When it rains, it pours
ELECTRICITY SUPPLY
Friday evening, the thunder took down two of my three-phase electricity supply, leaving the house with some lights and one 13A powerpoint in the living hall, one powerpoint for the fridge in the dry kitchen, and one power point for the masterbedroom aircon unit. The entire upstairs and the kitchen were blackout.
It was around 6.00pm. My wife was on her flight back from Jakarta, my daughter sat huddled up on a couch in the lonely lit-up up in the entire house, with the maid as her sole company. The surveillance CCTV and the alarm system were knocked-out. And I was stuck in the traffic along NKVE/Elit Highway stretch. A father ceased to be a hero to the 10-year-old damsel.
Called 15454 to send my distrss call no less than 6 times, followed by 15454 SMS on my Celcom, a trick given by a senior TNB official. I was put on voice recording on all four six voicecalls, and repeated my distress messages, with details of my house and contact number, all six times.
No one responded and we had to sleep through the night in a dark room. My wiofe had to read the welcome home card, custom-made by the kid, with a torchlight.
The next morning, I managed to speak to a human voice behind 15454, and they couldn't trace my voice messages, sent all six times throughout the night. But somehow, TNB service recovery team came to fix the problem by 8.30am.
Two blown fuse at the armoured cable outside, and it exposed TNB's failure to sustain the 15454 customer feedback system that Tajuddin Ali put up some 6 years ago.
STREAMYX
When power supply resumed on Saturday, it was discovered that Streamyx had gone dead. The phone line was OK but the DSL light on the modem has gone dead and back blinking and gone dead and back blinking.
The ordeal continued till this morning as I blogged this at a Starbucks (with a RM7.50 kopi kosong).
VADS really sucked my brain, and they continue to want to suck my brain this morning. (I think I I will certainly give them an earful when the Streamyx SIG meeting convenes). Their telephonists never bother to read past complaint logs to note whether I am a stupid idiot or seasoned with the VADS razzmatazz.
But I blame the COO for putting up a run-of-mill script that gives no empowerment to their staff to decide when to cut the chase. I am pretty, pretty mad.
CONDOLENCES
On Thursday, thunderbolt killed a neighbour's son at a park 300m away from house. He was seeking shelter in a gazebo with metal roof when lightning struck him. He was rushing home to wish her mum Happy Birthday.
My deepest condolences to Remmy and the family. I didn't even know of the tragedy until I read the papers yesterday.
I don't feel nice.
THE STAR Saturday May 27, 2006
Hezrill did not get to wish mum
By JO TEH
SUBANG JAYA: Hezrill Remmy Ng was rushing home to wish his mother ‘Happy Birthday’ when he was struck by a bolt of lightning and died.
His mother Norrizen Azir said she was to have celebrated her 38th birthday when she received the devastating news from an ustaz living near their house.
”This is the worst birthday gift any mother could ask for. Just a few days ago, Hezrill had prepared a meal for me out of the blue.
“I was surprised but happy. I had no idea what had gotten into him,” said Norrizen, a sales co-ordinator for an IT firm.
According to Hezrill's father, Muhammad Husaini Ng Abdullah, 52, a district sales manager for a brewery here, Hezrill loved sports and played futsal, football, cricket and softball.
“In fact, the day Hezrill was struck by lighting, he was supposed to have set up a softball team for the school.
“He told me about it during lunch time that day before he left for school and asked if I could buy him the softball jersey and shoes.
“He was really excited about it and it's very unfortunate that he never made it,” said the tearful father when met by reporters yesterday.
Muhd Husaini said that his son, a Form Two student of SM USJ13, was jovial and active, loved by everyone, and had many friends in school and in the neighbourhood.
Muhd Husaini said Hezrill, the eldest of four siblings, always looked after his younger sisters and brother, aged between three and 12.
Amirul: ‘I saw the lightning strike the pondok but didn’t think it had hit anyone’
“He was a very responsible young boy.
“To all parents out there, take this as a lesson and be more careful with your children. Do not let them out in the rain,” he said.
Muhd Husaini said he was told by one of his son’s teachers that Hezrill had inquired from his friends and classmates if he had owed any of them money as he wanted to pay them back.
“These were all indications that he was going to leave us. We just didn't notice it,” said the distraught father.
According to a teacher who declined to be identified, Hezrill, who studied in a Chinese school earlier, was a bright student who took only three months to master and get an A for his Bahasa Melayu paper.
One of his best friends since Form One, Amirul Hasriq, also 14, said he and Hezrill walked to school every day.
“Hezrill would come to my house and we would walk together to school. We played futsal and football together. We always did things together and now he is gone.
“I was with Hezrill the day the incident happened. But I left the park while Hezrill sought shelter. I saw the lighting strike the pondok but didn't think it had hit anyone, so I went home,'' he said, adding that he felt very sad and missed Hezrill a lot.
Two other good friends, known only as Farhan and Faez, said Hezrill was cool, cheerful and playful, and loved to tease others.
Hezrill and three of his friends took cover under a zinc-roofed shelter in a park in USJ16 during a downpour when lightning struck the shelter.
Residents who witnessed the incident rushed the four boys to a clinic for treatment. However, Hezrill was pronounced dead on arrival.
Related Stories:
Playground shelters to get tiled roofs
Thunderstorms in the days ahead
Comments
Ranting about TNB and Streamyx services for the benefit of the public, that's ok. On the personal side, I think you're lucky (and aren't we all?) you've got a home to go back to and even a torch light to read cards. Lots of residents of Jogjakarta are out in the streets looking at the rubbles that were once their home, if they were lucky to get out alive.
Posted by: LC Teh![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 12:23 PM
I think Streamyx call centre is really disgraceful. One time I had to spend almost RM29.00 of my Digi prepaid to get to talk to a human help. And I was asked to call 1300889515. So bad, for a telecoms company to have a lousy call centre.
Even ASTRO is 10 times better now. once, I left them a message and they did really call back. I had a feeling ASTRO was then very difficult to reach.
You should ask Streamyx to move up.... their
Posted by: Hidup UMNO![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 01:28 PM
there must be a mistake. The father can't be working for a brewery if he's muslim.
Posted by: civ96110![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 01:35 PM
MPSJ is wasting ratepayers' money changing the zinc to tiled roofs.
It’s not the material which counts, MPSJ!
Posted by: palmdoc![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 02:08 PM
civ96110,
Some say u cant work for a bank that charges interest rates. My dad did.
Thats so irrelevant in the context of what has happened. How much more tragic can a story get?
Posted by: Vedderian![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 02:44 PM
What the hell is happening in Malaysia? Since I left about 6 weeks ago there have been so many reports of lightning strikes killing people all over the Klang Valley and setting one up-market house on fire as well. I cannot remember another time when over such a prolonged period the thunder storms and lightning strikes have come at this catastrophic rate.
Posted by: Observer![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 04:45 PM
I was just recollecting over the years there have been so many deaths in open spaces, in parks and in play grounds due to lightning strikes. Yet only now they are talking about installing sheds with tiled roof and even then it would seem like it is only going to be a local authority endeavour.. Is that enough? We do have a lightning expert plying his trade in Malaysia. I hope the authorities will consult him to design lightning safe shelters. In those countries that experience earthquakes, they would have a system in place to support victims and also the people would usually also know what they must do in times of crisis. In America where they experience tornadoes and twisters they have shelters. Maybe it is about itme that Malaysia adopt as a standard feature to provide for such lightning shelters in parks and open spaces where people can find shelter not only from the pouring rain, but more importantly the lightning which we know has even found its way to bus stops before.
Posted by: Observer![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 05:04 PM
Jeff,
sorry to hear about the electrical problem at your house.
On streamyx, I've the same experience with this outsource service by them. They are robots, they have a script and insist we go thru their check list when all I wnated them to know service is slower than dial up for the past 2 days. I hang up and wrote them an email which they have not responded. and I did nothing and service is back to normal speed. Please give them hell.
Posted by: rocky![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 28, 2006 11:35 PM
Jeff,
My condolences to Remmy and family.
Besides power failure cause by natural phenomenon, I wonder is TNB liable to compensation due to its negligence? Is there any body in Malaysia in-charge of monitoring power quality?
Posted by: yxgs![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jeffooi.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 29, 2006 05:59 PM