The seriousness of DBKL

As much as possible, I try not to be mean. As much as possible, I refrain from calling people names. And as much as possible, I try to keep my innermost truthful thoughts to myself when someone is being stupid. But when Edmund Bon is arrested for stopping DBKL officers from removing banners placed in the private property of the Bar Council, I have to yell "WHAT ARE YOU STUPID BADAWI(to be alternated every once in a while with Gani Patail,Nazri, Musa or even any member of the Government)??"

Seriously.

Arrested and charged for preventing officers from DBKL from removing banners? This is instilling fear into our kids who run jogathons and food fairs. If those DBKL officers tell you to remove your "FUNFAIR" banner outside your school, you jolly well do it. They might arrest you for "obstructing justice" or "going against public orders" and they wont allow you to have bail because "its a serious offence". I mean, so what if there are murders, robberies, snatch thefts, rapes and incests going on nationwide,every day, not investigated or ignored. Preventing DBKL officers from doing their oh-so important jobs, is a SERIOUS OFFENCE. What more when they remove banners from private property? Uber important work they are doing there I tell you.
I feel so safe in this country. There are people out there who are willing to risk their lives, removing banners from private property all in the name of the nation's security and well being.

Bless DBKL.

While the main stream newspapers(who are obviously Government controlled)found it appropriate to publish 60% of Malaysians have faith in the Government!We HEART BADAWI!HELL YEAH we have democracy in this country! many of those disgruntled who have taken to the streets and turned up in court to support the lawyers detained, know better.
Does Badawi truly, truly know what is going on? If his main legal man is Nazri and that Patail guy, I am afraid he has a lousy support system. Here's a scenario which I think will unfold whenever there is a demonstration.(main actors consist of a man we shall call Ah Pak Le, Pataee and Nazahree)

Ah Pak Le: Nazahree dan Pataee macam mana ni? Mereka tengah protest.
Nazahree: Kita sapu mereka sajalah Tuan. Tangkap dan charge.
APL: Boleh ke?
Pataee: OH BOLEH! Illegal demonstration Tuan. Takde permit.
APL: Nak demonstrate kat jalan pun perlu permit ke?
N: eh, tentulah Tuan! Kita hanya tak tangkap kalau UMNO yang protest. Kalau bukan UMNO, illegal lah Tuan.
APL: Betul betul.Kalau Khairy yang protest Condoleeza Rice tu takpe la kan. Sebab dia tu pandai cari isteri.
P: Betul Tuan. Kalau bukan orang UMNO, tangkap je semua. Lepas tu, kita tak bagi jamin. Biarlah mereka duduk kat dalam lama lama. Menyesal.Lagipun, ISA tu kan best. tak payah cakap sebab apa kena tangkap.
N: lagipun, hakim hakim semua tentu setuju dengan kitorang. Kita kan kerajaan yang mengupah mereka?
APL: Betul, betul. Oklah. I trust you berdua. Korang tentu tahu sebab ada legal background kan?
N&P: yea, yea.

I am convinced that is how most policies in the Country is made out. There is this type of conversation and then there is the type of action which they take.

So we sit and wonder, while there are floods in Johore and Pahang, sweeping men and women alike under the strong currents (and this is unavoidable every time of the year due to bad construction, bad drainage and terrible development in the towns) our PM does not find it fit to perhaps find a solution to that problem (which occurs every year) and send the police men and FRU teams to help those in need. Instead, he thinks it makes more sense to send out the police to hold road blocks at every corner of the town (hence causing massive traffic jams) and sending FRUs to stop demonstrations and protests by spraying water and throwing tear gas.

Dim wits.

I heart Pak Lah?

Pi lah.

Aiyoyo, why la Macha?

I do not really know whether to be embarassed by HINDRAF or to be proud of HINDRAF.I lean a little more towards embarassment and humiliation. It is safe to say that HINDRAF's claim of every Indian ever to walk the soils of Malaysia is worth RM1 million, is illogical to say the least. Now, when I read this ridiculous woe is me because of you claim, I thought to myself what a ruckus the Africans will create if they had the same ideas as these Indian men leading HINDRAF. Sure, we all acknowledge the fact that the MIC may not be doing enough for the Indian community. I mean, look who is running that organisation. Then again, if so many of the Indians feel that he is not looking after their interests, why do they keep voting for him, over and over again? I have this sudden urge to shout PADAN MUKA!(just like how I want to shout it at those Americans who moan about Bush yet reelect him, rigged elections or otherwise).

So, now, why do I lean towards humiliation and less towards being proud?

Firstly, what is the objective of HINDRAF? Was it REALLY to fight the cause of the Indians? Are the Indians in fact being intentionally left behind in the economic race in Malaysia? Now, the operative word here is INTENTIONAL. Is the Government indeed INTENTIONALLY preventing the Indians from rising to their fullest potential? What reasons could there be for doing that? Apparently HINDRAF supporters feel that way. They say the Government has sidelined them and has not helped them in "upgrading" their standards of living. So they ask for a special hotline to cater for all the Indian grouses and complaints which may need to be forwarded to the Government. (Like, hello? Who died and made you so special?)

When I sit down and think about it (yes, every once in a while, I DO think) I ask myself this question. If I were Indian, why would I feel persecuted? And unloved by my own country? Is it because I have tried and failed because of the country's policies? Or because I have not tried at all and I expect it to fall into my lap and I just enjoy the luxury?

I digress a little but I share this discussion I had with a friend, A just the other day. Now, A is of a different race and religion from me yet we share the same thoughts on this issue. When I asked him whether he thought the Indians were doing enough for themselves, he agreed they were not. A quick look (and admittedly some racial profiling) will show that young Malay boys try to help themselves by setting up Ramly Burger stalls to make a quick buck. Chinese boys sell pirated DVDs to earn a living. Now, what do young Indians do? They resort to crime. Am I being racists? Am I doing too much of a racial discrimination cum racial profiling thing here?

Am I really?I have had my fair share of crime related experience with Indian youths.

Of course A reminded me about Mat Rempits and their race. And I asked him whether the Mat Rempits have accused the Government of not doing enough to help them be better or they just choose to live that life. He contemplated the question and agreed that it was indeed a lifestyle choice. They are not Rempits because the Government has not done enough for them. They like that life. They want to be there.

But apparently the Indians are resorting to crime because the Government has failed them. I admit in my earlier posts that I agree the Government is not doing enough to help them, but to have a massive demonstration (and in the process humiliating me, as a Malaysian, for showing how much of a third world country we still are) and sue the British Government for trillions?! Come on.

While we can always point at someone to say you're not doing enough, we also have to use those hands to do something to help ourselves. Sure that man at the helm of MIC is not doing enough, so you as a voter, have to do something about it. Boot him out. Its quite easy really. If you cannot help yourselves(and your own people do not want to help you either) do not blame it others! You think Lim Goh Tong got where he is today because he sat around thinking woe is me!Woe are my parents who came to Malaysia as nothing but labourers and servants! Well, no. He worked hard and he overcome the obstacles of being born poor.

A lot of us are not born with a silver spoon in our mouths. Admitedly while there is no such thing as equal opporunities in Malaysia, there are STILL opportunities. Are you the son of a rubber tapper? Who said you cannot study hard and be who you want to be? Are you the daughter of a wan ton mee seller? How did you get those 10A1s and obtained a scholarship to further your studies? Are you the young girl living in the Orang Asli settlement who had to study with kerosene lamps every night because your family is too poor to have electricity? How did you overcome that and managed 4As for your UPSR?It can be done. It is just a matter of whether you want to do it.

On a different note, while I agree HINDRAF's demostration is stupid,prosecution for illegal assembly? How come those UMNO supporters did not get prosecuted for holding a massive "we hate Condoleeze Rice" demonstration a year back? That was not an unlawful assembly? Did the Government endorse it? If indeed the Government did, why did we host Condoleeza Rice? Maybe because that guy whose father in law is the PM headed it, so the un was dropped for the lawful and no prosecution was necessary.

At least you can TRY to be consistent. It might have happened a year ago(more or less) and many things have happened between then and now, but while we might not remember, but we sure as hell do not forget.

Got alternative or not?

My receptionist(S) told me yesterday that while she was buying keropok lekor the other day, the makcik selling it asked if she were an UMNO supporter because "kalau sokong UMNO hidup senang dik". She replied that she was not really a supporter of anything she termed "political" so she was not technically a supporter of UMNO. The only thing which stopped the keropok lekor aunty from snatching the keropok lekor back from the clutches of my receptionist and pelt her with the lekor dough was probably because S said "tapi mak saya penyokong kuat UMNO la makcik".

I then asked her if and when she decides to vote, will she vote for UMNO or well, the coalition BN?She hesitated and then said, "Saya beritahu mak saya kalau saya undi pun undi Keadilan kot." When asked why she replied, "Entahlah. Saya cakap je lah. Tapi bila saya betul betul pergi undi tentu undi UMNO/BN."

Hmmm...did the "hidup senang" propaganda the keropok lekor aunty spew hit home? Does UMNO/BN indeed give us citizens a "hidup senang"?

Now, my thoughts on these issue is quite simple (to me anyway). I attended a talk last friday where the likes of Anwar Ibrahim, Tun Salleh Abas, Sivarasa Rasiah and some other people of importance were in attendance. They all stood up at the podium and basically trashed the government, past and present (during Mahathir era to present day Badawi era)labelling the government "corrupted" as evident from the V K Lingam fiasco, and the ex and current PM having no respect for the separation of powers as they were "not lawyers like the earlier three PMs" and that the Government were basically hoodwinking us into believing they are DOING something for us when instead they are taking us for a ride.

So I nodded along with the rest of the crowd, interjected every once in a while with whooping and loud applause and the conversation of a very stupid chinese man who kept his mobile on the whole time which rang with his ah beng tunes and picking it up with "WEI? HAI? AH, HAI"- like seriously uncle. Have you no civic consciousness? (what made it even more frustrating was the fact that he raised his hand and clapped with enthusiasm when the talk ended- AS IF you heard anything!You were on the mobile the whole damn time!)

Anyway, I digress.(Stupid uncle in psychedelic shirt)

So, while I agreed with the undeniable fact that the current government (and the previous one too) was corrupt and running the country in their own interests, I ask the question in my head- "what alternative do you, as an opposition party, have to offer us?"

Many people tell me (which I agree wholeheartedly) that the reason why we vote for the oppposition is not because they GIVE us an alternative, but because we need to reduce the 2/3 majority that BN currently has. Of course, by reducing the majority of BN we can in fact keep the government on its toes, and remind them to pluck their noses out the air and actually SERVE the people and not their own interests.

But if the Opposition parties were created YESTERDAY, then perhaps we can forgive them for not coming up with an alternative. But has it not been too many years passing for opposition parties to say "Government= corrupt, Government= bad, but we dont really have an alternative but let us concentrate on GOVERNMENT BAD!GOVERNMENT CORRUPT!BAD GOVERNMENT BAD GOVERNMENT!!*spank*"

I think more has to be done by the opposition. Yes. I know you do not have the money. Yes, I know to HAVE the money you have to be in power. So it is a chicken and egg situation. But still? Come on, throw us a line here.

Got alternative or not?

Want to hear a joke?

"There must be a middle ground somewhere in this country. It is very easy to be radical(for one interest group or another) but it takes courage to occupy the middle ground and sell that middle ground." - UMNO Youth Chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Now, this statement came from the man whom I remembered very vividly, smiling SMUGLY when his Chief waved the keris and cried for blood. Yes, he did not wave the keris, but you see, UMNO only had one that day, so they "one-two-jus" and the Hishamuddin man managed to kill his bird with the stone, so he got to wave the keris around. Anyway, back to more important things, now, what is this PM's son in law going on and on about?

You see, he was speaking at a seminar themed "Fearless" and he fearlessly(and shamelessly I must add) said,
1) "I want to start with small conversations across the country with young people of different background and races and talk about what it is to be Malaysian..."

What it is to be Malaysian? Who needs to go all across the country(probably in a rakyat's money sponsored trip) and speak of things which we all know about but the Government refuses to acknowledge? Well, I for one know what is it to be Malaysian. No racial discrimination, and that includes "positive" discrimination and how outdated it is now. Telling the Education Department that memos sent out on the necessity (nay, the obligation) to give work only to Bumiputra vendors, is nothing short of crap and the denial based on "miscommunication" is BS to say the least. And at first the Bumiputra discount was 5% and now its 7%? (I dont get this whole Bumiputra discount thing).

2) "Talk about why Malays feel strongly about Malay rights, about Islam, the syariah court, about a certain decision involving a woman named Lina Joy..."

Why Malays feel strongly about Malay rights? Why not? You have everything served to you on a silver platter. Want to get into university? No problem, just dont fail too bad, and just by ticking "Melayu", you're so in! Want to get a big contract job? Bumiputra? No problem-la. How about a scolarship? What? You only have 6As and the other chinese/indian/lain-lain got 10A1s? No worries, you're malay!No quota on the number of Malays!Quota only applies to you know, the "others". Lina Joy wants to convert out of the religion? What rights? Freedom of religion? Islam trumps EVERYTHING!Do you hear that?Let me repeat that, Islam trumps everything.

3) "why non-Muslims feel insecure and afraid because they feel the syariah court is infringing on the civil courts, they feel the Lina Joy case was a watershed case that will curtail freedom of religion, that the Malay rights are outdated in a globalised world."

Why oh, why would we be insecure? Could it be because freedom of religion means jackshit? The constitution is an illusion. We hear it may exists, and every once in a while, someone whispers it, but we dont really practise it. Could it be because the Government practises "positive discrimination" for the past 50 years since independence? Or could it be because the whole 9MP is based on Islamic principles? OR maybe because our top people have boldly and proudly declared Malaysia as an ISLAMIC COUNTRY eventhough the last we checked, its a secular one?

Mr. PM-is-my-father-in-law, why dont you stop making all these "middle ground" statements and " I-represent-all-races-in-Malaysia-hear-me-roar" BS? None of us have forgotten the keris waving episode. In fact we wait with bated breath for the next one, perhaps this time around, you may win the one-two-jus and get to wave your OWN keris (with ketchup for effect).

We dont need statements. We dont need all these rubbish. If we want to hear something positive and intelligent, we listen to Sultan Azlan Shah or his son Nazrin. At least they know what they are talking about. At least they dont go around doing something clearly against some people and then turn around and say "It would take a lot of courage to enter this national conversation but if we dont understand each other then its clear to me we wont reach wherever it is we want to go".

You see, I know where you're going. And I dont like it one bit. The only courage you ever need, is to admit your mistakes. Own up to your Islamic radical thoughts. Profess your inner most thoughts and where the Non-Muslims actually stand in this country and shout out your true loyalties.

That's the only courage and bravery we ever need from our leaders. If you wont acknowledge the state of affairs in this country, then you're nothing but a mere coward.

Fearless my ass.

Suck up the dirt!Suck it up!

So many things have happened these past few weeks. We sent our first Malaysian to space and eventhough he is quite good looking, he said "I send my regards to all Malaysian." Hence we can be sure English is not his first language but then again, what chances do we have that a Chinese man or an Indian girl would have been sent to space under the Malaysian flag?Then again, who said the Chinese man or Indian girl would have included an S after Malaysian.I digress.

Many things have happened over these past few weeks, our first cosmonaut/astronaut/whatevernaut made it to space, his brother somehow bumped into a pole, knocked himself unconcious, landed in a coma and subsequently passed away(how?why?we will probably never know), our Prime Minister denounces the Malaysian Bar march for justice, Nazri did not show up at the Malaysian Law Conference probably for fear that the conference goers will pelt him with something, our own police force are fighting between themselves, getting themselves killed in a so called botched anti drug operation(how the Commercial Crimes Chief Inspector somehow got roped into fighting drugs is beyond me) and the ACA is being attacked from every direction there is for well, investigating corruption allegations.

Ok, now let us examine the reason why the ACA is set up. Anti Corruption Agency. So, what they should be doing is of course to investigate into corruption allegations. Correct? Now, when a policemen somehow has RM27 million to his name, a windfall through a lottery ticket is probably not the first thing that pops to our minds. Obviously, we think, hhhmm...something smells fishy here. Could it have been...corruption? So when the RM27million-gate scandal broke and made front news, the ACA acted swiftly. They investigated and the deeper they went, the more they found out. Apparently money was given, people released and in between all these investigations, the name of informants somehow leaked out. So Mr.RM27 million became angry and had a press conference denouncing the ACA and their rough handling of him and his people and how he had genuinely made the disclosure of his assets and how unhappy he is that it was leaked to the public (like HELLO!? Policeman RM27million? Hell yeah it has to be made known to the public! and yeah, its confirmed, our policemen are wusses,whining about "rough handling by ACA officers"? COME ON!)

Now, while I agree that the names of informants should be kept secret, I disagree that the ACA should be faulted for investigating into corruption. I applaud their bravery for bringing those policemen to court for falsifying witness statements. I applaud them for finally doing something about the illegal funeral parlour on Jalan Gasing that the MPPJ refused to act on because well, lets not get started on that man...

Ok, so someone somewhere messed up a little in the ACA. But we need this. We need the clean up. We have to support the clean up of the government. Transparency has to mean something.

Honesty and integrity have to mean something in this country.

Judiciary shame

I was away for two weeks, living blissfully unaware of the trouble brewing in Malaysia.Blissfully unaware. Then I came back and had to once again be assaulted by the ever present corruption problem and stupid politicians.

Ok, now you guys know that I am not a big fan of demostrations and marching protests. And while I do not agree wholeheartedly to the Walk For Justice that the Malaysian Bar organised due to the fact that the video has not be authenticated and the source unknown, I do not disagree to the REASON behind the demonstration. The underlying fact is that corruption in the judiciary has intensified and we see people from all walks of life being elevated to judicial status. The question is that how can a lady without any judicial experience, or even a practising certificate be allowed to sit on a judge's chair and decide the fate of the citizens who come before her?
And how can a civil lawyer with no criminal training be able to hand down reasoned judgments in a criminal trail?
(How can a man be acquitted when the prosecution merely withdrew the charge? There has been NO trial, NO evidence tendered, NO witnesses. COME ON big-shot-lawyer-who-somehow-overnight-became-a-JC, you have got to do your research!)

It is disgraceful how the government has reacted to the whole issue.Issuing comments that all those who have marched in Putrajaya shall be treated as non relevant? As if they were NGOs? Come on!Even THINKING it sounds stupid!You would think that when the video surfaced, the government would actually recognise the fact that corruption has permeated the judiciary and it has become public knowledge. (I mean we ALL know about it, but now its on video..) Instead what does the government do? Send a stupid squad out to say stupid things.

Then someone from the stupid squad says, oh, we need to know the source of the video, if not, there can be no prosecution or investigation. You see, no source means there is NO way we can find out how this video came about. (because we are SO low tech that we cannot POSSIBLY find out how the video was made or who circulated it. What?We have a Malaysian in space?Cannot be la, we cannot even investigate the source of videos)

Then the same person from the stupid squad comes out and says, oh, whoever the source is, fear not for your life or your reputation, Come forward and show us who you are. We have a witness protection act that will protect your identity. Now, this person from the stupid squad is supposed to have some law/legal knowledge. So you would think that this headline- Witness Protection Act? What Witness Protection Act? It doesnt exist.- will not make it to the front pages of the newspapers. But sadly, it did cos(here comes the lamest excuse we can possibly hear) "I noticed the mistake and told my press secrretary to correct it but he didnt. Of course I know there isnt such an Act".

Oh yea?
I doubt it.
You said something stupid without thinking. You want the source to surface so that he/she will drop off the face of the earth never to be heard again once he is naive enough to believe the words of the stupid squad.

How can we not lose faith?
How can we trust anything now?

How shameful.

What is that stink?

The Auditor General's Report on the spending of the federal and state government is out.
In it, many discrepancies are found in various Ministries. Some show that they pay out thousands of RM for purchases worth hundreds of RM only. They also maintain the salaries of those who have left the service and despite various reminders for them to stop remitting the money they continue doing it(yes, apparently there are honest people out there. I know, its shocking!)

Now, today's papers said that the ACA are investigating the Auditor General's Report to see whether there has been any corruption. Oh, I am sorry. Not investigating yet. Study the report first. Cos you see, it was tabled on Friday, and today is only Wednesday, so they need to STUDY THE REPORT first.(Sat and Sun non working day, and then the other days they work probably only half day, what with the "minum pagi and petang they have to take). Eventhough it clearly states many discrepancies in the expenditure, it must still be "verified by the National Audit Department before any investigations or charges can be laid" (Datuk Sri Nazri Aziz).

Apparently, everyone can be called up to give statements and to be questioned. Here's a STERN warning from the ACA head- " If the need arises, we will call the people concerned for questioning..even if they are ministers. The ACA has the right to call anybody, including Ministers."

OOhhh...if I were a Minister, I would be SO scared. I mean, I thought I was above the law.
The fact that that man has to SAY that even Ministers can be called just gives one a hint of the existing "understanding" of whether people actually get into trouble when they have a Datuk, Tan Sri or a Tun to their name. Like DUH, the top man obviously MUST be called for questioning dont you think? He is supposed to be controlling the Ministry. (but its not a known fact apparently, so lets just keep this fact to ourselves. Hush. Secret.)

Ok, let me see what could possibly happen after this investigation (AFTER verification of course). Three things can happen:-

1. It takes SO long to complete, we would have all forgotten about it and would already be swept up in the Election fever and so they conveniently sweep it under the carpet, NEVER to be heard again.

2. No discrepancies no corruption. Everything is accounted for. Paid RM5k for pencils? These are GOOD ASS PENCILS. They are WORTH that money. You can even use it in space! What? You mean ALL pencils can be used in space? Well, this are still special, cos its Halal.

3. There is corruption. But the office guy who sits in the corner and copies invoices is the guilty one. He falsely submitted the invoices. He pocketed the money. The Minister in charge will be LIVID. He has to be charged.

Yeah, thats about the only three options I can think of.

The question is, is there a need to wait and verify and investigate? Come on, paying thousands for things worth hundreds? Unless there IS corruption of the highest and dirtiest kind, the ministry must be run by idiots for them to pay out so much for so little?! Doesnt it just reek of idiocy/stupidity or corruption?

I mean, we all know that some of them ARE idiots, but when it is SO obvious, at least do something about it la. Someone must stop perpetuating the stupidity! Our PM only sends "angry" statements. As to whether he actually DOES something, we have to wait and see.

I just wish to ask, Sir, how do you run the country, when the little Napoleans under you are doing what they want, as they want, when they want? Isnt it time to actually do something instead of saying you will do something? That you need time, and that you will do it YOUR WAY? Do it any which way, JUST DO IT (copyrighted Nike)

Every once in a while, we read something in the papers and we see the way they try to cover it up, but you know, its easy to suppress words and documents, but the stink? Its really strong.

Can you smell that stench?

Its nauseating.

Restoring my faith

A friend S called me the other day and with a serious tone he said , " I have a legal question to ask you."
Me:Yeah?
S:If I was in the midst of doing a U-turn, and the lights turned red and the cops stopped me and said I beat the red light...
M:Uh-huh
S:They came out of nowhere and said I beat the red light eventhough it was still green when I turned to do the U-turn.
M:Uh-huh. (Like how long did he take to do the U-Turn? From Green to Red?)What is the legal question la?
S:Can they saman me?
M:Yeah.
S:But I didnt beat the red light!
M:Did you offer them anything to 'selesaikan the masalah??
S:No.
M:Ah. Then yeah, you'll get a summons.
S: What?!
M: Because the lights turn red la.

Now before any of you think that this whole conversation reproduction is to show that the police are a corrupt bunch,(well it may well be, but its not ONLY that) it is to show that many of us behind the wheel are a bunch of idiots.

For those who do not know, here's a law that must be learnt now and remembered forever. If there ISNT a sign that says that you CAN do a U-Turn, you CANT. You can only do a U-Turn when there IS a sign that says you can. Its not, "But there is no sign to say I cannot watttt.."
Yes, that is true. No, I am not lying and Yes, you can check it out with JPJ or the Polis Trafik.

And if it says "No Entry" it actually MEANS NO ENTRY. Not," Eh, Nobody what, that means I can enter until someone shows up and I put up my dungu face and insist that I am in the right way".
Dumbass(ess).

Ok, enough about idiots behind the wheel. Now we move on to the police force.
Now, I , like many of you out there do not have the utmost faith in our police force. We hardly see them around when we have our bags snatched, houses broken into, motorcyles/cars stolen, or we are being harrassed by strangers. However, we DO see them when we do that illegal U-turn, or beat the traffic light, or when we whip out our hps to text someone. (like where the heck did they come from?!)

I always wondered why the police do not do anything about the many posters/flyers of money lenders which we see everyday. Now the money lenders have become very sophisticated nowadays. Its no longer called Ah Longs, its now "PINJAMAN MUDAH" or they wrap their posters into small envelopes ala greeting cards boasting " Pinjaman Mudah RM100,00!" Right in front of my office, the spray paint their numbers on the parking meters. Yes, they do.
So if the police force's brains were a logical entity, they would call up the number, pretend that they want to borrow money, and then meet up with these illegal money lenders and then nab them, no?

Apparently, that has never crossed their minds.
Instead they go around writing summons to those who do not carry their ICs or drive a little faster than the 110mph on the highways. (Some people need to get to Ipoh/Penang pronto!OK!?)

But every once in a while, when I have my greatest doubts about the police force, they spring a surprise on me.

One fateful day at 12am in the morn, I was about to enter my car when I heard a burglary alarm in one of the shops and it has apparently been ringing for sometime (so we wonder whats the use of an alarm when the owners do not show up to investigate?) Anyway, two policemen drove up to the shop and asked me whether I knew the owners to which I answered no. One of them suddenly saw a figure lurking around the corner and ran off to investigate. Upon reaching the alley, he asked his partner to quickly drive the patrol car to the other side of the alley to stop the man whom they suspect was trying to break into the shop. Now, this man (the partner behind the wheel) actually asked me politely, "Cik, boleh tolong tutup pintu itu tak? Saya kena pergi sekarang" (The passenger side door was open and I was standing next to it)
So I did. And he sped off to catch the suspicious figure in the alley.

My faith in the police force was restored that night.

Some of them DO love their jobs and they actually DO what they have been trained to do.
For those out there who are in uniforms and taking bribes and releasing criminals for money, shame on you.
For those who are in upper management and endorse these actions, MORE shame on you.

To the two policemen who patrolled Jalan 19/3 that night, you guys rock.

The pains of unrequited love

What does Merdeka mean to you?

Fake answer: I am happy that I can live here in a multi racial country, where we can interact and live harmoniously together.
Real answer: HOLIDAY!WOOOHOOO!!!! LONG WEEKEND!YEESS!

Ok, lest anyone thinks that I am anti-Merdeka, anti-Islam, anti-government, etc etc, let me make this clear. I am not.

I am not anti-Islam. In fact I have a lot of Muslim friends with whom I hang out with. I enjoy their company and we share the same humour. Some of them even make fun of their own religion just as I would too. Which I find endearing because it means they can laught at themselves and that makes friendship easier.

Now, what is it then that I go on and on about in this space? It is not that I am anti-Islam. I am just anti-Islamic-favouring policies.

While I may laugh with my Muslim friends, that does not mean that I do not harbour a resentment that they will go on to get a scholarship to study overseas eventhough their parents are richer than mine and their results poorer than mine. And while I enjoy their company that does not mean I do not envy that they will not have to worry about their children not being able to enter our top universities due to a quota system while I may have to worry about spending a fortune having to send my children when their applications are rejected.

While I do not disagree that many Muslims are where they are because they have worked hard for it, I do not agree that some of them deserve to be where they are purely because of their race and religion. And it pains me to know that the Government which has pledged to work for Malaysians, have found it fit to work harder for MALAYsians. It hurts my sense of sportmanship when I find that there are athletes who have trained and won in their respective games are not chosen to represent the country/ state because their team consist of Chinese/Indian girls. So they are told, sorry, we cannot choose you. But to make you feel better, we will allow some of your girls to join our team consisting of all Malay girls to represent our country.
Yes, you may go, oh, AS IF this happens. It does. I assure you. It is a FACT.

And many of you will remind me of how us Malaysian respect other races and how we can live together unlike other countries who fight and have wars in the name of religion. And I tell you, in your face, we have avoided wars so far because there WAS an understanding that we as Chinese, Indians and lain-lain had a place under the Malaysian sun as Tunku Abdul Rahman(and Raja Nazrin) said. However this so called "social contract" is fast becoming a thing of the past, and sentiments are high as new policies are put in place because the Malay population HAVE THE RIGHTS. No, its not a BIRTH right. I am sorry that the Government does not see that.

It makes me grimace in disgust when I know that the party who is supposed to represent us Non-Muslims in coalition is much too caught up in making money, in sucking up to their boss's ass and providing for their families to realise that they are slowly but surely selling their souls at our expense.

I respect the fact that we are all allowed to practise our religion freely in this country. But faith unfortunately comes second to survival. And in this country, while you are free to have faith in the religion of your choice, it also means your faith in that particular religion will be a barometer of how much you are given or whether you are given anything at all.

So you see, I am not that bad a person as many people may think. I respect the religions of my friends.Personally, I like them. In fact, some of them are my good friends. But like I said, that does not mean I am not envious, angry, disgusted, resentful or oblivious to how they are allowed to be so much more, just because they are from a religion called Islam.

Being proud to be Malaysian is hard for me. Sure I beam with pride when our Malaysians won the Thomas Cup. And when Nicol David is the top squash player in the world. And that Jimmy Choo is a revered name in the shoe business. And Zang Toi is doing well in the States. You see, my pride stems from the fact that they are INDIVIDUALS who made it. So it makes me proud to know, hey, I may be able to make it too even if I do not have blonde hair, blue eyes or a foreign accent. Does it make a shred of difference that they happen to be FROM Malaysia? I am afraid that comes in second place.

Ok I may not make much sense.

But at the end of the day, it boils down to hoping that if I, a Chinese girl loves Malaysia, it might one day, someday love me back.

Jesus who?

Ok, so its an established FACT that if you insult Islam, this is what is going to happen:-

1. There will be a story about you in every major newspapers. In fact you will make it to the front pages of every newspaper there is;
2. Our PM will express his disappointment and anger and say something like "we have to act accordingly. Its not right to insult Islam. It will cause racial disharmony. We have to ensure that the Law takes its course."
3. GPMS will call for the death penalty if they could but because they want to seem "moderate" in the thoughts, they call for corporal punishment(or something along those lines);
4. Ministers will overreact and ask for you to be punished for "insulting Islam" and "causing racial disunity";
5. Investigations will be opened to see whether you should be prosecuted to serve as a warning that Islam is supreme and nobody, NOBODY can insult Islam;and
6. You will fall off the face of the earth never to be heard again.

However, if you were to insult Christianity, this is what's going to happen:-

1. You get a small column dedicated to you because some unknown politician made a report about your insensitiveness in insulting Christianity;
2. PM will say (in an even smaller column in the newspaper) "Dont play with religion." and that he is "very disappointed because it was very hurtful and would anger Christians";
3. Nobody else really cares because hey, its not about Islam;
4. You go off scott free because , HEY, ITS NOT ABOUT ISLAM.

So, here its the conclusion. If you insult Islam, you might as well jump of from the Twin Tower's rooftop.(less pain and quicker death than being subjected to stupid comments, irrational calls for prosecution and accusations of causing racial disharmony) but if you insult any other religion, its ok. Nobody really cares cos other religions dont really matter in this country. Da Vinci Code was thought to be insulting Jesus? Oh, Malaysia didnt ban it. Cos it insults Jesus, not Nabi Muhammad. Who cares?!The Government frankly couldnt be bothered. In fact those in the censorship board may be laughing with glee going "TeeHee!Insulting Christianity!Padan muka!"

If you publish pictures of Nabi Muhammad in a bomb shaped turban, your newspapers are BANNED indefinitely! But if you publish a picture of Jesus holding a beer can and a cigarette, well, unless brought to the attention of the Government, they wouldn't even bother. Not Islam mah, who cares? Can cause racial disharmony meh? How?

You see, only insulting Islam is a GRAVE matter which deserves punishment and prosecution. But all other insults of other religions only deserve a "oh, I am so disappointed" or "or they really shouldnt have" or even "yeaka?" followed by inaction.

Yeah you heard it right, INACTION.

So you see, as we approach our 50th year of Independence, the more we should realise that, sadly we're not living harmoniously as we claim in our VISIT MALAYSIA YEAR campaigns. We, non Muslims, are not Malaysians because we're not recognised as fellow countrymen, but its because we were merely born here and therefore the dominant and only important religion and their followers, have no choice but to "tolerate" us. Dont forget, the Muslims "allowed" us Chinese to stay here. So we have to be grateful. We have to be thankful. We cannot make a fuss that they deleted Hang Tuah from History books once they found out he was chinese. We cannot.

We have to be thankful.

Who the heck ARE you?

Gabungan Pelajar-Pelajar Melayu also known as GPMS was established in 1948.
And the aim of GPMS?

"Menjaga hak-hak, mengemukakan segala permintaan dan memperbaiki keadaan pelajar-pelajar dari segenap lapisan masyarakat"

And in addition, it was set up because:-

1. Sedar atas perlunya disatukan tenaga pelajar-pelajar Melayu di seluruh Semenanjung Tanah Melayu;
2. Sedar akan kemunduran Bangsa Melayu dalam ilmu pengetahuan;
3. Sedar akan kewajipan untuk meninggikan darjat pengetahuan bangsa;dan
4. Sedar bahawa maju mundur kaya miskin dan hina mulianya bangsa adalah di tangan pelajar.
[all info obtained from Hari Ini Dalam Sejarah Online]

Now that we all have a rough idea of what GPMS stand for, I dare ask what business do they have calling for a ban on Gwen Stefani's concert? Saying that in the name of protecting Islam and Muslims in the country, her concert should be banned due to her costumes on stage which in their words "promote promiscuity" and is against the tenets of Islam. [ I have a question, how many of us have had the urge to go forth and copulate when we see Gwen bursting out unto the stage with her costumes or when she is in her music videos? I didnt. If we did, the Malaysian population will have increased tenfold]

Now I read the aims of GPMS over and over again and nowhere do I see that it is their duties or calling to "defend" Islam or to determine what is right or wrong in the name of Islam. Seriously, who died and made them the barometer of what is decent and what is not in Malaysia? Lest they forget, Islam is the official religion of the country, but Islam does not govern the lives of all Malaysians. If indeed you think that Gwen's dressing will corrupt your Muslim youth, ban THEM from going to the concert. We Chinese, Indians and Lain-Lain do not need you to tell us what will or will not corrupt our minds thank you very much.

Or perhaps you should ban your 10,000 members from attending Gwen's concert. They consented to joining your association, so they should stick by what you preach. ( I wonder if they actually have any members attending the concert, that would be interesting to know. If I were the promoters of the concert, and I see a GPMS member buying a ticket, I would say OH NO YOU DONT!)

Now, the whole aim of GPMS it to elevate the status of Muslim students nationwide. That they realise that they should all come together to ensure that the Muslim students are moving forward in terms of their education, their thoughts and their ideas. Basically, its understanding that there is a need to work hard to elevate the status of the Muslim Students in order that they do not lag behind all other races. Encourage the students to learn, encourage the students to take up courses they never thought they will excel in, encourage them to open up their minds and to accept ideas of the world and not confine themselves to their own little world.

THAT is what I read from their aims.

However, what THEY interpret from their aims is to basically call for the man who created the Negaraku YouTube video to make a public apology for allegedly insulting Islam, to insist that he makes another video and apologise publicly, and to DEMAND that Gwen Stefani's concert be banned for promoting promiscuity and when that failed, to INSIST that she cover up as it is against Islam to reveal any skin. (a quick visit to Jalan Sultan Ismail will see many Muslim women dressed in the shortest skirts and skimpiest tops and what about the celebrities who grace covers of the magazines in their skimpy cleavage revealing tops?)

So who are these people to demand all these things?
Who are they to say, Oh, WE are the barometer of what is right and wrong? Why did the Government bow to their wishes and demands? This is only an ASSOCIATION which does not even represent the view of all Muslims, but merely 10,000 of them. They do not represent other races (of course) and they are in NO position to demand anything. Yet, they do and the Government bows to their demands.

This is when we say in unison, WTF ?

SO what next GPMS, no music on the radio besides Raihan? No movies besides Quran recital programmes? How about we ban all night clubs and make it compulsory for the whole nation to take a break whenever the is a calling for prayers? Or perhaps we should make it compulsory for Jawi to be taught to everyone ? Or that the only celebrities allowed to come to Malaysia is one who would be covered from head to toe and not promote promiscuity with his/her dressing.

I have a few questions I would like answered.[Forgive me if I sound a little pissed but I am and they have truly gone overboard with their demands]

1. Why is it that you do not ask your fellow Muslim Students to stop relying on Government funding to send them overseas to study?If you are indeed such big advocates of everything Malaysian, stay in Malaysia, study in Malaysia. Why go overseas where the whole environment is allegedly an affront to your religion?
2. How many of your 10,000 members actually studied Islam and can make statements on what is right or wrong in the name of Islam?
3. Why you did not even make a peep when there were videos of your fellow Muslim Students(underage ones too) having sex with young boys circulating on the internet?
4. Why most youths found "in compromising positions" in Tasik Titiwangsa, Kelana Jaya Park, Shah Alam Park are Muslim youths(and I do not simply summarise that they are Muslims, their tudungs were a big giveaway)

Let's not go and govern what other people are doing. Why dont you look at your own backyard? What have you done to elevate the status of your youth? How have you educated them? How have you achieved ANY of the aims you set out to do? Many Muslims are still in their villages, uneducated. Have you sent your people there to see whether they can set up schools for them? Provide them with books and clothes?

Have you done any of that at all?

Funny how I only hear of you when there is a concert or when there is a brouhaha over something. When it comes to promoting education, batang hidung pun tak nampak.

A fragile nation obsessed with symbols

While there are wars going on in some parts of the world, famine in our neighbouring countries, extreme poverty within Malaysia and all bordering countries, we Malaysians have found it appropriate to place Wee Meng Chee on the front pages of our newspapers and threaten him with prosecution under the Sedition Act. What is even sadder is that this is a 24 year old boy, oh, sorry, MAN.(he is not a boy anymore according to Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri)
*cue Britney Spear's "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman"

He merely sang Negaraku with his own interpretations and telling the rest of the world who tuned into his YouTube video, of his fears and his reservations about the way the country was being run and where it was headed.
Is he not entitled to?Apparently he IS entitled to but there are "proper channels" to voice his displeasure? Erm, like what?Shout it out on top of Mt. Kinabalu where nobody can hear?

Is he being persecuted not because he sang Negaraku and so called insulted it but because it insulted Islam and Muslims? Would it have made a difference if he called Buddha fat and Jesus a hippie and hence all their followers suckers? Would the Persatuan Pelajar-Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung(or something like that) demand a public apology and insist he had to do it on another video posted on YouTube?

First I digress- Why is a Persatuan Pelajar-Pelajar Melayu Semenanjung allowed to be set up? Isnt it discriminatory and may cause racial tensions (ala the reason why a Chinese Association was not allowed to be set up in a University because it was limited to Chinese and may hence caused "racial tensions")? Why is there a need for an Association to so call represent Pelajar-Pelajar Melayu? In fact, do they actually represent all the pelajar-pelajar Melayu? I dare say most of my friends in KMYS (where 90% are Muslims) probably never even heard of this Association speaking on their behalf and demanding public apologies from others. And who the heck are they to demand anything?

So what I can surmise from this whole episode is that its not about the Negaraku. If it were, it just goes to show how fragile a nation we are. That a Chinese MAN could by singing Negaraku the "wrong" way on a YouTube video, insult the whole nation and jatuh muka Malaysia. I bet the Australians(yes, it made it to the Aussie press) are thinking how stupid we are. I bet all Malaysians outside of Malaysia are cringing in shame when asked "why Malaysians are making a big deal out of a song".

I wonder if the Singapore Government feels that Singaporeans are insulting their national anthem when 50% of them(more or less) have no idea what it means as it is sung in Malay. Many of them have no idea when their National Day is either. Should those who do not understand (but sing it with gusto) be prosecuted?What about those who say "National day-ah, I dont know when leh." Prosecute them too?

I have mentioned in previous posts before about Malaysia and our incessant obsession with everything symbolic. Flags, songs, campaigns, material things. Its not about the people, its not about us as Malaysians understanding the history and the struggles of becoming a nation. What if say, Wee Meng Chee is a MAN who knows and understands the history of Malaysia so well he could beat Badawi in a quiz about the country, but he sang the Negaraku "wrongly", is he any less a Malaysian?

You know who and what I think its not Malaysian?

Those who brandish the keris and call out for Chinese blood, where Chinese/Indian festivals are not considered a Public Holiday, but all other Muslim celebrations are- Awal Muharram, Hari Raya Qurban, Nuzul Al-Quran, etc etc, where our ex Ms. Malaysia is not even brought up in Malaysia and speaks with a damn Aussie accent,where we have to tick "Chinese, Malay, Indian or lain-lain" when we fill out forms, where certain properties are marked "Bumiputra bidders only" eventhough its not a Malay Reserve land (and this Reserve land is another one as well), allowing Muslims to park any damn where they please when its Friday prayers but saman the rest of us when we park illegally, calling for Muslim women to be allowed to go home early when they fast during Ramadan but not for Christians who also fast....
Those are but a few, the list is long.
THAT I considered being UNMALAYSIAN. Simply because its race based. Being Malaysia is not about being of a particular race, but being a NATION bonded by similarities of being born and bred here and nurtured in our very own Malaysian cultures and environment.

Where if we have a foreigner come up to us and say "Your country is very hot" we shout with gusto "WHY CANNOT MEH? YOUR COUNTRY DAMN COLD LA NOW? YOUR SUMMER NOT HOT MEH? or if he says our food is disgusting, we remark "Well EXCUSE ME, I happen to think its fabulous!"

We as a nation are fragmented from within, so many of us are being discriminated in the INSIDE, but we fight "forces" from the outside with fervour, hoping to blind the rest of us from the injustices breeding within.

I can see. I can hear. And I sure as hell know what it is to be Malaysian. A song will not insult me. My Government sidelining me? THAT is the biggest insult.

VSS THE mother of solutions!

"Ninety percent of the Kuwaiti workforce is employed by the Government, a substantial of whom do not show up for work but still collect their salaries. Those who do attend mostly ignore the government working hours of 7.30am to 1.30pm and instead put in an appearance between 10am and 11.30am. Despite what has been estimated to be the shortest working week in the world, male government employees can retire on full pensions after twenty years' employment, female after fifteen years."

- Jan Goodwin, in the Novel "Price of Honour"

We Malaysians can substitue the working hours from 8.30am to 4.30pm and them putting in appearance for between 4 hours to 5 hours (with Minum Pagi, Minum Petang, Makan tengah hari, and for Muslims, prayer breaks in between). There really isnt much difference actually because the civil servants can still retire on full pensions or better yet, they have since come up with the perfect solution if their bad at their jobs.

VSS.
Yes, the Voluntary Separation Scheme.

You see, if the civil servant is underperforming, or has discipline problems, or is basically what we call in Malaysia "makan gaji buta" there are two options available for him/her.

1. VSS
2. Transfer to another department/state

Isnt it great?
If you're basically horrendous at what you do, you get an option to MAKE money from it! And to qualify, you only have to

(i) work 4-5 hours a day; AND
(ii) you can even have discipline problems OR be bad at what you do.

AND, in our dear PM's words, it can even curb corruption and keep the civil servants on their toes!! [Of course HOW it helps curb corruption was never really explained to anybody, but if the PM says it does, it doesla! What? You got problem with that ah?]

Hurrah! We have finally found THE Mother of all solutions to the civil servants inefficiency! Someone please go pat Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan's back. I tell you this "way out" (in the words of our dear DPM) for those who may no longer be interested in serving the public sector, or are ill qualified or are basically just malas semacam is so ingenious I wonder why nobody has ever thought of it before.

However CUEPACS has its reservations about this scheme. Not because it would reward problematic civil servants or that this is the wrong way to go to increase efficiency, but that this is tantamount to punishing them. How? Because these civil servants will find it hard to find a job somewhere else thats why! Now why would civil servants who has discipline problems or are underperforming find it hard to get jobs in the private sector? Why, oh why? I absolutely cannot think of ANY reasons at all...! Is it because they are bad at their jobs? Or they have discipline problems? or that they are lazy? or its because they actually HAVE to work 9-5pm everyday and not be entitled to their pagi,tengahari,petang breaks? What a toughie.

I say. This scheme is such an ingenious one, it makes me wanna run to the LHDN and pay my taxes pronto!

Its the best ever scheme to use our taxpayers money! Its even better than building that first class sports facility in some god forsaken town in the UK!

I cannot wait!

A fascination with stupidity...

As our 50th Merdeka looms closer, more and more useless "Kempen" are being launched.

Of course as usual, every year there will be one Minister who will go to the press and comment about the lack of patriotism displayed as Malaysians couldnt be arsed(wait, thats just me..) to display the plasticky Jalur Gemilang on our cars. (The damn glue doesnt come out ok? It spoils the paint) OR to drape our cars/home/self(ala Sudirman) with the Jalur Gemilang. Thats biasala..our patriotism is in the form of material displays. RTM felt so pressured to display the flag that they had to spend a whole load of money just to wrap a flag with our past and present PMs around Angkasapuri (arent you glad you dont work in RTM?Imagine Badawi/Mahathir/Tun Razak's face reflected on the window for a whole month just STARING at you...as if working in RTM is not bad enough...)

What other stupid things have been done as the 50th Merdeka celebrations creep up on us.
Well, dont even get me started on the Parade that is held every year. I just dont get it, why must there be a marching parade? And the rehearsals, gawd, it takes days and days and they close up the whole blardy road. Like HELLO? Some people have more important things to do besides marching around in circles under the hot sun? Stop blocking the damn road!

But my FAVOURITE is the fanfare of lauching a new song!
Past years have seen the launching of our flag officially rebranded as "JALUR GEMILANG" So Ministers must show up, people must attend to cheer and clap, everyone must sing the Negaraku...you know the drill.

Then this year we launch the "Lagu Malaysiaku Gemilang".
In all honesty, with no disrespect to whomever who came up with the words , this song is just a matter of plucking out words that make our country sound good and meshing them together.
Here's a reproduction (must sing with great patriotism-marching optional)

Marilah kita semua,
Atas nama negara Bangsa
Dengan tekad mulia
Maju berwawasan
Mencipta Keagungan

Berpadulah kita semua
Di dalam suatu suara
Dengan degupan Merdeka
Menjulang Budaya Bangsa
Untuk Malaysia Tercinta

Malaysiaku Gemilang
Merdekanya terbilang
Berdaulat dan Makmur
Berjaya kami Syukur

(Chorus)
Malaysia, Kebebasan Kedamaian
Malaysia, Kebahagiaan Kebanggaan
Malaysia, Cemerlang Terbilang
Malaysiaku Gagah Gemilang
[Repeat Chrous to fade..]


Does it make any sense to you? It doesnt make any sense to me.

Its like this, here's my shot at creating a song that doesnt really make sense but has all the great words to let everyone know I'm proud to be a Malaysian dammit!:-

Bersamalah kita semua,
Di bawah jalur gemilang,
Berbangga dan Bermaruah,
Berjuang untuk Negara.

Malaysiaku, Hebat
Malaysiaku Boleh,
Malaysiaku Hebat hebat belaka,
Malaysiaku Canggih Semacam,
Malaysiaku AKU CINTA PADAMU!

This is a great example of a big waste of money.
Who needs a new song? Who sings it? Who can even remember all these stupid songs that are launched? Why must there be a launching? Seriously. Why spend the money on something stupid as that?

How about using the money to say, give to the poor and the disabled. To pledge the money during our Nation's 50th Merdeka to the families of those whom have fought for our country and have lost their lives, or to the poor and needy so that they can share in the glories and abundance that Malaysia has acquired since our independence 50 years ago, or to cleaning and sprucing up the cities in Malaysia, or to ask MAS to buck up you damn Airline and your damn delayed flights?!(wait, that doesnt need money, but I just wanted to say it cos MAS is beginning to piss everyone off with their delayed flights)

Malaysian and its useless kempens. Here's a list of kempens I have come across (which must include a Minister and a launching thingy)
[The words may not be officially accurate but the gist is there]

1. Kempen Negara Sihat
2. Kempen Makanan Sihat
3. Kempen Menembak Burung Gagak (helluva exciting thing I tell you...)
4. Kempen Membayar Cukai Taksiran
5. Kempen Membersih Sungai

......

Anybody interested in joining my kempen untuk memberi duit untuk membaiki sinki dapur saya?

Anybody?

Bad Parents= Rude Children

If a student uttered a vulgar word at me, or shouted obscenities at me, I'd slap her. Seriously, I would slap her so hard, she will never dare utter those words again to me or anyone else for that matter.

If I find out a student had happily flushed a sanitary napkin down the toilet, or found it appropriate to stuff it into the water tank or wherever(except a proper dustbin) she can stuff it into, AND refuse to own up, I would make them squat in the dirty pond too. In fact if I could, I would make them all line up in the toilet until one person confesses to the stupid crime. (It probably would be more effective than making them stand in the river. A quick visit to any toilet in Government Schools will convince you of that)


See? They can take a bath while they are at it too...

But then again, that's me.

When it comes to the parents of the students, they think it's something worth going to the press about. And the picture will usually show a very angry parent with captioned "Mr.X/Mrs. X holding the police report about the incident." Followed by a very sad looking girl/boy holding her face or pointing to a bruise/itch/cut with the captioned "Ms X showing the injury she sustained from the slapping/made to squat in river saga/punching."

Many headmasters and headmistresses have defended the actions of these teachers and I am no different. I think what they did was of course a normal reaction to very very bad behaviour.

I would ask the parents of these students to question their own parenting skills before asking the Education Department to discipline the teachers.

Firstly, what type of parenting skills have been exercised when a student can even THINK of flushing her sanitary pad down the toilet? One does not need much sense to know that it will cause it to be blocked and hence overflow and spoil the damn thing.

And what parent allows their child to utter vulgarities/obscenities at anyone what more a teacher? If a parent has brought up his or her child with the notion that it is ok to utter obscenities at a teacher, who is he to say the teacher needs to be disciplined for slapping a rude pig of a child that she or he has raised? I say, look at ur own parenting skills first.

Parents nowadays are a fussy bunch. Touch the child a little and they go berserk. Somehow they forget that a child is in a position whereby he does not do his homework, or is rude to a teacher or is blatantly ignorant of rules and regulations, because his or her parent has FAILED them. A parent has FAILED to bring up their child the right way. So they are quick to blame. It is a classic, Opps, my bad parenting skills are on display, lets quickly cover it up by saying its the teacher's fault."

Yeah sure people.

We ALL can see that YOU as a parent have failed your child.
Instead of going to the press and complaining about it, spend your time guiding and teaching your child.

After all, spare the rod, spoil the child.

A matter of long and short

Universiti Utara Malaysia has made it into the news. I know many of us are like, Universiti what? Well, its one of those Universities established to make those who failed to get into UM, USM or UKM feel a little better that they managed to get into a public university. (Eventhough 90% of them did better than those who got into one of the top universities, at least they got something mah, what you complaining about?What? You want to do dentistry? A course on Environmental Science is similar what..)

Apparently Non-Muslims are being made to wear baju kurungs or risk being banned from entering their classes. And the official word from the University when asked was that it was a miscommunication and that the picture depicting the baju kurung was actually a lady wearing a long sleeved top and a long skirt.
Ok, wtf is the difference? They are both a long sleeved top and skirt isnt it? And why must Non Muslims wear long sleeved tops and skirts? Why cant they say, wear jeans or slacks and a blouse? Its typical of most public universities isnt it? All their versions of "decent" dressing consist of only those which are in line with Islam. Basically, here's a rundown of what DECENT means in all public universities...



So no tight pants, no mini skirts, no see through blouses, no navel exposure, no emphasis on the buttocks, no cleavage...hhmmm...I wonder what that translates into? Cheongsams cannot be worn because it would definitely emphasis the buttocks and its body hugging. So saris are out as well because it exposes the navel. So what could possibly be the appropriate outfit? What? I wonder....Could it be indirectly saying, baju kurung labuh?

The move behind these insatiable need to dress all university students in a standard long sleeved top and skirt is the underlying rationale that "its to perk up the student's image". Firstly, what sort of bad image does say,an indian girl in a sari or a chinese girl in a cheongsam, project? That she is easy? That she has no morals? That she is not a nice decent girl because her navel is exposed or her butt is "showing"?





See how happy she is? Thats why is a bad outfit!









This I tell you, is the reason why Universities in Malaysia are going down the drains. Instead of focusing on improving the academics in the university, they are busy determining what the students are wearing and what clubs the students are setting up which are not "anti-Islam" such as a Chinese Society.

What? UM is number what in the world rankings?

Gee...I wonder why. We are so dedicated to improving the standard of our education...

A Personal Reflection

When I read that the Nuri Helicopter crashed off Genting Highlands,my heart sank. I knew for SURE that there will be no survivors. Of course it would not be surprising that the report from the crash will conclusively state that it was "pilot error". It will never have anything to do with Nuri Helicopters being undermaintained or poorly serviced. Its easier to say its human error than to admit that not allocating money to upgrade the fleet of helicopters for our RMAF was a big mistake. If the Government can allocated RM33million for sports in higher institutions, I dont see why a fraction of that money cannot be used to upgrade the RMAF fleet of airplanes, helicopters and etc. Now Najib says, oh we might replace the Nuri helicopters with something else. Whether it will happen, remains to be seen.

Firstly the state of sports in our country is downright embrassing and degrading. Being beaten by Uzbeskistan 5-0 is humiliating. But beaten by IRAQ as well? Come on, they are supposed to be at war! Yet they whooped our asses. And yet the MPPJ finds it fit to channel ill founded money every other day into their "Kelab Bola Sepak". Ok maybe that is just a ruse to channel the monies into their own pockets, but whatever it is, the list of priorities when it comes to allocating money should be revamped and reorganised. Why spend money to allow the young footballers to go to UK and stay in high class hotels? They cannot play football!THEY CANNOT!What is so blardy hard to understand???!

Sigh.

Back to the Nuri crash.

I have to admit I was mighty surprise that the Dewan Negara observed a minute of silence as respect for the 5 members of the Force who were killed. And I was even MORE surprised that the King made a visit to the homes of the deceased. Why? Its not that I didnt think they were kind hearted or sympathethic enough,but because when my cousin Mej. Lai Yit Fuen's airplane crashed off the coast of Butterworth in 1994, all these were not done in his honour. Visits from the King? A minute of silence for him? Nothing of that sort. Yes, this is a personal reflection and yes I might seem petty but what is so special about those five on board that ill fated Nuri? How are they different from my cousin who was in the RMAF for many many years and flew the fighter planes every year at the National Day parade? He dedicated his life to the RMAF as well.

It still hurts for me to think about him. It still brings tears to my eyes when I visit his grave. And it pierces my heart to know the RMAF (and in fact the whole country) did not give him the honours he rightly deserved.

RIP Ah Fuen koko..

Mongolian Murder Mania OVERLOAD

I dont know about the rest of you, but Razak Baginda's trial has left me sick and tired. Every day you read the papers "RAZAK BAGINDA TRIAL-yada yada yada".

Gawd.

How much of the man and the two policeman can we take?
Seriously, do we REALLY care? I for one dont care much about the outcome of the trial. Lest I be cited for contempt of court for making sub judice comments, all I can say is, the trial is nothing but a circus. A circus which cordoned off half the courthouse to accomodate its performers. The only thing which is lacking from this circus are the animals. Wait, oh, lets not cast aspersions on others. I shall keep my who-is-the-animal-in-the-circus comments to myself.

So, what is so special about Razak Baginda that he is given a WHOLE month for his trial? Because he is a high ranking official? Because he is a rich man? Because he allegedly murdered a Mongolian woman so its a we-must-maintain-our-international-relations hence the early trial to show the world that we truly believe in " justice delayed is justice denied"?
What is the reason? Why must we accomodate this man (the other two main accused are lucky that they are charged together with Razak, if they weren't they would probably be in prison until 2009 before the case even comes up for Mention)?

Many Accused persons are languishing in jail awaiting their trial. Many, if not all, have to at least rot in prison for a year before the case comes up before the High Court only to be told, "Saksi tidak dapat hadir" OR "pegawai penyiasat menghadiri kursus" OR "DPP sakit" followed by "mohon untuk penangguhan".

However when it comes to this Mongolian woman's murder trial, there are no kursus-es to attend, everyone is at the pink of health, and all witnesses somehow are able to miraculously attend every hearing. (I tell you, miracles do happen. We just do not know when exactly) While all these are done to ensure that the rest of the world has a good opinion of us (WAH!So efficient!They hold their trials so quick!There IS justice in Malaysia after all!), the rest of Malaysia is left wondering, Hey, WTF? Get a number and wait in line Razak!

So now we know where we stand in Malaysia?

No.1 Rich Politician
No.2 Not-so-rich politician
No.3 Rich/Not-so-rich politician's family members
........

No.24,899,789 the rest of the Rakyat

Sad but its true.

However, there is hope for some of us to up our status just a little. Just recently one big telco company offered special mobile prices for UMNO members. To "enhance" relations between UMNO members and this telco company(because you see, UMNO members are special-not like all other un-UMNO members) So if you were to ditch you oh-so-unhappening-party and join UMNO, you can elevate your status a little in the country. And oh, you do not forget, you get to brandish the keris once in a while too. That might be fun.

KHIDMAT NEGARA IS DA BEST!

Most of us do not remember anything from our History lessons in school, except maybe a man named Temenggung Jugah anak Barieng, cos well, you know, he had hair which looked different.

However, most of us will remember that Malaya (as it then was) was invaded by the Japanese sometime in 1942 . They rode their bicycles in through the South and invaded Malaya. So the 18,000 biycles (the Bicycle Brigade) huffed and puffed from Johore and conquered Malaya for the next three years.


Many of us shake our heads in disbelief. Really? Japanese soldiers on BICYCLES?
Of course, our countrymen fought hard to resist the Bicycle Brigade and we salute them for fighting for the country, however, it cannot be denied that these men from the land of the Rising Sun whooped our asses during World War 2.

What exactly is the point of the whole story actually?

Well, the new "training programme" of the National Service (Khidmat Negara!) trainees got me thinking about that small part of History I had hidden at the back of my head.

So the NS trainees now cannot go jungle trekking when its dark or whatever time there is a hint of dark skies. They do not go jungle trekking when its too hot either. No too much sun or too little. Just in between. And the trekking cannot be more than 3-4 kms. Too much walking if more than that. No dense jungles. Only secondary jungles where there are probably some overgrown weeds and some "wild animals". No combat training in the sun either. They wont be learning much about firearms. They cannot have endurance training for too many hours. ( After all, our enemies do not attack in the dark, or when its too hot. They will come when the skies are bright, but the sun isnt too hot and they will avoid the dense jungle which is so confusing.)

All they would be doing in the three months that they are part of the NS is to march around like stupid idiots (For what? I dont have a clue!), take part in a financial course (so that they manage their finances properly) and try to swing on a rope across a small pool of dirty muddy water. And in between all these, they attend motivational talks and learn how to joget or do the sumazau dance in preparation for their graduation. And of course parents have been asking for an ALL WOMEN training camp because apparently, if you separate the girls from the boys when they are at this age, they will be forever repulsed by boys and there will never be any more unwanted incidents with boys and girls anymore. (HURRAH!)




See? All of them hard at training!

SO, what is the point of having our youngsters join the NATIONAL SERVICE again? Its a place where the Government spends millions of RM to train them to, be well, nothing much really. I can say for a fact, after finishing their training, the boys do not suddenly become men and the girls do not end up tougher and more ready to face whatever challenges they encounter. Though the news say that SOME of them apply for their dream jobs with FULL CONFIDENCE. (Wah!So impressive. No need any degrees or any tertiary education just FULL CONFIDENCE!)They end up looking darker and thinner and a they have a greater appreciation for the comforts of home.

The whole point of the NS was to emulate the Singapore system whereby the boys who finish school do a compulsory two years training in the Army to well, toughen them up. These people jump from planes, do endurance training, learn firearms and do all the things the army is suppose to do. Not march around and learn how to joget. Like seriously.

And we wonder why we got invaded by the Japs on bicycles. I think if they were to come again now, they can probably take us even while they are barefooted and naked.

Sticks and stone may break my bones....

"Mana ada bocor? MP Batu Gajah pun bocor tiap-tiap bulan"

This statement caused such a big furore in the Parliament which subsequently swept through the whole nation. Women of all ages, shapes and sizes suddenly became interested in Parliament.(Not the lawmaking process, not the laws passed, not the leaking roof, but because of the offending comments that somehow manages to come out of Bung Mokhtar every other month. It takes skill and talent I tell you..) There were of course calls for an apology. And as usual in Malaysia, there will be the :-

1) Defiance - "I have every right to say what I want"
2) Denial- "The media took my words out of context"
3) Denial- " I didnt mean it the way that the MP thought it to mean"
4) Defence - " I respect women. I fight for their rights. "
5) Further denial - "Joking only la"
6) Acceptance(But with conditions)- "I apologise if women were offended by my comment. Though it was never meant to offend anybody"

The apology(if it ever comes) usually arrives only after a rollercoaster ride of persistent denials and more denials and then after every denial avenue has been exhausted, then comes to conditional apology.

So he apologised (sort of) and we women heaved a sigh of relief. Victory for women! Women - 1, Bung Mokhtar - 0. Power to WOMEN!


I have to admit though, I was not offended by the comment. I mean, for decades, women have been fighting for equality. We fought for the right to vote through the Suffragettes movement.

Men fought for the political domain to be kept exclusively for men. Yet we women persisted, starved and were tortured in prison just so we could have equal rights. And we won. Now we can vote as we like, all we need to do is scoot down to the nearest Post Office and register ourselves. (Of course women in certain countries do not have this right but the number of countries who deny these rights to women are quickly depleting)

We demanded equal rights in everything. In terms of pay, promotions, positions and everything else that is available to a man, we want it. And to a certain extent, we got it.

So while we are fighting this battle for equality, what is up with us still whining about men being insensitive to women? Or being MCP or being so ungentlemanly? Why do we still expect a man to give up his seat for us in a bus? Or hold the door for us? Or pay for our dinners instead of going dutch? Why indeed? If we want to be equal, we shouldnt then still want men to treat us as something less who need to be taken care of, to be served or to be treated kindly.

Do we as women, give up our seats for other women? Do we expect another woman to hold the door for us? I dont think so. In Malaysia, its called first come, first served. Its "Screw you!I came first!"

So what if Bung Mokhtar said we bocor every month? Yes, its crude. Yes, its sexist. And yes, MPs should be more professional in the Parliament. But if we ask him to apologise and he says, No-uh, I am not going to. So what? We should just shake our heads and pooh-pooh it. So we know he's an ass.(This is my personal opinion, you may not share it with me) We shouldnt need to descend into his level to play this dirty game of them boys against us girls.

Instead we focus ALL our energies into making it a big issue. AWAM, WAO, SIS all joined in the fray calling for an apology, making comments on how sexist the remark is...bla bla bla.

They are merely words. And these are words that mean nothing because someone who is an ass uttered it to provoke a reaction. If we were indeed professional, we should have just said, "Well, Mr. MP, I am saddened by your calousness and your lack of professionalism. Malaysia is going towards Vision 2020, somehow you're still stuck in the 18th Century. You should be ashamed of yourself."

And then go on to debate on things that DO matter to us women. Like maternity leave. Or higher pay. Or more representation on the Bench. Or the right for Muslim women to seek a divorce even if her husband does not want to "grant" her the divorce.
You know, important things.

After all, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

What business do you have controlling mine?

A RM22k fine for increasing the price of a glass of Milo to RM1.80.

Is there anyone out there(besides the Ministry of Trade and Consumer Affairs) who actually thinks this is right? I for one think its ridiculous to the point of absurdity.

Its not the exorbitant amount that got me thinking, but the fact that there was a fine at all. Let me try to understand the rationale here. The civil servants got a raise. So all the traders out there thought to themselves "Alrite!Those civil servants are going to have more money to spend now. So I better increase the cost of my food/services/apparel and make more money!" So a glass of Milo went from RM1-1.20 to RM1.80.
This was when the Ministry people descended unto the Nasi Kandar Pelita shop and fined them RM22k for increasing their prices arbitrarily. And therefore it was against the Government policy of...uhm...what was the policy again? Was it even a policy? Wasn't it just a mere "call" or heed to traders and businessmen out there not to take advantage of the civil service pay increase to make a buck or two for themselves?

But then again, why should they not be allowed to increase the cost of the food they provide? Or the clothes they produced? Or whatever they have painstakingly made with their own hands? Isnt it their right to price their goods at whatever price they like? If you dont want to drink my Milo Ais and pay RM1.80, go to another shop that serves it to you for cheaper.

If I go to Uptown Food Court, I can get chee cheong fun for RM4 to Rm5 (depending on how greedy I am with the fishballs) but if I go to KLCC's food court, I cant expect to get anything below the price ofRM4 or 5. (maybe drinks and some plain cendol) So, why are the traders in KLCC allowed to put such super high prices on their food but the owners of Nasi Kandar Pelita not allowed to? Its THEIR shop and THEIR food. If you think its too expensive, dont go. If you want cheap food, eat at Jalan Alor, if you want a hint of "high class-ness" go to KLCC/1 Utama food court or even Madame Kwans (is the same food isnt it? What is in Madame Kwan's char kway teu that is not in Jalan Alor's ah pak's char kway teu?)

I get it if you want to place a ceiling price on raw produce or meat and oil and sugar and things like that because those do not involve services such as cooking the food, or preparing the drinks or serving the food. Its just raw produced placed on display, for you to pick and choose and then buy it. But when it comes to restaurants, it will always remain a choice. Its a choice of whether we want to pay the cost of the service provided to say, cook our Maggi goreng, or make a roti canai or prepare a creme brulee or tiramisu. Its a choice. If you think its too expesive, dont go. Simple as that.

Why do you have to control how much money a person makes in their business? Obviously Madam Kwan or Little Penang will make more money than Bintang Sue in Uptown when it comes to cooking the same food and preparing the same dishes because one charges Rm4 and the other RM15 for the same thing. Why is one allowed to increase their price and the other is in the danger of being fined for wanting to make just a little extra from the good fortune bestowed upon the civil servants?

Why dont theGovernment concentrate more on the money their corrupt officers are making from the defective Court House in KL, or the stupid Sports Centre in UK or ugly Proton Cars with bad workmanship, or defective Highways or how being a Minister always mean you have a big house, a big car and a great bank account.

Control that. And then we'll talk about controlling a person's legitimate livelihood.

Oh, so YOU say can, I say cannot...

Apparently this Tony Pua guy from DAP, an adviser to the Secretary General said something super unflattering about the Malays. Something along the lines of the civil service being the dumping ground for unemployed Malay graduates. This of course got all the panties of those in the UMNO Youth in a bunch. They have called forTony Pua to apologise to them for making such oh-so-unflattering remark about the Malays. Like, HELLO? How can you say such things about the Malays? It is so NOT in line with our Government stance or integration and masyarakat majmuk-ness! Apology is in order!

I am sure many of you may be nodding your heads saying, "yealah, not right. Cannot make all these racist comments la. Bad for country's harmony."

But let us retrace our steps a little...

Remember this?



I am sure you can see in between all the keris brandishing and their "muka hero" while brandishing it, there's Mr. Khairy, UMNO Youth member and Hishamuddin too.

What what they screaming their lungs out about again? Protecting Malay rights at all costs? And I mean ALL costs? (When the keris comes out, there is some keris kissing action and they call for blood, it seems pretty all out to me)

Sure, some of us Non-Bumis had our panties in a bunch too. Yeah we questioned the intentions of the UMNO. There were calls for apologies. But were there any?
Not that I can remember. Apparently its their right to do it. And after all, if their President thinks its ok, its oklah kan? Pasal apa nak sibuk?

Does Tony Pua indeed owe the UMNO Youth an apology? Certainly not. Has he said something which will cause racial disharmony?
Will it? Really? Maybe the use of the word "dumping ground" may sound a little harsh but is it proven that the civil service is not the place where most unemployed Malay graduates go? It may be a general statement but 95%(more or less) of civil servants do consist of Bumis right? And with the amount of local graduates that local universities (quota system intact of course) churn out every year, does it not make sense that they end up there?

Please. So many racist comments have been hurled at us Non-Bumis. And its been topped of with a keris brandishing exercise. Yet we do not make a big issue out of it, mainly because nothing will be done about it. We dont go ask MCA or MIC to go wave some other instrument about. So all these crap about asking us Non- Bumis to maintain the so called "social contract" which has been in existence for so long by refraining from saying anything racist, shove it already.

Why do we observe the splinter in someone else's eyes and never notice the plank in our own?

Just say it lah!very hard meh?

So every damn Government building is falling apart. So the PM is upset. So PWD says it needs RM6 million to have the engineers conduct checks on the buildings. So the Government @ us tax payers will stupidly hand over the money to do something which OUGHT to have been done WHILE the damn buildings were under construction or PRIOR to the approval of the plans to construct the buldings. But being typical Malaysian and also being in the country of perpetual corruption, something went wrong somewhere, and no one is owning up to anything. Its like a broken record. We hear the same stories over and over and over again.

You know what is truly disappointing? The fact that all the PM does is say, "OH I AM SO ANGRY!" "OH, MAKE SURE SOMETHING IS DONE!" "OH, yada yada yada!"

Its like come on already, instead of just talk talk talk, DO something. Tell those who are in charge of the maintenance or the construction to rectify the problem. Tell them to do it for free!Why the heck do we need to pay them anything for something which should (this term means MUST as in MESTI, PERLU..not maybe, uhhmm...perhaps) have already been done? We dont have to be rocket scientists to know that a damn building shouldnt have leaks BEFORE it is used. Or within its first few months of use!

And why cant the money we will be spending to build highways in Pakistan be used instead to improve on our own infrastructure in Malaysia? Like why the heck must we go build highways in a foreign country? Erm, I think they can manage themselves, ok? And frankly, I think we as Malaysians should have been asked first before our money is used on/for someone else?!

As mentioned earlier, all he needed to say was, I WANT MU TO COME HERE! The FAM scurried around and retracted their earlier statement of refusing MU's tour here didnt they?? So why is it SO hard to just say what you want them to do and tell them to do it???? I dont get it. ( This is as perplexing as why KFC refuses to let you have one piece or original chicken and one hot and spicy eventhough they are both the same price. Perplexing!)

Someone commented that all these problems never cropped up during Mahathir's era. While I was only born in the year that Mahathir came into power, I cannot testify as to whether such problems have ever cropped up during his era because I can only remember as far back as 6 years ago and I guess the Parliament didnt spring a leak at that time...but all I can say is, this time, BN has truly disappointed. The landslide victory which came with big promises has been nothing but a farce. Sure, all the civil servants are appeased cos they got their increase. Of course they are told to work harder and be better and make sure they let everyone know they deserve the raise. (this is when I throw my head back and laugh. WORK HARDER is a foreign word to them) [A visit to the Land Office saw most(if not all) officers crowding around the machine at 3.55pm, holding their cards, ready for the clock to strike 4pm and punch out to go home.]

So I digress.

But the point is, many of us are so taken by short term gains. Momentary happiness and fleeting moments of joy. Thats why we are always hoodwinked whenever election time rolls along. All we can think of is, "Oh, they arent that bad, they gave us a raise! *Marks X on BN candidate*

Sigh.