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March, 2005

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March 31, 2005 11:03 pm

What’s On Your Plate Part Deux

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by Idlan    in OC: Special Focus on War

This entry initially came out of a comment I made at Screenshots, where it occured to me in passing, but after pressing the ‘Post’ button I mulled over it and mulled some more, and here’s the thing: with respect to the whole furore over whether the sausages served at IKEA and produced by Mueller were encased in pork casings or otherwise, isn’t it always in the best interest of the company to have a JAKIM Halal certification? OK, perhaps it is best that I start at the beginning…

Two days ago I read in Utusan Malaysia that the companies currently under investigation for producing non-halal sausages were found not guilty of said offence – instead they were fined for operating with an expired JAKIM Halal certification. While I am unfamiliar with the whole system, I would conjecture here that the certification process would include periodic assessments conducted by JAKIM to ensure that the processes undertaken by the firm was indeed operating according to halal standards.

Now what struck me is that – if the certification expired, then why didn’t the company apply for a renewal? Given that Malaysian Muslims are very sensitive about halal food, wouldn’t it be in the best economical interest of food processing companies to have this certification? If we were to transpose this onto an agency theory framework, then we could argue that the certification is some form of bonding mechanism, not dissimilar to the audit process firms undergo – with one aim in mind: to reassure shareholders, or in this case, the general public, that they are indeed, kosher.
More: Read the rest of this entry…

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March 30, 2005 7:38 pm

What’s On Your Plate?

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by Idlan    in Commentary

Ask an idealistic twenty-something (ok, even maybe thirty-somethings) what they want in life, and chances are the phrase “to make a difference” will crop up more than once. But how do you visualise this ‘difference’ that many (perhaps self included) often talk about?

I’ve always envisioned that if I really wanted to make things happen, perhaps the only way I could correct wrongs I felt needed to be put right was by going up into government. Not that I have any political aspirations, really, but please, Lancastrians, do consider deleting those karaoke videos. Handsome rewards await. That aside, what Jamie Oliver (yes, he of the unclothed cook fame) has achieved, though, – by being nothing more than a celebrity chef – sort of puts the whole ‘making a difference’ thing into perspective for me. You don’t need to be a policy maker to make things happen – you just need to be passionate in what you believe you can make a difference in – and get policy makers to listen to you.

A few months ago, Channel 4 aired a series of shows entitled ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’; where Oliver went round schools in England exposing what poor nutritional quality school dinners had. (Sidenote: ‘School dinners’ is the phrase used in England to mean the meal that is served at lunchtime to all children. In northern parts of the country, the word ‘dinner’ is used to mean lunch; and the evening meal is often referred to as ‘tea’. Given that school runs from 9am – 3pm, meals during midday are served to all students). The series – which is still running on Channel 4 this week – was aimed at Jamie coaxing students to eat more healthily and proving to them that healthy dinners taste just as good as bangers and mash (that’s sausages and potatoes for you European types). In tangent with that he ran a ‘Feed Me Better‘ campaign, aimed at ‘starting a revolution in your school dining hall’.
More: Read the rest of this entry…

9 comments!
March 29, 2005 3:17 pm

Not quite robbed

4 comments
by Idlan    in Featuring

I have this wristwatch, which I wear everyday, without fail. It is a rather nice watch, and was a birthday gift from a particularly good friend, and given that last year I lost not one but two wristwatches, I am taking good care of this one. Very good care. Tiap-tiap hari pakai. Never leave home or office without it.

What is not common knowledge – well not until now, anyway – is that I have issues with telling the time on analog watches. As in, I struggle a little bit with the hands of the clock. Ok lah, I struggle a lot. Yes, I use ‘twenty past four’ to say 4.20, and ‘four to six’ to say 5.56, but the hands of a watch stump me. Don’t ask me how my brain was wired, I don’t really know. But anyway, as a result, most of the time I use my mobile to tell them time. Because it’s digital.

watch.jpg

So said watch is an ornament, on most days. Proof? For three days now, since the clock went forward on Sunday, I didn’t realise I hadn’t adjusted my watch. I give it cursory glances, even looked at it this morning while waiting for the bus. Just didn’t realise the hour hand was a good 60 minutes behind.And no.. I haven’t been late for anything, either.

Hehehe.

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