My perception about AirAsia has changed.....

As I was moderating the comments left on my blog just now, I realized that Tony Fernandes left a comment on my post: Healthy Competition is Good. **WooT** Okay, I do not know whether it is really Dato' Tony Fernandes or just somebody who is using his name. But I shall assume that it is really Dato' Tony Fernandes, as in the CEO of AirAsia Berhad. (Thank you, Dato' Tony Fernandes for highlighting several issues out to me. I truly appreciate it as it made me realised that I have been looking at things from a one-sided perspective, thus giving a rather bias judgment on certain issues at times). I know I praised his arch-rival in that post but it is in my personal opinion that Datuk Seri Idris Jala is a transformational who managed to bring MAS out of its abysmal position (and this opinion still remains until today.)

I have used AirAsia countless times because of its cheaper fares and I have experienced numerous postpurchase dissonance in the process because of the the airline’s deep-seated inability to keep to its schedules. At one point of time, I surmised that flight delays due to the late arrival of the aircraft is central feature of AirAsia’s business operating plan!! However, I shall not lament on flight delays or cancellation due to bad weather because it is something inevitable. Nevertheless, despite all my unpleasant experience, I continued using AirAsia but it is out of repeat purchase behaviour because the airfare was much cheaper as compared to MAS and of course, the number of flights a day that they offer for the Kuching-KL sector: 10 flights a day as compared to MAS's 7. Note: until today, I will choose the one that offers the cheapest price. I do not have brand loyalty when it comes to airlines.

However, my past experience with AirAsia's service isn't my main point here. It is their down-to-earth leader that I shall talk about. I have heard from many people that they met Dato' Tony Fernandes at KLIA while checking-in and how humble was he to approach them first, chat with them and even agreed to take a picture with them. Then Peter Tan commended Dato' Tony Fernandes's quick response to meet with the members of Barrier-Free Environment and Accessible Transport Group (BEAT) personally to discuss the ways to resolve issues faced by disabled persons wanting to book seats to fly with AirAsia, immediately after the protest by the members of BEAT. However, after today, the fact that he commented on my post that did not favour AirAsia that much, I have to say that Dato' Tony Fernandes has proven himself to be a down-to-earth person. I mean, who am I? I am not actually a nobody. I am only one of the 27.17million people in Malaysia. I am not an opinion leader to anybody about airlines. I am not a frequent flyer of any airlines. I do not even have active income (my salary from my tuition is considered my pocket money). But the fact that my opinion actually mattered to the CEO of AirAsia (if it was really him) has changed my opinion about AirAsia:-
AirAsia: the number 1 budget airline in Asia.
AirAsia: the company that I used for most of my assignments during my diploma days because the website was (and still is) user friendly, availability of information and they had this section called Student FAQ which was very helpful.
AirAsia: The market leader in zero-fares.
AirAsia: Its low fares are more to a strategy since it is in line with the mission of the airline, and its tagline “Now Everyone Can Fly”.
AirAsia: The company with a CEO that takes the problems faced by physically challenged people seriously and addressed it immediately.
AirAsia: The company with a down-to-earth CEO.
and as mentioned by the lecturer just now during CB lecture, AirAsia: the sponsor for Manchester United, Formula One's Williams team and professional referees in English soccer.

Tony Fernandes (as in the one who commented on my blog) commented that AirAsia has not been given more routes to Singapore and have to compete against FireFly that is operating in Subang. True enough, Subang is much nearer as compared to Sepang, so some people might end up using FireFly even though it is more expensive than AirAsia. AirAsia currently has two daily flight frequencies between the lucrative KL-Singapore route (because it is allowed only two) while MAS has five flights. To say whether this is actually unfair, I don't know. After all, like what Datuk Seri Idris Jala said, Malaysia has open sky agreements with the US, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Taiwan and Scandinavian countries so AirAsia is actually free to fly to any of these destinations with no limitations on frequency.

Nevertheless, my stand regarding the zero air fare competition shall remain....

MAS is offering FREE Seats.
AirAsia is offering SubZero FREE Seats.
FireFly is now showing their FREE Seats is lower than Subzero.

*Surcharges such as fuel, insurance and administration fees are non-refundable.

Healthy and FAIR competition is GOOD
not only for consumers, but also for Malaysia's tourism industry
(though travel agents might really not welcome it with wide open arms because the incentive to sales agents and other ticket handling costs are minimized since tickets can only be booked online!!!).

Therefore, the winner of the MAS-AirAsia price war is us, the CONSUMERS
(as long as the interests of the consumers are taken care of, and most importantly, safety and efficiency are not compromised.)

So on behalf of all the consumers, I would like to thank Datuk Seri Idris Jala for being the first full-service airline to offer zero fares (source) and to Dato' Tony Fernandes for coming up with creative strategies when responding to competition (and for commenting on my blog).

May the Malaysian aviation industry be FULLY liberalised before the Asean open skies policy fully opens on 1st January 2009....

Towards a BETTER Malaysia.....

Reality hits in...

Just when I thought things were going smoothly as planned, reality check puts me back in the front seat of life.

Reality hits in. To think of it, I have got one essay due next week, one assignment due on the 26th, CB Online Quiz 4 opening next week so I must get it completed by the 23rd, CB Online Quiz 5 opening on the 30th and Leadership quiz 3 due end of this month.... **GAH**..Academic stuff aside, I received an email from the president of SCS Student Council saying that I've got to prepare the Student Council I&E statement and promote the YEC during the orientation for the new bunch of babies intake on the afternoon of 24th May...**pukes**...Unfortunately, my preparation for my quizzes and MR assignment have been put to halt due to my Leadership essay..... (and reality hits in that my essay is 40% completed as of today but it has surpassed the word limit by a grand four-figure amount and reality hits in that the list of references is not enough!!!). Preparation for those non-academic matters????????????????????????

Last night (and just now, as well), as I was trying to continue on my Leadership essay, an unpleasant message appeared in my mind: "There are no more ideas inside the brains. Please insert some more ideas into KJ's brains." So I tried to insert some ideas into my brains, but another message appeared: "KJ's brains have encountered a problem and needs to be closed."

So I decided to go online to read some blogs. My first stop was YB Wong Ho Leng's blog that presents a daily summary of Sarawak's DUN meeting. On most days of the sitting, the meeting convened around 5-10 minutes later because there are insufficient number of assemblymen in the Hall for a quorum. This left me wondering, how do you expect us to keep time when our leaders do not keep time even?? But anyway, reality hits in that I'm leaving in a society where the practice of the polychronic-time culture is a norm. Wait a minute, this website says that polychronic people are easily distracted and subjected to interruptions... ***Reality hits into KJ's head that that is why she chucked her essay aside again. She is just NOT DISCIPLINE at all***

After that, I went to YB Lim Kit Siang's blog for some political updates and spent around 20 minutes enjoying 2 YouTube footage on our YB Lim's debate on why the DAP MP for Kota Melaka, Sim Tong Him, and two DAP assemblymen, Goh Leong Sin (Kesidang) and Lim Jak Wong (Bachang), in Malacca last week were arrested by the police. I also watched the footage about the world's richest unemployed that was uploaded today..Then I stumbled upon Din Merican's blog that contained 3 YouTubes videos of our fiery and articulate Ipoh Timur MP raising the issue about RPK's arrest when it was his turn to hold the floor in the debate on the royal address. He took two hours to deliver his speech, which was of course filled with endless interjections, clarifications, demands for rebuttals mostly from BN backbenchers. (Thank you YB Lim for raising all those issues up in the dewan Rakyat. You are really the people's eyes, ears and mouth in the Dewan Rakyat.) Reality hits in that I must agree with Azmi Anshar's write-up about our DAP stalwart.

How I wish that I am the world's richest unemployed. How I wish I am one of the advisers to the Prime Minister of Malaysia...Read this to find out how much Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, the adviser on women and social development affairs, and Tan Sri Dr Abdul Hamid Othman, the adviser on religious matters earn per month. It makes Tun Dr. Mahathir's salary as the adviser to Petronas look little... A big thank you to the PKR's Member of Parliament for Kulim Bandar Baru, YB Zulkifli Noordin, for posting the questions, and to our Prime Minister for his written reply...By the way Datuk Seri Prime Minister, is there any vacancy for me as an adviser to you???

The DAP MP for Taiping cum assemblymen for Pantai Remis, YB Nga Kor Ming, is a great orator too. It reminds me of a Malaysian version of Barrack Obama. All praise to the other MPs too, be it from the Barisan Nasional or the Opposition side. Most of them speak very well with beautiful Bahasa Malaysia....***reality hits into KJ's head that she has to improve her command of the BM language*** Unfortunately, the act of the Independent MP for Pasir Mas, Datuk Ibrahim Ali, apologising to the physically challenged BUT NOT to YB Karpal Singh has irked me. ***Reality hits into KJ's head that not ALL Member of Parliaments in Malaysia are professional to differentiate between work and play...***

After that, I visited several other social-political blogs for more updates about Raja Petra Kamarudin, only to feel happy that he has finally agreed to post bail and has been released. Life must have been tough for his family members too. This posting on Susan Loone's blog touched my heart. Though I'm across the South China Sea, I stand with solidarity with everyone who participated in the RPK's candle vigil at the Sungai Buloh prison and Dataran Merdeka for the past two nights.

Then I stumbled upon the DAP MP for Rasah, YB Loke Siew Fook's blog and I was shocked when I read this. (Thank you, YB Loke for posting this)

Total undergraduates in local universities (2007) : 382,997

Bumiputra - 79.7%
Chinese - 12%
Indian - 3.2%
International - 3.7%

Is this a real reflection the meritocracy system??? Why is the Indian admission to local universities 3.2% while the admission of International students 3.7%??? *KJ gasps in horror* Aren't Indians Malaysians too??? ***Reality hits into KJ's head that this is MALAYsia***. Anyway, I strongly agree with the Barisan Nasional MP for Alor Gajah, Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn's proposal that the government should adopt a single entry system into local universities. (Excellent proposal, Datuk Seri Dr Fong. Keep it up.)

Okay, I feel that there are some space in my brains now so I shall take advantage of this rare opportunity to continue on with my never-seem-to-finish essay. Hope it's not another false alarm.

Have a great weekend, people...

Leadership essay beckons... this calls for concentration.

Reality hits into KJ's empty head that she has to concentrate.
and reality hits into KJ's head that it is already Saturday morning....

...and what do we get for speaking our minds out???

We celebrated World Press Freedom Day on 3rd May, 2008. Yesterday, we were greeted with the news that Raja Petra Kamarudin, the editor of Malaysia Today, has been charged under Section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 for his post here. Businessman Syed Akbar Ali was also charged under the same act for posting a comment on Raja Petra Kamarudin's site on 5th June, 2007.

Though some quarters aren't happy with his bravado, I got to respect RPK's rectifying actions. He has the guts to post allegations(??) against high-ranking officials. He is a victim of sadistic victimization. This is a political outrage to all bloggers....

This left me wondering...
-where is our freedom of speech as provided by Article 10 of the Federal Constitution??
- With regards to the Malaysian Bar Council statement that the use of the Sedition Act shows a severe encroachment on the fundamental freedoms as stated in the Federal Constitution, do these opressive legislations still have a place in a democratic country like Malaysia??


, left me hoping...
- that the Government of my beloved democratic country, Malaysia, would one day, repeal the Official Secrets Act 1972, Sedition Act 1948, Internal Security Act 1960, other opressive legislations and not forgetting, detention without trial.

, and left me wanting......
- to leave in a peaceful and multi-racial country where criminals are given a fair trial, and innocent people do not have to live in fear of being charged for expressing their thoughts and opinions.

But is there such a country in this world today?
I do not know because I am not well-versed in International Politics and Law.

But what I know is that this articulate man who spoke without fear or favour, but with proof, has chose to stay behind bars instead of posting the RM5000 bail to prove his point while pending the trial on his case on 6th October, 2008.

Like all brave bloggers, he is a man of words..He stood up for what was right.....

Nevertheless, I believe that ONE DAY, truth will prevail and justice will be done....

And we shall never be vilified, subdued, or subjugated by threats of intimidation.

Towards a BETTER Malaysia.

Side note- Taken from Malaysia Today: The Center for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and the Civil Society Initiative for Parliamentary Reform (CSI-Parliament) have prepared 4 documents supporting the Private Member’s Bill on Freedom of Information in Parliament. These documents are available for you to read here. There is also a petition calling for a Malaysian Freedom of Information Act. Please support the petition by signing it. Link here to find out more...Thank you.

Update on 8/5/2008: RPK has agreed to post bail.

Healthy Competition is GOOD

I had the inspiration to blog about this after reading Keith’s blog and after hearing Datuk Seri Idris Jala's message each time I sign out from Hotmail…(Credit given to the author of The Journals.blogspot.com -hope it's enough to save me from any charges pressed against me by the author!!)

Our national carrier, Malaysia Airlines (and its wholly-owned subsidiary, FireFly), had just launched its newest promotion: Everyday Low Fares.

1,000,000 free seats.
Fly from KL to Kuching (one way): RM0*
Book only at www.malaysiaairlines.com
Book early. Book online. No refunds. Fly 5-star!
Booking period: 5-19 May, 2008.
Travel period: 10 June, 2008-14 December, 2008.
*The above Economy Class fares EXCLUDE YSQ charges (fuel surcharge, administrative fee and airport tax), insurance levy and etc. Fares not available during peak periods. T&C apply…..

Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is not taken from an AirAsia advertisement. It (the words, I mean) is taken from the Malaysia Airlines (hereinafter referred to as MAS) advertisement in the 6th May, 2008 copy of Borneo Post, page 5. YES, our once-ailing national carrier, MAS, is now offering 1,000,000 free seats which includes the usage of the aerobridge, meal and etc. Remember that MAS does not charge any check-in baggage fee. It's AirAsia which charges the baggage fee of RM3 per bag (for online check-in) and RM5 per bag (for airport check-in). So you DO NOT have to pay any check-in baggage fee (that is if your check-in luggages do not exceed 20kg!)

Gone were those days when they could charge premium ticket prices, yet render poor service to customers and still survive. Gone were the days when they didn’t really have to improve their service even if it is under performing relative to other airlines.

Okay, to give MAS some credit: I redeemed MAS had played an important role in contributing to Malaysia’s economic and social integration. The company is currently operating the "loss-making" Rural Air Service (RAS) within Sabah and Sarawak through MasWings. I think this is indeed essential for social and economic development. MasWings took over this route from Fly Asian Xpress which gave it up after operating for around a year or so.

Credit goes to Datuk Seri Idris Jala, the revolutionary Managing Director and CEO of Malaysia Airline System Bhd, who took over the ailing airline on December, 2005 and later implemented the Business Turnaround Plan on 27^th February, 2006. The plan was aimed at cutting losses from RM1.7 billion (full year) to RM620 million in 2006, achieve a profit of RM50 million in 2007 and a record profit of RM500 million in 2008.

[I know some people will say that MAS is copying AirAsia's strategy of selling those seats that would otherwise remain empty and etc. So to be fair, I shall say that in reference to this case of MAS' low-fare offer, AirAsia is the market leader and MAS is the market follower. Anyway, there's no rule saying that one can't become a market follower, right??]

Then on 27^th February, 2008, it was reported that Malaysia Airline System Bhd confirmed its turnaround with a record net profit of RM851 million for the financial year ended 31st December, 2007.

And again, credit is given to that Sarawak interior-born Datuk Seri Idris Jala, for MAS' turnaround– all based on accountability, transparency, hard work and thrift... An example of a transformational leader.

….Gone were the bleak days when Malaysia Airline System (MAS) reported an abysmal loss of over RM1.3 billion while other airlines reported strong profits.

Yesterday, we were greeted with the news that AirAsia would come out with two new initiatives:
> AirAsia will pay the difference to any of his passengers if they can find any MAS airfare that is lower than the cheapest offered by AirAsia.
> A sub-Zero Fare campaign. Quoting Dato’ Tony Fernandes, “As for the sub-Zero Fare, which will be launched in the next few days, it will be cheaper than zero.”.

*WOoooooOT*…
Healthy competition is GOooooOD……

I strongly welcome it AS A CONSUMER. (but not IF I am another airline operator in Malaysia!!!).

Time for stimulus generalisation and stimulus discrimination???

.......Gone were the days when our Malaysian aviation industry was monopolized by one airline only.

And to give credit when credit is due, here's a THANK YOU to the CEO of AirAsia Berhad, Dato’ Tony Fernandes, for bringing AirAsia into operations....

However, I do not know whether this is a one-off marketing tactic for both airlines.... I hope it's a strategy instead. Anyway, Datuk Seri idris Jala has said that MAS is still making money from charging low fares. and Like what Sen Ze said, regular advertisements in mass media that advertise unbelievably low ticket prices is a great way to generate word-of-mouth publicity.

May Malaysia Airlines: the symbol of our national sovereignty, and AirAsia: the No.1 budget airline in Asia, be preserved without sacrificing efficiency.

Stubbornness to the extreme

When I was small, I remembered my mum wringing her hands in exasperation at me, saying "why are you so stubborn. Do you know that you are even more stubborn than a donkey??". Despite the numerous punishments that I received from my parents as a result of my wrongdoings caused by my stubbornness, I am still as stubborn as ever. I guess operant learning did not work on me!!

Before Online Quiz 3 opened, my lecturer was drowning into our saturated minds that we should be extremely well-prepared before attempting the quiz. Do not rush to attempt it and if possible, work with your course mates….

Being a stubborn person (as usual), I defied his advice (well, sort-off). I attempted the quiz one day after it opened (one week before the due date) since I felt that I was well-prepared for it. I decided to do it while the things I had revised for the past 2 days were still fresh in my head. I regretted my actions while on my first attempt. The questions were so hard and the answers were so close to each other. Halfway through my first attempt, the connection lagged for some reason. The page took two minutes or so to open and the timer was still running while waiting for it to open. I panicked. I felt the chills and tingling sensation flowing through my veins. Nevertheless, I remained vigilant and prayed fervently to be able to complete it.

I do not work together with my course mates when attempting my quizzes. My reason is simple. My course mates usually attempt the quiz one day before it closes or on the day itself. This is thing I dare not do since I have this phobia that the website would be jammed since everyone’s also rushing to complete the quiz. Who knows, Streamyx may decide to take a break, thus slow down the connection…..or maybe in one part of the Earth, an earthquake might just strike and cause the internet connection to be affected, similar to what happened on 28^th December, 2006 when an undersea earthquake off the coast of Taiwan measuring 7.2 on the Ritcher Scale struck and hit a lot of underground cables, thus disrupted most internet communications. Touch Wood.

I’m glad that my first wave of assignment and quizzes are over. I did not do badly for any. Probably my worst one is Leadership but it’s still a pass!!! I have (finally) completed my CB assignment 2. Woke up at 7:40am this morning to go to dad’s office to print it out. So I’m just praying fervently that I have complied with the requirements. I need to start my Leadership essay soon. It's due in 2 weeks time. Maybe I shall start my research tonight. I hope to finish it by next week so I can concentrate fully on MR assignment 2. Anyway, with a bit discipline, I’m sure I can get the essay done. NOTE TO SELF: Cut down your online hours.

Back to my Online Quiz 3, I’m glad I did not screw it up. I managed to get a full score for my second attempt…**WOOT** Surprisingly, I did quite well for the quiz I thought I had screwed up (Thank God we are given two attempts and Thank God I did well in both attempts!!)..….Hmm, maybe I should consider taking up UIU’s Bachelor in Psychology after completing my degree programme… Imagine getting a postgraduate degree in Psychology from Upper Iowa University. Imagine going to UIU’s Fayette campus. AaaaaaH, breathless thrill of freedom.... Free to speak, free to express my opinions, free to..... *KJ slaps herself *

By the way, can anyone tell me what is so great about the donuts at Big Apple Donuts and Coffee??? I do not find anything spectacular about their donuts. Last Saturday (26/4/2008), I stepped foot into Big Apple Donuts and Coffee at tHe Spring for the first time ever since it opened, only to leave as a dissatisfied customer. Actually it wasn’t my idea to go there since feedbacks from friends have told me that J. Co donuts win pants down. Mum was attracted by the bunting outside the shop which said something like “free donut for every cup of coffee or tea” so I found myself lining up for 20 minutes just to purchase 1 cup of coffee and 3 cups of tea, while dad was sitting resolute on the chair watching everyone queuing up and mum and sis went shopping at God-knows-where. (Being the youngest in the family, it seems like it is an ascribed role that I will be the one queuing up to place the order on behalf of my family at any self-service eateries.) Okay, back to my story. I had to endure the over 20 minutes queue since the cashier refused to entertain my order earlier on even though she was quite free since her next customer was still deciding which flavours to get. Well, Fair enough since everyone’s queuing up too. When it was finally my turn, the cashier charged me RM46 for 4 cups of drinks. Actually, I didn’t realize that there was a mistake in the calculations since I was fuming after queuing up for what-seems-like-hours, hence was not thinking rationally. I finally realized that there was something wrong after Dad knocked some sense into my head. I went up to the cashier and demanded to see the receipt as she said earlier on it was their policy that they keep the receipt. When I saw the receipt, I was shocked to see that I was billed an additional RM22 for a dozen donuts, which I did not even order in the first place.

Me: Miss, I think there is a mistake. I did not purchase a dozen donuts.
Cashier: Yes, you did. I saw you lining up.
Me: What has lining up got to do with this??
Cashier: Usually, people line up to buy our donuts.
Me: HELLO, I lined up because earlier on, you asked me to line up despite the fact that I told you that I just want a cup of coffee and 3 cups of tea.
Cashier: But I remembered handing your donuts to you.
Me: Since when?? And for your information, there are no donuts with me except for the 4 FOC original donuts that came with the drinks. If you don’t believe, go check my seat if you want..(Pointing to my place). See, you see any of your Big Apple plastic bag or box over there?????
Cashier: Are you sure you didn’t buy 12 donuts???
Me: I swear that I did not buy your donuts… and did you see me passing any Big Apple plastic bag to anyone or leaving your outlet???
Cashier: Like that ah, or you line up and choose 12 donuts lor…
Me: I do not want your donuts, okay… Just return RM22 back to me….
Cashier: You take 12 donuts is the same as me returning you back RM22.
Me: How many times must I tell you, I do not want your donuts. I want my money back….

In the end, the cashier unwillingly returned RM22 back to me without apologizing to me….This unfortunate incident was enough to make me dissatisfied, thus experiencing postpurchase dissonance. Being a stubborn person, I don’t think I will line up to buy their donuts anytime around- many thanks to the idiotic cashier at Big Apple Donuts and Coffee at tHe Spring who attempted to rip siphon RM22 out of my Dad's pockets. Anyway, I'm not really into sweet stuff (though I will never resist J. Co donuts!!!!).

Is it just me or what that I find Big Apple donuts too sweet???? I personally think that Big Apple donuts are nothing to shout about…

-Sorry for digressing -