Thursday 13 March 2008

The conversation with the driver

Disclaimer: Zewt is not putting up any allegation for this entry, just trying to share a conversation. Please read and discern for yourself.

I am back… and definitely jet-lag!

The flight was not very pleasant, I can't explain why. Oh… sitting right in front of me (in the business class) is that RTM badminton commentator, I think his name is Hasbullah something. If I am not wrong, he was on his way back from the coverage of the All-England badminton tournament. I think there were a total of 5 of them in business class. I wonder what class the players sit on… very interesting indeed…

Anyway, I had a very interesting conversation with the driver who picked me up from KLIA today. This guy is formerly in the army and also worked as a body-guard for the royalties before. Beats me how he ended up as a driver now. Perhaps he wanted a quiet life.

The vehicle was rather quiet as we head down the newly built highway out of KLIA. After the usual how’s-the-trip, how’s-the-weather, everything-ok talk, I can't help but to ask him…

“Ada undi?”

That question sparked a very enlightening conversation…

He said that he wanted to vote but unable to. Reason being his name has already been registered when he first joined the army. He tried to register again as a civilian but failed. Best part is, his vote belongs to the army, of which he has since left.

“Dia orang guna, untuk undi pos lah! Apa lagi!” was his remark.

So a Malaysian will lose his vote to the govt as soon as he/she joins the army… interesting isn’t it? Well, we don’t know if this is true but from the way things are reported everywhere, I am certainly not surprise.

He is obviously overjoyed that the opposition won Selangor, as he believes he will be able to retrieve his vote in the next election. There are also other things we talked about but I think I rather not mentioned it here. But I assure you, speaking to a former army officer is sure interesting.

He made a statement that till now, still echo in my ears. It is a statement that I think the DAP in Perak should take heart, in the midst of the current minor hiccup there…

“BN tak professional lah. Kalah… Kalah lah. Bukannya kalah kepada orang Jepun atau British. Kalah pun, kalah kepada orang Malaysia. Akhirnya, orang Malaysia yang memerintah, sama je”

Such is the mentality now… the nation has certainly matured…

42 comments:

rainbow angeles said...

Hello! Welcome home!

I was just reading abt that Perak + DAP + LKS... minor hiccup u say?

It's like we took a step forward a few days ago, and now, back to square one. Diu..

Anonymous said...

yea...true...they lost not to other people..aha...well, i think it's a good chance for the BN to really sit back and see what they did wrong which ended up where they are now...

u're home! wow...welcome back to msia...

must miss london, eh?

Anonymous said...

Glad to have you back.

Looking forward to more of your homeground political posts. :p

As Angeles commented re Perak's hiccup.. *sigh*

discordant dude said...

let's just hope dat a PAS MB with a DAP-majority exco will pressure PAS to come to the realities of the plural Malaysian society and moderate its Islamic state claims.

on the other hand, let's also hope that there will be an agenda put forth to reform the state law of having an MB based on race/religion.

Uncle Lim's announcement is understandable though. Appointing a PAS MB when majority of the folks voted for DAP is a bad political move, especially for DAP. My family's fr Ipoh, and I already hear grumbles fr the ground. Perhaps the boycott is a political move more than anything else.

Anonymous said...

He's a very wise man. :) I got enlightened reading what he said too.

myop101 said...

i absolutely disagree with uncle kit. he knows the fears of the populance and grumbles from the grassroots but like what i always tell my friends, if PAS proves to be more moderate, understanding and caring for all races, do anyone wants BN to continue to rule?

some of us here have to ask ourselves, why despite all these years under PAS rule, Kelantanese chinese continue to solidly support PAS? Why?

I am sure the new Perak state government will understand that consensus is needed to get things forward. If DAP is adamant about not having an Islamic state, then I am quite sure PAS can't do anything. But let PAS try out their version of Islamic rule.

We have had enough of Islamic Hadhari. It is all rhetoric that serves to validate complaints from atheists all round the world that religion is only there as a means to spread fear and enrich some people.

myop101 said...

oh yeah... welcome home...:)

Anonymous said...

miss the hot humidity?

me said...

welcome back. where's my grass? damn! ppl will prob think i'm talking about drugs.

Huei said...

translateeeee!!! hahahha

WELCOME BACK!

now people should think twice, thrice, four times..n so on before considering joining the army, as well as any other gomen stuffs..who knows rite!

missironic said...

welcome bck, zewt! how's the feeling of coming bck? :)

i guess its the case of "to each its own" for some ppl..unable to handle the defeat although to their own kind bcoz they wont able to get all the 'benefits' that they had enjoyed before.

Anonymous said...

Politics will always be plagued by some disagreements just like everything in life.....Pas is considered moderate as compared to some dogmatic ppl in BN....at least they dont live a live of riches unlike those waving the sharp object!

But i am heartened that even a humble taxi driver has seen throught the divide n rule tactic used by BN...i think truly Msia can change now...:)

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

well said..

welcome back..now we all know who are the "stubborn" ones...

Horny Ang Moh said...

Wellcum back! I am happy that my one 'starfish' made a different! Now just hope that the wind of change will made our life a little bit better!
He! He! So far no news about rising fuel price!
Have a nice day!

Hope said...

I agree, the nation has definitely matured, unlike the government and the oppositions...

kyh said...

Welcome home!

I wonder if my state would become the next kelantan... i think no, but maybe partially. u know wat, the pas government allows a market in the town area to sell pork openly (BN has forbidden it). And no more 'selling pork behind black-painted windows' like what the BN government did in Kedah's 2nd town, Sungai Petani.

An act to lure the non-Muslims support? haha....

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with that driver...We are all malaysians, wad's the difference?

And about the army who use their vote...this shud be a big issue..aih..corrupted!

bongkersz said...

welcome back bro :) the conversation sure interesting. do share if you have chance :P

kyh said...

but at least the kelantanese gov, albeit being religiously conservative, they treat chinese far more better than the 'we treat each race equally and well' BN! geez... i hate mentioning that last term!

Susu Kacang said...

i guess the badminton players sit in the economy section. too bad they lost. the semis were held on the same day as the polling day. both were exciting events. did you take any pictures with the players?

frostee said...

Welcome back dude. Funny how things had changed so much since you left eh?

zewt said...

angeles - i heard he apologised. anyway, i think he made a wrong move.... a very wrong move.

lynnwei - i just the miss the life in europe, not exactly london hehe...

jemima - i have always been blogging about homeground politics right? :)

discordant dude - hello... welcome... yeah, i think the people will also be pissed if they voted in DAP but PAS gets the state... i guess DAP is in somewhat a dillema. good point bro.

Tsu Lin - yup... he got fed up and left the army... very wise.

myop101 - he has a point, and i think i will wanna reiterate it tonight. damn, i am like a political blogger now... bad bad bad... eh, u heard the explosive news at our former workplace?

zewt said...

wuching - hahaha... i do actually.

me - yes... and i dont bring back drugs ok!

huei - wahh,... u dunno BM ka?

missironic - i think i will comment on it tonight.

economist - indeed... he is very wise... and the mentality of people has truly changed... for the better.

constant craver joe - yup... unfortunately, but then again...

hor ny ang moh - hahahahaha.... good work bro. i am afraid the petrol price will be up soon... oil is moving towards USD110!

zewt said...

hopefulpessimist - hahaha... the opposition... is now also part of govt.

kyh - i am sure the PAS will be moderate... times has changed. and we will see if all the negative things about PAS is real. we all know BN has always been the culprit of everything.

lk - we all know it ler... no one can do anything cos govt is still... BN.

bongkersz - mamak then hahaha...

susu kacang - no ler... i didnt... sigh... well, i think we are happy with the results... supersedes the badminton results.

frostee - yup... i still cant believe it!

Arena Green said...

Hi Zewt, welcome home! This taxi driver you encountered further reinforces the myth that taxi drivers are one of the most interesting people in the world, eh?

Sam said...

o.O That commentator?
[I mute my tv when he's the one commentating.]

Wise quote, the last one.

whoalse said...

Zewt, you're back for good? It has crossed my mind like after hearing the announcement to abolish the affirmative policy for equal opportunities by merit!

Purple~MushRooM said...

Wow.. I am touched with his wise thoughts. This niasing LKS... created such a straining situation just barely one week of rejoice for the rakyat. Fug!

Anyway, welcome home to Boleh Land!! This time... really boleh huh!

zewt said...

anak merdeka - hahaha... well, i guess ppl on the street are always interesting.

Sam - hahaha... i watch the live matches on astro, so not him commentating.

whoalse - yup... back for good... for now.

purple mushroom - have to understand him la... he has pressure from the ppl who voted in DAP... they dont want PAS... and they represent the ppl there.

Anonymous said...

Eh.. welcome home.

My dad is an ex sergeant in the army but he can vote worr. His poll station is in Taiping. He didn't vote this year because he didn't change his address to KL and he had to work. My mom and other aunts in their 60s all made a trip down to Taiping. I am glad their voting efforts paid off! :D

Anonymous said...

Welcome home, zewt! Did you get down on your knees and kiss the ground??? LOL!!! No...not Jules, not in her condition! Wakakakakaka!!!.....And I'm still waiting for your wedding video, AND I'M NOT LETTING YOU FORGET IT!!! VIDEO! VIDEO! VIDEO!!!

Huei said...

really..i tak tau! y when i wana post something about i duno malay..so many ppl post in malay..now i cannot post..cos my post is to hoot some idiots around me..not bloggers! hahah

actually..just what is "kalah"? then i should be able to roughly understand the last conversation! heheh

Anonymous said...

Hey! Welcome back! By the way, what a coincidence, I think I sat in his taxi before from Bukit Bintang to PJ. He said he was a trained body guard, ex-army and was trained in UK or something. He was a bodyguard for Datuk Vincent or something like that.

He said he doesnt like that kind of life. But I still don't know how he ended up as a taxi driver also.

It was before election but we didn't talk about election. We talked about work and different kind of people. An interesting conversation really!

zewt said...

gina - hmmmm... so we have contrasting info...sigh... i dunno la... anyway, kudos on your taiping effort.

suituapui - shite... totally forgotten about that hahaha...

huei - wah... u for real? kalah = lose.

clare - drivers are just interesting ppl... anyway, this particular driver... i will certainly be talking to him more.... heh heh...

missironic said...

ok..wats the comment? hahaha..:P

Anonymous said...

Welcome Back!
VIDEO VIDEO VIDEO!!! (Thanks to STP for reminding me to remind u. LOL.)

Anonymous said...

Zewt
Welcome back. Yes, the hoi polloi are fair minded in their thinking. Trust me, most of them are no longer Party-XXX-centric. Underestimate them to our own peril. Obviously the driver who picked you up has lots of exposure, as many other ordinary Malaysians. Yet the MSM are slow to notice this and still continue to disseminate flawed "information" - misinformation more like.

aMiR

WY said...

God bless Malaysia, for having more people like that mr taxi driver.

Anonymous said...

VIDEO! VIDEO! VIDEO! ROTFLMAO!!!!

zewt said...

missironic - the one on perak...

marg - hehehe...

anon @ 15/3 8.05am - yup... msm is an old trick now... it's a case of ppl using old tricks... while the oppo are like boys with new toys...

rational thinker - hahaha... it's refreshing.

suituapui - wait la... give me some time...

Huei said...

OHHHHH!!! no i know
hahahahh

yep i'm for sure..duno..malay wasn't my fav subject..actually it was the worst! hahahah just wasn't interested during those school days

zewt said...

huei - wasnt my best either... but i can converse la.... malaysians mah...