For the first time since the Movement Control Order (MCO) started on March 18, I took the LRT (Light Rail Transit) and MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) this week.
As it wasn’t peak hours, there was hardly a crowd, so that eased some of the fears of mixing around.
Checking in was a breeze but as highlighted two weeks ago, security guards don’t bother verifying if someone had really checked in or was pretending to scan the QR code.
I was the only one there. Can you imagine the madness during peak hours?
It’s a good thing Kuala Lumpur and most areas in Selangor are in the green zone, but we must never be complacent in the fight against Covid-19.
It was also lucky I had topped up my Touch ‘n Go card the night before when I was getting petrol. The Petronas station doesn’t charge for topping up.
Neither did LRT stations – until now. It’s only 50 sen but why the extra cost?
Here’s another rant (yes I know, I got to learn to chill) … why do I need a minimum of RM5 in my Touch ‘n Go card before I can ride the trains?
I once took the LRT to two stops away and despite having RM4 balance, needed to top up. I was in a rush. But as usual, the machine was down so I had to buy a ticket.
Shopping complexes also have different rules on minimum balance (you need to have RM20 in the card to park in Subang Parade!). What’s worse, they charge 10 per cent extra for using Touch ‘n Go – and you have no choice as most have already gone cashless or are on the verge of doing so.
Shouldn’t it be cheaper as they don’t have to print tickets or employ people to collect payment?
Here’s an excellent thread why Touch ‘n Go needs to improve.
Touch N Go adalah sistem paling bodoh, bebal dan menyusahkan pernah wujud.
Jom kita buat thread kebodohan TnG#HapusTNG
— Khairi / 22 (@khairizulfadhli) September 22, 2020
Going back to the train ride. It was not crowded but people still chose to sit close to each other despite the rows of empty seats.
Even then, it was a comfortable journey with the bonus of not having to look for parking or deal with traffic.
Train rides for the win!
Anyway, today is the 193rd day of MCO, and this is the 15th weekly version of ‘The MCO Diaries’.
GRIM MILESTONE
The United States surpassed 200,000 Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday. It has just over seven million cases. Worldwide, the tally is now closing in on 33 million cases with nearly one million deaths.
Back home, the number of cases shot up to 10,687 from 10,147 last week. Tragically, there were three deaths on Wednesday – the first time we had more than one death on any day since May 13. The country has since recorded 133 deaths.
Malaysia reached 100 deaths on April 29 with March 29 having the single most fatalities in a day – eight.
YOU ‘OTTER’ SEE IT!
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to take a trip on the Klang River to see the progress the Selangor government has made since efforts to clean up the river began four years ago.
It was an eye-opener as Klang River has had a bad reputation for the longest time, but the efforts to clean it are paying off.
The wildlife has returned. While I just missed out on seeing a crocodile – I only saw the splash when it dived into the water – my colleague Amar Qastellani Tajuddin said it was about 1.5m long.
What is remarkable is that otters – known to be highly sensitive to water conditions – have also returned.
That was a real treat.
OLD IS GOLD
On Wednesday, Kazuyoshi ‘King’ Miura created history when he became the oldest player in the J-League.
What is remarkable is that he is 53! The previous record was held by Masashi Nakayama, who was 45 when he played for Consodale Sapporo in 2012. Nakayama turned 53 on Wednesday.
OLD IS NOT GOLD
For 18 months, residents of a village in Wales have been mystified as to why their broadband Internet crashed every morning.
Engineers finally identified the reason: A second-hand television that emitted a signal which interfered with the connection.
DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN THIS HAPPENS TO YOU?
SLOW UNIFI
Last week, news broke that Telekom Malaysia Berhad was being investigated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission for reducing the upload speed of one of its Internet packages without notifying customers.
I can confirm Unifi is slow – not the Internet speed but its notifications via email.
On Monday, Sept 21, I received an email from Unifi with the subject matter: Check out these upcoming shows in September 2020!
The first few shows highlighted hadn’t been screened but as I scrolled down, there were promos for shows which premiered early in the month.
VIJAYAKANTH IS SO AWESOME, HE BEAT COVID-19!
Popular actor and politician Vijayakanth, also known as Captain, is on the road to recovery after testing positive for Covid-19.
A friend remarked: “Covid doesn’t catch Captain. He catches Covid … to beat it!”
Another remarked: “I’m surprised he recovered. Dude is in high-risk age group plus he is overweight and consumes alcohol all the time … oh wait, alcohol kills the coronavirus. Wise Captain.”
Veteran singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, however, lost his battle against Covid-19 yesterday. He was 74.
SLOW TRAIN COMING
Here’s Bob Dylan with a classic in honour of today’s topic.
https://youtu.be/P8g89eIKlpw
