A YEAR IN HELL WITH YARL RESTAURANT

This morning yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood at 6.03 a.m. so here I am writing another article about its noise pollution program after being wakened up by this loud and deafening kitchen hood noise. After all, how can I sleep when my everything in my room is vibrating with noise? Yarl restaurant's noise pollution is particularly extremely loud at this hour of the day probably because no one (even if there were any) would come to check on the restaurant so early in the morning. Each morning, when yarl restaurant's boss turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood, it is as though he is saying:

Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell them that the speaker is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant.
Last night I really panicked because I had to do some shopping after work. Why panicked? Because I knew that I would be late when I got home and this would mean that I would not get enough sleep the next day when yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood very early in the morning to wake me up. In the past, I used to enjoy shopping after work but now, it is something I fear to do because I would have to sacrifice my sleep for it. Well, it is indeed a shame to say that 56 years after our country attained independence, as a citizen of Malaysia, I don't even have the freedom to go shopping whenever I want because yarl restaurant's boss says that I don't have this kind of freedom. During the British Colonialism  no one had this problem and life was very peaceful then. But now, even with the global peace foundation, my life is being threatened by this loud and deafening kitchen hood noise all the time and even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall cannot do anything about it.. There is no more peace in the neighbourhood now, only noise day and night. Life has since become hell for us. Every night, before I sleep, I would get a topic ready in my mind about yarl restaurant's noise pollution program and start writing in this blog the next morning when yarl restaurant wakes me up with its loud and deafening kitchen hood noise. Since today is the last day of the year I would like to reflect on the sufferings that yarl restaurant has caused us throughout this year.

It all started one day in January this year. One night, after work, I heard the sound of a diesel truck making lots of noise outside my window. Thinking that it was only a diesel truck, I believed that the noise would go away after a few minutes but the noise went on for hours. Wondering why this diesel truck was making so much noise, I looked out of my window and was shocked to see yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood functioning at its maximum noise capacity. Since that moment onwards our lives were changed forever. There is no more peace, only loud and deafening noise day and night. With the global peace convention held recently in Kuala Lumpur, I don't know how Malaysia defines "peace" but based on the inaction on the part of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Malaysia's "peace" could very well be taken to mean that noise pollution is good for us.

The first thing that  I did after yarl restaurant started making loud and deafening noise outside my window was to move the computer table which as located next to the window to another corner of my room. I put the computer table beside the window because I loved to look out of the window whilst doing my work. But with yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise outside my window, it's not possible for me to do my work next to the window anymore. Whilst moving the computer table, I broke my 17' monitor screen and until today I couldn't find another one. This incident clearly represents the peace and freedom that we have lost and can never be returned to us again. But then it is useless to put the computer table at the corner of the room that is furthest from the window because yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise is so loud and deafening that my entire body and soul is vibrating even as I am typing out this article now.

Everyone yearns for freedom. That's was why our country wanted independence from the British rule. But 56 years after independence, I am living like a slave in this country. No one would like to be told when to wake up, when to eat, when to take a bath, when to go to work, when to do shopping, when to watch TV, when to visit friends, when to attend dinners, when to chat with friends over the telephone, and when to sleep. But as a citizen of Malaysia, I don't have the freedom to do all these things. I have to sleep when yarl restaurant turns off its noisy kitchen hood and wake up when its noisy kitchenhood is turned on. Whenever there is a water cut and the water supply is restored after 10 p.m., I must go to bed hungry and without a bath because these would take time which would mean that I would have to sleep late only to be wakened up early by yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise the next morning. I used to enjoy chatting with my old friends over the telephone in the past but now whenever friends call to chat after 10 p.m., I would tell them that I have to sleep early because yarl restaurant will make a lot of noise in the morning and I have to wake up early. Whenever friends or relatives ask me to go out at night, I would tell them that I have to sleep early because yarl restaurant will make a lot of noise in the morning and I have to wake up early in the morning. Whenever there are dinners to attend (including my company annual dinner), I can't go since I have to sleep early because yarl restaurant will make a lot of noise in the morning. No more watching TVs, doing shopping, and visiting friends at night or I'll have to pay a great price for these i.e. to endure another sleepy and tired day the next day. I can't even stay in my bedroom the whole day. If I want to stay in my bedroom, I must turn on some kind of music or nature sounds to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. My electricity bills have also gone up because of that. Who is going to pay for me?

I wasn't feeling well the past few days but couldn't rest well. In the mornings, I have to leave my bedroom when yarl restaurant turns on its noisy kitchenhood early in the morning. I can still remember, how my mom suffered when she had cancer. But she was luckier than me because yarl restaurant has not started operation yet at that time and she could rest well in her bedroom (the room which I am staying in now). I can only pray that I won't have cancer because if I do, I would have no place to rest and recuperate because my bedroom is filled with yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise. But then what can I do? This is the fate of an ordinary citizen of Malaysia - voiceless and can't even have the most basic rights. Sometimes, I do wish that I could live in the stone age because there is more peace then than now.

Does anyone have the right to make lots of noise at 6.00 a.m. or sometimes even as early as 5.20 a.m. in the morning? Is this kind of nuisance encouraged elsewhere in this world? But Malaysia Boleh. Do I have the right to say anything about noise pollution when radiation can be good for us? Like the LYNAS victims, I used to enjoy a peaceful life before yarl restaurant started operation in January this year. But since, yarl restaurant started operation, my life has since been turned into hell. I have to bear many sleepy and tired days at work and I find it very difficult to focus on my work. Today, I have to deal with many people and I wonder how I can ever do that without enough sleep. Sometimes, whilst talking half way, I suddenly find my mind blank and couldn't think of anything to say. Oh my God! How long do I have to endure yarl restaurant's noise pollution program? Because of yarl restaurant's triumph in evil, I am beginning to question the existence of God. If he really does exist, why does he let innocent people like me to suffer like this? I really cannot take it anymore. I feel that I am dying slowly with yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. Is there anyone in this world who can help me?

Selfish and irresponsible restaurant owner creates hell for us everyday

Today is Sunday and everyone would prefer to get up a little bit later than usual. When they are working on weekdays, they have no choice but to get up early but on a Sunday morning everyone has got the right to sleep until 8 a.m. or even 9 a.m.. But yarl restaurant's boss says that his noise pollution victims do not have such a right. Actions speak louder than words. When he turned on his loud and deafening kitchen hood at 6.20 a.m. this morning, he was actually telling us that it was time for us to get up and leave our bedrooms because he wanted to do business. Thus one can see here that he is the one who decides when we sleep and when we get up. Although I am still sick now and would love to sleep until 8 a.m., I have no choice but to get up and write this article because I can't sleep with yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise that is causing strong vibrations in my bedroom. Each time yarl restaurant's boss wakes us up from our deep sleep with his loud and deafening kitchen hood noise, it is as though he is saying:

"Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell them that the speaker is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant.

So what do we do after being wakened up by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise early every morning? Leave our bedrooms immediately or if we want to stay in our bedrooms, we have to turn on some kind of music, songs or nature sounds the whole day to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. Most of the time, my children would prefer to go somewhere else with their friends because they cannot study in their bedrooms and find it boring to stay in the living room with their grandmother watching TV. So, it seems that with the new education blueprint, Malaysia is churning out a new generation of students who cannot study at home and who spend their time hanging around with friends because noise pollution is good for us!

I have always thought that Malaysia is an advanced nation but when it comes to human rights, Malaysia is still very far behind. In civilized countries such as Australia, restaurant owners can only make noise (less than 60 dBA or even 55 dBA in some places) from 8.00 a.m. onwards on Sundays because it is understood that people do not get up so early on Sunday mornings. How much is 60 dBA? The noise of an ordinary spoken conversation. What about yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood that sounds more like a diesel truck outside our windows all the time? But then what can we expect from the authorities when radiation can be good for us? It seems that India is a much more civilized country than Malaysia when it comes to human rights as the article below clearly indicates!

Indian hotel managers face jail time for Katy Perry noise pollution

by Scott Carmichael (RSS feed) on Oct 30th 2010 at 11:30AM

Indian officials are investigating complaints of noise pollution from the Aman-i-Khas hotel where Russel Brand and Katie Perry recently tied the knot. During their wedding reception, party noise exceeded the 45 decibel limit, and that means someone is in trouble.

An official for the Sawaimadhopur district already said that the newly weds will not be charged, but that hotel management is not going to get off that easy.

To clarify, Wikipedia lists 45 decibels around the noise level of a conversation when two people are about 1 meter apart. The punishment for "talking softly" could mean several days in jail for the hotel managers who were on duty.

After the Indian wedding and reception, the couple flew to the Maldives - I just hope they have someone to help translate whatever the locals tell them.

[Photo credit: bauergriffinonline.com]

 

MONEY FOR ME, NOISE FOR YOU

I am still very sick today and I hope to sleep a little bit later than usual since today is a Saturday aNd I am not working. But I can't because yarl restaurant woke me up  from my deep sleep at 6.15 a.m. this morning WITH ITS LOUD AND DEAFENING KITCHEN HOOD NOISE. Luckily I am not suffering from cancer or yarl restaurant's boss would have sent me to my grave a long time ago. To make such a loud and deafening noise with the kitchen hood at 6.15 a.m.in the morning is simply horrendous when the entire neighbourhood is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. But yesterday was even worse because yarl restaurant turned on the noisy kitchen hood at 5.40 a.m. in the morning. This clearly shows what kind of person yarl restaurant's boss is - SELFISH AND IRRESPONSIBLE, THINKING ONLY OF HIMSELF AND HIS PROFITS WHILST SACRFICING THE ENTIRE NEIGHBOURHOOD FOR HIS BUSINESS.

Each time the kitchen hood is turned on so loudly in the morning, it is as though yarl restaurant's boss is shouting "Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall people can't do anything to me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant."

Why did I start this blog? I remember how Malala fought for the rights of a proper education for women in a country which denies such rights. And here I am fighting for the rights to a peaceful living in a country which denies such rights. As a citizen of Malaysia, I am suffering intensely from noise pollution and being subjected continuously to sleep deprivation (everyday day of my life) - a form of torture that is intended for war prisoners and criminals. Why must I suffer all these just because yarl restaurant's boss wants to make big bucks?

Yarl restaurant chased us out of our bedroom at 5.40 a.m. this morning

Last night, I wasn't feeling well but could only go to bed when yarl restaurant turned off its kitchen hood at about 10.30 p.m. But this morning, yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood again at 5.40 a.m. This means that we are only allowed to sleep about 7 hours today when we need 8 hours sleep or more for optimum performance. At such an early hour of the day, when the entire neighbourhood is so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop, yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood is indeed a disaster in this area. Each time the kitchen hood is turned on so loudly in the morning, it is as though yarl restaurant's boss is shouting "Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell him them it is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant."

As I am typing out this article, I can feel strong vibrations in my bedroom because of yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise. I am not feeling well today and after being wakened up by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood at such an early hour in the morning, my head is really swinging. Where am I going to rest today? I can't stay in my bedroom without turning on some kind of music or sound to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. There is only one alternative - to sleep on the sofa in the living room. I have been thinking how could such an uncivilized thing can still happen in Malaysia which is supposed to be a civilized country. It is as though I am still living in a cowboy town i.e. with yarl restaurant's boss as the cowboy suddenly going into our town and doing whatever he wants to threaten our lives but there is no law to protect us. Or are we prisoners of war or criminals that we have to be subjected to this kind of inhumane torture continuously - sleep deprivation.

What can we do to escape from yarl restaurant's noise pollution program? Despite our repeated complaints to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), we were told that they cannot tell the difference between a speaker and a kitchen hood. Yarl restaurant's boss can actually lower the volume of the kitchen hood but he simply does not want to do so at such an early hour in the morning. I surmise this is because even if the DBKL officers were to check on them, they won't come at such an early hour in the morning. Does it mean that his kitchen hood is so defective that it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise?

Yarl Restaurant's KItchen Hood - A Terrrible Nightmare in the Neighbourhood

Today is Christmas, a public holiday, and everyone would be glad to sleep a little bit longer and get up a little bit later than usual but we can't. As victims of yarl restaurant's noise pollution program, we were chased out of our bedrooms at 6.30 a.m. when yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood. If you were to ask me what is the most frightening thing in my life, no doubt it is yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. Why is it so frightening? Because it makes loud and deafening noise all the time, chasing us out of our bedrooms early every morning whilst we are still in a deep sleep. Not only does it threaten our health and well-being but it also restraints our freedom turning us into slaves.

As I am typing out this article, the noise that I hear is so unbearable particularly at such an hour in the morning. The first thing that we hear early every morning is yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise - like a noisy diesel truck outside our window. How could anyone bear this kind of noise throughout all his waking hours? In other countries, the restaurant owner would have been finded or even jailed but in Malaysia we cannot say or do anything about this. Why is it so? Because the Kuala Lumpur City Hall cannot tell the difference between a speaker and a kitchen hood. Do Malaysians have the right to a peaceful living? Do they have the right to have enough sleep and sleep peacefully without disturbance? Do they have the right to decide when to sleep and when to wake up? NO - yarl restaurant's boss wants to make big bucks and he has to sacrifice our health, well-being, and freedom! Early every morning, when he turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood, it is as though he is telling everyone in the neighbourhood, "Hey, you fools, please get up and leave your bedrooms immediately. I want to make big bucks today and I have to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood. Go and sleep elsewhere."

Goodbye Liberty! As a citizen of Malaysia, I don't even have the freedom to live a proper life.

This morning, yarl restaurant turned on its kitchen hood at 6.10 a.m. This is indeed a terrible nightmare for all its victims. The peace and quietness of all our mornings are destroyed by this unwanted, loud and deafening diesel truck noise. Whether we want it or not, it is time to leave our bedrooms. Before yarl restaurant started operation, this area was very quiet and peaceful but now the only thing that we can hear day and night is yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise intruding into every aspect of our lives. Our lives are filled with noise all the time and this terrible noise is threatening our freedom to live a proper life.

Why say goodbye to liberty forever? Take for instance, last Saturday, when there was a water cut in this area due to a broken pipe at Jalan Tun Sambanthan. There was no water the whole day and when the water supply was finally restored after 10 p.m., guess what we did? In the past, we would take a bath and cook something to eat before we sleep but not now. Although we did not eat well that day, the idea of cooking something to eat after 10 p.m. was totally out. Cooking takes time and by the time we finish, it will be quite late which  means that we would not have enough sleep if yarl restaurant turns on its kitchen hood at 6 in the morning. We did not even take a bath that day because taking a bath also takes time and we can't afford to sleep late. So we went to bed hungry and without taking a bath that day because of yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise!

As citizens of Malaysia, we don't even have the liberty to take a bath whenever we want and we have to go to bed hungry like refugees. This is because we have to live up to yarl restaurant's expectations. What is even worse is nothing can be done to stop this nuisance in the neighbourhood because the Kuala Lumpur City Hall cannot differentiate between a speaker and a kitchen hood! In a way, it may also be true so say that even refugees have better rights than us because the United Nations really look after their rights well! As citizens of Malaysia, there is no one whom we can turn to when our basic rights are infringed.

The Sufferings of a noise pollution victim in Malaysia

Last night, there was a terrible jam in Kuala Lumpur after the rain. I got home late and after getting everything done, I only managed to sleep at 11 pm. As I was on my way home, I knew that a terrible fate would be awaiting me the next day because I would have to endure another day without sufficient sleep because yarl restaurant will chase us out of our bedrooms at around 6 a.m.. True enough, this morning, at 6.10 a.m., yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise can be heard like thunder outside the window usual. But the Kuala Lumpur Cityl Hall (DBKL) officers will never want to know this despite repeated complaints. Even if they were to check on the restaurant, yarl restautant's boss would quickly turn off the kitchen hood and show them the speaker in the restaurant.and they would believe that the speaker is the kitchen hood. What is even worse in that they can't tell the difference between the speaker and the kitchen hood. In other countries, restaurants are not allowed to make noise before 7 a.m. and even after 7 a.m., they cannot emit noise which is above 60dBA. But in Malaysia, you can be tortured with noise as loud as a diesel truck outside your window at 6 in the morning and you have no right to say or do anything about it!

On a Saturday morning, I should be sleeping until 8 a.m. especially when I am not working but this is no longer possible because of yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. Since I am forced to wake up sleepy and tired by yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise to endure another day of sleep deprivation, I have no choice but to make my plight known to the whole world. I am writing not because I want to but because I have to. Once I stop making complaints, the situation will get worse because yarl restaurant will then turn on the its kitchen hood at 5 a.m. in the morning and turns it off at 12 midnight. This has happened before.

Do you know how much pain I have to endure as a noise pollution victim? Take for instance yesterday when I had to give a very important talk - When I was giving this talk to a group of people, my mind was working so slowly that I couldn't remember many of the things that are so familiar to me. And of course having to force my sleepy eyes to remain open and concentrate on what I was doing was really an uphill task. Sleep deprivation can even cause accidents. This is worse than physical torture in the fires of hell. I normally sleep 8-9 hours a day but now I have to do with 7 hours or even less. Does anyone have the right to stop someone from getting enough sleep? In Malaysia, this anyone can have such a right. You can just rent a shoplot in any place, turn on your kitchen hood which is as loud as a diesel truck outside somebody's window at 6 a.m.in the morning to chase everyone out of their bedrooms and no one can stop you. Is this what is meant by "Malaysia Boleh" i.e. you can do anything in Malaysia?

Having to live up to yarl restaurant's noise pollution expectations is also an uphill task. I can no longer do many of the things that I used to so such as going out with friends after work, watching my favourite programs at night, calling friends at night, or even doing shopping after work. There is only one thing in mind, i.e. I must get up early because yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise will chase me out of my bedroom at around 6 in the morning. As I look back, I really yearn for the freedom that I have lost and will never have as long as yarl restaurant's ktchen hood is making loud and deafening noise outside my window.

Everyone takes freedom for granted but for the victims of yarl restaurant's noise pollution program, freedom is only an illusion. If yarl restaurant says, "Don't attend your company's annual dinner or watch football at night because you must wake up early next morning as my kitchen hood noise is going to chase you out of your bedroom at 6", they have no choice but to obey. In this era, even children wouldn't listen if you ask them not to watch football at night. But what about me, as an adult, who have to live up to yarl restaurant's noise pollution expectations? Do you know how stressful it is to be a noise pollution victim? It is worse than cancer. Even refugees are given the right to an adequate standard of living but as a citizen of Malaysia, I have no such right!


According to the United Nations on Human Rights, the right to an adequate standard of living requires, at a minimum, that everyone shall enjoy the necessary subsistence rights: adequate food and nutrition, clothing, housing and the necessary conditions of care when required. The essential point is that everyone shall be able, without shame and without unreasonable obstacles, to be a full participant in ordinary, everyday interaction with other people. Thus, people should be able to enjoy their basic needs in conditions of dignity. No one should have to live in conditions whereby the only way to satisfy their needs is by degrading themselves or depriving themselves of their basic freedoms, such as through begging, prostitution or forced labour.


 As a citizen of Malaysia, I have to live in shame and with unreasonable obstacles in the form of yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. I cannot be a full participant in ordinary, everyday interaction with other people. I can no longer go out with friends after work or attend wedding dinners as I have to rush home to sleep because yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise will chase me out of my bedroom at 6 in the morning. I cannot enjoy my basic needs in conditions of dignity. In actual fact, I have no dignity now. I am only a slave to yarl restaurant's noise pollution program. I am living in conditions whereby yarl restaurant' is depriving me of my basic freedoms, such as chasing me out of my bedroom with its kitchen hood noise early in the morning at 6, depriving me of sleep, preventing me from going out with friends, attending dinners, doing shopping, and watching football at night. These are the things that many people take for granted but do you know that I am fighting desperately and in vain just to have these basic freedoms restored to me?

Why is the Kuala Lumpur City Hall so inefffective in dealing with noise pollution?

Last night, after I came back from the night market at around 9.30 p.m., I quickly dumped everything on the floor, took a bath and wanted to sleep. I did not have the time to put the things in the fridge because I was rushing to go to bed early knowing that yarl restaurant would turn on the kitchen hood at around 6 and this means that I must sleep by 10 pm in order to to get my 8 hours sleep. But yarl restaurant only turned off the kitchen hood at 10.30 p.m. last night. I could only sleep at 10.30 p.m.  However, this morning at 6.15 a.m., yarl restaurant has already turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood again to wake me up from my deep sleep before I could sleep for 8 hours.

Why is the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) so ineffective in dealing with noise pollution? Here, I would like to share with you one of the greatest jokes of the century entitled "The Day the kitchen hood turned into the speaker". One day, after repeated complaints from the residents, the DBKL officers finally went to check on yarl restaurant. However, instead of looking for the real kitchen hood, they assumed that the kitchen hood was the speaker inside the restaurant. In their email to me, I was told that the speaker was only temporary and according to yarl restaurant's boss, it was intended to attract customers during Deepavali. Sounds ridiculous, isn't it? We are complaining about the kitchen hood but they are dealing with the speaker. Yarl restaurant's boss must have shut the gate at the back of the restaurant so that the DBKL officers couldn't see the kitchen hood. However, these DBKL officers should have gone to the back of the restaurant to check if they have some intelligence but they did not. (Though I do wonder how this mistake could be made when the photo of the kitchen hood is so clear in my blog article and I have provided a link to this blog article in my email to DBKL). What happened to the kitchen hood that I was talking about? It is very obvious that yarl restaurant's boss turns it off whenever someone comes to check. But the question is why on earth did these DBKL fellows focus on the speaker and did not try to look for the kitchen hood at all? Why is it that they refuse to take any action at all despite repeated complaints? Even as I am typing out this article now, yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise is so loud and deafening that I feel like fleeing from my bedroom. Does yarl restaurant's boss have the right to torture us to such an extent and for more than 17 hours a day? Does yarl restaurant's boss have the right to prevent sleep? I send a complaint email to them every morning but so far they have done nothing except for their "magic show" i.e. turned the kitchen hood into the speaker. There is a saying "With money even the kitchen hood can turn into the speaker". Just how true is it? Well, it is for the Kuala Lumpur City Hall to answer this question. Since Malaysia is known as one of the most corrupt nations, anything can happen here. Let the public be the judge! Oh yes, the Kuala Lumpur City Council did something very grand recently i.e. raising our property taxes. Why is it so? According to them, the value of our property has increased. Increased in what way? Yarl restaurant's noise pollution program has rendered our flats totally uninhabitable and we are living in extremely degrading conditions. So do we have to pay for our degrading living conditions brought about by the DBKL's inaction? The DBKL is really funny!

Please read the following email from the Kuala Lumpur City Council to find out how they performed their "magic show" by turning the kitchenhood into the speaker.

Siasatan / Tindakan :
1.Tarikh siasatan pada 29/10/2013@10.00mlm.
2.Premis yang diadukan merupakan restoran menjual makanan/hidangan SriLanka(Tamil).
3.Terdapat sebuah speaker didalam premis digunakan untuk menarik pelanggan semperna Pesta Deepavali.
4.Pesta akan tamat pada 3/11/2013.
Tarikh Tindakan Diambil : 01-11-2013 08:38

Kenalpasti Punca :
1.Tiada kacauganggu bunyi bising semasa siasatan.
2.Pemantauan akan diteruskan.
Tarikh : 01-11-2013 08:38



Tindakan Pencegahan Yang Diambil :
1.Amaran dan teguran kpd pengusaha restoran.
2.Notis kacauganggu akan dikeluarkan.

Nama Pegawai : Thilagenthiran A/L S.Somasundram
Jawatan : Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran
Tarikh : 01-11-2013 08:38






Walau bagaimana pun pihak kami akan membuat aduan baru untuk tuan, dan pihak kami akan memaklumkan perkara ini kepada jabatan yang berkenaan.



Sekian, terima kasih.
ith noise pollution despite repeated complaints? What can they do when they can even tell the difference between the speaker and the kitchen hood?


So is this the reason why the Kuala Lumpur City Hall wants to increase the CUKAI TAKSIRAN? For what purpose? For its ineffectiveness? For being unable to differentiate between the speaker and the kitchen hood?

When the DBKL thought that the speaker was the kitchen hood!

Today yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood at 6.10 a.m. The noise is so loud and deafening that there is only one thing that we could do and that is to leave our bedrooms immediately. This is already the 21st century but we are still living in a cowboy town. I think that it's really a great joke that lawlessness still prevails in this era. Anyone can simply come into town, threaten your life but you can do nothing to stop them. Is there any law to protect the basic rights of the citizens of Malaysia  or is it because we have laws that no one obeys and the law enforcers couldn't be bothered to enforce them?

What happened to my report to the Kuala Lumpur City Council? The kitchen hood was mistaken to be the speaker inside the restaurant which yarl restaurant's boss said was only temporary and intended to attract customers during Deepavali. Lying again, I suppose. He must have shut the gate at the back of the restaurant so that the DBKL officers couldn't see it. They should have gone to the back of the restaurant to check. (Though I do wonder how this mistake could be made when the photo of the kitchen hood is so clear in my blog article and I have provided a link to this blog article in my email to DBKL). What happened to the kitchen hood that I was talking about? It is very obvious that yarl restaurant's boss turns it off whenever someone comes to check. Please read the following email from the Kuala Lumpur City Council.

Siasatan / Tindakan :
1.Tarikh siasatan pada 29/10/2013@10.00mlm.
2.Premis yang diadukan merupakan restoran menjual makanan/hidangan SriLanka(Tamil).
3.Terdapat sebuah speaker didalam premis digunakan untuk menarik pelanggan semperna Pesta Deepavali.
4.Pesta akan tamat pada 3/11/2013.
Tarikh Tindakan Diambil : 01-11-2013 08:38

Kenalpasti Punca :
1.Tiada kacauganggu bunyi bising semasa siasatan.
2.Pemantauan akan diteruskan.
Tarikh : 01-11-2013 08:38



Tindakan Pencegahan Yang Diambil :
1.Amaran dan teguran kpd pengusaha restoran.
2.Notis kacauganggu akan dikeluarkan.

Nama Pegawai : Thilagenthiran A/L S.Somasundram
Jawatan : Penolong Pegawai Kesihatan Persekitaran
Tarikh : 01-11-2013 08:38






Walau bagaimana pun pihak kami akan membuat aduan baru untuk tuan, dan pihak kami akan memaklumkan perkara ini kepada jabatan yang berkenaan.



Sekian, terima kasih.

The Kuala Lumpur City Council officers really have a very vivid imagination for assuming that the speaker is the kitchen hood.

It is better to suffer from Malaria than to endure yarl restaurant's kitchenhood noise

                                        Yarl restaurant's noisy and deafening kitchenhood.

This morning yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood at 6.24 a.m. As usual, I have to jump out of bed immediately as it's not possible to sleep with this loud and deafening noise. It is really very stressful to live up to yarl restaurant's expectations. There is no freedom to sleep as we have to be ready to leave our bedrooms the moment yarl restaurant turns on its loud and deafening kitchen hood early in the morning. This area used to be very quiet in the past before yarl restaurant started operation in January this year. Vogue restaurant does not give us any problems. It is facing the back of the building on the other side. Further, it only starts operation at 10 a.m. and closes at 10 p.m. so there is no problem of waking up everyone early in the morning because everyone is awake by 10 a.m.. Anyway, I can't hear Vogue restaurant's noise from my flat. Restaurant LeeTong Kee, which is next to Yarl restaurant, does not make any noise. Why is it that yarl restaurant must give us so many problems?

Why is it better to suffer from Malaria than to endure yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise? Malaria is treatable and avoidable. After some time the disease is completely over but yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise is always there to plague us every day of our lives causing us a lot of stress and this coupled with sleep deprivation would soon send us to our graves! This deadly noise cannot be avoided. With all the windows closed, it's vibrations can still be felt strongly and its deafening noise permeates every nook and corner of our bedrooms.

Is Malaysia making a global impact for Peace through yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise?

Yarl restaurant's noisy kitchen hood which cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise.

At 6.15 a.m. this morning, yarl restaurant's kitchen hood is already making loud and deafening noise to disturb the entire neighbourhood much to the dismay of everyone. This is really madness particularly when the entire neighbouthood is so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop. I don't think anyone in their tight senses would shout or talk loudly at this time because even a whispering sound can be heard clearly at this hour of the morning. But yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise can be heard in the entire neighbourhood telling everyone that's it's time to leave their bedrooms. Actions speak louder than words and when yarl restaurant's boss turns on his loud and deafening kitchen hood early every morning, it is as though he is saying:


Hey, you fools, GET UP, GET UP, GET UP. I want to make big bucks today. I want to turn on my loud and deafening kitchen hood now because it cannot function properly without making loud and deafening noise so please leave your bedrooms immediately. I will only lower the volume of my kitchen hood whenever anyone comes to check on my restaurant. When no one is there to check on me, I will turn on my kitchen hood to its maximum capacity. I don't care how my kitchen hood noise is affecting you. I only want to do business and make lots of money. If you can't stand my kitchen hood noise, you can shift elsewhere. If you want to stay here, you must bear all the sufferings that my noise pollution program is causing you with fortitude. In this lawless cowboy town, I am the law and I can do what I want. Even the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) people can't do anything to me. That is why I am so daring. If these DBKL fellows ever come to check on my restaurant, I'll just show them the speaker and tell them that the speaker is the kitchen hood and they will believe me. No one can do anything to me. I am in control here because I own a restaurant. My skin is very thick and I don't know how to feel ashamed of myself. I know very well that my kitchen hood is making a lot of noise but I don't care. I am also a liar. Sometime in August 2013, I lied to Fong Kui Lun's (MP of this area) assistant that I would reduce the noise in the neighbourhood without any intention to do so. Since he came to see me to ask me to reduce the noise after complaints from the neighbours, I might as well lie to him because I know that he cannot do anything to me. I am not going to spend a single sen to solve the noise problem. Let the neighbours suffer as long as I can make money. It is really amusing to make everyone in the neighbourhood suffer for the sake of my business. The entire neighbourhood is very quiet at this hour of the day, so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop, and the only noise you can hear is my kitchen hood noise. Each morning, when I turn on my noisy kitchen hood, everyone has to flee from their bedrooms. At night, long after bedtime hour and even at midnight, I can still make loud and deafening noise so that my victims cannot sleep. How funny! Sleep deprivation is a beautiful thing! See how my victims suffer? This clearly shows how grand I am! The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has given me the authority to do so through their inaction. These DBKL fellows dare not do anything to me. I can make others suffer under my noise pollution and sleep deprivation program and they cannot do anything to me. No one can do anything to me. Can we torture others for the sake of our business? Well, Malaysia Boleh and that is why I am doing it! MONEY FOR ME, NOISE FOR YOU-this is the motto of my life. Ha! Ha! Ha!


I am writing this article even though I am feeling sleepy and tired because after being wakened up by yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise, I can't sleep anymore with the noise. This is what I fear every day of my life - to be waken up suddenly by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise when I am still in my deep sleep and to go to work sleepy and tired due to inadequate sleep. Forcing myself to stay awake and to do work when I am extremely sleepy is like being punished in a concentration camp but this is what I have to endure every day of my life because of yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. Due to lack of sleep, my mind often turns blank. While I am giving a talk, I suddenly find myself unable to remember what to say because I am too sleepy. Sleep deprivation is seriously affecting my health and my performance at work. Having to endure yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise is the worst thing that could happen to us in our lives.  We want to sleep peacefully at night and wake up peacefully in the morning but since yarl restaurant started operation in January this year, there is no more peace in the neighbourhood. We have to sleep with yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise every night, to be waken up by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise every morning, and endure this noise all our waking hours. And of course our health and quality of life are deteriorating because of the kitchen hood noise. But sad to say, nothing has been done by the Malaysian government to bring an end to our sufferings despite repeated complaints to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). It seems that these DBKL people is only good at doing magic shows and increasing our property taxes. Well, what can we expect from the authorities when cyanide and radiation can be good for you?

In other countries, restaurants are only allowed to make noise after 7 a.m. and before 10 p.m. at a fixed level i.e. below 60 dBA and in some countries below 55 dBA. During the weekends, they can only turn on the kitchen hood after 8 a.m. because it is understood that people do not normally get up early during the weekends as it is the only time that they can enjoy their sleep a little longer. How much is 60 dBA? The sound level of an ordinary conversation. But what about yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise which sounds more like a noisy diesel truck outside my window all the time? The question is, "Are there any laws in Malaysia to protect the rights of ordinary citizens like us?" Can a stranger simply come into a town, does what he likes and threatens the lives of the people there but yet nothing can be done to stop him? If this were to happen in a cowboy town in the distant past, then perhaps his victims would have to accept their fate. But we are now living in the 21st century in Malaysia which is supposed to be a civilized country. Should this kind of lawlessness be allowed in Malaysia? Should we still live like slaves after 56 years of independence? Why are we still living like slaves? This is because we have to live according to the whims and fancies of yarl restaurant.

After battering yarl's kitchen hood noise for one year, I have finally broken down and started writing in the hope that my voice would be heard and so that peace would be restored to us again. In actual fact, my life is worse than that of a slave's. I can't decide when to sleep and when to wake up. I can't go for late night outings, watch midnights movies, watch football matches, or attend wedding dinners because I can't afford the luxury to get up a little bit late. For instance, if I were to attend my company's annual dinner and get home at 12.00  midnight, serious consequences would await me the next day. This is because  I have to wake up when yarl retsurant turns on its noisy kitchenhood very early in the morning and this would mean that I have to endure another sleepy and tired day. That was why I did not attend my company's annual dinner this year even though I knew that I had to give up my luxurious lucky draw presents. (In the past, I used to look forward to the luxurious lucky draw presents every year but this year I had no choice but to stay at home and sleep early because yarl restaurant would wake me up very early in the morning). Every employee in my company gets something from the lucky draw every year. These include TVs, printers, ovens, cooker, etc. I have no freedom. My every move is controlled by yarl restaurant. I dare not even visit friends in the hospital after work as I have to rush home to sleep. But the problem is I don't always get to sleep early even though I try to be home as early as I can. We don't know when yarl restaurant's boss would turn off his noisy kitchen hood. There have been many instances when yarl restaurant's boss turned off his noisy kitchen at midnight only to turn it on again at around 6.00 a.m. the next morning leaving us with little sleep. Thus one can see here that yarl restaurant's boss actually doesn't allow us to sleep!

I can't even stay in my bedroom because it is vibrating all the time due to yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. If I want to stay in bedroom, I must turn on some kind of music or nature sounds to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. My electricity bills have also gone up because of this. Who is going to pay for me? Is this what we call global peace? What is global peace from our Malaysian perspective? To have our lives filled with noise all the time? Can human sufferings caused byYarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise be regarded as global peace? How come nothing can be done to protect the most basic rights i.e. the right to a peaceful living of an ordinary citizen of Malaysia? Is this what Malaysia is promoting through the Global Peace Convention that was held in Kuala Lumpur recently (5-8 December 2013)? Maybe the time has come for our country to look into the basic rights of ordinary citizens like us and to ensure that these rights are protected. What am I asking for all these while? The right to have enough sleep and to live peacefully. Is it really that difficult to sleep peacefully at night and enjoy a peaceful life in Malaysia?

What is the theme of the Global Peace Convention 2013?
"Unity in Diversity:
Building Social Cohesion for Sustainable Peace through Universal Aspirations, Principles, and Values."

1. What then is our aspiration? To destroy peace and promote noise pollution?
2. What is our principle? Noise pollution is good for us? Or ignore the basic rights of Malaysians?
3. What values are we promoting? Money for me, noise for you? Selfishness?

Although I wasn't really interested in what is happening to the LYNAS and GOLD FOR ME, CYANIDE For YOU victims initially, I am now beginning to understand their plight after being plunged into hell by yarl restaurant. I know what it means to have some intruders entering a cowboy town and threatening the lives of the people of that town but nothing can be done to stop them because there is no law to protect these innocent victims!

The theme of this year’s Convention is, “Unity in Diversity: Building Social Cohesion for Sustainable Peace through Universal Aspirations, Principles, and Values.” Malaysia is the right place to discuss such a theme and to craft initiatives based upon it. Malaysian society is multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural and democratic. As such, you are uniquely positioned to offer the world a successful example of unity in diversity, where all the parts, while retaining their own unique religious and cultural identity, cooperate together for the greater good of the whole society.

Is Malaysia  positioned to offer the world a successful example? What example? Noise pollution, health deterioration, sleep deprivation, gross infringement of human rights, and the destruction of peaceful living? Are these intended for the greater good of the whole society? Are these the aims and aspirations of the Global Peace Foundation?
 
Please take note that I am not writing this article for fun. I am so busy that I have no time to die. But why am I still writing? I am a victim of noise pollution calling for help everywhere but no one can help me. I am now totally broken down and am calling for help helplessly from everyone and everywhere. Is there anyone out there who can help me? I am dying from sleep deprivation and stress brought about by yarl restaurant's kitchenhood noise. I am not a war prisoner or a criminal. Why am I subjected to this kind of torture in Malaysia which is supposed to be a civilized country? It's time we stop yarl restaurant's noise pollution program!

Here I would like to share with you Dr. Hyun Jin Moon's speech at the convention. According to him:

Keynote Speech Dr. Hyun Jin Moon

Categories: Article,Events

KEYNOTE SPEECH

DR. HYUN JIN MOON

The 5th Global Peace Convention

“Unity in Diversity: Building Social Cohesion for Sustainable Peace Through Universal Aspirations, Principles, and Values”

 Opening Plenary, Global Peace Convention 2013

 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia . December 6, 2013

 Your excellencies, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is both an honor and a great pleasure for me to welcome you from the four corners of the earth here, to Malaysia, for the Fifth Annual Global Peace Convention.
On behalf of the international participants, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all those “owners,” here in Malaysia, who have worked tirelessly to make this Convention possible. In particular, I want to recognize the Department of National Unity and Integration of the Prime Minister’s Department, who are co-hosts of this Convention and whose support has been invaluable.
We are particularly grateful to Co-Chairs Honorable Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, the JPNIN Cabinet Minister, and Honorable Tan Sri Zaleha Ismail, my grandmother, and Chairwoman of GPF Malaysia. May we give them a round of applause? As well as all of our Malaysian leaders, once again, could we also give them all a round of applause?
I also want to commend the work of two of our many strategic partners here today: the University of Malaya for its support in developing the convention program; and the Character Education Partnership for their engagement with the pre-convention Summit on Character and Creativity.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the members of the Global Peace Foundation’s Global Leadership Council, and to all the other dignitaries, partners, and supporters who are with us here today. Give them all a round of applause. May I say, thank you for your visionary leadership, and your ownership over this mission for peace. I believe it has been mentioned several times today in this plenary, but I would like to mention once again.
You know, there are few men and women in history who have such a profound affect that their legacy continues to live on even though their lives have passed. I believe that Nelson Mandela is one such figure who carried on the message of true love, even loving thy enemy, to build the bridges of peace that could heal the wounds of the experience of segregation that had separated two races in South Africa, setting a precedent of leadership rooted on principles and values and as someone who has a kindred spirit at heart who shares that humanity is truly one family under God; and that humanity needs precedents like the life that he has lived.
Once again, I would like to extend my condolences to his family, but more importantly, to make the commitment with all of us here that we shall carry on that legacy through our work by being owners of that vision of one family under God; being peace builders of in our communities, our nations, our regions, our continent and eventually the world. So once again, could we give Nelson Mandela a round of applause?
We also need to remember the tragedy that humanity has faced, especially in this region of Malaya with the tragedy in the Philippines, then even the recent floods here. So could we take a moment to give remembrance to those who have suffered, and who are no longer with us, and the families that continue to persist under those very difficulties? Could we just give a moment of silence in remembrance of them?
Thank you.
The first Global Peace Convention was held just four short years ago, in 2009, in Manila, in the Philippines. It then moved to Africa in 2010, to Nairobi, Kenya, where then-President Mwai Kibaki was the patron. That convention accomplished significant work in addressing the causes of the 2008 post-election violence, and in advancing what has now become the Character and Creativity Initiative.
2011 saw the convention held in South Korea, the land of my birth, and the launch of an important initiative to engage ordinary Korean citizens in a grassroots movement for the unification of the Korean peninsula. Last year the convention was held in Atlanta, the birthplace of the civil rights movement in America. There, a call for a new “great awakening” on a hemispheric level was made, to inspire the Americas to take on the mantle of true moral and innovative leadership on the global stage.
The theme of this year’s Convention is, “Unity in Diversity: Building Social Cohesion for Sustainable Peace through Universal Aspirations, Principles, and Values.” Malaysia is the right place to discuss such a theme and to craft initiatives based upon it. Malaysian society is multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural and democratic. As such, you are uniquely positioned to offer the world a successful example of unity in diversity, where all the parts, while retaining their own unique religious and cultural identity, cooperate together for the greater good of the whole society.
Malaysia is a country on the rise. In recent years you have experienced impressive economic growth. Malaysia is also taking on a greater leadership role both in the region, – hosting and mediating peace talks between the Philippines government and parties in Mindanao, for example, – and globally, through the Prime Minister’s launch of the Global Movement of Moderates. For Malaysia as for many emerging countries, this is a moment of historic transition. The prospects for the future are bright but there are serious challenges to be faced, most importantly from identity-based conflicts, based on ethnic and religious differences.
The threat of interreligious conflict is most serious and extends beyond individual nations. It has the chilling potential to become global in scale. With the end of the Cold War, the two competing ideological blocs fragmented, spurring the rise of identity-based conflicts first in the Balkans, and central Asia, while fueling on-going conflicts in the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa. It is clear that with the rise of such sectarian conflicts, the geopolitical dynamic has been reconfigured through politicized forms of religion, operating on a regional scale, and claiming a spurious legitimacy from the great faith traditions.
As history has shown, the ferocity and ruthlessness of such interreligious conflicts is something that humanity cannot afford especially in this age where weapons of mass destruction – nuclear, chemical, and biological – have proliferated throughout the world. Unlike the Cold War era where two rational protagonists played the game of nuclear deterrence, a religious conflict or a clash of civilizations will not be constrained by reason but, fired by passion, could lead humanity to commit the greatest sins against itself, in the name of religion.
As a man of faith, I believe that these developments should sound a clarion call for all true men and women of faith to become the true peacemakers of this age. A true interfaith movement should emerge at this time, that can bring the different faith traditions to work together in harmony, not to further their own particular agendas, but upon a common platform of universal aspirations, principles and values.
As people of faith, we should recognize that what we share in common is greater than our differences. We all aspire to establish peace on earth, to recognize the value of human life, to recognize the importance of individual responsibility in living according to the laws of nature and heaven and of the individual conscience in guiding us to do so, and to realize that we are truly One Family under God.
The threat of sectarian extremism will never be resolved by political or economic means alone. A true and lasting resolution must be rooted in faith, expressed through practical spirituality. In fact, the universal principles and shared values of the world’s faith traditions provide the essential basis for rising above conflict and building social cohesion in diverse and multi-religious societies. They offer the antidote to the threat of global religious wars.
That is why cooperation among faith leaders is essential for securing peace at this critical inflection point of modern history. Such a movement of cooperation calls for a vision that can transcend the many differences and divisions that feed conflicts worldwide today. I believe that vision is the simple yet profound idea that all people, regardless of race, nationality, religion, or culture, are members of One Family under God.
Ladies and gentlemen, if we strip ourselves of our pretensions, and we stand honest and naked before God and all of humanity, we are all the same. If we strip ourselves of our national pretensions, our racial pretensions, religious pretensions, we will recognize our common humanity and our common destiny to live a life of co-prosperity and peace.
On the basis of this vision, that so powerfully expresses our fundamental human
aspirations, the great faith traditions can unite and work together. Then they will not only counter religious radicalism, but uphold fundamental human rights and freedoms through the universal principles and moral values that they share in common. From this foundation a global ethic can then be developed that will provide the moral and cultural framework of a peaceful and harmonious world. The GPF approach here is both timely and relevant. It addresses one of the most pressing contemporary threats to peace, namely the possibility of global religious conflict. Our approach is different from past interreligious initiatives which focused on dialogue and mutual understanding among different faiths.
GPF initiatives are multi-sectoral, engaging partners not just from the faith community, but political leaders, educators, business people and social entrepreneurs as well. Our projects are practical, bringing faith communities to work together to change attitudes and thus behaviors in order to solve social problems and resolve conflict.
The new and very different geopolitical dynamic of today calls for fresh thinking and new initiatives. With that in mind, I propose the establishment of a faith-based Peace Council at the United Nations to meet the global challenge of identity-based conflict. Through such a council the collective wisdom and resources of the world’s great faith traditions can be mobilized to counter the radical elements that are distorting the original spirit of those traditions.
We need to recognize the power of religious authority in amplifying the message of peace to local constituents in the most troubled hot spots of the world. They represent a largely untapped resource for peace, yet, because they are deeply rooted in their communities, are far more effective peace builders than the UN’s ‘blue helmets’ who can only contain the level of violence. When local faith leaders become true ‘owners’ of the vision of peace, they will inspire their constituents to act in ways that build lasting peace.
This process is already happening in a very real way in Nigeria where Christian and Muslim leaders are partnering with GPF to take the One Family under God message into every single local community in that nation. Their example of religious cooperation and unity is a powerful statement against the religious violence of the Boko Haram extremists. Several of those Christian pastors and Muslim imams are here with us at this Convention. Let’s recognize them with a round of applause. Please stand so we can recognize your leadership.
Drawing as it would on such local faith resources, the council should be given serious weight in peace deliberations. Its establishment would help the United Nations adapt to the current global realities. The UN is often limited in its effectiveness in addressing broader issues by the self-interest of its member states. Today religious identities are regional in scope and appeal, spreading far beyond national boundaries. That is something the existing UN is not well equipped to deal with and that a religious peace council could remedy.
The council would also provide a stronger voice for fundamental human rights and freedoms, than currently exists in the United Nations. Unlike the American Declaration of Independence, which recognized those rights and freedoms as endowed by the Creator, the United Nations at its founding, due to the circumstances of the Cold War, failed to acknowledge God or the Creator as the source of human rights. That is why the UN has been ineffective in protecting those ideals in a world where authoritarian regimes make human rights dependent on their own power. A faith-based council would strongly uphold the principle that all human beings, having the same Origin, are created equal and endowed with equal rights by our Creator, rights that no government or any other human institution can deny or infringe upon.
The international movement of cooperation among faiths that I am calling for would find a powerful public voice in the council, working within the institution of the UN. To establish the council it will be crucial for several nations, with the support of international religious leaders, to take the lead in advocating it. I hope that Malaysia will be a champion for this endeavor.
Malaysia can play a unique role here, as a Muslim nation. Malaysia can also become a global leader through demonstrating that Islam is a force for peace in the world. Through pioneering a model of social cohesion and unity with Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism – the other great faith traditions present here – this country can powerfully dispel many of the violent and negative stereotypes that color the perception of Islam in the West and other parts of the world.
I believe we stand at a moment of historic transition, not just for Malaysia, but for the world. Humanity is being challenged to take responsibility for the future and answer this fundamental question. In the words of my father, who devoted his entire life to the pursuit of peace, “Will everlasting peace ever take root? Or is humanity doomed to repeat the tragedy of the 20th century?” – a century fraught with unprecedented levels of human violence, with two World Wars, the Cold War, genocide, and numerous regional conflicts.
The time for discussion is over. The time for leadership is here. True leaders have a vision and pursue it single-mindedly. Their strength comes from moral authority, like our beloved statesman, Nelson Mandela. That moral authority is rooted in spiritual principles that are then mobilized to engage social change. True leaders are also innovative. They clear away the logjams of the past through fresh thinking, changing the framework of the debate, and establishing new precedents. These precedents replace old, corrupt habits, establishing new ethical standards, that are the basis of a new culture.
You have all gathered here because you share the hope of a peaceful world rooted in the vision of One Family under God. You share the principles and the values that bring us together in this common cause. Now is the time to take up our responsibility to give substance to our hopes, and shape to our vision.
I call upon all of you here to join me in the mission of creating the institutions and the structures that will advance the cause of peace. Let us create a global movement of faith communities, working together as a powerful social and cultural force for peace, as they are doing in Nigeria, but on a global scale. Can you do this, yes or no? [Yes!] Let us establish the faith-based Peace Council as part of the UN. Can we do this, yes or no? [Yes!]
We can be sure that the extremists are not sleeping. Let us determine that it is not they who will determine the future, but it is us that share this common vision to build one family under God, to put our mark in this very crucial moment in human history, and shape the future of humanity. If we rise to this challenge we can move beyond the threat of a global Clash of Civilizations, beyond the stage of a Dialogue among Civilizations, toward a world of peace and harmony.
I pray that you will join me today and unite for this common cause. This is a solemn moment. But I cannot leave without giving a challenge. This is a big, big challenge that I am proposing here today: Will you become owners of the dream of One Family under God and make it a living reality for future generations? If you do, please stand up.
I want to share with you a Korean word: “Aju”. My father explained that this word has tremendous meaning to it, because it means that “I will take ownership over it,” not somebody else. “Peace will start with me. I will be the peacemaker.” So could we say together, “Aju!”? [Aju!] Louder, could we say, together, “Aju!”? [Aju!]
Will you be owners of the dream of One Family under God and carry this message and the large mantle that is present before us to the world as the true peacemakers of this century? Will you do that? Yes or no? [Aju!]
Thank you, thank you very much. May God bless you and your families in all your endeavors.

There can never be peace with yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise

At 6.35a.m. this morning, yarl restaurant's kichen hood is already making loud and deafening noise disturbing the entire neighbourhood. Whenever yarl restaurant turns on its kitchen hood, no matter how early it maybe, it is time for everyone to leave their bedrooms irrespective of what they may be doing at that time. Can you call this peace? Is this the kind of peace that Malaysia is promoting through the Global Peace Convention held in Kuala Lumpur last week? Is this the kind of peace that the Global Peace Foundation is trying to bring to the world?

Why am I writing this article? I worked until 10 p.m. last night and slept at 12 midnight. When I was still in my deep sleep, at 6.35 a.m., I was suddenly awakened by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise. I have to endure another tired and sleepy day at work without 8 hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation is killing me. Because of lack of sleep, I can't focus on my work. I can't think properly and become very forgetful too. Once, I even forgot to take back my credit card - luckily the sales girl returned it to me. Sleep deprivation is supposed to be a form of torture for criminals and war prisoners. But in Malaysia, it is intended for the innocent victims of yarl restaurant. I am wondering if the 5th Annual Global Peace Convention that was held in Kuala Lumpur last week intended to promote kitchen hood noise and sleep deprivation? Why do innocent people like me have to suffer from sleep deprivation and excessive noise? Apart from yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchenhood noise breaking the peace and silence of the neighbourhood now, my flat is also vibrating because of the kitchen hood noise.

In actual fact, yarl restaurant's boss can turn the volume of the kitchen hood lower, but he simply refuses to so? He would only lower the volume for a little while whenever there are complaints and turn on the kitchen hood at its maximum capacity again when the complaints are over. Is it because his kitchen hood is so defective that it cannot work properly without making a lot of noise? Can there be peace with this kind of selfish people around?

I didn't go to work today. Sleep deprivation made me feel dizzy with a headache. My head seemed to be swinging and I had to take MC today. Is yarl restaurant's boss going to pay me for my MC? MCs are not cheap nowadays! Feeling much better after sleeping on the sofa. Can't even sleep in my bedroom with yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise permeating every nook and corner of my bedroom. Is this what is meant by world peace? (This paragraph is added at 6.15 p.m. today)

Malaysia hosts 5th Annual Global Peace Convention

KUALA LUMPUR: The Global Peace Foundation's 5th Annual Global Peace Convention (GPC) was launched at Shangri-La Hotel here today, marking the first time this annual event is hosted in Malaysia.

The convention, themed "Unity in Diversity - Building Social Cohesion for Sustainable Peace through Universal Aspirations,  Principles and Values" saw Tan Sri Datuk Joseph Kurup, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Malaysia welcoming delegates in his speech on peace and unity. 

 

Joseph touched on Malaysia being a multicultural and multi-religious state that promotes equality, stability of economy and government and plans to develop Sabah and Sarawak further to ensure a better quality of life through the Economic Transformation launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in 2010. 

 

Moderator James P. Flynn who is the International President of Global Peace Movement Foundation USA asked for a moment of silence for the passing of Nelson Mandela.

 

"Let's take a  moment of silence for the honorary Nelson Mandela, a champion of the people of his nation and the world," he said. 

 

Other distinguished delegates present was former minister of National Unity and Social Development and member of parliament Tan Sri Datin Zaleha Ismail, former President of Guatemala Marco Vinizo Cerezo, Amina Namadi Sambo who is the wife of Nigeria's Vice President and founder and chairwoman of I Care-Women and Youth Initiative.

Read more: Malaysia hosts 5th Annual Global Peace Convention - Latest - New Strai http://www.nst.com.my/latest/malaysia-hosts-5th-annual-global-peace-convention-1.423600#ixzz2nD95RPR0

Yarl restaurant's boss should pay for the soundproofing in all the flats affected by his kitchen hood noise

This is really madness. Sometimes I do wonder if yarl restaurant's boss has a brain or not. Today, he turned on the kitchen hood at 6.15 a.m. in the morning. At 6.15 a.m., there is absolute silence everywhere in the neighbourhood and many people are still sleeping but yarl restaurant's boss just couldn't be bothered. His business is more important than everyone's health. His kitchen hood noise is really loud and deafening. It's like having a diesel truck outside your window all the time. I'm trying to get a device to measure sound levels so that I can provide even more exact information about the yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise.

In other countries, restaurants are only allowed to turn on the kitchen hood at 7 a.m. and they must turn it off at 10.00 p.m. How come in Malaysia, they are allowed to turn it on at 6 something or even at 5 something in the morning and turn it off at 11 something at night or even twelve midnight?
 Does is mean that the citizens of Malaysia are not protected by the law? Sleep is more important than food and sleep deprivation is listed by the Amnesty International as a form of torture. Since yarl restairant's kitchen hood is facing the front of our flats and continuously emitting noise into our bedrooms, this would mean that we have to endure this form of torture as long as the noisy and deafening kitchen hood is there. Would justice ever dawn on us one day? The question here is, "Why is the Malaysian government encouraging yarl restaurant to use this form of torture on us (by inaction)? We are not criminals or war prisoners. We are only ordinary citizens of Malaysia who yearn for a peaceful living.

Sleep is More Important than Food

by Tony Schwartz  |   10:37 AM March 3, 2011

Let’s cut to the chase.

Say you decide to go on a fast, and so you effectively starve yourself for a week. At the end of seven days, how would you be feeling? You’d probably be hungry, perhaps a little weak, and almost certainly somewhat thinner. But basically you’d be fine.
Now let’s say you deprive yourself of sleep for a week. Not so good. After several days, you’d be almost completely unable to function. That’s why Amnesty International lists sleep deprivation as a form of torture.
Here’s what former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin had to say in his memoir White Nights about the experience of being deprived of sleep in a KGB prison: “In the head of the interrogated prisoner a haze begins to form. His spirit is wearied to death, his legs are unsteady, and he has one sole desire: to sleep … Anyone who has experienced this desire knows that not even hunger and thirst are comparable with it.”
So why is sleep one of the first things we’re willing to sacrifice as the demands in our lives keep rising? We continue to live by a remarkably durable myth: sleeping one hour less will give us one more hour of productivity. In reality, the research suggests that even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a significant toll on our health, our mood, our cognitive capacity and our productivity.
Many of the effects we suffer are invisible. Insufficient sleep, for example, deeply impairs our ability to consolidate and stabilize learning that occurs during the waking day. In other words, it wreaks havoc on our memory.
So how much sleep do you need? When researchers put test subjects in environments without clocks or windows and ask them to sleep any time they feel tired, 95 percent sleep between seven and eight hours out of every 24. Another 2.5 percent sleep more than eight hours. That means just 2.5 percent of us require less than 7 hours of sleep a night to feel fully rested. That’s 1 out of every 40 people.
When I ask people in my talks how many had fewer than 7 hours of sleep several nights during the past week, the vast majority raise their hands. That’s true whether it’s an audience of corporate executives, teachers, cops or government workers. We’ve literally lost touch with what it feels like to be fully awake.
Great performers are an exception. Typically, they sleep significantly more than the rest of us. In Anders Ericcson’s famous study of violinists, the top performers slept an average of 8 ½ hours out of every 24, including a 20 to 30 minute midafternoon nap some 2 hours a day more than the average American.
The top violinists also reported that except for practice itself, sleep was second most important factor in improving as violinists.
As I began to gather research about sleep, I felt increasingly compelled to give it higher priority in my own life. Today, I go to great lengths to assure that I get at least 8 hours every night, and ideally between 8 ½ and 9, even when I’m traveling.
I still take the overnight “redeye” from California to New York, but I’m asleep by takeoff — even if takes an Ambien. When I get home at 6 or 7 a.m., I go right to bed until I’ve had my 8 hours. What I’ve learned about those days is that I’d rather work at 100 percent for 5 or 6 hours, than at 60 percent for 8 or 9 hours.
With sufficient sleep, I feel better, I work with more focus, and I manage my emotions better, which is good for everyone around me. I dislike having even a single day where I haven’t gotten enough sleep, because the impact is immediate and unavoidable. On the rare days that I don’t get enough, I try hard to get at least a 20-30 minute nap in the afternoon. That’s a big help.

Malaysia power rates to jump 15 percent in 2014? Why????

This morning yarl restaurant turned on its loud and deafening kitchen hood at 6.20 a.m. The kitchen hood noise is so loud and deafening that I have to turn on my computer immediately so that I can listen to some nature sounds since the kitchenhood noise is so sickening particularly at such an early hour in the morning when there is absolute silence in the neighbourhood. Perhaps yarl restaurant's boss really lacks common sense. Think of it! The time is 6.20 a.m. and the entire neighbourhood is so quiet that you can even hear a pin drop. Many people are still sleeping at this hour of the day. I dare not even turn on my blender at this time. Then suddenly there is this loud and deafening kitchen hood noise breaking the peace of the entire neighbourhood all for the sake of yarl restaurant's business. This is really ridiculous and clearly shows how selfish and irresponsible yarl restaurant's boss is! Sometimes I do wonder what is the purpose of the Malaysia Government setting up Institut Integriti Malaysia. Yarl restaurant's boss' selfish behavior is a clear example that our people's lack integrity and the worst thing is - our government is encouraging this kind of selfish behavior through inaction..

If I were given a choice whether I prefer to sleep or write this article now, I would choose to sleep. But since I can't sleep because of the kitchen hood noise, I have no choice but to write this article. Since I've already turned on my computer I might as well write something. Why am I writing about yarl restaurant's noise pollution program again? Firstly, as usual, I was suddenly wakened up by yarl restaurant's loud and deafening hood noise and am feeling very angry and frustrated because I have to face another day at work sleepy and tired. Secondly, the rise in electricity tariffs scares me. Why does the rise in electricity tariffs scares me? Because I have to turn on my computer 17 hours a day to listen to nature sounds so that I can cover up yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise. Since the electricity tariffs in Malaysia will rise by 15% next year, this means that I will have to pay 15% extra for my electricity bills because I've got an extra thing to do now i.e. to turn on my computer 17 hours a day to listen to nature sounds as this is the only way to cover up yarl restaurant's loud and deafening kitchen hood noise.

In the past I used to be very optimistic but now I am beginning to fear for the future. What with the GST (Goods and Services tax) looming ahead, the rise in electricity tariffs and cukai taksiran, the price hike in so many things, and here I am, without a proper place to stay at this age because of the kitchen hood noise - I am beginning to lose hope for the future. With yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise so loudly and deafeningly destroying the peace and serenity of the morning making me feel as though I am living in a noisy factory, I just couldn't help feeling pessimistic. I would like to emphasize here that I am not anti-government and I would not complain about the rise in electricity tariffs if I don't have to turn on my computer to listen to nature sound 17 hours a day to cover up yarl restaurant's kitchen hood noise. The question now is "Who is going to pay for my electricity bills? Is yarl restaurant's boss going to pay for the bills? Perhaps it's time we make yarl restaurant's boss pay for the trouble  he is causing us with his kitchen hood noise. First of all, he should pay for the soundproofing of the flats of all those who are affected by his kitchen hood noise. Next, he should compensate us for all our sufferings all these months caused by his kitchen hood noise (since January this year when yarl restaurant started operation).

By Stuart Grudgings
KUALA LUMPUR Dec 2 (Reuters) - Electricity tariffs in Malaysia will rise by around 15 percent next year, the government said on Monday, as higher-income consumers and companies in the Southeast Asian nation feel the impact of moves to cut the country's heavy fuel subsidy bill and reduce its budget deficit.
The electricity charge would rise by 14.89 percent on average in peninsula Malaysia as part of the government's "subsidy rationalisation" measures outlined in the country's annual budget announcement in October, energy minister Maximus Ongkili said.
Malaysia's electricity tariff was last revised in June 2011 when the government hiked the price of subsidised gas to the power sector to 13.70 ringgit per million metric British thermal units from 10.70 ringgit.
Prime Minister Najib Razak's budget outlined a cut in the government's total subsidy bill by 15.6 percent next year.
Under pressure to rein in spending and boost tax collection to tackle Malaysia's high budget deficit and fast-growing debt pile, Najib also announced a new consumption tax that will come into force in 2015.
Ongkili said that the power tariff hike would save the government about 4 billion ringgit ($1.25 billion) in subsidies next year, according to state news agency Bernama. In a statement, he said that about 71 percent of consumers in peninsula Malaysia would not be affected by the increase, due to exemptions for low-income Malaysians.
"Since 1997, the government has fixed the domestic price of gas at a much lower level than the market rate to ensure that all segments of society enjoy affordable electricity tariffs," the statement said.
Manufacturers in Malaysia's export-driven economy have expressed concern that the sharp hike in energy costs next year could hurt their competitiveness.
The tariff hike will push up inflation, which could add pressure on the central bank to tighten monetary policy for the first time since May 2011, said Barclays Capital economist Rahul Bajoria.
But any negative impact on growth should be limited, partly due to the broad exemptions for consumers, he said.
Malaysia's economy grew 5 percent year-on-year in the third quarter, driven by resilient domestic demand and a recovery in exports.
"Growth is already fairly strong in Malaysia and with global activity picking up, we should see it well supported," said the Singapore-based Bajoria.
Shares in Malaysian state power firm Tenaga Nasional Bhd were suspended from trade earlier on Monday pending an announcement, which is expected to be related to the national tariff hike.
The new rates are effective from Jan. 1. (Reporting by Stuart Grudgings; Editing by Kim Coghill)