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Smoke haze hazard |
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Monday, June 21 (cont.) (later) Success at last for the GPS (Global Positioning System) unit – it cleared customs this morning, and was delivered, as promised, by lunchtime. And they decided not to impose any import duty, so all is well (and I take back the nasty things I wrote last week about Pos Malaysia); DB will have his chance tonight to play with his long-overdue birthday present. *** There is a heavy smoke haze over the city today, and a slight smell of fire, so I can only assume there are bushfires in the surrounding jungle (that sounds dramatic, doesn’t it?). This is the first time I have come across this since we have been here, but it shouldn’t really surprise me, since this is now the Dry Season, and it’s been a while since any significant downpour. *** A KL taxi driver will have a little bonus this evening, provided he isn’t a tee-totaller (he was Indian, so it’s a 50-50 chance either way). A bottle of wine I bought at the supermarket today slipped out of its grocery bag in the boot, and I didn’t notice I was a bottle short until I unpacked. Oh well, it was only a cheapie. Tuesday, June 22 |
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More
on that haze over the city – 300 “hot
spots” in Sumatra, across the
Straits of Malacca are being blamed. The local papers are reporting
The Department of the Environment says rain is needed to clear the haze, and is protesting to the Indonesian Government, asking that open air burning be stopped in Sumatra.
(left): The haze from fires in Indonesia is blanking out the sun in KL
The Dry Season has also had an impact on water storage levels – while there are no general restrictions yet, residents of the hill resort area of the Cameron Highlands are reduced to minimal amounts – some as low as four buckets a day. The tourist hotels there are complaining that holidaymakers are leaving, because the running water is running out. |
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Wednesday, June 23 The haze is bad again today: the Education Department says children may have to be kept home from school if it doesn’t improve. I can’t see what keeping them home will do – the air is just as bad there as at school, unless they have airconditioning with sealed windows, which is all that is keeping me comfortable. The paper has published some good photos of the haze: |
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The “pink” Putra Mosque is barely visible through the smoke at Putrajaya yesterday |
The CBD on Monday, from the top of Menara Maybank, where Dave works | |||
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*** There’s either been an increase in the number of what’s called “snatch-thief” incidents, or in the reporting of them to police and in the media. The robberies occur when two people (usually youths) zoom in on their motorbike up behind an unwary pedestrian (usually female). The pillion rider snatches the victim’s bag, while the motorcyclist concentrates on a quick getaway. One of the cheekiest teams operated right outside the Australian High Commission. The permanent police box there didn’t deter the thieves, who made their escape swinging through the heavy traffic around the Petronas Towers. A couple of months ago, Dave and I saw one of these attacks not far from our hotel – but we were in a taxi, and it was over before we realised what we had seen. The boost to the campaign to crack down on these thieves came with the deaths of two women, who died after they hit their heads on the pavement as they fell. Naturally, outrage followed – and unfortunately, the reaction has included the formation of lynch mobs. While the police and government are encouraging citizens’ arrests of snatch-thieves caught in the act, they are warning against extreme retaliation like the incident last week when one such thief was kicked to death by bystanders. Where I live and walk is right in the heart of snatch-thief territory; the police decision to increase patrols around here is, from my point of view, a good one. *** Today I bought DB some new undies. Believe it or not, the (Malaysian) Large size proved too tight, and so I had to buy XL. I think that’s the first time Dave has ever had to have XL size undies. Thursday, June 24 The haze drifting across the country from Indonesia is also posing a big risk to shipping in the Straits of Malacca. These straits, a very narrow waterway between Malaysia and Indonesia, carry one quarter of the world’s maritime trade, and half of the world’s oil. At the narrowest point, the straits are only 3 kilometres wide, and visibility at night there now is said to be zilch. Even police patrol boats are getting lost. The haze is adding to the risks of navigation here – more raids from pirate vessels have been reported, and its feared that these may be a rehearsal for terrorist attacks. The vulnerability of the Straits has left Malaysia and Indonesia caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. The third country bordering the waterway, Singapore, wants the US Navy to patrol the straits, but its two Muslim neighbours are fearful that if the US Navy moves in to their territorial waters, this would be a provocative fertiliser for the extremist organisations in their own backyards, and lead inevitably to terrorist action. Either way, Malaysia not going to win – the gloomy forecast here is that it’s a case of when, not if, a terrorist attack hits shipping in the Straits. *** The routes taken by the city’s bus services have long been a mystery to me, but today, I decided I had to have a go – and first time lucky, I ended up where I wanted to! And it cost me all of 70sen to travel a few kilometres. I must use the buses more often to go to places like Chinatown and the Central Market, which are about 20-30 minutes walk away. On the other hand, it might be better to have the exercise instead of the convenience. *** Dave forgot his mobile this morning, and since his ear wouldn’t feel complete without it, I had a quick 20-minute walk down to his office in Menara Maybank. The Menara is handy to Chinatown’s market stalls, and, as I needed some potatoes, made a quick detour over to the fruit and vegetable barrows. Alas, potatoes aren’t on their radar – every other exotic vege is, but not potatoes. It was to be expected: at supermarkets, one can buy 20kg bags of rice, and 2kg bags of chillies, but the pre-packaged potatoes come in tiny bags of just three spuds. *** Even over here, there has been discussion among the Aussies about Andrew Johns and will he/won’t he move to the rah-rahs. It must have been a tough decision for him, and one that would cause him regrets either way. I hope there wasn’t too much pressure put on him in Newcastle – he owes us nothing, after the 10+ years of enjoyment he has already given us. I know he was well paid for his efforts, but what he did was invaluable to the morale of the whole city. I would have been sorry to see him change codes, but if that had been his decision, good luck to him. It’s our good fortune he decided to stay. None of us who ever watched him play will ever forget it, and I hope to be back next season to see the magic again! Saturday, June 26 So far, a quiet weekend, in contrast to last weekend. DB has been preoccupied with playing with his little toy, the GPS – and even volunteered to walk with me this morning down to a craft centre, just to test it out (there are a few bugs in it to be ironed out; a matter of calibration, I think). It said the walk was six kilometres one way, but only three km coming back, so there is some fine tuning to be done. The aim of the walk to the craft market was to check out fabrics that might make a bedspread/quilt back home. One fabric I really, really liked was a little too expensive, even for my tastes. About one and a half metres long by a metre wide, it was priced at RM8000 – about $3200! It was threaded with gold and silver, in a weaving technique called “songket”. Nice, but just a little out of my budget.
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