A free trip story

A friend of mine asked me why in the rarest of occasion when I do write, it’s quite certain that I will be bashing the country.  Well, let’s deviate from that for this one… though, not exactly much…

A story was relayed to me when I was back at my KL office last week.  I have heard of such stories being circulated via word of mouth and you probably did to.  But to actually hear it first hand… that was quite something…

The mother of a colleague of mine is a member of this association, which shall remain unnamed.  Just to be clear, it is not a political association. And so, this association sent out a notice telling all its members that a free trip is available for anyone who is available on the trip date.

It’s a free day-trip to a local destination that covers everything – and my colleague’s mom thought… why not?  The free trip is not only open to the association’s members, but family members as well.  My colleague; being a filial daughter, decided to accompany her mom.

And so, the day arrived.  All the uncles and aunties together with so and so who tagged along for the free trip all happily boarded the bus, looking forward to a day of fun, fully paid. 

As soon as the bus hit the road though… things took a twist…

The supposed tour guide then announced in the bus saying that the free trip has been cancelled.  Instead, everyone in the bus has now been given the “supreme privilege” to meet a VVIP of the country.  Everyone was “carefully selected” for this supreme privilege… so it seems…

That’s not all.  Everyone will also be given a free T-shirt to wear during the meeting with this VVIP and... get paid!  Wow, things just get better isn’t it?  From a trip to a trip where you will get paid…

There is a catch though… in order to earn this supreme privilege and obtain payment, everyone must clap when the VVIP arrives and… and… and… sing a song!  If you do not know how to sing… not a problem at all.  It will be taught to everyone during the journey.

You may be asking... how can one learn a song within such a short period of time? Well, it is a very simple song.  Similar to the ABC song... this is actually a number song.  In fact, it's much simpler... instead of having to sing all the numbers, you only need to say only "satu"...

This song... a lot of the word "satu" in it.

(satu = one in Malay).

Of course, that free t-shirt has got a big “1” printed on it.  Something tells me you know what is the word that comes after 1.

All the uncles and aunties with their innocent tag-alongs were sent to some school where the VVIP arrived and everyone was to clap and of course… sing the important “satu” song.  Apparently, there other buses arriving from other places… seemingly bring other souls who thought they were going for free trips.

It was a cheerful atmosphere.  People clapped and sang and at the end of the day, everyone was paid… MYR20.  Apparently, the VVIP said during his speech that he was so happy that many came to support him.

Woooaah… free bus ride, free t-shirt, free singing lesson, meet a VVIP and now… free money! Where to find!

I don’t know about you but that sure beat a free trip anytime… next time you hear of anyone getting free trips, be sure to join them ya… you might just get this supreme privilege.

Malaysians in orgasm and cum watch this video

All Malaysians were led into an orgy of orgasm via the "ISA-to-be-repealed" announcement.  Unfortunately, not many realised that the orgasm they felt (or still feeling), was induced through syiok-sendiri type masturbation instead of full fledge sex.

Firstly, ISA is not abolished yet... and the terms of conditions applicable are... 2 new laws to be enacted as replacement for ISA.

So while all Malaysians were basking in orgasm... apparently, the now much loved BN govt is telling Bangladeshis that they can come and vote in Malaysia.  But of course, we all intellectual Malaysians know it's not true... Why? Because the BN govt denied it.  So it must not be true.

But if you believe that piece of news is true... then you would love this and... spread it!

Even Lee Chong Wei and the uncle at the Yut Kee coffee shop are getting into the act!

Hypothetical problems from legalisation of illegal workers

Over the last few weeks, there have been several allegations about how the Malaysian govt’s move to legalise illegal workers has taken a further step – by granting these once illegal workers citizenship, a right to vote.  Some sites even published screen caption of people with red MyKad being a registered voter, etc. etc.

There will be people who choose not to believe such allegations, while some will. And there are those who just don’t give a shit.  I believe it’s true. I don’t have the proof but that’s just me.  You can think otherwise.

The current noise seems to centre upon this being translated into more votes for the ruling regime, electoral fraud, dirtiest general election, etc.  I think that is pretty short-sighted.

Since I don’t have proof, I think I need to assess the situation hypothetically.  When all these thousands illegal workers who became or will become citizens of Malaysia hypothetically ended up helping you-know-who win the next election, do you think that’s the end of it?

Hypothetically speaking, will they be able to find job?  Where will they stay?  If they are not able to secure a job, what will they do to survive, (hypothetically speaking of course)?  Will they resort to (hypothetically speaking) committing crime? 

Humanity factors aside, are they “clean” from diseases?  In case you don’t know, some maids who carry “official” health certifications have not actually gone through tests because these “official” health certificates were obtained ala “boleh” style.

What if they start telling their comrades that there is free citizenship on offer (hypothetically speaking) and everyone back home can now come and claim this?

Hypothetically speaking, if they are Muslims, it means their children will be considered bumiputera.  What does that mean to you and me?

Anyone care to add?

If the allegations are hypothetically true (the sentence sounds wrong but what the heck…), it is not about “ohhh, so and so will win election”… “ohhh, going to have a lot of phantom voters… “ohhh, this is why we need Bersih”… “ohhh, we need another royal inquiry”…

It is more than that.  What we need to really comprehend is that the ruling regime is willing to risk everything just to make sure they remain in power.  Some call it treason, but I disagree.   They are not selling the nation to another sovereign power (maybe not yet).

It is however, betrayal at the highest order.

But then again, it may not be true – so no worries.

And of course, the nasi-lemak, char-kuey-teow and bak-kut-teh still taste good – so why worry.

And why should you listen to Zewt who is not based in Malaysia talking about hypothetical problems in Malaysia – so don’t bother. 

3 degrees of mediocrity

The first degree…

Slightly more than 2 years ago (before I moved to Singapore), me and a bunch of friends made our way to Singapore for a sports event.  A friend of mine brought his girlfriend along.  For the girlfriend, it was her first holiday trip out of Malaysia. 

No, my friend was not dating a young teenager.  But rather, she is from a not so well to do family which limits her opportunity to travel overseas.  Ya’ know, not everyone has the luxury to trot around the world and post pictures of such trotting over facebook.

Anyway... It was after a dinner function and me, my mate & his girlfriend with another mate wanted to go to Orchard Road.  We hailed for a cab as we saw one coming.

As it stopped, I opened the door and immediately got into cab, only to realise that there was a little commotion taking place between my other mates and the girlfriend.

Do you know what happened?

My mate’s girlfriend was in complete shock that I just jumped into the cab without telling the cabbie where we wanted to go, obtain an agreement from the cabbie that he will take us there and succumb to a cut-throat price.  She could not believe it, to the extent that she didn’t dare to get into the cab in that instance – needed some convincing.

You should have seen her reaction and what she uttered out in Cantonese – it was quite hilarious.

Later on in the trip, she continued to be shocked by the fact that public buses and MRT are on time… public toilets are clean… there are hardly any potholes on the road, the list goes on.

Let’s not term this as “katak bawah tempurung”.  Like I said, some people are just not born into a fortunate family which allows them to occasionally jump out of the “tempurung”.  And hence, for these Malaysians; who grew up in such environment – these people are abused by mediocrity without them knowing it.  Mediocrity is not a choice, it’s just the way it is for these people.

The first degree of mediocrity… is when mediocrity is not known to be mediocrity.

The second degree…

Look into the mirror, chances are you will see one who falls within this category.  Ya’ know, those of us who are fortunate to know about the outside world due to the luxury of physically jumping out of the “tempurung”.  Such luxuries which give us the opportunities to realise that the room for improvement in so many things are huge.

But so what? We know things suck, and we just don’t give a damn.  We are used to it.  Mediocrity is a lifestyle.  As long as you’re in Malaysia, it’s expected and accepted.  We live with it.

The second degree of mediocrity… is when mediocrity is normality.

The third degree…

This was quite some time ago and I was travelling in a cab in Malaysia.  Yup – the one where I have to tell the cabbie where I want to go, get an approval from him and be screwed in terms of fare. 

I like to talk to cabbies – always an enlightening experience.  And so, our conversation flowed from food to new roads being built to traffic jams and ended up with cars.  Proton came into the picture.  To cut the long story short, I made a comment about the infamous quality of Proton’s power (or powerless) window, to which the cabbie responded…

“Kenapa orang sering cakap pasal tingkap Proton?  Mana ada tingkap kereta yang tak rosak lepas setahun?  Saya dengar tingkap kereta Jepun pun rosak selepas setahun.  Ini hah (referring to his Proton)… tingkap yang masih ok, lebih setahun dah.  Ini hah Proton lebih baik dari kereta Jepun!”

[Why do people often talked about Proton’s window? Are there power windows that remain fuctional more than a year?  I heard Japanese cars’ windows will be spoilt after a year too.  This Proton of mine, the windows are still fine after a year. Proton is better than Japanese car!]

I soon realised he was not being sarcastic.  He was serious.  I was not against him defending Proton – but was astonished that he actually believed that Proton was better than any other car out there.  The conversation continued to flow and this too came from him…

“Negara kita ada angkasawan!  Negara lain mana ada.  Indonesia ada? Singapura ada? Thailand ada? Ini bermakna Malaysia lagi hebat dari negara lain!”

[Our country had an astronaut.  Other countries don’t.  Does Indonesia have one? Does Singapore have? Does Thailand have?  It means Malaysia is better than other countries!]

I do not know whether I should shatter the cabbie’s pride.  Actually, I reckon I can’t.  He was really into it.   I can only pay tribute to the effectiveness of propaganda. And believe me, there are actually quite a number of people out there who falls within this category.

And hence, the third degree of mediocrity… is when mediocrity is believed to be superiority.

Conversation at the MRT

It's election fever in Singapoe and the other day, I was in the MRT standing next to 2 (presumably) Singaporeans, amongst other people of course.  But the conversation of these two caught my attention. 

1 guy flipped the newspaper he was holding and said… “See… this is very healthy, opposition is actually getting very good media coverage”. Well, I have no idea who is opposition and who is collation candidate here but it’s definitely encouraging to see mainstream media giving good coverage to opposition, unlike “you know where”.

The sentiments here in Singapore are pretty much the same with Malaysia – that election should happen some time this year.   Naturally, the mainstream media here is also playing its part in doing coverage of potential candidates, etc.

What transpired thereafter was quite an eye-opener…

The same guy continued to flip his newspaper and reached this page where he said to his friend…

“Eh… this candidate… I know her.  She is in the same faculty as me.  We used to be in NUS together.  And I know she is also etc, etc, etc…”

The conversation went on for a while between them till the other guy asked…

“So are you going to vote for her since you know her so well?”

The reply given was…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

“No lah… she is only from NUS, we need people from Cambridge or Harvard…”

Such is the benchmark…

Do you know what qualification (if any), our MPs / Malaysian leaders have?

1 year ago... The price that really kills

2 years ago... A first language dilemma

4 years ago… Sign of times

I did something for tomorrow, did you?

During the last peoples' power tsunami, I was out of the country... for a substantial period of time.  I missed it...

As the country heads into another historical moment tomorrow... I will again be out of the country, and also be out of Singapore... for the entire week. 

I hope it is a good omen.

And... to those of you who once commented anonymously that you choose to "stay back and fight" and those who left the country shouldn't be complaining about the country.  There were also some very harsh words.

I want to ask all those of you today... what have you done that amounts to "I choose to stay and fight?"

I don't know about you but I sponsored someone to fly back to vote tomorrow.

Not telling this to show off but I really want to ask those who said "I choose to stay back and fight"... What have you done?

1 year ago... The story of Helen, who's only the mother

4 years ago… A very misleading document

Between Egypt and us

When I attended a conference last November, I was seated next to a gentleman whom I have been exchanging emails in the last couple of weeks.  You would have guessed the content of those e-mails when I tell you.... he is from Egypt.

We are of the same profession and he heads a similar function of mine in a French electric company based in Cairo.  We kept in contact after the conference mainly because I would like to know more about the industry happenings in that region but the conversation soon deviated into what is now a global headline, albeit a brief period of mail silence due to a halt in internet service there.

If you do not know what headline I am referring to, you ought to put your head in a used toilet bowl and flush... might just clear up some blockages.

It was very interesting to know the perspective from a local, of which I believe offers a more un-bias view compared to deriving information from the media.

As I mentioned, my friend (I consider him one) is an educated professional who has a good stable career, possibly considered the upper class in Egypt... did he participate in the protest? The answer is a big "No". 

Just like someone in similar shoes in Malaysia, he has too much to lose. 

Those who have taken to the streets, burned down buildings, destroyed the police stations, etc.  are those who are unemployed, those with nothing to lose.

Many people started flooding facebook statuses with statements such as "the govt should take note of what is happening in Egypt and beware..."... "PM, if you don't reform, what happened in Egypt or Jordan may just happen here"... etc. etc.

Will what happened in Egypt can ever happen in Malaysia? Definitely not... at least not in that magnitude.

Do Malaysia have a population of "nothing-to-lose"? Yes... however, a big portion of this population thinks that is it not that govt's fault that they are in such situation.  Worse... some of them think (or being propagated to think) that they are in such situation because the minority population has 'stolen their wealth'.

What about those in middle or upper class, those who drive nice cars, live in fairly comfortable house... those who have "too much to lose".... those like my friend... those the likes of you and me?

Throughout the ordeal, I asked my friend about the socio-economy impact but my friend never complained about the protest, he never thought about the impact to the economy, he never whined about the inconvenience caused by the event.

Malaysian in similar position of my Egyptian friend.... the very first thing that will come out of the facebook statuses of these people would be... "fuck the protest, I am in a fucking jam!". And that is actually a good sign because at least such people is aware of the protest... because I would think many will have statuses such as "OMG... why is there a massive jam, what is happening?!!??"

The racial and social demography of Malaysia makes it a little complicated to initiate such united effort.  The BERSIH rally was impressive, but it was only one off.  And it probably had more non-participating critics that support.

According to my Egyptian friend, the protest in Egypt gathers both participating and non-participating support. I just can't see that happening in Malaysia.

And just to close... my friend also specifically mentioned that the level of corruption and poor public service in Egypt has resulted in the collapsed of the healthcare and education system.  Sounds familiar isn't it?

But then... we all found through the highly publicised 1Malaysia evacuation that there were 11,000 Malaysian students in Egypt (possibly on govt scholarships). Such high participation in what Egyptian deemed as "collapsed" education system is... mind boggling.

2 years ago… An origination pick-up line

4 years ago… Respect for Malaysian drivers

Short & Sweet: Episode 9 - That cabbie statement

I don’t know what gave us away but as soon as me and my wife got into the cab and told him our destination, he asked “Where are you from?”

His next question was… “So is your country going to was more money to build that tower?”

I responded with a cynical smirk.

His next statement was bold…

“If Lee Kuan Yew was to rule Malaysia, you all will be first world country already!”

And the interesting part?

He was a non-Chinese cabbie.

1 year ago... The father, the son and a birthday party

2 years ago... Do spare them (recommended for CNY reading)... The bau-thai experience

3 years ago… You pee, I pee, he pees, she pees

4 years ago… How was your weekend?

The cab ride to KLIA

The cab driver who took me to KLIA when I was in KL 2 weeks ago was quite an interesting character.  For a start, he spoke English with me.  As far as I can recall, I have never encountered any Malaysian cabbie who does that.  He may not be very proficient, but deserved 10 points for effort.

From the initial stage of the conversation, I found out that he used to work in a corporate environment.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t make it as he doesn’t have any paper qualification and his boss… “that bastard ahh… makes me work day and night.  But pay me chicken shit”.

He then asked me where I work and why I am going to Singapore, etc.  Naturally, the conversation led to discussion on brain-drain and politics.  That’s when he popped me a very straight forward question…

“Eh sir… you ahh… govt supporter or opposition supporter? Tell me please!”

I must say I was caught off-guard.  He asked me with such gusto, I had to pause and planned my words carefully.  Further, he had a special permit which allows him to pick up passengers from LCCT, a rare case.  I wonder if he was a connected individual or something.

But at the same time, I didn’t want to lie.  Hence… “I believe Malaysia needs a change” was my answer.

“That’s right sir! Actually ah… me and all my friends ah… my generation ah… all wants to change” – I reckon he is in his 30s.

It was then that he said something rather inspiring… I will never forget it…

“We all ahh… not very smart people, but we also know. If change govt, economy sure affected.  Maybe I will lose this permit to drive taxi. But nevermind… must still change.  For the future, we must change”.

He went on to say about life being tough but everyone must be prepared to suffer so that we can be better.  To me, that’s quite amazing. 

Here is someone who is willing to risk what is possibly his entire income for the betterment of the nation.  But many out there are not willing to risk that simply because they are afraid that they might drive a Honda instead of a BMW… they might need to move from a luxury link house to a condo… that they might no longer be able to fine dine.

I guess when one has too much too lose… one will become selfish.

1 year ago… Professional world vs. Commercial world

2 years ago… Any difference?

3 years ago… Will you attend?… Don’t ever let this happen to you

Voting tales

I was back in KL last week for a conference and met up with some interesting people. And as usual, we talked about our work and where we are from in the first lunch and moved on to our hobbies and interests in our second lunch and by the third lunch… the usual topic crept in… politics.

2 particular sharing stood out…

There is this person who said that her father would ask everyone in the family to register as a voter as soon as they hit 21.  What great parenthood eh? 

Not quite…

While everyone is expected to register and vote, everyone is expected to vote in accordance to the father’s business connection’s needs. Her exact words were… “You know which party lah…”

And that’s reality. To the Chinese businessmen, it doesn’t matter if everything is screwed up. As long as the money keeps flowing in, that’s all that matters.

But… there is a silver lining…

“My father retired already… now we are free to vote whoever we want. So now very different already lah…”

I never asked whom she will vote, I respect her privacy.

The second sharing is a pretty straightforward one but certainly worth mentioning…

The sister of this particular person flew back from US to vote in the last election. And, her sister will be flying back again in the next election to vote.  Obviously, this person I spoke too will also be voting.

I told this to a friend and the comment was… “Aiya, rich mah… that’s why can fly back to vote. Not everyone is that rich lah”.

Well, how many of us where the voting station is just a drive away and yet, we don’t vote?

1 year ago… What China doesn’t have… Maiden encounter of the city… The curse of a true slave… Those babes and their…

2 years ago… More keywords splendour

Putting two and two together

Some are saying I am getting lame with all these Malaysia bashings.  Well, not sure if I want to admit to that.  One thing for sure, Malaysia is just so bash-able.

And here is another thing which I think every Malaysian should take note of…

Last Thursday, an umno MP said this as reported here –

For the un-informed, Warisan Malaysia is a 100-storey mega tower costing MYR5b Malaysia intends to build.

Anyway, interesting to note that MP saying it will not be govt money which will be building the tower. I totally agree with him, the govt pocket is empty. 

And more interestingly… on the very same day… this was reported in TheStar:-

Apparently, EPF contributors are asked to withdraw our money only when you hit 75.  And… note that EPF said this…

“We will also transfer the money to the govt if it is not claimed when contributor reaches the age of 80”

Can you put two and two together?

P/S:  Thanks Redbabe fore the “Versatile Blogger Award”.

1 year ago… Between saying nice things and facts… Sex and the office

2 years ago… Have you ever tried this before?

3 years ago… Is smoking an addiction… Living: Malaysia vs. Hong Kong

Water

I was going to blog about something else but having read about the Semenyih water treatment plant has been closed due to contamination … I felt it was time to blog about this topic

Taking a step back, a lot of Malaysians are making fun of Singaporeans because here, the water coming out from the tap is actually processed from the sewage, hence the you-drink-processed-pee-water jeers…Actually, I thought there was a scandal a few years ago about a contract of water sold to Singapore for cheap. So I can't really make up why water here is processed from sewage.

Anyway… Scientifically speaking, and as pointed out by bro Johnson, the reverse-osmosis processed water is one of the purest ever.

Yes, Malaysians do not need to drink processed pee-water. But how sure are you that the water in Malaysia is clean?

A doctor friend of mine once told me he has patients who can't drink KL water because it is so dirty and they have to take water from Ipoh or Johor for consumption purposes. Indeed, the pipes carrying water underneath KL is rusted beyond recognition. If you don’t have a water filter, you will be literally drinking rust.

Coming back to the news on the Semenyih treatment plant… when such things happen in Malaysia… I can't help but think to myself…

How long has it been before the contamination was discovered? Are the engineers inspecting the plant of the same quality of the MACC lawyer? And if you remember, the head of the Malaysian meteorological department once said something to the effect… “There’s haze doesn’t mean it’s hazy…”

And when they declare the water is safe consumption… is it really safe? I am sure many have heard about stories about how chocolates and biscuits were not withdrawn from Malaysian shelves during the China melamine scandal but the same goods were withdrawn from the shelves of other countries.

In a country where money equals “boleh”, it really made me think…

In the past 5 years, I have also observed that there will be news about certain consumer products (particularly bread) being found to contain dangerous amount of chemicals… and a few days later, all will be forgotten with no follow up.

Yeah, me together with other people here in Singapore may be drinking processed pee-water, but I think it’s definitely cleaner and more importantly, safer than water back home.

See... I am still reading the news

Someone asked me am I slowly phasing myself out of Malaysia news. My answer is definitely not. To proof that I keep myself very much abreast with what is happening in Malaysia, let me tell the news that I have been reading…

I read about a headmistress in Johor called Siti Inshah asking her Chinese students to “Balik China” and the Indians looked like “dogs” when they wear prayer strings, but no action was taken against her.

I read about Namawee wrote a new song condemning this Siti Inshah’s action and he instead, will be charged for sedition.

I read about a police report being lodged against a church and the pastor because the church staged a church play during Ramadhan.

Just as my friends were joking about whether a police report will be lodged against them for eating during Ramadhan, a principal up north advised Chinese pupils in her school to go back to China because AirAsia flight is cheap – after the Chinese pupils were “caught” eating in the canteen during Ramadhan. And of course, no action was taken.

See, I didn’t lie… I am still reading Malaysian news.

And the crown jewel has to be this news about 2 guys who were on their way to watch “merdeka” celebration fireworks ended up being bashed by a bunch of kids and after dispensing their punches and flying kicks… they wrapped their adventure by telling the 2 guys to “Balik ke negara asal” (Go back to your country of origin).

This piece of news got hot with people from different quarters claiming that the victim is a liar and only wanted to seek attention.

I found out on Friday that they victim, the one who needed stitched on his head is an ex-classmate of my church-mate. What a small world eh?

But most importantly, the bashing is real.

People said Australians are very racist and if you are not careful, the whites there will bash you up for being Asian. They say such things will not happen in Malaysia.

Well, I don’t read Australian news so I don’t know anything about that. But as I am still reading Malaysian news and those are the news I read.

See… I am still reading Malaysian news… are you?


1 year ago… The unforgettable accident experience Part 1 … Part 2

3 years ago… Grass thoughts… The reason evolution

Those videos shouldn’t make you laugh

By now, I am sure many would have watched the now famous video clips of how the MACC lawyer questioned Dr. Porntip in court. If you have haven’t watched, go have a good laugh here.

I am not going to make any jokes about the clips, as I think there are already a multitude of jokes cracked in respect of the lawyer who represents the MACC, who represents the govt.

If you are a Malaysian, and having watched that video… besides laughing your ass off, I am of the zewtpinion that you should be very afraid.

Such is not the only quality of lawyers in the country; such is also the quality of teachers, nurse, doctors and probably a host of other professionals produced by the current Malaysian administration.

Hence, you should be very afraid because…

Such is the quality of the teachers that are teaching or going to teach your children…

Such is the quality of doctors who are going to treat you or your family…

Such is the quality of the engineers who are going to build your home…

Such is the quality…I have personally attended a conference in Malaysia where the Minister (he is still at his post) pronounced “property development” as… I kid you not… “poverty development”… he repeated that again and again… “poverty development”, till giggles started getting obvious. On hindsight, perhaps that’s the secret agenda of the ministry.

Of course, if you are rich and able to afford private services, you can escape from the system. But how many of people out there who are rich enough to afford that? Remember, it’s “poverty development”.

I have previously blogged in a subtle manner that the Malaysian public healthcare system is near collapsed or is already collapsed (safe for a few quality doctors still available). The education system is heading there, if not already there.

So after laughing at that moron, and Malaysians really like to laugh at such things at mamak while eating that nice roti-canai and nasi-lemak, you might want to think of the quality that you are going to get in Malaysia If the country doesn’t change.

I seriously do think… “poverty development” is going full blast.


1 year ago… What a timely reflection… Did they pour oil on it?

Why I like watching such videos

Because it reminds me that there are so many people who are willing up to put their ass on the line in the name of justice… like 300 people in the whole of Klang Valley.

Because I get to see some of my friends appearing in video… hello Tricia, I see you!

Because it tells me that despite all the complaints, Malaysia is actually a very safe country. Just look at the amount of police deployed to protect our shopping malls from potential fire hazard and possible looters. It’s just so comforting.

Anyway… jokes aside…

It also reminds me of why I left my country, and that no matter how much I miss the nasi-lemak, char-kuey-teow or bak-kut-teh… even if I am drinking processed pee water as someone commented… no matter how much I miss driving… I most probably made the right decision.

P/S: Video minit 7:10 --- Kepada saudara yang berkata “kita nyalakan lilin bersama-sama, kalau kena, kita kena bersama-sama, demi kejuangan…” Tabik kehormatan Zewt kepada saudara.

2 years ago… Between myth and truth

The root of the tragedy at the Std Cht Marathon

If you ran in the just concluded KL Standard Chartered Marathon or if you are a vivid facebook addict, you would have most probably read about a young man named Lim who passed away a couple of km before completing his 10km run.

What happened was Lim collapsed, he was then assisted by the writer of the facebook-note together with some other medically trained runners. While trying to preserve Lim’s life, they screamed for medical help but the Emergency Medical Services (“EMS”) was no where to be found.

And of course, in typical Malaysian style… and I quote the writer…

“… 3 DBKL officers (with big motorcycles) just stood by the road side and just stare…”

The EMS arrived after 15-20 minutes, when Lim barely had any pulse left. And again, in typical Malaysian style, the EMS ambulance had practically nothing in it. Maybe if you need some nasi-lemak or char-kuey-teow, you may find some. But if you want life-saving equipment in a supposedly life-saving ambulance… takde… mei you… don’t have.

You may wish to read full real life account of the incident here.

Comments flowed in to concur with the writer saying the organiser must take responsibilities, there needs to be more awareness, next year people should make health declaration before running, etc.

To me, all these pleas will only remove the symptoms, but will never cure the disease. The KL Stand Chart Marathon was also marred with some aspects of fiasco, and this year, someone died. But how come, the same Stand Chart Marathon that takes place in Singapore every year do not have such problems? After all, same organiser and same sponsors…

DBKL officers not giving a shit… slow EMS arrival… ambulance that cannot function as an ambulance… these are manifestation of a failed system, the result of mediocrity which has since been conveniently accepted by most Malaysians. And if you have been reading news, this is not the first time someone died because of poor ambulance service.

You may say that I am trying to condemn Malaysia again and praising Singapore because I am now residing here. But when I was running the KL SC Marathon and Singapore SC Marathon, I was still residing in Malaysia… same sponsor, same organiser… a whole world of a difference. Why?

Deep down, if we are honest with ourselves, we know the problem is not just poor organising. It’s much deeper than that. If you fail to see that, then you are really intoxicated with nasi-lemak, char-kuey-teow and bak-kut-teh.

Lim – may you rest in peace.


2 years ago… The ‘jip san leong’ act

3 years ago… What’s your answer?… When the ‘if’ turns real

One week after leaving Malaysia

Having been to Singapore for only a week, the Malaysian connection is obviously still pretty much alive in me. I still log on to TheStar to read about Malaysian sports and keeping a close eye on MalaysiaToday and MalaysianInsider.

As always, I get to read about depressing news such as the father or the alleged jet engine thief claiming abuse… United Nations condemning Malaysia… MYR40m being spent on some electric train which has now been derailed, etc. All these on top information I read about Malaysia made available to me due to the industry I am in, which can also be quite depressing…

Ya’ know… stuff that makes you go… “Malaysia is just so damn fucked-up!”…

On the other hand; since arriving here, I have been greeted with pleasant experiences with cabbies… cars deliberately stopping for me to cross the street… impressive service being rendered when I went for physio in Singapore General Hospital (a govt hospital)… wife went to the wet market and came back with nothing but praises on friendliness and cleanliness…

All these gave me a glimpse of why most Malaysians who have left Malaysia, will end up not giving a damn on what is happening back “home”.

For now, I think I will still be very much connected with Malaysia. And I told myself to stay connected and not lose sight. But then again, it has only been a week.

What will happen 6 months down the road?... only time will tell…


1 year ago… He asked 5 times

2 years ago… Pelbagai lawak menuntut rebat

3 years ago… Those typo experiences… A Zimbabwean tale

Lagi pasal Piala Thomas

Kalau orang kata lelaki tak erti multi-task, memang tak merangkumi lelaki Malaysia. Lelaki2 Malaysia, bukan main terrer… masa tengok badminton, boleh juga kecoh kat facebook, sms tak berhenti-henti. Kat facebook, bukan update status saja, komen pun tak berhenti. Itulah dia, lelaki2 Malaysia handal multi-task.

Woaaah… Hafiz yang main lembab semalam kembali jadi penyelamat. Aku rasa, isteri semalam tak beri seks kot, jadi hari ini tenaga sudah kembali. Harap-harap, jangan bagi sampai hari Jumaat. Tunggu ya, Puan Hashim.

Baik aku jangan cakap banyak, kawan aku dah marah sebab aku caci Hafiz. Itu pun, kawan aku marah kat facebook… Hafiz, aku cakap untuk ketawa je… bila main Bao Chun Lai nanti, tolang pastikan dia “bao chun doi” ok?

Mungkin ianya takdir… esok 13 Mei, tarikh hitam dalam sejarah negara. Tapi, malam ini, aku sungguh bangga seluruh rakyat Malaysia yang tak kira kaum, tak kira bangsa, tak kira agama, sama2 menyokong pemain negara yang berbilang kaum. Kalau yang caci pun, main2 saja…

Aku dengar, orang yang tengok kat shopping complex pun jerit gila. Macam mana aku tahu? Dari facebook, mana lagi…

Kononnya, ada NGO yang menganjurkan perjumpaan esok yang bertema Mei 13 “Melayu Bangkit” sempena menyambut ulang-tahun 13 Mei. Kononnya, dah dibatalkan. Semangat perpaduan dari badminton terlalu kuat kot.

Cakap pasal perpaduan, aku rasa slogan 1Malaysia tak terrer lah. Aku ada satu cadangan… tukar 1Malaysia ke 1Badminton… lagi hangat. Pasti semua rakyat suka.

Tumbangkan kubu China Jumaat ini… semangat 1Badminton!


1 year ago… The Jacke story

3 years ago… A tribute and a game for few