How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Hi-tech car locking system can be a hindrance sometimes

A Malay businessman and his family dropped by a mobile phone shop in Batu Gajah and found themselves locked out of his BMW 5 series car with the engine still running! Apparently, his wife accidentally pressed the lock button when they were not ready to do so. He was also worried about the effect of the engine idling for a few hours (full tank) and the air-conditioning system switched off which he reckoned would not activate the additional fan.

My mind did a quick search and suggested that he try using handphone with his relative who has the duplicate key in KL, but he did not think it would work because of the sophisticated security system, and would not even try because he had a bad experience before. When there was an attempt by someone who tried to start his BMW big bike, he could not start it using his own original key!

It took almost two hours for his relative to get from Shah Alam to Ampang to get the key before he could make his journey to BG! So it was a long agonizing wait for the duplicate key and I left the shop before his help arrived, hopefully. I even thought of whether it was worth the trouble to have someone travelling from BG to meet the other halfway but it would only save the time and cut the journey of the other person, and not the waiting time of the owner here.

Is there any BMW owner or technician who has any bright idea to solve this particular problem? Would the method as suggested by someone in the internet using mobile phones work?

Just added:
I forgot to add that with my basic knowledge of older cars, I would be tempted to block the exhaust pipe to force the engine to stall. But because of the unknown possible adverse effect on the car's sophisticated electronic-controlled fuel system, I did not suggest as my earlier suggestion was turned down by him because of the fear that it might become a bigger problem with the locking system. I have yet to find out if any of the girls stayed back after shop closing time at 4.00 pm. I expect the waiting time to be around 5 hours and I dread to think of the effects on the idling engine in terms of overheating.

4 comments:

bayi said...

BMW does offer a light graphite duplicate ket that one can keep in the wallet without feeling its presence. But such a key may cost up to RM1000 or more, This is handy in such situations.

scorpion said...

Well, what's RM1000 if one can afford to buy a RM300,000 car...

KoSong Cafe said...

It is one thing to have a duplicate key, but quite another when being human means even a duplicate could be misplaced when needed.

The car is being used daily by his wife, yet she could make what appeared to her husband as a silly mistake on this fateful outstation trip.

KoSong Cafe said...

A lady has suggested that if the car owner subscribed to the security system which could immobilize the car after a theft has been reported, then he could have done the same to immobilize his own car (but presumably notify them of his predicament) until his duplicate key arrives. But I can imagine the same problem of a good system having checks which could prevent the owner from taking possession of the car without going through hassles.