Hi-speed Wireless Broadband in Balik Pulau

I've just returned from Asia Pacific Wireless Broadband Forum (AP-WBF) 2008, held at Kuala Lumpur last Friday where fellow Japanese researchers and Malaysian technologists shared their findings and vision on the road ahead for hi-speed connectivity, and throughout the trip, I only manage to crawl at 200Kbps or less with DiGi Edge, while our Japanese counterparts are getting several Mbps to 10s of Mbps with their wireless broadband, which are poised to go up several Gbps soon! Even our minister, the selamba-man, never-follow-written-speech man, Dato Seri Dr Lim Kheng Yaik on the other hand, instead of being optimistic or making boastful visions only took the opportunity of addressing the crowd by slamming wireless local broadband technologists and vendors for continuously breaking promises on the big BET for WiMAX, year after year.

Suppose I was ranting on how real broadband connectivity for mobility might take a long time to arrive in our remote town of Balik Pulau, but a fellow BP-ite from Sg Rusa has just confirmed that HSDPA (3.5G) might have actually been brought by Celcom already, according to Subset Stars. No wonder Celcom has been plastering the entire Jalan Bukit Gambir from Jalan Masjid Negeri (Georgetown) all the way to Jalan Tun Dr Awang (Bukit Jambul/Bayan Baru) and a portion of Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah near Batu Uban & Gelugor with its night-bright light-post ads...


Hmm, maybe it's finally time to ditch DiGi for good for only being capable to get me about 50Kbps of 'broadband' at Anjung Indah -- my favorite lepak place for the past five years (since before its renovation last year). Though, I still hope that DiGi would roll out its new 3G license off its recent acquisition from Time Dotcom real soon, so I may keep my current phone number, or until mobile number portability arrive in Malaysia, whichever comes first...

Should I or should I not sign up for TM Celcom Data now? Could it actually be better than TM Streamyx?

(I have actually visited its center in Bayan Baru last week by the staff there as well as Celcom reseller would not offer me a guarantee for HSDPA in Balik Pulau -- or they simply have no knowledge about the service at all!)

Girl, 13: 'Saya Sayang Dia' (I love him - Boy, 17)

'Love' supposedly brought a 13-year old girl from a remote town in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia to a remote Lamaraya Island (Southeast of Pulau Sulawesi, Indonesia!

And she's finally back to home to Balik Pulau ('return to the island', literally ;0). Read on the news articles below:-

BALIK PULAU, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- A 13-year-old girl who went missing here last month was found safe on a remote island in Sulawesi Tenggara, Indonesia, on Sunday.

Maslina Siadin was found safe in Pulau Lamaraya by her father, Siadin Rashid, 44, who had spent over a month looking for her.

The Form One student of Sekolah Menengah Seri Balik Pulau was believed to have been abducted by an Indonesian from her house in Kampung Pondok Upeh.

"Thank God she was found safe and has returned home," Siadin told reporters here Friday.

Maslina was reported missing between 6.30pm and 7.30pm on Dec 16 last year. She left home alone and did not return.

Siadin said that after news of Maslina's disappearance hit the newspapers, two men told him that she had been abducted by a man who had worked as a labourer in the area.

He lodged a police report on Jan 10 and, with the help of police and Balik Pulau Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Hilmi Yahaya, approached the Indonesian embassy in Penang for assistance.

On Jan 17, Siadin and his brother, Jalil Rashid, 50, an immigration officer, left for Jakarta to track down Maslina.

From Jakarta they took an eight-hour flight to Kendari, the nearest airport to Pulau Lamaraya.

"On arrival, we took a three-hour taxi ride to the interior and were told by the local authority that Maslina and a man had been detained at the Sulawesi Tenggara police station.

"We went straight to the station where a confused Maslina rushed and hugged me crying."

Siadin said they had to do some hard bargaining with the Indonesian immigration and police before they could bring her home on Tuesday.

"Maslina had entered Indonesia illegally at Tanjong Pinang, Riau, and then took a one-week boat trip to reach Pulau Lamaraya," he added.

Looking still confused, Maslina declined to be interviewed by reporters.

"She will only cry when asked where she had gone to as she is still confused and did not know what had happened," Siadin said.

Hilmi, who was present at Siadin's house, said he was happy to see that the episode had come to a happy ending.

"We must always be careful and not to trust people easily especially foreigners," he said.

-- BERNAMA: "Penang Missing Girl Found In Sulawesi Tenggara"

More related news posts and opinions:-

• Berita Minggu: Remaja hilang sebulan ditemui di Indonesia (Missing teen found in Indonesia a month later)
  
• Kosmo: Saya Sayang Dia ("I love him")
  
• Utusan Online: Maslina mohon maaf ("Forgive me - Maslina")
• The Star: Girl reunited with family
• Harian Metro: Saya penggal leher kamu
• BolehTalk: Crime solved, no thanks to police
  
  

Balik Pulau's White Resort

It's not what you'd think... nope, not a Jerejak type of resort, or a Batu-Feringgi-ish hotel in Balik Pulau area (in addition to the 'famous' Upeh Inn and a few homestay houses as the only major lodging units for overnight travellers). It's the newly built training camp for National Service Training Programme (PLKN)

Here are some pics by blogger Zhenglik:-





Camp contact details:-

NAMA KEM : KEM PLKN WHITE RESORT
ALAMAT KEM : MUKIM 7 & MUKIM J, KAMPUNG GENTING
DAERAH BERAT DAYA
11000 BALIK PULAU
PULAU PINANG
NO. TELEFON : 04-8661926
NO. FAKS : 04-8661926
EMAIL : PLKN_Mutiara@khidmatnegara.gov.my

RM1 laksa...

...on the other side of the island in Balik Pulau, local residents have been enjoying their little secret of RM1 bowls of laksa.

In demand: (From left) Mohd Nor Tarmizi and another worker preparing takeaway orders of Pak Aq's laksa at Jalan Baru, Balik Pulau, Penang.

The self-service stall of Ishak Ibrahim, or better known as Pak Aq, located on Jalan Baru has been a haven for hungry residents for over 40 years.

“Pak Aq started off the stall by selling laksa at 30 sen a bowl, which over the years, has increased to RM1,” said shop assistant Mohd Nor Tarmizi Mohd Razali, 22, who mans the store in the early afternoons.

Customers make their own bowls of laksa by adding preferred amounts of rice noodles, cucumber, onions and laksa soup to small bowls.

“When I’m hungry, I usually add more noodles because it fills me up,” said Sacred Heart High School student Khor Yen Yen, 14, who has been visiting the stall for about four years.

Tarmizi said the stall serves about 20kg of rice noodles a day. ...

Read the entire article at The Star entitled "RM1 for a bowl of koay teow soup"

Happy New Hijrah Year 1429H!

Ma'al Hijrah untuk semua Muslimin dan Muslimat, semoga mendapat keberkahan dan rahmatNya sepanjang tahun ini dan tahun-tahun mendatang...

Insya Allah!


1 MUHARRAM 1429H
(9-10 January 2008)