20 Life Lessons You Get From Having Anxiety & Being A Worrier

20 Life Lessons You Get From Having Anxiety & Being A Worrier

by Christopher Hudspeth, 
August 21st 2013

1. According to the disturbing worst-case scenarios it regularly cooks up, your imagination is much crueler than the universe and actual life tend to be.

2. Sometimes you’ve got to look out for your own comfort in social situations. That’s why I excuse myself to the restroom during icebreakers and I’m habitually late to things because I didn’t want to be a little bit early. This B.J. Novak tweet sums it up:I am often 15 minutes late because of my inexplicable anxiety about being 2 minutes early.

3. Our bodies do a lot of random, weird things and have unexplainable tendencies, but every headache isn’t a tumor, Arnold and every cough isn’t a symptom of lung cancer, Walt.

4. Although you may never stop striving for it, perfection is pretty non-existent. Aside from like, Rashida Jones and DiGiorno Pizza cooked in a properly preheated oven, then baked at 400°F for 22 minute, it’s unattainable.

5. People will often mistake anxiety and wariness for negativity and dullness. Not keen on the idea of sitting aboard shaky rides at the state fair because you aren’t comfortable with the fact that they were thrown together in a few hours?Lame, why don’t you live a little. Don’t want to go 100mph on a curvy road? Sheesh, dude, color outside the lines why don’t ‘cha?

6. Final Destination movies are predictable child’s play to you and you’re confident that you could assist them with devising ideas for ill-fated people in potentially gruesome situations.

7. Your mind’s favorite time to try and wrap itself around the concepts of gravity, physics & technology is from the moment a plane is airborne to the instant it successfully lands.

8. You’re more likely to get in an accident in a car than on an airplane. How do you know? Because everybody in the world tells you this when you express concerns about flying as if it’ll somehow make you feel better about the notion of plummeting thousands of feet to your death.

9. To some degree worriers are warriors, battling & staving off their constant flow of unpleasant thoughts and concerns as they try to manage a somewhat normal day/week/month/year/life.

10. Generally speaking, people aren’t paying nearly as much attention to your every last move as you sometimes think. Unless you pick your nose or trip, then somebody was probably watching.

11. Horror isn’t limited to masked killers or haunted houses – vulnerability in every sense of the word is the equivalent of being face to face with a knife-wielding clown.

12. When you anticipate potential disasters and expect things to go insanely wrong today, it’s kind of a relief when you make it home in one piece. Expect a killer tornado so when all you get is a strong gust of wind that blows your papers out of your hands and makes you run down the street trying to retrieve them like you’re Mother Nature’s puppy playing fetch, it’s actually not so bad.

13. Low, unhappy ending expectations like the ones mentioned above are bad, as are any expectations, really. We’re not psychics and rarely will anything pan out as we pictured. It’s better (and easier) to live in and respond to the next moment than to try and guess what’s to come.

14. The best way to make someone who is on the fence about doing something not do it is to draw attention by noisily encouraging them to do as you wish, so there are more eyes and an increased pressure. James won’t do his stellar Dane Cook impression? Nancy won’t get on the dance floor? Ask LOUDER, but don’t ask, so much as borderline aggressively demand it as you tug at their arms.

15. Seemingly everybody is dealing with some degree of apprehension or fairly constant concerns like you, it just might be a less extreme case. Or they simply do a better job of hiding it.

16. The past is a monster that needs sustenance to continue being relevant, and you spending yournow reliving it is like feeding unpleasant history a steak dinner. Trust me, I’ve spent countless hours feeling terrible about not taking advantage of an opportunity to travel or that time in third grade when I let a bully make fun of that kid who thought that he was gay, but you’ve got to learn not to dwell on the unchangeable.

17. Much like dollar bills, people’s opinions are only as valuable as our minds allow them to be. It’s easy to stress about how everyone perceives us but if we can narrow our caring down to a select few (mom, best friend, pet fish, Netflix recommendations, etc.) we’ll feel a weight lifted off our shoulders.

18. Going to bed and falling asleep are two entirely different concepts. One can go to bed at 11pm and, despite a valiant effort to keep their eyes shut, remain awake into the wee hours of the night, worrying about things. Hence, this tweet:Love yoga? Try the ‘Worrier Pose,’ which consists of sprawling out, biting your nails & imagining worst-case scenarios until 3am every night— Christopher Hudspeth (@CEHudspeth)October 16, 2013

19. The little things that drive you crazy only get worse if you play into them and give them control.  Can’t stand mislabeled song files in your iTunes library? Go in there are organize until you flip your lid at a Coldplay song mistakenly listed as a Muse song. Hate upside-down boxes of food in the pantry? Turn ‘em upright until you go ballistic at the sight of some capsized Fruit Loops. Can’t stand uneven numbered lists?…

20. … I’m here for you. There’s always someonewho understands your neurotic, strange philosophies and nervous habits – even if you haven’t met them yet. 

17 Things You’ve Been Mistaking For Love

17 Things You’ve Been Mistaking For Love

by Chelsea Fagan, thoughtcatalog.com
October 17th 20131.

Getting isolated moments of affection or attention from someone who is otherwise very distant and, because of that, makes you hang on every move they make to see if it’s going to be one that ruins or completely makes your day.
2. Having really incredible sex with someone who proceeds to turn off like a light switch once the physical part of it is over. (This is often followed by an unceremonious re-dressing and a “I’ll call you” as they extricate themselves from the cuddle attempt.)
3. Being interested in an excessive amount of the same obscure pop culture stuff. Although, if this person happens to be Joseph Gordon-Levitt circa500 Days Of Summer, feel free to mistake that for a real connection.
4. Thinking about someone constantly, with very little interaction in real life, so that most of your thoughts and desires about them are from what you imagine them to be in your head.
5. Finally meeting someone who fits the description of “ideal partner” you have held onto, even if they are only good on paper and you don’t really feel a connection with them.
6. Having some kind of shared experience or past that enables the two of you to feel close without ever forming a bond as a couple.
7. Spending so much time together that you start to see each other as the “default” option and become incredibly comfortable with one another without really feeling any romantic emotion towards them. (This often results in the dreaded “dating-for-convenience” syndrome” that plagues many a hometown.)
8. Meeting someone again after a long separation in the kind of circumstances that lead the more reptilian part of your brain to believe that it’s “fate,” “destiny” or “meant to be.”
9. Being treated like shit by someone who has mastered the art of tearing you down and building you back up again, so you come to associate them with the “repair and soothe” feelings they provide without ever realizing that they are the ones making you feel like crap in the first place.
10. Finally getting attention from someone you perceive to be much more attractive, popular, or worthy than you. Feeling like you are honored just by getting a bit of their time, and not really caring how reciprocated the emotions are.
11. Being with someone for so long that you assume you must still be in love with them, even if it’s been a really long time since you’ve felt anything resembling connection or desire towards them.
12. Staying in said relationship more out of loyalty, comfort, and not being a quitter than anything else.
13. Seeing someone in a way that has to be discreet and somewhat hidden — maybe because one of you is getting out of a relationship, or because you work together — and being so overwhelmed by the forbidden nature of it all that you can’t really tell how you actually feel about that person.
14. Finding someone who is very stable, responsible, and perhaps financially settled at a time in your life where you have absolutely no ties to anything and can’t keep your shit together whatsoever.
15. Lusting after someone you are hot for, but who is completely unavailable.
16. Meeting someone while you’re traveling and having that perfect week-or-so slice of a relationship that allows you to feel like you love them without really knowing them at all. (This can often lead to the weird, awkward period where you try to prolong something that should have been a fling and is thousands of miles away.)
17. Wanting so badly to get back together with an ex, mostly to prove to yourself that you can do it and get back that sense of comfort, that you completely forget all of the very valid reasons you had for breaking up in the first place. Painfully re-igniting or prolonging a relationship simply to recreate a feeling you usedto have.

Public transport in the Klang Valley

The Star
Published: Sunday June 23, 2013 MYT 3:14:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday July 10, 2013 MYT 3:19:34 PM

Public transport in the Klang Valley: #MyJalan journey

By MICHELLE TAM, TASHNY SUKUMARAN and T.AVINESHWARAN

PETALING JAYA: You have likely read something about it or perhaps even had a lively debate about it - but how many Klang Valley residents actually rely solely on public transport on a daily basis?

On Friday, three intrepid The Star Online reporters set out to experience the efficiency of the city's public transport system for themselves.

The challenge put to them was simple - make the "morning commute" from their respective homes to the KLCC and arrive there by 9am. From then on, follow suggestions from Twitter posts with the #MyJalan hashtag and see where the tweets take them.

They were not allowed to use taxis, and could only take trains and buses to get to their respective destinations.

Here are their accounts of their respective #MyJalan journeys:

Moving with Michelle

THE Metro bus puttered to a stop next to the steep incline.

"Universiti LRT, here!" said the driver, eyes fixed on the road ahead to Kuala Lumpur.

Only, not quite.

Commuters alighted the vehicle quickly and made their way up the slight hill with practised ease. Vehicles whizzed by on either side - one stumble and you're roadkill.

I couldn't have asked for a more thrilling start to my experiment of the public transportation in the Klang Valley!

One had to manoeuvre carefully - a good sense of balance recommended - over the road divider before a walkway emerges.

Next was the wonky traffic light okaying pedestrian crossings, which according to a frequent commuter, "hasn't worked in recent memory". So we made a quick dash across the road to reach the LRT station.

Happily, the rest of my public transport journey was less eventful, save for a blue car that crashed into the bus on my way back to Menara Star in Petaling Jaya.

A trip to Zoo Negara from KLCC took under an hour, and if not for an unexpectedly lengthy journey on another Metro bus out of the area, one could even slot in another bus ride that will have you within walking distance of Solaris Dutamas before 4pm.

All the journeys cost much lesser than a cab ride, but took substantially more time and planning to complete.

The commuters I met were more resigned than unhappy with their everyday situation.

One Idah, noticing my discomfort from the heat and haze, offered some papaya pickles before bidding me a warm goodbye.

As a student and during my internships, I had to travel via the KTM, LRT and bus every day. Each trip generally took a minimum of two hours. Thankfully, a kind colleague would later let me carpool with her.

I still don't have my own set of wheels, but I now live much closer to work to avoid the hassle of using public transport when possible.

Travelling by public transport in the Klang Valley is affordable and largely efficient if you rely on the LRT but it can be time consuming and may pose a risk to your safety. - Michelle Tam

Tashny's travels

THERE'S nothing quite like the smell of yuppie in the morning - a heady mix of coffee in paper cups, perfume, and the exhaust fumes of the bus you're crammed into.

My public transport journey seemed to be the easiest - from Bangsar to KLCC and then to Taylor's Lakeside University in Subang. Little did I know, I'd end up waiting for God-knows-when-the-train-would-arrive.

#MyJalan began with the RapidKL T634 bus which goes from Bangsar LRT to Pusat Bandar Damansara and back, which I took it from outside Bangsar Shopping Complex.

Unfortunately, the driver didn't tell me that I had to catch it from the other side of the road, so I ended up making a long roundabout route circling Pusat Bandar Damansara, passing my starting point, before snaking my way to the LRT station.

The LRT ride to KLCC was uneventful, as was the LRT back to KL Sentral.

There, however, I encountered the fearsome KTM Komuter trains.

Although the train to Port Klang (I'd be alighting at Seri Setia) was only seven minutes late, it was stuffy and warm.

Somewhat embarrassingly, I fell asleep and missed my stop. I got out at Subang Jaya and had to take the train back one stop.

Alarmingly, there is excessive construction going on at the Subang Jaya KTM - the trains going to Port Klang and returning to Kuala Lumpur use the same track. Scary.

At Seri Setia, I waited for the bus to Taylor's Lakeside Campus for a good 30 minutes.

Unfortunately, it being lunchtime on a Friday, none showed up.

At my editor's behest, I hitch-hiked to the university campus, thanking my lucky stars that so many students were headed there. At the campus, I saw about five buses parked here and there. Depressing.

Thankfully, my editor then called me up with an urgent story I had to write, so I got into a cab back to the office.

This is something I definitely could not do every day - I smelled like a used sock and the heat and haze were awful! - Tashny Sukumaran

Avineshwaran gets around

FOR the first time since I started working in the Klang Valley, I had the experience - or should I say the privilege - of using the Klang Valley's public transportation system for the entire day.

After many suggestions, I decided to check out the services in Putrajaya - which tied in with my need to renew my road tax. The first destination was the JPJ headquarters in Complex D in Putrajaya.

After months of driving, relying on public transportation was a humbling experience.

Taking a train to Putrajaya was a breeze, and the ERL services were efficient.

The trains were on schedule and many civil servants use them to get to Putrajaya.

Once at Putrajaya, I had to take a bus to the JPJ headquarters, on the Putrajaya bus line.

I had my doubts at first, but I was impressed with the services, though I reached JPJ a little late.

The driver was courteous and even calmed me down when I was running late for my appointment at JPJ.

Ticket prices were cheap, too. For only 50 sen, I travelled from Putrajaya Sentral to Kompleks D, where the JPJ headquarters is located.

It turned out that I could not renew my road tax there. So, I had to rush back to Petaling Jaya to get it done.

I thought it would take hours, but thanks to the ERL and LRT Rapid KL, I reached the Petaling Jaya JPJ office on Jalan Sultan in less than an hour.

When it comes to timing and efficiency, train services in Klang Valley are pretty efficient. The only thing you need to bear is the rush hour crowd.

Once I completed my road tax renewal, I headed back to Menara Star - my first experience of taking a bus to Petaling Jaya.

The experience was simply terrible! I had a long wait at the Asia Jaya stop even though the bus to Eastin Hotel (which is adjacent to Menara Star) was parked there - with the driver nowhere in sight!

Once the driver arrived, I got into the bus but was in for a rude shock - he told me to get down from the bus and wait at the designated bus stop.

Had he told me in a courteous way, I could have accepted it, but he was rude!

My journey ended on a sour note, but the overall experience was pretty humbling.

There were the pros and cons, but if you were to ask me whether I would opt for public transport in the near future, my answer would probably be in the negative - driving is still the best fit for me! - T. Avineshwaran

ORIGINAL POST

Lim Guan Eng’s RM8 Billion Mega Project

The Corrupt Saga of Lim Guan Eng’s RM8 Billion Mega Project in the secret PowerPoint files – Exposing the Mega Cronies behind the scenes

In order to know the real story behind this mega corruption and abuse in Penang, we need to go back to the night of December 17, 2013 – just a day after the DAP National Congress held in Penang where the DAP CEC Members were elected.

No need to talk about the DAP CEC Election fiasco and their inability to use EXCEL to do proper calculations. The elections went well and the results were largely within the leaders’ expectations and so there was an obvious cause for celebration.

But in Guan Eng’s mind, there was an even bigger reason to celebrate – because he has finally completed all the discussions on the allocation of spoils for Penang’s largest infrastructure project. The discussion was held a day earlier on December 16 – a day immediately after the CEC Elections held on December 15, 2012.

The discussions with the partners were intense and filled Guan Eng with adrenalin – pumping with excitement to see such huge numbers that his small 8-digit pocket calculator could not even accommodate the massive calculations which easily stretched into 10 digits. Guan Eng mumbled a note to self: “remember to ask secretary for a new 12-digit calculator”.

There is an indescribable joy when one punches the forbidden numbers into the calculator and viola, one sees the apportioned amounts and siphoned profits camouflaged as blatant overcharging. Guan Eng was thrilled to bits – for the first time, he is really gonna be a billionaire…a dream come true for a failed accountant…but a successful Chief Minister and politician.

The final allocation in terms of kickbacks and gifts expressed in percentages were nailed down reflected in a single Powerpoint slide. The thought of it pleased Guan Eng so much that he could not resist firing up his notebook computer to take a look on the Powerpoint slide again.

“This is the time for harvest…” as Guan Eng’s thoughts lingered away…see what power can do – and this is Real Power.

“I’m not going to be a CM without power like that bo-hoot (no balls – seedless) durian Koh Tsu Koon. Me will be a CM with Real Power…”

The screen on the notebook computer showed this PowerPoint slide:

 

We already know from media reports the following:

    CZB – or also known as Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd
    BUCG – Beijing Urban Construction Group
    ST – Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd
    JU – Juteras Sdn Bhd
    ZC-CRC – Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd in a joint venture with China Railway Construction Ltd (CRCL)

But we don’t know who the following people or entities are:

    Annie & Party
    Davy
    Leslie & Co
    Pinny
    Jimmy & Party
    Terry
    TBD

These names are likely to be code-names representing certain personalities…who are these people…Read the DAP Insider for the next article as we break the puzzle and reveal the identities of each of these code-names…

ORIGINAL POST : DAP Insider

Who is Annie & Party?

The PowerPoint slide shows “JU-10%-Annie & Party”. We all know that JU represents Juteras Sdn Bhd but all that the an official company search will reveal is that there are 2 individuals who act as proxies and nominees. These are the first directors and company secretaries and the names of such people are pretty inconsequential as they are “borrowed” names of professionals and they will not know what is going on.

More often than not, these people are kept on a certain payroll of accountants and company secretaries who will use them to incorporate new companies on an urgent basis for clients and who will then transfer the shares to the real owners in due course. Professional fees are paid to such nominees for their services – which can even extend to opening of bank accounts and becoming nominee signatories for the bank accounts as well until such time that the real owners decide to surface or get another set of their nominees to replace the first set of original nominees.

If the name is simply “Annie”, it would have been more difficult to unravel but since it is stated as “Annie & Party” and the “P” is capitalised in Party, it can only mean that Annie refers to “Anwar Ibrahim & Party”.

This means that Juteras Sdn Bhd is a company that has 10% stake in the mega project and it belongs to Anwar Ibrahim and his party, PKR.  That is the kickback by Guan Eng to Anwar to keep Anwar in line and also to act as insurance for Guan Eng in the unlikely event that PR takes over power in Putrajaya and Anwar really becomes Prime Minister.

So for Guan Eng,  it is always a smart idea to have his political partners to have a small share in his spoils of war and corruption activities so that he will taint him as well. In that way, by having a file on Anwar Ibrahim on the take will act as a useful deterrent file against Anwar if he tries to be funny and edge out Guan Eng. Guan Eng knows his leverage.

So the 10% will belong to Anwar Ibrahim and it is up to him how to further allocate the share, if any, to his own party, the PKR. That will then be his own internal matter.

Guan Eng has made the first right move and by making Anwar an accomplice, he can bring Anwar down anytime in future, if required.

Guan Eng is playing a very dangerous game by trying to snare Anwar Ibrahim, who is the Master of Corruption himself. But then the Guan Eng that we have today has evolved to be super arrogant and always so confident of his own genius that he thinks he is always right.

If there are seniors in the party who can still speak to him and advise him, please do so immediately before he destroys himself and the DAP by embarking onto this road of corruption, dirty money and destruction…

Read the next article in the DAP Insider and find out who is Davy?

ORIGINAL POST : DAP Insider

Who is Davy?

We continue our expose about the massive corruption in Penang – DAP is now very corrupt. All the very preaching and pontificating by Lim Kit Siang has come to nought now that Guan Eng decides to take this giant leap for himself and for the party.

Guan Eng is a very filial son as he was brought up by a strict father and disciplinarian Lim Kit Siang. There was very little laughter in the home when Guan Eng was small. Most of his childhood experiences were bitter and sad and his early adult life was even sadder and bitter as he was imprisoned and also held under ISA once. All these has bred a bitterness in Guan Eng’s heart that will never go away.

Even though he became a Christian, he cannot let go of the bitterness in his heart and he never learnt to forgive. This is a grudge he held against UMNO and he will forever be on a warpath with UMNO and on a vendetta to wreak vengeance, and Guan Eng learned that the best way is to accumulate power via riches and then use the wealthy resources to complete and take revenge against UMNO for all the perceived wrongs they did to him.

Hence, on December 16, when he concluded the discussions on how divide the shares in corruption, Guan Eng has decided to apportion a 10% stake to his daddy, Kit Siang. He knew that would make his daddy’s day – he is a good son – the best son in the family and he gives his daddy the best.

To those true blue DAP members who are senior enough, please speak to Kit Siang and advise him to admonish his son and stop Guan Eng from embarking onto the slippery slope of corruption.

This is the mission of the DAP Insider as we want to stir up the people of Penang and Malaysia to fight against corruption in the DAP. We must practise what we preach and walk our talk.

Read on more articles coming soon in the DAP insider as we name more names…

ORIGINAL POST : DAP Insider

The old Anwar Ibrahim Connection

In Part 2 of our article in this series, “Who is Annie & Party”, we disclosed that “Annie & Party” refers to Anwar Ibrahim and his party, PKR. Lim Guan Eng has seen it fit to give 10% share of the RM8 billion mega project to Anwar in order to keep Anwar on his side.

Many readers have expressed doubt that Anwar is involved in this. But please remember that Anwar comes from Penang and in his hey days as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, the avenues of corruption by Anwar were very rampant in Penang. This article is to remind readers of the deep ties that Anwar had with many Penang developers way back in the go-go days of 1990s.

3Of course, Anwar will never use his own name. But the names of his brothers were very popular cronies to many top developers in Penang. That was in the 1990s.

Suffice to mention just the names of Anwar’s 2 brothers – Marzuki Ibrahim and Idrus Ibrahim.

Marzuki Ibrahim was roped in to sit on his board of directors by one Goh Choon Lye was then the hotshot developer in Penang who operated under Penas Corporation Berhad. Penas swept almost all the projects in Penang at that time as Anwar Ibrahim held sway. Penas built the Prangin Mall and also the Midlands One Stop Centre in Pulau Tikus.

 But Penas was built on very high gearing with loans form almost every banker in town and Goh Choon Lye led a high-flying life. He had a private jet and when he visits China, long lines of women lined the streets to greet him and often offered to entertain his throughout his stay there. He ended up having numerous mistresses and he courted and wooed and enticed other people’s wives as well so much so that he was nicknamed “MPPP – Garbage Truck”. Later, he eventually divorced his own wife and his own downfall began. It was all about Money, Sex and Power and the eventual fall of the Goh Choon Lye empire…

Choon Lye had a private yacht too which was frequently used for Anwar Ibrahim’s leisure each time Anwar visited Penang and also to ferry Anwar to private beaches in Langkawi and one of Anwar’s favourite playground in Phuket which provided him with a huge supply of young nubile boys who can satisfy the deepest perverted sexual fantasies of Anwar Ibrahim. The yacht was also used ferry jet skis for Anwar – his favourite sports then – Anwar loves jet skiing in Penang off the secluded waters in Monkey Beach, Muka Head and Telok Bahang.

When Anwar was arrested and removed as Deputy Prime Minister in 1999, the house of cards that Penas built came crashing to the ground. Along with it went Goh Choon Lye who was declared a bankrupt and also Marzuki Ibrahim. Goh Choon Lye is also infamous for cutting cost on materials as well as swindling residents’ sinking fund. Most of Penas’ properties do not appreciate in price. In fact, most are tagged below launch price.

One of the most important project undertaken by Penas was the Midlands One Stop Centre in Pulau Tikus which also house the adjoining Berjaya Georgetown Hotel . And who has an interest in this hotel? None other than Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping who was very friendly with Goh Choon Lye then as he wanted to get close to Marzuki Ibrahim and in turn get to know Anwar Ibrahim. That is why Kok Pin decided to work with Goh Choon Lye to build Berjaya next to Midland One Stop Centre.

Till today, the relationship between Kok Ping and Choon Lye is still there but of course, now Choon Lye is nothing than just a runner and trouble shooter for Kok Ping as he is now financially in the doldrums. Choon Lye will do the dirty jobs and money laundering for Kok Ping today and handle the triad gang. But ironically Kok Pin got what he wanted – he now knows Anwar Ibrahim very well because of his relationship with Lim Guan Eng but alas the Anwar of today is a mere Opposition Leader and not the Deputy Prime Minister any more. 

But of course, Anwar tells Kok Ping that he will become the next Prime Minister and so he can continue to rely on him. The connections are deep and they go far back and Lim Guan Eng has just stepped into this den of thieves.

These are exactly the kind of people that Guan Eng has surrounded himself with – dangerous people who can destroy him and the DAP and that is why faithful and principled party members must warn him to stay away for such bad company. They are simply bad news and bad luck will always follow them.

Guan Eng’s Penang Triple Crown Project will be the his downfall some day in the future – it is only a matter of time before the MACC investigates him and Guan Eng better pray that there are no paper trail that leads to him…or else…

We have done our part – now it is up to the ordinary members to tell Guan Eng. Don’t say we didn’t warn him and you people…

ORIGINAL POST : DAP Insider

We mentioned about the other brother of Anwar Ibrahim in our previous article in Part 4. His name is Idrus Ibrahim and he is the eldest brother of Anwar. He was once the Headmaster of a primary school in Bukit Mertajam and when Anwar Ibrahim was the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Idrus was courted by another top developer in Penang by the name of Sonny Ho who heads the Belleview Group. Idrus was made Chairman of the company and Sonny benefited by getting lots of projects in Penang.

Of course, Sonny built better quality houses and property than Goh Choon Lye and was definitely a smarter chap.

Idurs Ibrahim had is good for a while but soon Anwar Ibrahim fell from power and was imprisoned and that also forced Sonny Ho to remove Idrus as Chairman of Belleview.

Idrus was also a simpleton who trusted the businessmen who flocked to him to make him their partners and ultimately the guarantor of many of their business loans as he sits on their boards. When these businesses failed, the banks recalled the loans and often the secured properties were not sufficient to pay off the outstanding loans and so the banks had to sue the guarantors for recovery. Idrus was sued left right and centre and he was eventually made a bankrupt. 

 Belleview Group also built the three storey terrace houses called Slim Villas in Jalan Slim in Penang. Slim Villas in Jalan Slim is merely a 10-minutes’ drive from Jalan Pinhorn where Lim Guan Eng is staying in a rented bungalow belonging to Tan Kok Ping’s family member. Tan Kok Ping has gotten very close to Lim Guan Eng who is the Chief Minister of Penang. Tan Kok Ping knew about the affair between Lim Guan Eng and Ng Phaik Kheng aka Rainbow and how Guan Eng’s wife, Betty came to know about it via a whistle blower and forced Lim Guan Eng to put a stop to the affair. Guan Eng of course denied the affair but Betty has a pretty good aim and with her on-target flying ash tray that landed right on Guan Eng’s forehead soon woke Guan Eng to his senses and he was forced to sack Rainbow and kick her out of his KOMTAR office.

The sneaky Tan Kok Ping wanted to tie Guan Eng in his fingers and keep the affair going and so Kok Ping spoke to Sonny Ho to allow Rainbow to purchase a unit of the Slim Villas at developer’s price of RM700,000. Who actually paid the RM700,000 – no one knows? Maybe it was Guan Eng or maybe even Kok Ping himself as surely Rainbow could not afford such a house on her meagre salary and more so after losing her job at the CM’s office.

It was a perfect arrangement for the love-birds to continue their tale of forbidden love as they now live only 10-minutes apart. A classic case of so near yet so far but indeed forbidden fruit tastes sweeter.

Well, today Anwar is back into the corporate scene in Penang via the courtesy of Guan Eng for the mega project. History kind of repeats itself here.

But Guan Eng is certainly caught in this tangled web of deceit – not only cheating his wife but in fact he is cheating the people of Penang as he bull-dozes this Tunnel Mega Project through in order to grease his cronies and enrich himself with dirty money.

Back to the story of Sonny Ho – his latest project in Penang is the controversial Moulmein Rise which is a 27-storey iconic structure located in Pulau Tikus, Penang.  It comprises shop offices at level 1 & 2 and lifestyle suites from level 5 to 27. Traders and residents living near the Pulau Tikus market are very angry with the Penang State Government and they are fuming over this 27-storey commercial project in Lengkok Moulmein.

The closure of a car park located on the project site is said to be disrupting their daily lives along Jalan Pasar and the Jalan Moulmein area. A protest, led by Penang Citizens’ Awareness (Chant Group) member Yan Lee, was held recently where he complained that  the people there were affected by the construction of the project called “Moulmein Rise” as there was now limited car park space for the market goers. Traders have complained that their business had dropped almost 50% on some days since the open space car park was closed last month for the construction and residents had not received any feedback.

Another resident, CK Tan, claimed that “my right to object was taken away from me”. “Then they rubbed salt into the wound and let the developer build (a construction) even higher than the plan that was rejected,” he was quoted as saying and indeed he has been described as probably the angriest-looking man at the protest.

But all this is to no avail as CM Lim Guan Eng refuses to listen to the people affected by this project which has caused hardship to them. Is it because Guan Eng owes Sonny Ho a debt as he sold the Slim Villa cheap to Rainbow and kept discreet about it?

And so Guan Eng allows the developer Sonny Ho to build this monstrous high rise.

Guan Eng is fast gaining a reputation as Penang’s top land broker because of his unusually close relationship with the developers in Penang as it appears to be his favourite modus operandi to squeeze and skim monies form them and from the state’s most asset.

ORIGINAL POST DAP Insider

Who is Leslie & Company?

Many readers have been writing in to ask about the continuation of the expose on the Mega Tunnel project in Penang and so it is time for us to return to the PowerPoint files which we have exposed recently.

Remember this Powerpoint slide that is in one of Guan Eng’s most highly guarded pen drive?

So who is Leslie & Company? They have a 5% stake in the RM8 billion project and they are one of Lim Guan Eng’s favourite developers in Penang.

The first component of Leslie & Company is none other than Ivory Properties Low Eng Hock. Remember the man with the karaoke girls on his payroll to entertain government figures and politicians.

Low Eng Hock has a Datukship and through his honey trap of karaoke girls who double up as PRO, social escorts and prostitutes, he has a thick dossier on many DAP leaders and State EXCO members in Penang. Lim Guan Eng, Phee Boon Hock, Lim Hock Seng, Ng Wei Aik, Jeff Ooi and many others are all in that dossier.

Low knows which politician has screwed which karaoke girl on his payroll – who has kept the girls as their mistresses and who has just a simple fling – hoping to forget that occasional lapses of virtue ….but never forgotten by Low. Some of them, he has got videos and photos – all incriminating and useful and handy one day…

This is Low’s weapon of mass destruction against the DAP State government and he will use them to blackmail and keep the politicians in rein and ensure his continued prosperity. That is why Low has got the Bayan Bay property cheap and made him millions if not billions for Ivory as well as his own personal pockets – some of which of course went to Lim Guan Eng’s secret bank accounts in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Guan Eng has chosen the wrong partner to trust and this devil Low Eng Hock will surely haunt Guan Eng in the not too far away future when they fall out.

Meanwhile, of course, Guan Eng had to explain to the people of Penang to justify the tunnel project and the massive infrastructure project even though renowned town planners have already criticised the projects as not beneficial and utterly flawed.

But Guan Eng in his typical tokong arrogance style has dismissed such objections by the people of Penang as petty and stupid ranting which he will pretend to hear and engage but will actually ignore anyway since his mind is already made up and the “wealth creation and distribution scheme” already in place.

Guan Eng has justified it by rationalising that in any event, since the BN government is so corrupt, therefore it is not wrong for him to be corrupt as well. After all, we need the money to fight the BN and corruption is the only way – how else can we raise millions and billions to fight an election and win the seats for DAP?

Who’s gonna pay for all those DAP banners, flags, posters, UBAH toys, the UBAH lorries and buses, allowances for campaign workers, the food and subsistence and the travelling expenses in going round the country?

Election is always an expensive affair and we need to do this.

So who cares about corruption anyway?

Coming up next: The second component of Leslie & Company.

ORIGINAL POST DAP Insider

Leslie & Company – the second component – The Red Rock connection

Lim Guan Eng first became the de facto Chief Minister of Penang on the night of March 8, 2008 when the DAP gathered in a hotel room in the Red Rock Hotel in Jalan Macalister, Penang to discuss what to do now that they have won the majority of the ADUN seats in Penang.

Red Rock Hotel was DAP’s operational headquarters and where the DAP war room was situated in GE12 in 2008.

It was in Red Rock Hotel that Lim Guan Eng “nominated” himself as the new Chief Minister of Penang and poor Chow Kon Yeow, the most senior Penang DAP leader was blindsided and caught unprepared for that shock and awe moment so much so that he could not voice any objection to Lim Guan Eng’s self-nomination and along with it the Chow was robbed of his Chief Ministership in Penang.

The owners of Red Rock Hotel are a couple of gangsters who have decided to go “legit” – be involved in business so as to gain respectability. And what kind of business do gangsters pick when they wanna go “legit’?

The construction business of course – Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping had his own construction company. So has his eternal gang rival – Tan Sri Lim Gaik Tong with his Farlim Construction. Goh Choon Lye had Penas Construction. Heck, even that criminal who changed his name to Dato’ Loh Gan has his own construction company. So of course, there was born the company called Red Rock Construction Sdn Bhd in Penang owned and headed by Penang’s very own yakuza gang – Loh Lam Peng and Loh Nam Seng. They are from the “Hung Mun Triad Society” – “Hung Mun” means “Red Door” in Chinese , all taking their influence from the fallen Ming Emperor.

They have done well and they have even established the Red Rock Group of Companies – many companies of diversified businesses – drugs, smuggling, gambling, bookies, extortion, black mailing, prostitution, vices, loan sharking, money laundering and now property development. Their hotel is actually situated at the junction of Jalan Macalister and Abu Sittee Lane where old timers would remember is the gangster haunt and territory in Penang and was even known in Hokkien as “Sam Seng Hung”. These guys Loh Lam Peng and Loh Nam Seng who own the Red Rock Hotel also runs the huge disco and entertainment centre in Abu Sittee Lane where the music pulsates from late night into morning hours.

They are also the top supplier of Ecstasy and Ketamine pills or also known as Happy 5 pills for those who want to “feng tau” and booze themselves crazy.

Then there are the girls and PROs and prostitutes that will conveniently snag their clients and adjourn to the nearby Red Rock Hotel for a “one shot” or overnight service. In the Red Rock Hotel, there are certain rooms available for “hourly” stay which comes in useful for such vice activities.

These guys are now building their own condominium project in Penang – in respectable Logan Road, land and approval, courtesy of Lim Guan Eng, of course they are one of the original funders of the DAP in Penang and especially in 2008 in their successful assault and so now, it is payback time for them.

So certainly the payback this time will even be bigger with their involvement together with Low Eng Hock of Ivory Property to undertak the massive construction contracts in the mega-infrastructure and undersea tunnel project worth RM 8 billion.

No wonder, Lim Guan Eng is saying it is raining money in Penang – yes, it is indeed, for the Red Rock Group.

ORIGINAL POST DAP Insider

10 worst ways to make money

Helping Nigerian millionaires

Helping-Nigerian-millionairThe advance fee fraud otherwise known as the “419 scam” involves a polite preacher, Nigerian widow or political prisoner emailing you seeking your assistance in safeguarding his riches. They promise you a portion of their fortune and all you may have to do is pay a bribe or a fee. This is a proven massive scam which must be avoided at all cost and is one of the worst ways to make money.

Gambling

GamblingThere are problems which come with gambling namely you can end up losing quite a lot of money if you do not know the art of gambling.

Paid medical testing

Paid-medical-testingPaid medical testing has their own drawbacks and cannot guarantee sufficient returns. You have to understand the extent of physical harm you are interested to risk in this process.

Blogging

BloggingThough blogs make money from advertising, most of the blogs which make large sums of money are professional in nature. This can be attributed to column writing by great industry magnates or well accomplished people. By being an ordinary blogger you may be able to make only enough money to cover your hosting cost.

Online gaming

Online-gamingPlaying online video games also does not guarantee good returns. In this type of money making you may have to compete with a lot of Koreans and Chinese people who may make big money because of large number of hours devoted for this job. You may end up making just a pittance.

High-yield investment opportunities

High-yield-investment-opporHYIPs are unsustainable after a few years and are definitely unlawful. You have to stay away from any such schemes which promise a very high return over and above the normal rate of return.

Online surveys

Online-surveysFilling online surveys may seem a simple task which promises a great deal of money. Whatever price is quoted, you must understand that even this arena is filled with scams. As the job involves no ability or talent of any kind, you may not get much work or pay. You may also be required to pay for some of these opportunities and some of these may never pay you properly.

Foreign currency Trading

 

Foreign-currency-TradingForex trading involves a lot of risk as you may have to work with people who may have more capital than you and who are into this for a living. It also is a zero-sum game in which you will stand to benefit only when someone loses their cash. You cannot be guaranteed profits in this type of trading and fraud in this area is more prevalent.

Real estate Flipping

Real-estate-FlippingFlipping real estate is also a not very desirable way to make extra money. Flipping has become rare these days with the fall in price of houses. It also involves a lot of risk and you have to seek professional advice before choosing this method of earning an income.

Day trading

Day-tradingDay trading involves a lot of risk and can be done only with practice and training. It is seen that day traders earn a lower rate of return than the average investing household. Hence it is actually a complicated and stressful way to make money. Instead you can just give cash to experienced people who will know exactly what they are doing and help you improve your earnings.