despite all the beautiful tricks she performed throughout the entire match.



After resting for about 30 minutes, she proceeded with mixed doubles match and in the long run they lost 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 after pushed all the way to three sets in the enthralling 45-minute game.



I do feel that such competition is a good platform to showcase our talents. I am totally excited attending this competition despite the hot weather.