So it all began when our good old Prime Minister was being pressured to increase cigarette prices:

The Prime Minister last night outlined the looming threat of an ageing population, warning that the rising cost of health would outstrip the states’ ability to raise taxes within two decades.

Quit Victoria executive director Fiona Sharkey told The Australian Online today that lifting the price of cigarettes would save lives.

“It is the single biggest thing we can do to bring smoking down. It cuts consumption and it cuts the number of people who smoke,” she said.

Source: The Australian (25th January 2010)

And the results…

The excise increase, which will help fund the government’s health reforms, will be short of that required to lift the price of a packet of cigarettes to $20, as recommended by the government’s Preventative Health Taskforce.

There was speculation last night that the excise increase would add at least $2-$3 to a pack of 25.

And even more results…

From January 1, 2012, all brands of cigarettes will be sold in plain boxes. The boxes will be the same colour and carry large, graphic health warnings. The brand of the cigarette will appear in a small font. The font style and size, as well as the position of the brand will be uniform.

Source: SMH (29th April, 2010)

So to sum it up, the Australian government is fighting smoking by

1. Raising prices of all cigarettes to up to $20 (RM60!) per pack
2. Making all cigarette packaging plain

So let’s look at this objectively.

First of all, raising the prices to curb smoking seems to be one of the most inefficient methods ever. Not only do smokers have other options (such as rolling their own cigarettes or purchasing from illegal markets) but this ’solution’ will also have an negative effect on several non-smokers.

The first of which are shopkeepers of tobacconist stores or  convenience stores: I think it’s obvious that the profits of these stores along with their job security will be affected. Instead of stopping smokers, this will just make the majority of smokers turn to another source which is usually illegal and from an external market – It’s interesting how the Government has not looked at the effects of this decision on these small Australian businesses.

Another obvious issue is the matter of freedom of choice. Smoking can both be a social choice or a personal preference. It is not unheard of for a person to feel a sense of confidence with a cigarette in their hand, hence the social smoker. Nor is it a sin to enjoy the flavour of a cigarette. By using cost as a deterrent, the raised taxes on cigarettes seems to only be targeted on those with less money anyway.

Finally, this is like increasing the price of contraceptives to curb pre-marital sex – But the consequences of this are much more obvious, an uncontrollable increase in the population. Increased cigarette prices on the other hand, may not scream consequences immediately. But a smoker has two choices: (a) continue buying cigarettes at the new increased price; (b) stop smoking. With option (a), those that do not have much money will sacrifice their spending other everyday requirements (which can be food, drinks, leisure, etc.) hence the Government isn’t curbing and is rather punishing. Option (b) will result in smokers being forced to stop their addiction – Everyone knows that the most effective method of quitting smoking is when a personal choice is made. It is not up to anyone else to decide whether or not they should quit and by doing so, there will definitely be friction in this process. Being cut-off from this addiction will incur negative feelings such as stress, fatigue and/or frustration – Will this not affect the workforce of Australia?

The change to the packaging is just plain silly. It limits cigarette manufacturers from marketing their brands hence saving them money. The government feels that people smoke due to the colourful packing – Yet have they not realized that within the packaging, every cigarette looks practically the same (with the exception of Pall Mall having some designs on it)?

All in all, there are a lot of disadvantages in making this decision. The government has not considered several issues and I am sure that eventually these will come up.

Keep up the good work, Rudd. First the Internet Censor and now this. Why did I vote for you?

Although I do not have actual working experience in Malaysia, I have plenty of friends who do.

Let’s take one of my mates for example:

1. He wakes up at 5.30 AM to get ready and leave his house by 6.30 AM;
2. the drive is from Subang Jaya to KL city and due to jams, he gets to work between 7.30-8.30 AM;
3. sure, work starts at 9.00 AM but trying to get to work at 9.00 AM on the dot is impossible with the distance and the jams he has to travel through.
4. At work, he does plenty, there is hardly any social conversation between employees (unless they’re looking to get chucked out;
5. he finally gets off for lunch around 12-ish when he finishes whatever he’s on.
6. After an hour’s lunch, he works his butt off again till 6.00 PM if he’s lucky but usually gets off at 7.00 PM.

So that’s almost 12 hours spent on work – Ouch.

Now, in Australia, the typical (when I say typical, I refer to what is definitely the major population) day at work would involve the following:

1. Normally, it takes a max 1 hour to travel to work and with public transport it’s easy to consistently arrive at work around 9 AM;
2. after a little bit of e-mail checking/replying, it’s then common to grab a coffee with your fellow employees to catch up both on work matters and socially;
3. work starts again until 12 PM when you can head for lunch;
4. taking a full hour of lunch means you arrive back at 1 PM;
5. and after 4 more hours you can leave. Legally, 5 PM is the time all employees are allowed to leave – the slightly more ambitious may want to stay longer but again, this is referring to the major population.

So it’s pretty obvious that working life in Australia is more laid back and heck, more enjoyable. The sickie is what Aussies have dubbed as a day off work due to (supposed) illness and has become part of Australian culture. So much so that you can hear jokes that relate common Australian behaviour to it too – Kind of like those “Chinese are cheap” jokes you hear on Russell Peters, it’s offensive but you know it’s true.

The reason I am writing about this is due to this article, ”Australia’s biggest ever sickie”. Tomorrow (Tuesday, 26th of January) is Australia Day hence a public holiday and everyone seems to be pulling a sickie today (Monday) to get that 4-day weekend. How has pulling a sickie become Aussie culture when working life is so much better here in Oz’? In Malaysia, trying to take a sick leave so blatantly fake just to get a long weekend is asking to get sacked.

It’s disappointing to say that I think Aussies are really taking their job security for granted.

Here I will begin this new feature of mine. I have always wanted to post stuff I find on the news but I felt like it was just basically posting up unoriginal material.

This weekly feature (Friday, ofcourse) will feature some news articles I found that are worth posting up here. Sometimes I guess these be more biased towards my interests (technology, media, etc.) but I hope these will prove as interesting reads!

Man Buried in Haiti Rubble Uses iPhone to Treat Wounds, Survive
January 20, 2010. Source: Wired

So basically, an American Film-maker survived after being trapped in Haiti for 65 hours due to apps on his iPhone. This is huge! The iPhone has just proven it isn’t just something that keeps you pre-occupied on the toilet seat – It saves lives too.

iPhone users rejoice. Just wait for iDefibrillator to come out then we can really save lives.

Stig ’spotted’ on Google site
January 19, 2010. Source: The Sun

Stig’s signature pose = Folded arms?

Just one of those LOL moments of mine when I read and saw this. I assume the Stig was part of some kind of Top Gear shooting because of the pose. Whether this is the real Stig or not, it’s still hilarious to see and being a fan of Top Gear might be the reason.

Fun-loving clubbers get ready to play at first Australian video game bar
January 20, 2010. Source: News.com.au

Clubbing for Gaming Addicts?

Yes, that’s right. Brisbane will see Australia’s first video game bar. Apparently it has been a success overseas yet I just can’t imagine how this works. I hardly ever attempt to mix alcohol with gaming especially gaming that involves peripherals (as suggested by the article, Guitar Hero and Wii Games are the types of games they look to implement) because of the very high chance someone flings their WiiMote at the TV or drops the peripheral.

Alcohol slows your body’s central nervous system down and this is definitely going to cause accidents.

Have a good weekend, all.

So the first thing I heard from Ellie was how our Minister of Communication & Culture said some things about Malaysian Internet users. Article is below

KUALA LUMPUR: Telecommunication companies (telcos) should also give priority to content on culture and the development of human civilisation, said Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

He said this would further help stimulate the minds of Malaysians, more so this in this era of sophisticated and borderless communications, and was an aspect of content the telcos should address besides chasing profits.

“New applications like SMS, Yahoo Messenger, Twitter, ICQ, Skype and devices like the Blackberry and the like have made communications between humans easier and this has contributed to the development of civilisation and changed the landscape of communications universally, which before heavily depended on the telephone, telex, fax and the postal service,” he said.

He said this in his speech which was read out by his deputy Datuk Joseph Salang at the prize-giving ceremony for winners of the “Mobile Content Challenge 2009” contest, here on Tuesday.

According to Rais, owing to the ease of communication, certain aspects of culture, like language, might face challenges.

He said the truncating spellings used in SMSes could jeopardise the integrity of Bahasa Malaysia besides posing challenges to ethical issues in inter-personal relationships.

“There have been cases of consumers using SMS, MMS, chatrooms, Facebook and Twitter to spread rumours and with speed, spread hatred among people,” he said.

He said abuse of these applications should be addressed together by raising awareness on the ethics and proper norms of using sophistcated communition tools in this ultra-modern age.

Source: The Star

Basically, the Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim has stated two major problems sprouting out due to Malaysian usage of the Internet and the way in which technology continues to evolve:

1. Internet and telecommunication messaging is causing language deterioration
2. Due to the characteristics of technology today, it is easy to spread bad rumours

Now, I can see on Twitter how everyone is being mean to the minister after what he said. I did a quick search on Twitter for #yorais and here are some random posts:

conancat: #yorais will probably figure out how to read all these tweets today 40 years later.
xniquet: Rais Yatim is so old he has to stick his dick in the freezer to get it hard. #yorais
menj: Rais is so old he thinks a browser is someone who shops at the mall #yorais
reiko67: I ask my 16months old son “Please finish #yorais before you go chase cats” just now.
MissyCheerio: Rais is so ancient that the word “past”,”history” and “sejarah” hasn’t existed. #yorais (So not funny, lah)
smubblerz: Rais is so ancient he told Adam and Eve not to berkhalwat #yorais

Rais Yatim gonna kung fu the crap out of all you people on Twitter!

So, yeah, that’s what you get really. Attack a community that isn’t necessarily united but one that can easily communicate with one another. Even mention they can spread bad rumoursreal fast. It’s like telling a big bully that hitting people is not nice – What do you expect to happen right after that?

Anyway, let’s look at this a little bit more constructively (Don’t worry, I shall try my best not to bore you).

1. “sms cos probs wif lang 8===>”

The issue of Internet and SMS slang causing problems with languages (not just Bahasa Melayu) has been a debate for a while now. I have seen several articles on News.com.au about this and a quick Google will get you to a Helium.com debate entitled “Is text messaging causing the destruction of the English language?”. At the time of this post the debate votes were tallied at 166 (58%) Yes and 121 (42%) No – Nothing extremely definitive, but it is a hot debate topic today. If you read the articles there you will be able to see that there are some very good points on both sides and so it brings me to this: Rais Yatim does have a point. Continuous usage of truncated spellings can become a bad habit.

Why is there so much negativity against this? Why, because most of us (looking around my age group or above) didn’t grow up with Twitter and Facebook. At early stages we went to school and didn’t have much access to these telecommunication devices. Hence, we already knew what proper English was. What worries me is Generation Z – It is undeniable that this problem can occur even today, what about our future leaders?

2. “Stop Saying Bad Things About Me!”

Now, the part about spreading bad rumours is just about the stupidest thing I have heard of. Malaysians always liked gossip and drama. This bad habit of Malaysians has always been around and blaming technology instead of thanking it for enhancing our communication just doesn’t make sense. If there was a problem with rumours being spread out, it should not be blamed on the communication medium and instead the users itself are to blame. But what’s so mean about bad rumours? Everyone loves drama, it’s why paparazzi and E! Entertainment exists: Plainly human nature.

All in all, I have to partially agree what was stated about text messaging… But apart from that, it sounded like he was just talking out of his ass. Trying to stop bad rumours is pretty much censorship and I’m sure Malaysia isn’t a communist country… Is it?

Oh, oh, my turn!

#yorais is so old he spins his saggy man titties to make mini helicopter propellers so he can fly high and stop the evil that is online social networking.

As the 18th of January draws closer, my holiday ends – But with that, my next (and final) Industrial Training placement at Coca-Cola begins. So what is this post about? Nothing really, but I always loved the ads for Coca-Cola. Here are my top 5 Coca-Cola advertisements.

If you are into advertising, Coke has a $1.6 billion annual advertising budget – They care a lot about how they advertise their products so Coca-Cola is one of the best examples of great advertising.

5. Coke Superbowl 2008 Ad

I love this just because Stewie’s in it. Haha. But it’s still a good memorable commercial

4. Beautiful Coke Ad (Unknown Title)

It’s not often I love 3D animated commercials but this one is a beauty.

3. For Everyone (Malaysian version)

I always remembered this ad in Malaysia and I really like how it is both clever and patriotic at the same time. The original advertisement can be found here (I think).

2. Jerk it Out (Brrr!)

This was one of the best ads I’d seen in the movie trailers segment – Kept me going for ages. The ‘Brrr!’ phrase didn’t REALLY catch on but the ad definitely is one of my favourites.

1. Coca-Cola Formula

Cheekiest ad ever and I love it.

Boy, am I thirsty…