Perak State Government

A lot has been said about the power tussle in Perak, between the Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR). So who is the rightful Menteri Besar now? A solution to end this impasse need to be found, and fast.

There are two possible way to solve this problem.

Option 1.
Duel to the death between Nizar and Zambry. What weapon to use? Keris? Sword? Pistol? Maybe the people can choose by sending SMS to 73725, only 50 sen + telco charge per SMS. Terms and conditions apply. The duel can be shown live on Astro pay-per-view so Astro can make some more money. Can telecast to the whole world too. I'm sure it will be an international hit. The winner can be the Menteri Besar, the loser will be six feet under and cannot challenge him in court anymore. Malaysia Boleh!

Option 2.
A new state election.

Bye bye Boeing 737

After almost a decade on the B737-400 fleet, it is time to seek new challenge.

I started flying the B737 (-300F, -400 and -500) as a co-pilot in 1993. Those were the days when the fleet was young, I flew the first commercial flight on one of the aircraft. I was on the fleet until 1997 when I joined the B747-200/300 fleet. I rejoined the B737 fleet as a commander in 2000.

My total flying hours is about 10000, of which about 3000 as a B737 co-pilot and 1000 as a B747 Classic co-pilot. Which means approximately 6000 command hours in the B737.

I was also an IP (instructor pilot) for the last 6 months on the B737, doing simulator and flight training for new crew.

My last simulator session on April 8th.

My last flight on the B737 was on the 11th of April 2009, doing MH 780 / 781 KUL-BKK-KUL.

With the cabin crew on my last flight, April 11th 2009.

Enjoying my last dinner in the flightdeck of the B737. Next time, there will be a table instead of the control column.

With Second Officer Ahmad Adib during my last B737 flight.

Narrow cabin of the B737-400

Stepping out of the B737 for the last time

Bye-bye B737. It has been a lot of fun flying this baby.

The B737-400 is getting old. It will soon be replaced by the New Generation -800 series. As for me, I'll be going the Airbus route with the A330. Fly-by-wire, sidestick, FMGS....

Putrajaya International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2009.

The event was held on 19th to 22nd of March 2009. 16 hot air balloon was displayed.

I managed to attend the event on the 21st, morning show.

I was greeted by this view on arrival at aboy 0800.

Inflating the balloons

2 Special-shaped balloons, Mauriske the clown and the Blue Peacock.

Papillon

Nelly B the pink elephant

The coffee cup

Across the lake, some of them can't go much further.

I managed to take individual photograph of 15 of the balloons. Click here for the thumbnails, then you can click on the thumbnail for a larger picture of up to 1200 x 800 pixels.

MFM - KUL flight

Six months has passed since my JOG - KUL flight, and I'm due for another adventure.

Day 1

We started from Macau (MFM / VMMC) on a rainy day. Temperature outside was 26 degree Celcius, QNH 1006, runway 34 in use. Zero fuel weight was 48000 kg; I ordered 11800 kg of fuel which is the minimum required for the return trip.

Everything was ready and we were cleared for pushback and start. I expect something to go wrong, but what happened was totally unexpected. First, engine 2 was started normally, without any problem. We were still being pushed back when engine 1 was started. The engine started normally, then suddenly the aircraft lunged forward. Immediately I jumped on the parking brake and put the start lever to idle to shut down the engine. Apparently the fuel control unit has malfunctioned; engine 2 goes into takeoff thrust even with the thrust lever still at idle. Aborted engine start non-normal checklist (NNC) was carried out, and I requested the aircraft to be towed back to bay for rectification.

During takeoff roll, at about 100 kts suddenly a warning light lighted up on the front panel. It was the "LE FLAP TRANSIT" amber light. There was no yaw of any problem controlling the aircraft, so an abort action was not needed. Therefore the takeoff continued.



To be continued.

(Or maybe not.....)

My cameras - The Minolta years

I bought my first camera in 1983. It was about 3 months after my arrival in Newark, Delaware. It was bought during my first trip to New York city around August 1983. The camera was a Minolta X-700. It comes with a 50mm 1.7 lens .

Minolta X-700 with 50mm f/2.0

I also bought an off-brand flash and a Zykkor 2X teleconverter. Within the next 2 years I would add a Minolta 100-300 f/5.6 zoom lens and a Vivitar 24mm f/2.0 wideangle. The flashgun was replaced by a Vivitar 4600.

This is a Vivitar 24mm f/2.0, here shown in Nikon mount.

In 1985 I moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Also in 1985 Minolta introduced the first successful autofocus SLR camera, the Minolta Maxxum 7000. The top-of-the-line Maxxum 9000 was introduced later in the year. My X-700 was sold to a good friend, and with money from a summer job, I bought the Maxxum 9000 in 1986.

Minolta Maxxum 9000 body.

My first lens for the Maxxum 9000 was a Minolta 28-85 f/3.5-4.5. Between 1986 and 1998 I would add a 70-210 f/4, a 50mm 1.7 and a 135mm 2.8, all original Minolta lens. I also added a Minolta 4000AF flash, a data back and a power winder AW90. All equipment were kept and carried in a Tamrac camera bag. I also had a Slik U212 tripod and started to shoot slides, both Kodachrome and E-6 Ektachrome which I processed on my own, with varying degree of success.

Minolta AF 28-85 f/3.5-4.5

Minolta AF 70-210 f/4.0

Minolta AF 135mm f/2.8

Minolta 4000AF flash

I returned to Malaysia in 1989, went to Cessnock, NSW, Australia for pilot training in 1990 and finally becomes a co-pilot for MH B737 in 1992. Starting a family, money was tight and film was not as cheap as it was in the USA. The camera was hardly used; only for snapshots and only for prints. The Minolta 9000 was becoming outdated but still producing good pictures.

Then disaster struck. In 1996 the house I lived in was hit by a flash flood. In the ensuing chaos, trying to save the family, furniture and the car, the camera bag was left in the closet and drowned. I only realized it the next day which was way too late. The whole system was damaged beyond economical repair.

I was without an SLR for about a year, using my wife's Olmpus AF-1 Twin compact for family pictures. I would buy another SLR later, but I would never but a Minolta again, ever.

Anyway, that was for another story.

(all pictures here were taken from the internet. The damaged Maxxum 9000 camera and system is still sitting in a box somewhere in the storeroom)

Birdstrike!

(Due to some possible legality problem, this post has to be removed. Thanks)

Fuel price

The price of petrol has changed significantly in the last 6 months. Oil price has dropped from USD 150+ to around USD 50 today.

More significantly the petrol price in Malaysia has changed considerably. 2 weeks after I bought my Toyota Camry the RON97 petrol in Malaysia was increased from RM1.92 to RM2.70. Back then the government were telling us that they're subsidizing the petrol. Now the petrol price has been lowered; currently selling at RM1.80, and even that is actually above the world market price. So the government is actually taxing us in petrol nowadays.

I think it is about time for a major policy change. Not only for fuel price, but regarding car price as well.

1. Sell fuel at market price, plus some tax. Something around 10 to 20 sen per liter. Either the government can set the market price, according to world price of oil to be determined daily or at most weekly; or let the retailers sell at their own price.

2. Abolish road tax, since now the fuel is being taxed. If required maybe a nominal tax can be imposed, but not to be based on engine capacity.

3. Reduce tax on cars to a flat rate based on the original price. The practice of taxing cars based on the engine capacity should be abolished forever.

By doing these the people will have the choice of buying and driving cars that are much better than what Malaysians are used to be driving today. We also can buy more fuel efficient cars for daily use; or buy a fuel guzzler sports car and have it parked most of the time.

The Cinemas of Perlis

There are no cinemas operating in Perlis today.

But there were cinemas in the state before. There was one in the mining town of Kaki Bukit, and another one in the rice fields of Simpang Empat. But those were as told by my elders; haven't see them myself.

But there was definitely a Cathay cinema in the port town of Kuala Perlis.

There were 3 cinemas in Kangar, the capital. The oldest was Empire; the building has been demolished back in the 80s.


The youngest was Sri Mahkota. It was build in the early 1970s and closed in the 80s. It is now a supermarket.



The most popular back then was Kapitol. I remember watching a few movies there years ago in my childhood years. Jaws, Malay movie Laksamana Do Re Mi and and some Hindi movie as well. This was the last cinema to close; not sure of when but this building is now a lecture hall for Unimap, the state university of Perlis.

ASPUTRA 82 Hari Raya Open Day 2008

The ASPUTRA 82 open house was held in Dr Azmi Ayub's house in Kota Damansara on Sunday 26th of October 2008.

Among those who were there:

Dr Azmi Ayub (host)
Hatta Hussin (organizer)
Latif Jamin
Che Zurina (Latif's wife)
Mustafa
Marina
Amirul Sharifuddin
Khairul Ikmal
Norhalimi (Md Gee)
Farid
Joe Pinto (....er, sorry, can't remember your real name)
Rosniza Hussin (my wife)
and myself.

My apologies if there is anybody else that I missed.

And many thanks to Dr Azmi for hosting the gathering. Bring back many colorful memories of our days at Sekolah Menengah Tuanku Syed Putra.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri to all. Maaf zahir dan Batin.

Drive safely and safe flights always.

As for me, I'm celebrating right here at Salak Tinggi. No balik kampung to Perlis for me this year. Will be working again on the 3rd, this time going to Jogjakarta for real.

First ATR-72 for MASwings

MASwings recently took delivery of their first ATR-72-500. Registered 9M-MWA, she first landed in SZB on September 2nd, then to BKI on September 8th. There was a launching event on September 12th, coverage which can be seen in MalaysianWings forum.

I visited MWA in BKI on the 10th, after the aircraft finished a proving flight to MYY.

The flight deck looks quite old-fashioned.


Nice curving 6-bladed propellers.

Leather seats.


IFE panel.

Exterior view. Higher-resolution picture here.

Cabin view. Higher resolution picture here.

This is the first of seven ATR-72 ordered by MASwings to replace their 7 Fokker 50s. They will operate within Sabah and Sarawak together with the Twin Otters.

Update on the kittens.

Sorry to announce the death of Tamtam yesterday. He fell ill the night before, and although utmost care was given by my children, he died early in the morning before we had time to go to the vet.

Tamtam was buried under the mango tree.

And my children were still grieving, especially my son Ridzwan who is very attached to the kittens.

Corruption in Malaysia

So much has been talked about the ACA nabbing the corrupt Puspakom officers. It is simply bribery, probably the easiest to identify and handled.

But there is another type of corruption, such as the MPSJ buying laptops at double the price. This is the overcharging corruption. I think this is more prevalent and harder to tackle as it normally involved those in power.

And come to think of it, those privatized monopolies are corrupt practice themselves. Think of Puspakom, Fomema, Indah Water and many other, created to siphon money from the public doing things that were previously done by government agencies or could be handled directly by the public. It is simply abuse of power by the authorities.

Just a thought from a man on the street.

Flying the Malaysian Flags

A lot has been said about how few flags is being flown this Merdeka season.

I have no comments on flying the flag at homes, shops and offices. But I have a reason why there is less flags flown on cars.

For info I've never put on those little flags on my car. Never ever.

Last year petrol was RM 1.92 pr liter. This year it is RM 2.55, and RM 2.70 just weeks ago. Those flags on your moving vehicles cause a lot of drag, and drag will mean you will use up more fuel. More hydrocarbon burnt. Not exactly a good thing for the environment, or your pocket.

There are still lots of those little flags on cars and taxis. And big ones on trucks. Maybe for he trucks especially, the drivers don't pay for the fuel from their own pocket. And I'm quite sure the majority of the taxi and truck drivers didn't score A1 on Physics.

Just my thoughts.

The cats

I opened up the hood of my car, and guess what was inside?

I don't know how they get inside the engine compartment with the hood closed. Must be from the underneath.

The kittens were born on 6th of July 2008.

Ggirl, a female.
Boboy, a male.
Tamtam, a male.
Bubu, a female.

And finally Cing the mother. She was a stray and was adopted by my children. Cing is a good mother, and very protective of her kittens.

Biggest Aircraft in KLIA

So what is the biggest aircraft to land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL / WMKK)?


The Boeing 747 is one of the biggest aircraft in the world. You can see them everyday.


Airbus A380 is currently the biggest passanger aircraft in the world. Prototype number 1 visited KUL in November 2005. Singapore Airlines send their A380 for training flights here early this year and Malaysia Airlines will receive theirs beginning in 2011.


Cargo aircraft can be bigger. The Antonov 124 has been seen here a few times, delivering oversized cargo.


The biggest aircraft to land in KUL is also the biggest aircraft in the world. It is the one and only Antonov 225 Mriya, delivering a helicopter for LIMA 2007.

The black dugong

As the replacement for the Satria GTi, today I took delivery of a Toyota Vios S.


This car is powered by a 1.5 liter (actually 1497 cubic centimeter) inline 4-cylinder 1NZ-FE engine producing 80 kW/109 ps @ 6000 rpm and 141 nM/14.4 kg-m of torque @ 4200 rpm. It is supposed to be a very fuel-efficient engine. I will post the fuel consumption later once figure is available. Transmission is a 4-speed automatic.

This car will be used mostly for local and short distance driving therefore I don't expect to see amazing fuel consumption figure for this one. But expect to see me around KLIA in this one when I go spotting.


For long distance driving, the Camry will be more appropriate. It is more stable on the highway, and comes with 5 speed auto transmission. And it is equipped with cruise control, which makes driving on the highway much more pleasurable.

Why do I call it black dugong? Obviously because it is black, and the front end reminds me of the dugong. Similar to the Airbus A380, especially this one.

Actually the Vios belongs to my wife; it is of the same color as her first car, a Ford Laser which was used from 1990 until 1992. Registration was CS 8600, I don't know if it is still around.

JOG - KUL flight

(Disclaimer: this post is about a base check, done in a flight simulator for the purpose of pilot training)

The first day.

It was a rainy day in JOG / WARJ (Jogjakarta). MH 856 was about to depart for KUL with ZFW of 49 tonnes. At the prevailing temperature and QNH, with minimum fuel I barely made the maximum takeoff weight, and that is for runway 27 and flap 15. Even with 5 kt headwind for runway 09 the max takeoff weight was below the planned ZFW + minimum fuel, so no choice, really.

After airborne suddenly the GPWS goes "terrain, terrain" so I took evasive action, press TOGA and pull the nose up. Clear of the terrain there was another problem: a military traffic was ahead, slightly below and climbing. Suddenly the TCAS shouted "pull up" which means once again I had to take evasive action while my FO communicates with the ATC. Clear of the conflict I check with the cabin, no injury so we continue with the flight.

Reaching cruise altitude of FL320 we settle down for the flight. Suddenly the master caution lights up. The right aircond pack is having problem. We carried out the non-normal checklist but the problem persists. We end up shutting down the right pack. We are now down to a single pack operation but since the pressurization are maintained, we elect to stay at FL320.

Soon we have another problem. Now the left bleed was having problem. Once again the NNC was carried out, but here is the catch: it calls for shutting down the left bleed and pack, but if we shut down the left pack we'll be unpressurized. And at FL320 if you become unpressurized you'll have to do emergency descend quickly, or else hypoxia will take over. It will be another Helios.

But wait. On the right side we have pack problem. On the left we have bleed problem. The solution? Use the right bleed to power up the left pack. problem averted.

Chugging along past Jakarta, another problem comes along. One of the CSD had high oil temperature. Once again, the NNC. It calls for the CSD to be disconnected. Therefore for another source of electricity we had to start up the APU. Too bad, as soon as it was started the APU had a fault condition. NNC again, and the APU had to be shut down.

With only a single source of electrics remaining, the only thing to do was to land at the nearest suitable airport. Our location was such that CGK / WIII (Jakarta) was the nearest so after checking the weather and finding that it was suitable, we decided to divert there. No problem except while on approach to runway 25L in CGK there was some windshear and strong tailwind; I ended up having to carry out a missed approach and come again on a visual circuit.

Landing was uneventful except just before I turn off the runway the nosewheel collapsed. Do I need to evacuate? Evacuation is not a risk-free action after all, after checking with tower that there is no fire or immediate danger, I decided not to evacuate but disembark using the stairs instead.



Day 2

At JOG again. Again, another heavy takeoff with strong crosswind. Flap 15, runway 09.

My first attempt to takeoff, I was approaching V1 when my FO calls "Engine Failure". Feels the aircraft veers to the right. I calls "Abort", close the thrust levers, disengaged the autothrottles, deploy the speedbrakes and maximum braking. Managed to have aircraft under control and stop before the end of the runway.

2nd attempt. This time the engines were fine, up to V1 at least. There was about 10 kt difference between V1 and Vr, and that is when the left engine fails. Too late to abort, I have to continue the takeoff. Aircraft managed to climb but very slowly; the right engine is not giving any thrust at all. As previously discussed for engine failure procedures, we followed the escape route. At 6.7 DME to JOG VOR, we turn to a left heading of 225. This escape route will bring us away from the high terrains around the airport and bring us over the sea. It took the eternity to get to 600 ft RA, where the engine failure recognition was carried out. Yes, the right engine has seized. So we shut it down, using the NNC as the guide.

Check out he weather at JOG, it was marginal. Plus the glide slope was unserviceable. But we didn't have much choice; we climbed to 4000 ft and join the holding pattern at 8.0 DME JOG, radial 276. We carried out the checklist applicable for a single engine landing. Ready, we carried out the LOC DME approach for runway 09.

The rain must be getting heavier because as we descend towards MDA, nothing can be seen outside. At the MDA of 750 ft, still nothing so a missed approach was carried out. A single engine missed approach. At 1500 ft we turn left, head towards the JOG VOR, and from there proceed to the 8 DME holding fix again. Again, more checklists. Entering the holding pattern, we were told by ATC that the weather was improving and the glideslope was serviceable again. So we carried out the ILS approach. I sighted he runway just above minima so the single engine landing was carried out successfully.

So we were back at Yogyakarta again, and then it was my first officer's turn to go through all those all over again.

Between June and December of this year, all B734 pilots flying for Malaysia Airlines will go through the same situation at JOG. Most will make it.

And I will have to go through something similar every 6 months for the rest of my career.

Last day with the GTi

Today (Thursday July 10th) we drove the GTi to Bandar Seri Permaisuri, Cheras for bank settlement as well as handing over the car to the new owner. The car was sold for RM 36k, of which RM 18k was for bank loan settlement. The rest will be the down payment for the Vios.



The car is now with its new owner, Hj. Zakaria of Terengganu. Most likely it will be registered for his son. Anyway I think they will be a very good owner, better than I've ever been.

Here Hj Zakaria is getting into the car, and this is my last sight of WKR 734.

We took the train home.

The end of an era.

Tomorrow my Satria GTi will be handed to the new owner. With it, an era of motoring is coming to a close.

I've always believe there are 3 general type of car for a normal person: a big family car, an economical small car and a fun sporty car.

Since 1999 we've been a 2-car family. At that time we had the Proton Putra and a Perodua Kancil, for a sporty type and an economical one. In 2003 we changed to a Waja for the family type, as the kids get bigger, and the Satria GTi for a sporty type.


Now the family car is getting bigger, in the shape of a Toyota Camry. But it is nor as nimble nor economical for short sectors, therefore I'm getting a Vios as the second car. But I can't afford to keep the Satria GTi, financially as well as parking space and utilization. After all, 2 cars are already under utilized; with 3 cars one might not get started for days.


The only thing is there will be no more sporty car for me, and no more manual transmission car as both the Vios and the Camry are automatics. No more high-revving spirited driving; something that I rarely do anyway even with the Satria GTi.

Well, I'm getting old....

D-8 Summit

While the developed nations are having their G-8 summit in Japan, there is a D-8 summit here in Kuala Lumpur. D-8 comprises eight developing Muslim nations -- Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. It was set up in 1997 as an economic alliance with the objective of improving the position of Muslim developing countries in the global world economy through the diversification of their economies by creating new opportunities via increased trade relations. In the process, they hope to improve the standard of living of their people.

Indonesia send in a Garuda A330 as the presidential plane, while Iran and Pakistan send in their VIP aircraft as well.

Pakistani A310.

Iranian B707.

As usual I am not interested in the meeting itself, but those aircraft are rare indeed.

Happy 3rd Birthday MalaysianWings

Our aviation forum MalaysianWings recently celebrates our third anniversary. There was a meeting / spotting session on Saturday 28th of June in KLIA and ATC tower visit on Monday June 30th.

I was unable to attend the spotting session on Saturday as I was in BKI that day, but was able to join the tower visit. It was an nice thing to be up there and seeing those people I talk to all the time through the aircraft radio. Thanks DCA for the oportunity.

For further comments and picture log in to the MalaysianWings forum......

My car for sale

After over 5 years it is time to get refreshed. My Proton Satria GTi is now for sale.



I am asking for RM40k for this 2003 model. It was a second car, with only 42000 km on the odometer. It is generally in good condition.

I'm getting a more practical second car, a Toyota Vios to supplement the Toyota Camry.




Note: SOLD! Looks like the car will move to Terengganu....