Written by azhar.
The European Cup 2008 had just kick-started yesterday, with a beautiful opening ceremony. For those who subscribed to Channel 30 of Starhub cable television, you will be able to witness Europe's best teams and players all in one major tournament.
This major sporting event will boast top players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres, and of course, Andrea Pirlo. There are 4 groups in total, with Group C taking the spotlight as the 'group of death' as quality teams like Netherlands, France and the 2006 World Cup champions, Italy, are all packed in the same group.
My personal favourite team is Italy. I have been a fan of Italy ever since I learnt how to watch the television, and have always been a supporter until now. Now, I am curious...
Who Will Win Euro 2008?
TPJC Live!: Session 002 [POSTPONED]
We are very sorry to inform you that we have to postpone the TPJC Live!: Session 002 due to some unforeseen reasons. We will inform you about the next session soon.
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Explain The Factors That Influence The Competitiveness Of A Developed Country's Economy.
Written by azhar.
Points courtesy of Ms Charmaine Liu Meifeng.
Spot an error? Inform us!
Competitiveness refers to both export competitiveness and the country’s ability to attract Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and talents. Export competitiveness measures the ability of a country to sell its exports in the global market. This will depend on both the price and non-price factors. The country’s ability to attract FDIs and talents will depend on factors such as a pro-business environment, a stable exchange rate and the direct tax rates.
Exchange rate is an example of how a price factor can influence a developed country’s competitiveness. A weak exchange rate keeps the foreign price of the country’s exports low. Hence, it is cheaper to buy the exports in terms of the foreign currency. This will eventually make the exports more attractive and competitive in the global market. However, this is not applicable for countries which rely heavily on imported raw materials such as Singapore. With a weak exchange, the price of the imported goods will be more expensive in terms of the Singapore currency. A higher price of imported raw materials or inputs will mean higher costs of production. Producers will then transfer the higher costs to the consumers in terms of a higher price for the finished goods. Since Singapore has a small domestic demand and largely exports its finished goods, its exports will appear unattractive, as it is more expensive. Thus, this will reduce Singapore’s export competitiveness.
Another price factor which influences a developed country’s competitiveness is its productivity. Developed countries do not compete in terms of labour costs. This is because the emerging economies like those of China and India have very cheap labour costs as compared to the developed countries, as they have still abundant labour force and land. Therefore, developed countries will tend to raise their productivity so that the cost per unit of output produced can be lowered. The government will spend on education and training to improve the workers’ productivity level. A well-educated workforce also helps to attract FDIs in the economy. The government can also provide grants for firms to engage in R&D to further increase its productivity. Since higher productivity will lead to lower cost per unit output produced, the price of the finished goods will thus be lower. The developed country’s exports will be relatively cheaper and more attractive. Hence, its exports competitiveness will rise.
The final influencing price factor is the hidden costs. Since developing countries have yet established a reliable government, corruption and red tape may be present. All these add on to costs in terms of the transactions. This will in turn cause the developing countries to lose its competitiveness to the developed countries. Since developed countries have a relatively more pro-business environment, it will thus be more attractive to investments. This is because it is cheaper, with no costs incurred from corruption, to do business in a developed country and hence, raising its competitiveness.
Non-price factors can also play a part to influence a developed country’s competitiveness. Quality is a very good example of a non-price factor. The firms in the country can make sure the product design and reliability is of high standard. All these can help increase the competitiveness of the country, as customers will be more pleased and attracted with the workmanship and quality of the good. This can also grab customer loyalty and brand reputation. Besides this, the producers in the country can also decide to take on product differentiation. Successful product differentiation can create a competitive advantage for the producer, as customers view the products as unique. The producers can also engage in creative advertising campaigns gain more competitiveness. Thus, product quality helps raise the competitiveness of a developed country’s economy.
Buy A Corpse For Only S$95,000
Written by azhar.
Gunther Von Hagens, the controversial German doctor who invented the technique of preserving corpses, has set up an online shop selling corpses. The plastinated bodies will be sold at a price range around £45,000 (about S$95,000).
Before the enterprise was set up, Dr Von Hagens was already selling the plastinated organs to universities for teaching purposes. Now, private consumers are able to purchase the slices preserved organs too. Each cross-section down the length of the body will cost £9,000, while a cross-section across the body will be priced at £200, or £1,200 for a 16-slice set.
Nonetheless, only 20% of the the preserved bodies will be made available for commercial use as the donors who allowed Dr Von Hagens to conduct his experiments had made an agreement that their dead bodies could only be used for scientific progress. Dr Von Hagens used his plastination technique to view organs after removing the skin.
Millions of people have witnessed his work through the "Body Worlds" exhibitions, which show preserved human specimens in a variety of poses, in cities across Asia, Europe and North America over the last 10 years.
Do you think its ethical to sell preserved body parts for commercial purposes?
Internet Bullying Needs To Stop
Written by azhar.
On 16th October 2007, Megan Meier hanged herself in her closet. The 13-year-old girl was always under depression and suffered from an attention deficit disorder. Her suicide came soon after she received wicked messages from her 'friends' in MySpace, a very popular social networking website among teenagers today.
Authorities had arrested Megan's neighbour, 49-year-old Lori Drew, who was the main suspect of the suicide case. It was reported that Lori Dew disguised herself by creating a fake account by the name of Josh Evans, who would befriend Megan online. Drew claimed that she created the fraud identity to monitor what Megan was saying about her daughter online. She then sent a message to Megan through MySpace by telling her that the world would be better without her.
The remark subsequently caused Megan's death. When interviewed at her home in St. Louis suburb of Dardenne Prairie, the victim's mother, Tina Meier, said that although Lori Drew might not have intended to harm her daughter, she deserved a full 20-year prison sentence to warn potential internet bullies out there of the consequences of online taunting.
Tina had just launched her own foundation, known as Megan Meier Foundation, to help raise awareness about the real threats of online bullying. The foundation aims to encourage and educate parents and teenagers to prevent such irresponsible acts from widespreading.
"I'm going to try and do the best I can do to, hopefully, know that no other family goes through this," she said.
Watch the video below:
A Bit Too Heartless?
Written by azhar.
A Chinese woman has created headlines in the online community and blogosphere recently when her impudent behaviour towards the Sichuan earthquake was caught on tape and duplicated all over video sharing websites such as Youtube.com. The 21-year-old woman, Gao Qianhui, fired rude and heartless remarks at the victims of the disaster.
The culprit was reportedly angry following a temporary cessation of all online entertainment and games to mark respect for those who were killed in the earthquake. The video had stirred criticisms in the online community as they were appalled by the woman's total lack of sympathy to the casualties.
I am not sure what law she has broken, but I would love to express my disgust towards such behaviour.
I have included a video, including the translation, below.
Warning: The video and/or the translation may contain offensive language."I turn on the TV and what do I see? Dead bodies, injured people, corpses, rotten bodies, all the crazy acts you guys are putting up. It's not that I want to watch these things. I have no choice. Look, now the entire internet is black-and-white and without colour. Do you think we're all colourblind like you? Have your eyes been hit by so much rubble you can't see any colour now?
"Sigh... all you guys... if you're hit by the rubble just go suffer by yourself quietly... What are you screaming for? What rescue are you asking for? Not that I'm blaming you... you guys in Sichuan are in a terrible position in China. They say the Indian plate is moving in crashing into you guys. Don't you think you guys deserve it?
"I think this earthquake was not strong enough. If only it had just been a bit stronger to flip you guys over. Today we're mourning for you. Tomorrow we're donating money to you, huh? May 21 is such a great day. Lots of people trying to get married this year. And now we have to mourn for you. Do you think those couples should get married or not? What a spoilsport. May 20, May 21, such auspicious days, now all spent mourning for you. Come on, how many of you guys are dead? Just a few, is it not? We've got so many people in China anyway.
"F*ck... You're annoying everyone to death... What tricks are you guys playing! Do you think you're all very goodlooking? Which part of your body is that precious? People are giving you cash and giving you food. And you guys are now doing nothing? Sigh... these few days, it's just impossible to go anywhere without getting reminded of you silly c*nts... Everywhere I go people are saying 'Argh, there are aftershocks in Sichuan again, this and that'...
"As for that old lady who's been lying over there for over 100 hours? Why haven't you died yet? You trying to play the mummy?
"F*ck... the earthquake might as well rock all you guys to death... All you have given us are catastrophes... all your children are jinxes... (more)
Source: http://youtube.com/watch?v=OkemgmBPZR0
Manifestasi '08: The Review
Written by azhar.
Pictures courtesy of nooriskandar photography.
Videos credits to husinho.
[Share with us what you think of the whole event on top.]
The Malay Language Drama and Dance Society (MLDDS) had just successfully staged its latest production on 30th May 2008. The play was entitled ‘Penemuan dalam Pertemuan’, which meant contrivance within meetings. The drama was directed by Nur Fadilah bte Magyudin of 07S11 and Nafisah Bte Anwar of 07A06. The event, graced by Mr Fadhillah Goh (a member of the college advisory committee), managed to draw an estimated number of about six hundred strong spectators that started packing the college auditorium from 7pm onwards.
A good play has to have a sound plot; one that keeps the audience focused as it moves through the different stages of the play, from the beginning, to the middle and till the end. It was unfortunate that the backstory of the whole play was drowned by the commotion manifested by the audience. The show started with an introduction by a mysterious woman, played by Ruzanna Bte Supar, who briefly described the intended objective or summary of the show.
Ruzanna as the mysterious woman
Despite all the unnecessary disruptions in the beginning, I managed to get a gist of what the whole story was about. It was a tale of four friends – Anuar, Andika, Dahlia and Nadra – who wanted to run away from their homes. They began their journey at night, equipped with only a single torchlight. They then set sail in a sampan. The sun rose, and the four friends found themselves in the middle of the ocean the next morning. The sampan soon drifted away and journeyed into the treacherous terrains of the sea. It then crashed into a rock and they were soon separated, swept away by the strong current.
The four friends found themselves lost in places unknown to them. They became castaways. I believe the writer of the play was trying to show us how these four different individuals would learn from the experiences in the respective series of events they were in. The four friends would take with them the lessons they learnt from the characters they met and teach the qualities to the future generations. For example, for the plot on the Pahang conflict whereby Anuar was left stranded, the lesson that could be extracted from it was that size and quantity did not matter in winning a war; what mattered most was the belief and determination to succeed. The denouement of the whole story was to teach the audience the values the Malays should inculcate in order to progress as a community.
The four buddies as they began their journey away from home
Overall, I believe the writer had achieved her aim. It kept the audience focused with the plot thanks to the hilarious one-liners and the values that the writer hoped to showcase were also evident throughout each series of events. Although we were disconnected at the beginning of the play due to the interruptions, the story did manage to serve its objective. As for that, I rate the plot of the drama 4 out of 5.
Manifestasi 2008 introduced us to fresh actors and actresses. The lead actors were Muhammad Shahrudin (Anuar) and Mohammad Zuhairee (Andika). Shahrudin did an outstanding job playing the role of Anuar, an introvert man who came from a family that held heavy debts. Shahrudin managed to indulge himself into his character well, as someone who had low self-confidence and not doughty enough to express his feelings. This was obvious, as he would always shout at himself alone, unable to express it to the people around him. He managed to display his emotions very well through his eyes and the exaggerated reactions.
Shahrudin captured his role well
Zuhairee did not fail to meet up to my expectations. He started of the show by a monologue that showcased him as someone gullible and easily fooled by others. He amused the audience with his demeanour on stage. However, he was unable to deviate from his usual blur character, especially during the part whereby Luncai and him confronted the witch. For example, when the witch was approaching him, his expression did not truly convey the scared or worried mien. He somehow failed to capture that frightened look. It was as though the witch was not intimidating at all. His reaction seemed unnatural (or kaku in Malay).
Zuhairee portraying his character as someone who was easily fooled
The two lead actresses delivered their roles well too. They were Nuraisha and Irfananazhim. I personally loved and admired how Nuraisha played her character (Dahlia) as if she was oblivious to the surroundings. In Malay, we call it pandai berlakon dengan bersahaja. She managed to capture her character extremely well as someone who was sentimental, soft-spoken and always dreaming of her dream man. It seemed natural. Her trademark laugh never failed to giggle the audience. The crowd enjoyed her eccentricities very much. She was really assiduously into her character and was consistent throughout.
Nuraisha was natural playing her role as Dahlia.
Irfananazhim played her role as Nadra, a girl who only thought of herself. Irfananazhim started of well, but she did not seem to have the stamina to be consistent throughout the show. This is especially obvious during the series of events that followed as soon as she found herself in Melaka. She was only standing and sitting at the side of the stage, peering into the conversation between the Sultan of Melaka and Gusti Puteri in his palace with the same movements throughout. This part of the play had drained her energy as she kept repeating the same movement over and over again. At the latter stages of the story, she seemed to fail to portray her character well as Nadra and seemed to have returned to her own personalities.
Irfananazhim seemed to lose her character following the series of events.
I would like to praise two performers who did a tremendous job in the drama. The first was none other than Muhammad Arief. I liked the way he exaggerated his expressions in the story. He was by far the only actor who managed to connect with the viewers seated behind, as they are able to view his comical facial distortions clearly. Unlike Zuhairee, he was really capable of changing his elastic face, from a shocked look to a spastic one (especially during the short play before the male dikir group began their performance) and sometimes even an angry one, naturally. Most importantly, although it was only a supporting role, he did leave an impact to the crowd that night.
Muhammad Arief in a short drama before Satria Kirana performed
The other performer is Nurzahidah who played as the witch who kidnapped Mawar (played by Nur Hidayah Bte Jais). Nurzahidah was not shy to protrude her eyes. She really looked like a witch, from the way she hunched her back, her huge and suspicious eyes and of course, the messy hair. Moreover, she was also able to capture the sad mood when freeing Mawar. It was touching, and I can assure you the whole audience agrees with me.
Nurzahidah as the witch
Other supporting casts such as Muwahiddiin (who took the role as Mr E.A Wise) did an exceptional job too. His British accent was hilarious and he did manage to portray himself as an arrogant British general with his head always sticking up. Nurul Arini (who acted as Gusti Puteri) presented herself well as the princess of Majapahit. Her hand actions were very soft and she was very confident in her tone. I particularly liked the way she poised herself as a princess and how she connected her eyes while speaking with the Sultan.
Muwahiddiin was hilarious as he tried to speak with a British accent.
If you ask me who was the best actor that night, my choice will be Muhammad Shahrudin. My pick for best supporting actors are Muhammad Arief and Muwahiddiin. As for the best lead actress for that night, Nuraisha deserves it hands on. In my opinion, Nurul Arini and Nurzahidah are the best supporting actresses for the play. However, most importantly, the chemistry between the casts that night was good; they were one big family.
Arini was truly a princess that night.
I believe both the female and male dikir groups did a splendid job entertaining the spectators. In fact, I think their performances formed the grandeur of the whole event. They met up to everyone’s expectations with their refreshing and creative moves and songs. They have excised the usual choreography and have injected a new level of innovation with the short comical dramas, which accompanied each dikir performances. Satria Kirana and Ayunan Dewi had just justified to us why they are among the best performing arts groups in college.
Satria Kirana captivated the audience with their creative performance.
The musical scores were also impressive. The compositions were arranged by Syafiqah ‘Adha Bte Sallehin. The set design was not extraordinary, but was suitable for the whole play. The costume set was splendid too. I particularly loved the red uniform worn by the British generals. It really brought us back during the colonial rule last time.
Now comes the set of criticisms. Firstly, I think the fighting scene between the British army and the Malay villagers were not very well done. There was one scene whereby it was very obvious that Mr E.A. Wise (played by Muwahiddiin) was waiting for Anuar to push him back. The whole fighting scene was very messy and quite fake. Overall, the sequence was not smooth.
The whole fighting scene was not well done.
Secondly, there were a few errors for the lighting and sound effects during the play. One was during the monologues of the four main characters. The spotlight for Irfananazhim suddenly started flashing rapidly even when Shahrudin had yet to finish his line. There was supposed to be a moment whereby all the lights would flash rapidly for the four characters at once as they read their lines together. Another example would be the sound effect during one of Luncai’s lines. It somehow went on only after he spoke. However, the sound men got it right for the second time.
Thirdly, I was quite disappointed that the part when Datuk Bendahara (played by Muhammad Hanafi Bin Rahmat) was informing the Sultan of Melaka (played by Noor Hisyamuddin Bin Noordin) was not professionally done. Muhammand Hanafi was laughing when he was saying ‘Seven trays filled with hearts of mosquitoes’, one of conditions for the Sultan to marry Gusti Puteri. It was supposed to be a solemn moment. This had caused the Sultan’s angry response to be rather ‘out of place’. The consecutive speech between Gusti Puteri (played by Nurul Arini) and the Sultan was quite convincing, although it was not appealing to some members of the floor who might find it boring.
Another criticism would be for the Malay dance group, Keyangan Lestari. It was really unfortunate that some of the dancers were too fast in certain parts of the dance routine. Although I loved the choreography and the energy that the dancers showed, it was very unlucky that the synchronization was not perfected. Nevertheless, the dancers danced big and filled the play with colours.
Kayangan Lestari failed to synchronize throughout the performance.
The final criticism would be for some members of the floor. It is regrettable that some members of the audience continued to make unnecessary noises that distracted the performers’ focus. I think it was very irresponsible for them to make loud noises at certain parts of the show, especially at the beginning. The spectators at the back were very pissed off with the whole commotion, as we could not really hear what the performers were saying. It’s all right to laugh at the jokes, but shouting remarks unnecessarily, especially at the solemn lines was simply unacceptable.
All in all, this year’s Manifestasi was a successful event. The play was a comical, entertaining yet meaningful one. As for the performers and directors, they had really put in their utmost hard work for the past six months. The whole play managed to showcase the characteristics of a Malay community – patriotic, polite and strong in their respective personalities. Overall, it was a great production by a passionate group of Malay tpjcians.