Today, I have made a trip to the immigration office in Malacca. The time spent there is really exhaustive!
For your information, immigration office(for passport purpose) is open every day except public holidays. And, they actually told us in newspaper and website that they could process the passport within an(1) hour.
I arrived at the immigration office at 9am, waited to take number until nearly 11am. Just the number you see...>.<|||
After that, we waited for the number 1178 to be called until 1.40pm. 2 hours and 40 minutes just for my number to be called. Previously I read the notice board, they mentioned that if I was invited for studies abroad I could get 50% discount for my passport renewal. But, when I reached there with the document, they said that I am above 21. Government only sponsor 50% for those below 21. Oh my god, why government just subsidize to under 21s but not all who are going for further studies? I thought government will be encouraging more Malaysian youth for education but not limiting to those below 21. In the end, I paid RM 300 for my 5 years validity passport.
The payment side is also funny. They could make you wait for 30 minutes just to pay them and get the receipt. I thought collecting money at the cashier is pretty simple but yet it is complicated with the government.
(Not mine though...)
Well, in the end I could only get my new passport tomorrow which I need to make a trip there again. Kudos! to the immigration.
One more thing to share. As I am out of passport sized picture, I went to a shop near to immigration office to take a picture. The lady heard that I am going abroad next year and asked me to promote her shop for her. And yet, she charged me the usual RM 10 for 4 pictures.
1 Billion people are in the need of our help. They are in hunger!
What kind of life state they are now and think back on the life we have currently.
What is Hunger?
For the more fortunate, it’s only the feeling in your stomach that says “it’s time to eat.” If you are less fortunate and don’t get enough to eat each day, hunger makes you feel weak, tired, unable to concentrate, even sick. All you can think about is when you are going to eat next. For hundreds of millions of people worldwide, this feeling lasts all day, every day, except they never know if and when this feeling will go away. For them, hunger can lead to illness and temporary or permanent damage to their health. They have insufficient food to keep them active and healthy, and they don’t get all the vitamins and minerals the body needs to function well. When hunger is extreme and after days of insufficient or no food, the body begins to feed on the only thing it can: itself. It breaks down its own fat and body tissues, which eventually leads to starvation and death.
Why is there Hunger then?
Lack of food is not the problem. Enough food is produced in the world today for everyone to be properly nourished and lead a healthy and productive life. Hunger exists because of poverty. It exists because natural disasters, like earthquakes, floods and droughts, sometimes occur in places where poor people have little or no means to rebuild once the damage is done. It exists because in many countries women, although they do much of the farming, do not have as much access as men to training, credit or land. Hunger exists because of conflict, which takes away any chance people have to earn a decent living and feed their families. It exists because poor people don’t have access to land or solid agricultural infrastructure to produce viable crops or keep livestock, or to steady work that would otherwise allow them access to food. It exists because people sometimes use natural resources in ways that are not sustainable. It exists because there is not enough investment in the rural sector in many countries to support agricultural development. Hunger exists because financial and economic crises affect the poor most of all by reducing or eliminating the sources of income they depend on to survive.
How serious is it?
You can refer to the statistic report from FAO, here
What can be done by us?
Sharing a vision of a world without hunger is the first step. Ending gender inequality and empowering women to play a bigger role in agricultural development is another. The problem of hunger should be a top priority in impoverished countries. Small-scale farmers should be given the opportunities and education they need to produce enough food and income to feed their families. Rural economies need to grow to expand job opportunities for those who need them and slow the pace of rural-to-urban migration. More emphasis needs to be placed on improving small farmers’ access to both domestic and international markets. Our natural resources need to be properly managed to ensure the land is not being over-used. The public and private sectors need to work together to end poverty and inequality and improve access to safe food for all.
Lastly, I do hope all of you will spread this message and sign the petition here. Just 15 seconds(unless your internet is too slow) is needed!
LAST lastly to convince you, watch the movie clip...
After a long long long time I gone from the bloggersphere again, I am back! Before I continue with much updates, I will just give a short one for now.
After finishing my life in PJ and also those Zoo Negara adventures, I actually went to UM for an AIESEC national conference. Lotsa young leaders gathered there and we plan for the best nationally. It is also my first national conference with the title, Vice President of Corporate Affairs. So, I am now pretty busy to contact poeple in corporate world while juggling my studies and other activities.
Besides this, I also visited Perak with my girlfriend during my semester break. We have visited my buddy(Jia Cheng), my 'daughter' Pei Wen and also my gf's coursemates there too. Due to time constraint, I was not able to visit all people that I know from Perak. Hopefully there will be next visit and more time given. So, we actually visited Teluk Intan, a bit of Taiping and Kuala Sepetang. Sadly, I didn't snap much pictures as I wanted to relax and somehow don't want to take out my dSLR.
Soon after the trip, gotta go back to UKM already. University life started and lotsa thing need to be done(that's why I didn't blog). 2 weeks after back to UKM, my whole course including 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, master, PhD, lecturers and professors went to Redang Island for Mega Field Trip(26th - 31st July). I am consider the one who is terribly off-schedule when we reach there as I was busy to get data for my final year research and miss ALL the classes on the island including boat trips. But well, I have the opportunity to dive 15 times(short and long dives) in 3 days time. It's for my work(Yea, I work underwater, did some underwater videography with some setups). Guess what, I paid just RM 80 for the whole trip inclusive of meal, transportation, accommodation and not to forget my 15 dives! Awesome!!
Alright, I guess that's it for now. Otherwise it will be long update instead of a quick one. Wish me luck in finding my internship location!!
