Kbguy, A Travel CJ

WAKAF BHARU: About hundred registered users of telephone owners with Telekom Malaysia Berhad at Kampung Kebakat is complaining that they have no line connection at their area for the past 4 months.

The affected are the residents at Taman Sri Kebakat,Taman SBJ Kebakat and individual kampung houses.

According to one of the residents who refused to be named said “ We have lodged the complaint with Telekom Call Center many times. First they told us that the cable was cut and stolen, again and again. Finally they informed that the disconnection was caused by the road reconstruction nearby. We also lodged the complain with Telekom’s main office in Kota Bharu. Now they are saying that they have no idea when they can solve the matter.”

There are about 40 subscriber to TMB’s broadband  internet connection. They urged the authority to listen and help solve their problem as soon as possible.

As of 1st January 2010 onwards all new credit card holders will be charged with an annual service tax of RM50 per principal card and RM25 per supplementary card as proposed by the Government during the 2010 budget. As for the existing card holder, the service tax will be charged on the anniversary of the card issuance.

However, a check with the Statement of Card Account recently, proved some differed. Often, a principal card holder will be offered a second card which is different from the first card. Either a Visa with a Master or a Master Card with a Visa as a second Card with a combine credit limit. However, both cards were charged a Service Tax of RM50.00 each.

To add more salt and burden to the Card holders, those who did not pay the Service Tax when the account is due for payment will be charged  Late Charges of RM5.00 and Finance Charges monthly. CJ kbguy found this to be true when a statement was shown to him.

According to the statement, the Card holder has a credit balance of RM0.86 which he never utilize.  On 29th January, he was charged RM50.00 for Service Tax.  Since the Card holder never use the Credit Card, he ignore the payment.  On 23rd March, he was charged RM5.00 for Late Charges and RM0.52 as Finance Charges. He is amazed to see that the Bank has taken the opportunity to make profit from the Government’s Service Tax by charging interest on late payment on Service Tax. What an innovative method to generate revenue during this tough times !

Kota Bharu – Qing Ming festival or Qing Ming Jie in Chinese is also called Grave Sweeping Day. Qing Ming, which also means clear and bright in Chinese falls on Apr.4th, 5th or 6th every year. In 2009 it falls on April 4. And this year it falls on April 5th. According to modern Chinese, there is no fixed rules to attend Grave Sweeping Day as long as it is convenience to all family members. Usually a group agreement among family members will be made so that those from far and near could attend at the same time to clean and sweep the graves of the ancestor and also worshiping and offering of food to the deceased and to burn joss papers. It is a festival to be conduct at any day one week before the actual date. It is a memorial ceremony for their loved ones and time to express one’s grief for his lost relatives.
At the end of the ceremony, the money or joss papers are lightened for the deceased to use in his after life. In addition to this, food laid out in front of the headstone includes steamed whole chicken, hard boiled eggs, sliced pork and sometimes cut roast pork with crunchy skin attached and others according to the offeror’s liking or their loved one’s favorite. Besides these, 3-sets of chopsticks and 3 Chinese wine cups are arranged above the food to be used by the deceased.
The family head usually performs the ceremony, followed by each member of the family. The families often eat the food there at the grave site after the ceremony, as if having a picnic with their deceased relatives and ancestors. Chinese have a strong notion that by doing this, it will bring good luck in the family
Qing Ming ceremony can take a few days for a family to complete because of the distance of one cemetery to another and to some who have too few children but too many deceased relatives
Even though many Chinese Customs and Traditions has changed, forgotten and left aside by the younger generation, I believe that Qing Ming should be preserved and maintained in order to maintain relationship and harmony among siblings, cousins and other relatives. It is a day of gathering and should be consider as family obligation and a heritage to be kept.

The reunion dinner which falls on the last day of the lunar calendar or the New Year Eve is the event everyone is waiting for. Family members from far and near usually get together for this special occasion to unite with their loved ones and also with their family members especially their parents, sibling and grand parents. During the dinner, traditional food and dishes are served accompanied with beer and other alcohol to mark the happy occasion.

The Lion dance is usually performed in pairs accompanied by the Chinese drums. The group usually performed on Chinese festivals or occasions such as the Chinese New Year season, cultural events, weddings functions, opening of business, temples and even individual homes especially during Chinese New Year for entertainment and to get rid of bad elements. The Lion Dance is very common nowadays. Children and elderly people mostly enjoy watching them.

Chinese Lanterns can be seen everywhere, be it at homes, shopping malls and road side when Chinese New Year is approaching. It is a custom to light up lanterns during any Chinese festivals. A red lantern symbolize prosperity, happiness and good fortune, wealth and health.

The Chinese Drum usually played in big group and in loud noise but harmoniously. It symbolize team work, harmony and to get rid off all evil and bad elements. It is usually played during festivals such as CNY and during occasions such as temple activities, wedding and business grand opening. During CNY, many individual homes and businessmen invite the drums group along with the Lion dance to perform at individual houses and at business premises to get rid off all bad elements and instead to bring in more luck and prosperity, abundance wealth and good health to the owner. Most children and elderly people enjoy watching them.

Traditional Musics played at KB Mall in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebration, from Sekolah Menengah Chung Cheng. It is a tradition to play Chinese music accompanied by traditional instruments in any Chinese festivals.

Kota Bharu – The Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year on the 14th. February 2009, which coincide with Valentine day. According to the lunar calendar, this year will be the year of the Tiger. The preparation for CNY begin about a month ahead where most people will spent time shopping for new clothing and food at the various malls. Various activities and events were organized. The peak of the event is during the CNY eve, where most Chinese offer food and prayers to the ancestors on the morning and attending the reunion dinner at night. And during the CNY day, most Chinese will be visiting temples and paying respect to the elderly and relatives by making house calls.

Beijing – The Temple of Heaven was constructed between 1406 and 1420 during the reign of Ming Emperor YongLe (1403-1424), who also oversee the creation of the Forbidden City during the same period.
The Temple of Heaven was originally named as the Temple of Heaven and Earth, but was later given its current name during the reign of Ming Emperor JiaJing (1522-1567), who built separate complexes for the earth, sun and moon. The Temple of Earth (DiTan) can be found in north Beijing. The temples of the sun and moon are in the east and west of Beijing.
The Temple of Heaven was renovated again during the reign of Qing Emperor QianLong (1736-1795).
In 1998, the Temple of Heaven was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
In early 2005, the Temple of Heaven underwent a 47 million yuan (6 million USD) renovation that was completed on May 1st, 2006.