Police patrol car

Check out the livery on the Polis Bantuan UiTM patrol car below. Refreshing ain't it? 

Proton Waja Campro (Apple iPhone 4s)

But it does feel a little plain doesn't it? The following images show various current PDRM patrol cars:

Proton Inspira (Yahoo image search)

Proton Perdana (Yahoo image search)

Mitsubishi Triton (Yahoo image search)

Chevrolet Cruze (Yahoo image search)

The livery on these vehicles is very consistent. In fact, the blue and yellow checks are common visual devices for police patrol cars around the world although they come in many shapes and sizes, and with varying hues as well. The idea is that people who are being stopped by or bundled into know that they are in the hands of the 'real' authority. Therefore a strong visual identity is important to protect the integrity of the force. And by the way, the Chevy Cruze patrol car is brand new so I don't think it has hit our roads yet.

What do you think of the ultra-fast Mitsubishi Evo X patrol car that polices our highways? It spots a different livery entirely...

It is a little menacing isn't it? The car is very powerful and should be more than capable to address most speed demons.  The livery is designed that way to tell you to not play games with it. As far as design, I am for the elite squad to imply certain messages visually but feel that some design cues from the group should be carried through.

But the car below excites me!

It's a Kia Forte. Check out the translucent beacon and spotlight on the A-pillar. It's got KITT-inspired lights on the front grille and is that reinforced bumper protector? With its part white, part matte black colour scheme, the car will undoubtedly fit right in with any futuristic cop movie, like Robocop. Note the serial number on the bumper and the font it uses... Contemporary yes?

Have badge will travel...

Have you noticed the badge that some drivers have on their cars? I think you should make an effort to squint your eyes and try read the text on it because it is beneficial for you to be aware of who these drivers are.

I could not make out the text on the above but the crest is unmistakably PDRM's, only that it has two shaking hands across the centre portion. Maybe it is an association or a club that is associated with the Police. I don't think a member of the force is required to wear a badge on his or her personal ride... 

Speaking of which, the driver above seemed to have the actual PDRM crest on his Alphard. He should be a high-ranking officer because the MPV as you and I know is not a cheap vehicle to buy. It's good to be able to spot a police officer immediately in our presence, in case we need his help to catch biker snatchers who are quite rampant on the streets nowadays. I don't think the driver placed it there to get favours or escape speeding fines. No... of course not. 

If you are a Datuk or someone who carries an official title before his name, you need to let the other drivers know that you are one so that they can be extra careful while near you. The Accord above has the crest and it was parked on the OKU spot at a nearby McDonald's. I'm pretty sure he has the blue sticker on the front windshield as well that allowed him the privilege in the first place.

A friend whom I go hiking with once in a while has a badge of the Selangor state government crest along with the text that reads 'Senior Citizen of Selangor.' He told me that the badge is widely available and the message can be customized. Now, I am not suggesting that all the badges above are fake. That never crossed my mind...

Lately, I see a lot of cars with the Malaysian Bar Council badge on them, like the one above. It's good to know who these people are just in case we need friendly advice on legal matters. But another reason why members have the emblem on their vehicles must be of practicality—place to park around the Bar Council office can be difficult to find so that the DBKL road patrol unit or the traffic police or members of the public for that matter, know where to find them should they need to remove their cars.

I am totally at lost with the crest on this Sentra but I'm confident it's there for our own good as well. 

For the driver above, I'm sorry but I think that number plate has to go. That is the European Union state identifier plate format for vehicles in that region to facilitate their crossing borders. Last I checked no Malaysian cars are required to use this plate simply because Malaysia is no EU state. And for the record, UN is not an EU member. If you do want to make a statement, at least make a right one!

Retro everything

This shot was taken at the Royale Bintang Hotel in Mutiara Damansara. It was the 2007 Honda CB1100F, a faithful rendition of the original 1983 model. 

The bike was really nice (Apple iPhone 4s)

Although there's plenty of chrome-plated parts which was quite different than the striking red and white livery of its predecessor, it looked 'original' enough to fool me. 

It's quite easy to pass one as a restored motorcycle, rather than the modern replica. 

Check out the Kawasaki W800 below!

Based on the W series, which was popular in the late 60s to early 70s (Yahoo image)

Did you miss it or did you not? 

The icon is back...

VW recently launched its new Beetle here in Malaysia. It's dubbed as a 2012 model but was actually introduced in other mature markets last year.

The 2012 VW Beetle (Yahoo image)

The picture below shows the reinterpreted Beetle from 1997. It of course started the trend among car manufacturers to revive iconic models by keeping the retro lines but injecting contemporary design cues. The BMW followed suit with its MINI One in 2001. Six years after in 2007, Fiat did it with its super cute 500. As usual, the Italian carmaker is always late in the game.

The 1997 VW Beetle (Yahoo image)

Meanwhile, somewhere off Balastier Road in Singapore there was a two-toned Beetle looking every bit as authentic as can be. It's amazing that the car seemed to be as tall as the Matrix behind it.

The car was solid and chunky (Apple iPhone 4s)

Do vote for your favourite Beetle in the poll ok.

Cheap trim

My boys and I go to Riana Barber for our haircut. It costs only RM10 a pop for adults and RM7 for children below 12. If you want more than just a haircut, there is a price menu that details the services and even if you opt for the entire suite, it is still going to be substantially cheaper that A Cut Above. 

Before... (Apple iPhone 4s)

And after. (Apple iPhone 4s)

Call me tightfisted or old-fashioned but why do you need to spend RM80 for a straightforward haircut? After all, you are still going to be needing that gel or mousse or hair spray or pomade to style your tresses.   

The outlet is clean. Note the hose coming down from the ceiling: that's vacuum to suck the hair bits from your scalp! Have you seen anything like it anywhere tell me? (Apple iPhone 4s)

Show me a study to say that frequent visits to a Vidal Sassoon-trained hair stylist will make your locks shiny and easy to manage. Pantene and recently, Tea Tree can do that for you. In reality, your brand new hair will only last as long as you stay awake. The moment you hit the sack, it's back to its usual tousled self the morning after.

No Schwarzkopf here (Apple iPhone 4s)

If you are in the neck of Kota Damansara, it is behind the Sunway Giza Community Mall, just a stone throw from Padang Kota Nasi Kandar. The whole commercial area is called Dataran Sunway I think. I'm sorry I don't have its address on me for your Garmin satnav. 

Look out for the sign... (Apple iPhone 4s)

A hole too big...

He meant what he said about digging up a trench to block the passageway. I really didn't expect he would go that far. It was a perfect excavation work, clearly the mark of a JCB. Bulk deliveries have not been made, well, at least through the usual way.

Ditch dug horizontally on the access road (Apple iPhone 4S)

I had posted earlier (read it here) about a person who claimed ownership of the adjacent land, demand a passing-through fee of RM6,000, and failing which a long ditch was promised to ensure blockade.

He fulfilled that promise.

You'd have to pay for the tractor to dig a hole. I wouldn't think he'd go this far. He clearly believes in the 'money makes money' principle (Apple iPhone 4s)!

Between our builder and us, we thought the amount exorbitant but the reluctance on the former's part to split the responsibility is part of the stumbling block. I shall not go into detail on this matter, suffice to state that the ball is now in our court awaiting the next maneuver.

My would-be neighbour visited the site one day and was shocked by what he had seen. I told him the story but he didn't think that a true land owner would behave in such a way. He is convinced that the guy is an opportunist (read: con man) and strongly feels that we should stand tall and not give in. Reporting the matter to the Police would earn him the title of a prime suspect, should anything untoward happen to the building or the household in the future.

The first thing that needs to take place now is to ascertain the real owner of the land in question. Coincidentally, he has in his possession a copy of the area plan as issued by the Land Office, allowing us to identify the particular plot number. With that, I can go to the said office and conduct a land title search to obtain the owner information.

If the land does not belong to the culprit, we will refill the huge orifice and continue business as usual. Only when he shows up to protest that we can lodge a police report for intimidation or extortion or whatever the law can provide for. My neighbour, whose plot is sandwiched between mine and the purported antagonist, promises to tag along to the police station in Kuang just so that our voice is stronger. Best to also locate the actual owner and get his or her permission to use the access road. And while at that, ensure that the land owner does not have any relation with the perpetrator.

But if he has his name to it, it would mean that I can't escape from paying up. Maybe I should ask my would-be neighbour to chip in, since there is no guarantee that the guy won't ask again later on.