Kota Kinabalu PC Fair 2009

That happened on 3 - 5th April 2009 at Centre Point Sabah(CPS). This one, being outside the PIKOM schedule of event, was themed PC Show 2009 by CPS management. I went there on 4th April and gosh! it was bumper-to-bumper for both outside and inside of CPS. It was awfully difficult to get empty parking bay but once inside the shopping mall, it was all smile and satisfaction; well at least for a PC-fair hunter like me.

I can tell you it was very crowded, you can practically become "glued" to the person in front of you. Best bet a pervert can go for to quench some thirst!

Crowded it was..but I can see you, MU fan with nice black t-shirt. Hehe

"And you, yes you! I can see you", he spotted me taking pic. He should be proud, a lot of lenglui visited his booth. I think.

"We've got everything from big to small. What colour would you like ma'am?"

He was fondly talking to the lady in the laptop's web cam (look at the Laptop) before I came in to "interrupt" them. I was damn jahat ler. He willingly smile for the album tho.

MiSS was the word of the day during the 3-day PC Fair. MiSS stands for Maxprint ink Supply System, claimed to be able to print up to 2000pages before you need to replace the cartridge. That's amazing 2cents per page for black and 6cents per page for colour print. Some booths called it CiSS (Continuous ink Supply System)


There you go, Canon MP145 comes with MiSS costs you only RM239. Just next booth you'll find similar item for RM259. I got myself an All-in-one Printer, Canon MX318 for RM399. Next door you'll find yourself setbacked at RM459. It really pays to take the trouble to visit every booth and get yourself bumped, literally, in the process!


And i got to meet these beautiful people to collect my surprise gifts (a shopping trolley and a sling bag) for buying Canon products. (p/s: the guy isn't me, he is one of the crew manning the Canon service centre)

Solar Power a Viable Option?

As long as there is sunshine, there is energy to be harnessed.

It is possible to power the world with solar energy - that was what came out as answer to a curious question posed to the speakers during the two-day International Energy Agency Task-1 meeting at Kinabalu Hyatt Regency in March 2009.

Technical competence is there and apart from the cost, there is nothing that can hinder the full utilisation of this technology. Ahmad Hardi Haris of energy centre Malaysia compared this to the cost of generating electrical power using coal-fired plant:

Cost per kilowatt:
coal-fired plant - RM3,000 to 4,000
PhotoVoltaic - RM25,000 (RM27k-30k in 2007)

RM25k is equivalent to 10 years of electricity bills of RM210 per month. Wow! no kidding, this is no doubt very expensive, but with the right approach from both the government and power utility companies (TNB/SESB), it is a viable option.

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Why so?

Firstly, at the moment there is an incentive program by the government through PTM (Malaysia Energy Centre) called Suria 1000, whereby the government gives the public rebates of up to 75% to make it more affordable to install a BIPV system in their homes.

Secondly, implementation of the Feed-in Tariffs. If such Act on Feed-in Tariffs is to be enacted, utility (e.g SESB) will pay Feed-in Tariffs to households and commercial solar service providers between 4 to 6 times their selling price. Then utility will recover this amount from the Government.

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Interesting, although it will still be beyond reach of the Malaysian masses; at least for the time being. Consider this: for a medium sized semi-detach or bungalow, typical power requirement is 4kW which means RM100,000 is needed to fund the BIPV systems. Minus say, 50% subsidy/bidding and you still need to pay like RM50,000 upfront for your 20 years of energy consumption. Oppssss!!

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A simple, small PV solar power (not BIPV) used to power up public phones in the interior of Sabah

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Note the 3 units of Mitsubishi Electric solar modules to "collect" power from the sun and transmit it to the inverter.

Deservedly Sabahan Hero

Tambunan: Some 200 residents of Kampung Libang Laut, a half hour's drive from here, have farmer-cum-handyman Hamid Jasmin to thank for now that they can enjoy 24-hour virtually free power supply. The 42-year old Hamid managed to build two working mini hydro power generators at the village that supplied power for 16 households in the village for the past five years.

Something that the Sabah Electricity Board (SESB) could not do in all its years of existence as the State's utility supplier for various reasons. His ingenuity did not go unnoticed when Sirim Berhad and non-governmental organisation World Association Industrial and Technological Research Organisation (Waitro) with the collaboration of the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry (Mosti) decided to take Hamid's idea a step further to enable the whole village to enjoy power supply.

In February 2009, the newest mini hydro power system with a capacity of 40kW in the village costing around RM300,000 funded by Waitro was unveiled in a ceremony officiated by Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Rural Development Minister, Datuk Joseph Pairin Kitingan.

The heroic work of the humble handyman is so inspiring, I wanted to visit this hydro-electric generator (Hygens) so badly. Earlier, I wrote to TV3 to obtain more information about the mini Hygens at a remote village in Ranau, covered by TV3's Karam Singh but I never really get any help from them. I think the "caring" TV station isn't so caring after all.


Road junction leading to Kg Libang Laut. It is a gravel road all the way, except for short span of tarred section.


Sometime in March 2009 we managed to make some arrangement to visit Kg Libang Laut and we were supposed to meet Mr Hamid and his DIY Hygens. Unfortunately he was not around at that time, but his son and another gentleman were there to show us around and we felt very welcomed by their warm friendship and willingness to answer our every question.

Conceptual diagram of the new hydro power system

Waterwheel of the older Hygens (above), and the second Hygens (below). The single phase generator gives about 180V to 190V of electricity.




The latest mini hydro power system (pic below) with a capacity of 40KW costing around RM300,000 was funded by World Association of Industrial and Technological Research Organisation (Waitro)




The 4-stage speed control mechanism (pic below) in the newer Hygens is very 'heavy' and could result in much shorter lifespan of the rotating elements. In fact, during our visit some bearings have already worn out. They may want to consider increasing the size of the UCP bearings.


The speed-increasing gears (stage one located outside the building) consist of sprockets and 4-way pulley for final transmission.

Tambunan town (pic) is about 30 minutes from Kg Libang Laut.