SOMEONE recently told me Chinese nationals have their quirks but he has no choice but to like them.

“They’re the most generous people around today. They can offer you RM500 cash to book your car for the entire day just to take them around in JB,” he said.

You’ve probably guessed it. This guy drives Grab part-time.

While he has met some Chinese nationals who are generous, the story below is about a Chinese family who is extremely selfish and have blatant disregard for the law and the public.

Many say that’s because they come from a heavily populated country so this is why they’re like that.

Anyway, enough fluff, ……NEWS story below 👇🏻

JOHOR BARU, 26 January 2020: A 2-year-old Chinese boy with coronavirus symptoms was allegedly taken out of a public hospital by his parents yesterday against medical advice.

According to the Harian Metro report, a 26-year-old doctor had attended to the boy at 10.18pm on the eve of Chinese New Year.

The boy’s parents allegedly declined to be quarantined as they wanted to take a flight to China early in the morning on the first day of Chinese New Year.

The patient was found to have influenza like symptoms such as fever and coughing and was referred to a private hospital.

The doctor confirmed the boy tested positive for the coronavirus but when they informed the parents the boy had to be quarantined, the parents said they had to catch a 10am flight.

It was made clear to the parents that the airport authorities will not permit anyone with high temperature to go through but the parents insisted for the boy to be treated with fever and cough medication only.

The parents then took the boy out of the hospital without a proper discharge at 4.20am.

The doctor lodged a police report.

The family’s last known address was an apartment in Gelang Patah.

Social media can make one become more informed about current affairs, but sometimes one gets so caught up in other people’s affairs such as the Hong Kong and Iran protests, for instance, and bring the negative vibes into our own homes.

Some political leaders are taking the opportunity to fuel the unrest further for political mileage, says Johor MCA Government Coordinating Affairs chairman Michael Tay, and this is not helping the economy at all.

“Their actions are only disrupting the peace and promoting disunity among the races. Do not play with such sentiments to woo voters. Different races can work together and support one another.

“The economy stands to lose when we offend countries like India which has resulted in the palm oil ban and we cannot afford to turn away China either,” Tay said.

Tay urged the government to set up a team tasked to monitor cyber attacks that are currently flooding social media platforms to curb racial slurs or anything that can stir marginalisation.

“So many people have lost their jobs. Since December 2019 till now, I have received 18 such cases.  Some of these people don’t even know when is their next meal coming?

“Some turn to ecstacy pills as they just want to shake off all their troubles. Some turn to Ah Long (loansharks). They are aware of the exorbitant interest rates and what the outcome may be, but they are desperate. And for some, the last resort is suicide,” he added.

Tay said that in his 22 years in service as a politician, he has not received so many cases right at the start of the year.

“The government must control the “fires” that is spreading through social media and improve the economy so that people will have jobs,” Tay said.

This is my maiden project in Live! 2020 published by EdgeProp.my My article pays homage to vernacular architecture and features resorts nationwide.

To access the digital version of the story and other interesting features, please go to

https://www.edgeprop.my/live

Eco Botanic City is a happening place in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, for urbanites, youths and people of all ages. It is also a family-friendly destination, and a top favourite for office workers from Gelang Patah.

Accessible via the Second Link Expressway, North-South Highway, Pasir Gudang Highway and Iskandar Coastal Highway, Eco Botanic City leaves one spoilt for choice with all the novelty cafes mushrooming in the commercial area which is where the EcoWorld Gallery is.

I’ve had the pleasure of exploring the place recently, and there are several unique cafes that have left an indelible impression on me.

The owner of this book café is Xu Hongqing (affectionately known as Coffee) has had this dream of having such a café since she was 18 years old.

In June 2019, Coffee opened the Le Petit Prince Café at No. 46, Jalan Eko Botani 3/3, Taman Eko Botani.

An avid reader and a huge fan of The Little Prince, a novella by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Coffee’s book café which has a relaxing ambience, is filled with thousands of books including limited editions of The Little Prince which she had collected over the years.

Though most of the books are written in Chinese, there are a handful in the English language.

Like many of us, Coffee loves The Little Prince because of its poignant insights about life and human nature.

You can listen to Coffee talking about it in this video produced by One Gem Studio which Coffee shared with me.

Whether you love to read or not or if you are a fan of The Little Prince, you will be captivated by Coffee’s collection in the café.  The books are available for sale.  The café also serves delicious avocado juice, coffee, fruit waffle, seafood chicken hotpot and fried pork slices with rice, among others.

The book café plans to host a mini music concert, book sharing sessions and clay art activities regularly as Coffee hopes to provide a platform for children, youths, art enthusiasts and book lovers to share and promote their love for arts and culture.

The outlet currently employs two fresh graduates from Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia in EduCity — which is located just next to Eco Botanic City —  who are learning barista skills here while making the transition to a medical career.

The café opens from 10am to 10pm daily, and is closed on Tuesdays.

Eco Botanic City, developed by Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld), is truly where gracious living comes to life.

Its neighbours include Medini, Puteri Harbour, Kota Iskandar and SILC. For further enquiries, call EcoWorld at 07-571 5252.

JOHOR BARU, January 7, 2020: A former banker who is currently self-employed has turned to Johor MCA Government Coordinating Affairs chairman Michael Tay claiming that he lost RM20,300 via online banking, after he had lost his bag containing his handphone and automated teller machine (ATM) card on December 6 last year.

Tay, who is also the Johor Baru MCA public complaints bureau chief, told a press conference at his office here today that Lam Kok Kuen, 31, had informed the bank at 11.15am after he discovered his sling bag had gone missing at an eatery on the same day.

Tay said Lam had instructed the bank to block the ATM card, and at 12.30pm Lam was already at the counter of the bank.  Tay added that there was CCTV footage to prove that Lam was at the bank at the time to receive a replacement card. However, the new card could only be activated 2 hours later.

According to a police report lodged by Lam last month on December 7, a sum of RM9,000 was drawn out using FPX at 12.43pm on December 6, followed by another 3 FPX transactions at 12.46pm, 12.50pm and 12.55pm amounting to RM7,000, RM4,000 and RM300 respectively to another bank account. Lam said the bank told him the disputed transactions were conducted using Lam’s valid Internet Banking ID and password and authentication codes (PAC) which were sent to his registered mobile number, and therefore no breach was found in the bank’s online banking system.

On a separate matter, Tay related his friend’s experience where he would set the cash limit only when he wants to do an online transaction, and would reset it to zero after the transaction as a safety precaution.

“It may be inconvenient but that is one of the precautionary measures. It is also important not to let anyone know the ID and password of one’s banking account,” Tay added.