Malaysia Rants

Hide the parangs! It's May 13th~!!

2008-05-15T01:16:29Z

I'm kidding. Now we don't have racial violence in our country.

Everyone's living as one. The sun is shining. The people are frolicking around and skipping out for their lunches at some bistro or fast food joint.

Mixing and mingling without a worry or care.

DAP and UMNO didn't hold victory marches in Selangor, so everything's fine.

No more "Melayu balik kampung" being screamed in the streets, no more "Cina balik China" being yelled as well. Except in Parliament by Noh Omar last year.

When someone asks me what I know about May 13th, I tell them what I've come to understand from the many, many political books I've read. There's a mention in most of them, one being the memoirs of Tun Dr. Ismail.

If anything, 13th May 1969 in Malaysia is a bitter reminder that racism and race based political movements can and will lead to violence, especially if the economic gap between these races goes unattended.

Let's pray it does not happen once more. But then again, we now have HINDRAF bringing up the same agendas...

Is JPA's ego writing checks it can't cash?

2008-05-15T01:14:16Z

Is PSD or JPA for us who continue to use Malay acronyms in an English written article over promising to the people of the country, especially those blessed with enough brains to get 10A1's and wish to be doctors?

Or is this just an isolated case?

If it is, what were the reasons for such a request to fall through the cracks, not only by JPA, but also by the Education Minister's department for Matriculation.

While I don't deny that I don't actually have a care for her, it is harrowing to think that after one issues out a statement promising everyone with results of 9As and above a scholarship, JPA can't seem to keep it.

Why?

Did she take more than 10 subjects and flunked the other two?

I'm hoping to see a reply from JPA as soon as tomorrow in the papers on this one, because we all know that whatever goes wrong with this will simply erode the people's belief in the federal government.

There are other avenues...

2007-12-21T02:41:10Z

I'm not a very vocal person.

And if you believe that, you'd also believe that I'm a closeted homosexual dressed in a pink shirt in a blue suit wearing a silver Rolex while enjoying a cup of Earl Grey.

The thing is, there are many ways to be vocal about your stances.

Sure, you could go out and march on the publicly owned streets of Kuala Lumpur, get your face on Al-Jazeera while being sprayed by water cannons, cause a dip on the stock exchange, allegedly put a dent in our tourism industry, get in a group of 31 and attempt to murder a cop....the possibilities are endless.

However, there are other paths to Rome, or Parliament, for you to express your views in a somewhat less threatening manner. Let's talk of the alternatives, shall we?

Well, the first major alternative would definitely be the press, and by the press, I'm talking about the printed newspapers which the Opposition continually argue are biased, even if there is one free newspaper which criticizes everyone and everything with sarcasm and wit rivaling the British comedies I watch.

So first off, try and get involved in writing letters to the papers. Who knows, perhaps if you write well enough they might invite you to write on a weekly basis in a featured column. This is one way to express your view.

However, the major drawback would be the language used as well as the sensitivity of the point you wish to get across.

Secondly, there's the electronic media. Websites which allow the freedom to discuss and post any topic under the sun. One such example would be thecicak.com, which was established by two co-founders who are younger than me (damn it).

Recent topics brought up here are on religion, politics, and society itself as a whole, with one or two tech posts.

But then, there's one downside, or upside, whichever way you look at it.

They're advised by Jeff Ooi, the newest "Rocketman", as I personally dubbed him.

Then there's another way to express yourself, which is to get involved with NGOs who wish to make a change. When I mention such, what I mean are NGOs which are actually with a clear mission statement. In Malaysia, we have a huge bunch which were portrayed at the recent Operation Just Cause held in Sunway Lagoon.

If I recall, there were representatives from Makna, "that Panda organization", the Church of St. Francis of Asissi's Myanmar Refugee Outreach Program, the Malaysian Association for the Blind and My Father's Home. There were a few more, but forgive me for being somewhat distracted by the bands that performed on the stage, representing each NGO.

By joining these causes and actually contributing in terms of physical form or financially, you are making a statement and yes, people do notice. Plus, they're neutral ground. A good place to simply be a good Samaritan.

And finally, the best way to express yourself is most probably the most important one of all, which is to get off your ass and get yourself registered as a voter, because in the end, it's the 'X' of your pen that determines which bloke will be the one to represent you in Parliament.

Hit the campaign trail and ask these future representatives what they tend to do to make your life better. Highlight what they didn't do but promised to do the last time around, and ask them to explain themselves.

Check the rumor mill for things like phantom voters, look into the evidence and highlight it to the proper parties involved, and if they won't listen, highlight it to the press.

For example, today I discovered that there was a "Haji" born in 1998 who has somehow made his way on to the electoral role website. If 9 year old's were allowed to vote, then I've been left out pretty bad in the elections of past.

So I wrote an e-mail to the EC rep in Selangor, while forwarding it to the "Rocketman".

Let's see how that turns out.

Stemming corruption, Singapore-style...

2007-12-21T02:39:34Z

That is, after all, what Jeff Ooi is so pleased to mention in his blog. I mean, sure, if you can afford to pay a starting minister USD$1.27 million, surely he won't be corrupt any more.

If you can pay a Prime Minister USD$2.53 million, then it would obviously drive him into being impartial. Or would it?

What about nepotism and cronyism? Are these impeded by staunch capitalism?

I mean, think about it.

Our dearly beloved Prime Minister has a son-in-law working as a politician under his party. You don't think there's any favoritism whatsoever?

What about our Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Lower Education being cousins? Don't think that they'd put both party's interests ahead of others?

We all know some government funds went to bail out a certain ex-Prime Minister's sons blunder during the 1998 recession period. We even know that the government had to buy back Pantai Holding shares from Singapore because a certain ex-Prime Minister's son sold them off, even when they were supposed to be maintained as a Bumiputera held company.

Blood is thicker than water, or in this case, the ink that's used to print paper.

msrants @ 2007-08-18T09:02:00

2007-08-18T01:12:13Z

And they're back at it again.

In today's The Star, page 12- PAS wants KL mayor to cancel Stefani's gig.

"This concert does no good to Malaysians except invite youngsters to enjoy themselves, mix around too freely, get drunk and commit sins", said Kamaruzaman Mohamad. Asked if he had seen any of her concerts, he said he had not, but had seen her pictures on the Internet and advertisements on television and they were indecent.

Dear Pas Youth Exco Members / Kamaruzaman Mohamad,
Yes, her outfits might seem 'indecent' to you, but look around you dear sir- out fellow muslims are far more 'indecent' then Gwen Stefani could be. Have you listened to her music? All her songs are pop, pure candy pop- nothing vulgar, offensive, nothing rude or crude, what so ever. Have you watched Akon dry humping a 14 year old on stage? Now he, my dear sir, should be banned, at least there's a basis to why he should. But Gwen Stefani? On what basis?

And another thing, the concert will be held in a brightly lit stadium, who the hell would get drunk or commit 'sins' in a damn stadium? Do you expect people to bring in whiskey and coke and sing along to 'Hollaback Girl'? Do you expect guys and girls to start stripping and fornacate on the stadium floors while "Rich Girls" play in the background?

How can you pass judgment and automatically want to ban something without even knowing what you're banning in the first place, and why?

The concert is on TUESDAY. TUESDAY, and they pull this bullshit on Saturday.

Scam : MBPJ Parking Summons

2007-07-27T03:52:52Z

Bugger...there wasn't any summon tickets on the windscreen and i duly pay all parking tickets and they still send me 4 summons???

scam or what? MBPJ got to buck up! The change of Perbandaran to Bandaraya is nothing if they do not buck up!

Full details here

msrants @ 2007-07-21T23:30:00

2007-07-21T15:30:50Z

Was reading through The Weekend Paper about the bigger bookshops getting riled up that the hypermarkets are selling the new Harry Potter book for RM40 less, at an apparent loss.

One of the quotes I found highly hilarious was the one by a representitive from MPH Bookstores, saying that 'it isn't about the profit, it's about integrity, and the consumers will be dissapointed that such a work of art is sold cheap'. (or something along those lines, I can't quite recall).

Please lah. No consumer in his or her right mind would say no to a discount. I, for one, was more then willing to go to Carrefour to get my copy if that meant saving RM40- a pretty substantial amount of money for a person like me. A book is a book, it's not like the one being sold in the hypermarkets is printed on recycled newspaper or contained less pages, it's the same damn copy. So to those bigger shops, stop kidding yourselves when you say its about 'integrity' when everybody clearly knows it's all about profits in this business!

Fucking selfish people, all they care about is their profits- its nothing about the public and what they want, it's about them and their profits. Now they are claiming a 'boycott' as to not sell the books anymore, until the hypermarkets stop selling them cheap. So the hypermarkets are selling it cheaper, I say good on them, for cheapskates like me wouldn't mind saving RM40 anyday.

Fans of Harry Potter would still buy the book- even if it's not RM69.90, so why are these big bookstores making such a big fuss anyway?

Don't be fooled

2007-06-06T15:21:06Z

Indeed, thats the lesson learnt, that I've learnt as not to be so easily fooled. Its strange that we need something to 'happen' in order to learn from it. For those home owners or people who reside with their parents, always be aware of 'rogue' contractors who just claim to be doing something for the benefit of your home but ends up ripping you off.

A few weeks ago, the SYABAS (Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor) truck came to dig a hole under the front driveway tarmac. The objective is to repair a leakage of water pipes. It'll be another few weeks before the SYABAS people come back to retar the front driveway. Only just yesterday, I was disturbed from doing household chores when a group of 'contractors' claim that our house driveway needs to be retarred all for the cost of RM350 (pls confirm if THIS is the exact market price).

Without thinking too much, I agreed. A very dumb move actually, because;

1. I did not ascertain whether they WERE sent by SYABAS (you need proof of legalities such as warrants/service orders etc)
2. If they were sent by SYABAS, it would have contacted the house owners first before attempting such repairs.
3. I wasn't the true home owner.

I don't know what prompted me to agree. So lets just say that assumptions are very very dangerous when dealing with total strangers. Now before I go on, I shall be mentioning some racial stereotypes which might offend some people here, so please bear with me.

Mum came home shortly later as the work was carried out in the evening. After it was finished, the 'rogue contractors' whom are Indian promptly demanded RM350 for the work done. Mum thought that if it was work done by SYABAS it shouldn't be charged at all. Thats when I realised that these 'contractors' are not even connected to SYABAS at all.

Then came a climatic verbal stand off scene where the 'contractors' argued that upon the 'agreement' (to which I dumbly agreed to without proper proof) that they should be payed for the work they've done. Mum said fine, they have done the work already but without proper consent and no proper legalities; they are just looking for quick money at the expense of others. A verbal ping pong match ensues and Mum gave a good fight back (while I, meek with sheer guilt stood a distance away).

"Now you tell me that you've done this and you're not even from SYABAS without proper documents. Why should I pay you? But yes you've done the work already, I can't even say anything else. You think I don't know? You just want to make a quick buck!!"

"Come on Auntie, the work we've done is proper and upon agreement from this person here..."

*motions towards me*

"He doesn't know anything because he thought you're from SYABAS and also he is not even the true house owner, I am the one you should be dealing with"

"So now how? Payment must be given. So RM350."

"Nope, RM150 is all that I can give you. Besides the last person who did this a few months ago didn't do a good job and look at the state before, the tarmac has holes in it after a few thunderstorms"

"Are you sure is that all?"

"I'm very sure that RM150 is all that I have on me and nothing else"

"Like this, I'll settle for RM200, I have a mother who has recently passed away"

"With regards to your passed on ones, I understand but then again, you can say whatever you want. But still $50 more is like extortion"

*hands out RM150*

"The money is here. You want it or not? Otherwise, I'll just walk back inside and close the door without paying. If you're not happy and want to do 'something' to my house, I know it is already you. Otherwise, just take out the tarmac again as if you've never done anything at all"

*he promptly takes the money and walks off without a huff*

"Son, take down the registration number, this will be reported"

After they have left, Mum gave me an A-Bomb earful (which the entire neighbourhood would've well listened on to within 1km distance) on well....you know what is already bound to be said. Besides, it was full of Cantonese expletives so I won't go further.

But yeah, it truly made me look like a naive bitch. Lesson learnt. Hard.

Lost souls, anyone?

2007-06-05T06:30:02Z

So now I'm a lost soul, according to Dr. Nik Aziz, for not voting for PAS. Apparently, it is wrong not to vote for people who go around with a camcorder recording people who are making out.

Apparently, not voting for people who believe that Muslims shouldn't join in in wishing the other races and cultures in this country on their religious and cultural holidays makes you a lost soul.

Apparently, people who agree with the mufti of Perlis in the call to stop religious policing are also lost souls.

Do I have to make it clearer?

Dearest Dr. Nik Aziz,

I would vote for PAS if their members would stop trying to enforce the laws of one's religion unto a whole population. I would vote for PAS if their members weren't the ones who prayed that Hezbullah bullets would hit their targets, during Friday prayers! I would vote for PAS if they weren't the ones who harassed Malik Imtiaz Sarwar for doing his duty in arguing the case for Azalina @ Lina Joy.

I would've kept PAS in mind, but then you guys decided to hold a victory gathering when the verdict was announced in her case, and proclaimed that it was a victory for Islam.

How is it that you can call such a victory when you haven't even won her back, but instead have driven her further away?

How can you call yourselves open to non-Muslims, when your members cannot even wish them salam without almost choking on their words?

How can you call yourselves the rightful choice for a well-run federal government, when you can't even run one state?

How can you say that you respect women, but then allow one of your elected representatives to call divorced women "gatal"?!

So please. I may not be the most well read Islamic scholar, or a white-robed serban wearing individual, but I know this. The hypocrisy among your own ranks is what is stopping you from ever winning an election.

The fear you instill with the need to implement an Islamic state without giving the details of such to other races is what has been the cause of your losses, time and time again. The call for Muslims to vote for you or be branded as lost souls is just what we had expected from a group of conservatives who cannot open their hearts and minds to accept and embrace youths in their many different beliefs and cultures.

And for all of that, you will not have my vote. Even if my soul is lost to you, at least my conscience is clear.

Schools, teachers and students.

2007-06-05T06:27:46Z

I see schools not only as the place to educate students with the knowledge of the world, but also as the place that nurtures students to care for the world as well as care for others, regardless of income, race nor religion.

I see them as the ones to encourage a healthy lifestyle, to allow students to use their facilities, to maintain these facilities for future generations, and not simply let the roof leak, unlike our current elected national senators.

It is a place where the students learn what is accepted and not accepted in terms of speech in formal occasions, such as parliamentary proceedings,once again, unlike our some of our current elected national senators.

So inside this entry I post two letters. One for the teachers, and one for the students.

Dearest teachers,

Schools are neutral ground on the issues of religion, social issues and politics.

Therefore, teachers have no right to refer to students who choose not to wear a headscarf as a slut or a whore.

Schools are also not a place to distribute fliers for your tuition classes at RM60 a month.

Schools are definitely not the place for you to criticize your students on their stances concerning homosexuality, abortion, or anything else they believe in.

You may have a discussion on it, but you are not to simply call a student a monkey just because he believes in the theory of evolution. This is just as ridiculous as America viewing all Muslims as terrorists.

However, as educators, you are not there to be the judge, nor the jury, and never the executioner. You are to keep an open mind and an open heart in discussing the nature of these student's beliefs, and leave the question with an open end, letting the students contemplate the conclusion.

Do not be afraid to discuss current social issues with your students. With the world now at their fingertips through the electronic media as well as the newspapers, there are no longer excuses for students not to be informed of what is happening around them.

Teachers, please understand that the olden day belief of how students should respect teachers just because they are teachers are long gone. In today's world you have to have mutual respect between all of you. You have to fight to keep it every single day that you come into that front gate.

The students ability to have interest in schools are no longer as simple as they were before. Students of the current world can no longer put aside their lives at home and bring a separate person to school. Therefore, teachers should learn to see the personal problems that are now affecting the student's studies to their parents.

This may be a lot to ask from all of you, but this is the world as now, and this is what is expected to encourage the students to love knowledge, and not simply see it as a means to an end. That, is the teachers duty.

Dearest students,

Schools are a place for you to learn, not just the mental aspect, but also the physical, emotional and aptitude aspects of life.

It is a time to build new relationships with others who may be foreign to you, by finding things in common and accepting that which is not. Learn to respect those around you the way you wish them to respect you. It is not wrong to inquire about other's beliefs and cultures. However, it is wrong to tell them that what they believe in is wrong and ludicrous.

It is a place for you to learn the rights and wrongs which your parents, probably busy earning enough to send you to school, may have yet had the time to bring forward at the dinner table or on the weekends, which is perhaps the only time they get to see you.

It is a place for you to understand the basic knowledge of the affects of your actions and your lifestyle choices. Choices in issues such as sex and abortion, homosexuality, global warming, smoking, drinking, drugs and even parenthood.

What you throw into a drain today, could lead to a flooding of the neighborhood.

What you consider as safe sex using condoms, which are only 85 percent effective, could lead to an abortion, an early marriage, parents ostracized by the community, or even early parenthood.

It is a place for you to discover your potential and your interests, and to develop them. You may be the next Afdlin Shauki, or Mahathir Mohamad, or the next Rudy and JJ (even if I can't stand them myself), or the next Marina Mahathir.

The possibilities are endless and unique for each and every one of you. Therefore, use these teen years to discover and build up the basics of your future.

Majulah Malaysia.

2007-06-04T13:40:02Z

It's funny how we want to succeed as a country as equal to other asian countries, but we don't even address the small details. How do we succeed if we don't fix the smaller things or screw up on the bigger ones?

Everytime it rains, it floods. And it's not even progressive rain, slight drizzles and it's like Malaysia stops functioning. It's not enough that drains clog up and roads overflow with murky water, astro will then decide to stop functioning, and of course streamyx goes slow- itu pun if we're lucky it doesn't go off terus.

Geram!

Leave the personals out of this....

2007-04-20T03:22:08Z

As much as I love our Alternative Front, bringing up personal issues from the opponent's leaders which have no connection whatsoever in the administration of the country, or even the district, is uncalled for.

In this case, the PKR's insistence of bringing up the case of bringing up the case of Altantuya Sharibuu.

Altantuya Sharibuu was a Mongolian model who was murdered in Malaysia. The reason her case is considered a conspiracy is based on the way she was killed, in which she was murdered, a C4 explosive pack was shoved into her, and she was blown up to bits in the middle of an oil palm plantation.

What's even more interesting is the fact that 2 policemen were charged with her murder, and a close friend of our Deputy Prime Minister, Razak Baginda, was also charged for the murder.

During the court room drama that ensued, Razak Baginda testified that Altantuya was blackmailing him. Furthermore, during a court session, Razak Baginda's wife went hysterical and shouted that "her husband is a good man, and has no intentions of becoming Prime Minister".

Now, this put a lot of heat on our DPM, Najib Tun Razak.

Then came a conspiracy theory that Altantuya was the translator for our DPM to negotiate the purchase of submarines in France, and that she was blackmailing to release the information of the transaction. This is an alleged conspiracy, in which nothing has been proven.

And yet, the exiled leader of the PKR, finds this as his main agenda in the by election of Ijok, which made no sense to me.

There were so many other issues to bring up:

The government has yet to discuss the calculation of the Bumiputera equity percentage, which they said they would reveal to the public and have yet to do so.
The amount of money going into the compensation of the companies involved in the Customs complex in Johor. Who's paying it?
Look into health, education, social ills in Ijok. These are all issues to be dealt with.
Samy Vellu signing the toll concessionaire agreements which allowed for increases in toll rates.
The stabilization of the current oil and diesel prices which have not been brought down, even after the price of petrol has gone down since then.
The amount of money saved from the petrol subsidy was supposedly used for the improvement of public transportation. Has Ijok seen such improvements?
Of the education and welfare amount dedicated from the government, has Ijok been given it's fair share of such?

There are a million and one issues to be brought up. I can see no reason why PKR went on a witch hunt to go and attack our DPM. It's ridiculous.

Education System Blamed

2007-03-29T03:46:28Z

This is gonna be a very frank discussion over matters which are close to my heart. So, bigots, stay out.

It's funny how on the 26 May 2004, i've written about this issue of Racial Intergration before...looks and feel like dejavu...

That is an easy way for the DG of National Unity and Intergration Department to say, as i qoute from the newspaper:

"Most "probable" reason some teenagers did not have friends of different races because of the "enviroment they are in, especially in schools".

he also said:

" He said parents’ tendency to send their children to vernacular schools instead of national schools meant students lacked the opportunity to mingle and interact with their peers from other races. "

Read More Here

the most important movie ever made

2007-03-21T15:27:54Z

a few days ago i watched 'An Inconvenient Truth'. initially it was because i love Sugizo too much, he raved about it in his blog some half a year ago so the shallow me wanted to watch it for his sake. i totally forgot about it until i saw the advertisement on the newspaper right on its Malaysian release date on the 15th of March. why it came here so late? i don't know. another thing that baffles me is that only two cinemas are showing it; TGV KLCC and Cathay Cineplex in Damansara.

so what's the movie about anyway, and who's in it? well, it's about global warming, and the protagonist is... Al Gore! the movie centres on him giving a global warming show to an audience, also shown are clips of him travelling to all over the world to deliver the show, plus how he deals with the issue personally. his talk is funny and engaging and the facts are so true (he collects them from scientists) that we cannot deny that global warming is happening and we are the main cause of it. earth temperature rises because we increase the amount of carbon dioxide on the earth by burning fuels and clearings forests. the Katrina hurricane? heat wave? flood? melting glaciers? animal extinction? all these are because of global warming.

so how do we reduce global warming? for a start... recycle! personally, i'm ashamed 'cos i only recycle once in a while and refuse plastic bags while shopping whenever i can, but i never thought of doing anything else until i watched the movie! walk more, use energy efficient electrical appliances, use less hot water, plant a tree, etc... you can view all the actions you can take at http://www.climatecrisis.org. if we continue being ignorant and selfish, thinking that why should we recycle/ walk/etc when the others don't, we may lose the earth a lot faster than when it is supposed to (in the movie, less than 10 years from now). one more thing, forwarding messages that the last day of the earth a.k.a. kiamat is expected in a certain year etc etc does not help if you don't do anything to reduce global warming. our action may be small, but if we all do it together, we CAN reduce global warming.

so what started as a silly obsession with an artist turned into an awakening for me. i just want all of you who read this to think of what we've done to make the earth a better living place. most of my friends are Muslims. i am a Muslim. we are commanded by Allah to be the khalifah on the earth and preserve it, but do we really care about the earth? Mr Gore may be hated by Malaysians for his derogatory speech here back then, but that does not stop him from being an environmentalist, he knows he has a duty as a human being and he fulfills it. imo, no one has to be religious to be a good human, and vice versa. think for yourself. again, log on to http://www.climatecrisis.com and join the virtual global warming march at http://www.stopglobalwarming.org/.

And the police cursed rempits as Anak Haram.

2007-02-24T21:02:41Z

At around 3am I was driving at the highway from Hartamas towards the LDP. Mind you, my car was fast enough to be at the slow lane of the highway. The drive was really relaxing till this fast and furious driver decided to show up.

This waja suddenly turned behind me going God knows how many km/perhour. If there was a slower lane- trust me- it would have been my pick of the hour. Sure I would have gone to the middle lane if the the distance between my car and the car ahead were not too close.

But ofcourse the fast and the furious waja did his stunts by cutting into the middle lane (therefore the waja was beside me) and then decided to cut into my lane while my car was beside it. Yes, I jam break on time with not only using breaks but hand breaks. The car in the middle lane was too shock that it honk at the car that was behind and then at the side of it.

To add more to the stunt the waja too had to sudden break- which ended up with a few screeching tyres from other cars behind it (including me) hoping we wont end up sardined. And all that because it wanted to park its car infront of an immobile tow car at the side of the road.

I flicked my finger when I passed the waja only to find out it was a police car. Like how could I not know? Easy. It didn't use the siren- neither did it go through the EMPTY (fast) right lane.

And if he was a bloody rempit doing the stunts he did- I evilly would just drive him flat on the road rather than having my life killed over a low life cop.

the caption, "berkhidmat untuk negara" is way off the list it sounds more like, "berkhidmat seperti rempit".

I feel like telling the police man, "Kalau itu bukan rempit tapi anak haram.. What does that makes you?"

msrants @ 2007-02-05T11:38:00

2007-02-05T04:03:05Z

My mother and I went shopping last night in a departmental store.

We headed towards the winter clothing section, to look for a nice parka for me. We saw a couple that we liked, so I grabbed one and tried it on, while my mother was holding the other one.

Okay before I go on, you have to know that I'm a Malay-looking Malay-Chinese, albeit a 'banana', while my mother's Malay (but she speaks and understands Hokkien and Mandarin). All the store assistants were Chinese.

The winter section was deserted, and we were the only customers browsing through the area, but I was puzzled because none of the four assistants approached us. They were speaking amongst themselves, and the next thing I knew, my mum was furiously telling them off.

Turns out that they were saying something like "Oh, look, look, they took two! They'll definitely make a purchase (laughs) good.. we don't need to work so hard already"

What the hell? What kind of attitude is that? Just because we looked highly interested in the items, and looked ready to buy them doesnt mean that they should stop serving us customers...Wait, not stop serving, more like not bothering to at ALL.
It's not like the place was PACKED with customers anyway, that they're SOOOOOOOO overworked...heck, they were just lazing around, chatting with each other...

Such lazy cretins!

Policeman found suspicious object in bag.

2007-01-25T21:28:17Z

My friend had a very stressful day and all she wanted to do was just chill in the car and have some solitude. So she illegelally parked her car at the road side. Both of us start igniting our ciggarrates when two policemen caught us in the act and questioned us what we were doing inside.

And then they wanted to see the contents in our bags. My friend passed her bag to the policeman to dig in. He found a tampon in her bag. Astonishedly, he held the tampon at the torchlight.

Policeman: Apa bende ni? (What is this?)
My friend: Tampon la.
Policeman: Tampon tuh apa bende? (What is a tampon?) *Still holding on it*
My friend: bwahahahahahaha
Me: Perempuan ada haid, guna tampon la bang.. (girls who have menstruation uses tampon la)
Policeman: Hah!! keciknya!! (Hah!! So small!!) *and drops it on the car disgustedly*

Anyways, the policemen informed my friend and I that for aslong as the driver isn't holding any Malaysian or International Driving license- they are not allowed to drive. Plus we pay monthly license for rm30+ for a year... yet the non-malaysians pays way less than us for a way longer term. NOT FAIR!!

Are all religions treated equal?

2007-01-18T01:48:31Z

"Islam is the official religion of the Federation; but other religions may be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation."

- Article 3(i), Federal Constitution of Malaysia

Keeping the above in mind, one must wonder just how exactly does the freedom of religion that we so often preach in Malaysia applies to it's people.

It's true, I am once and still a skeptic about how some people testify that their religious beliefs are being trampled on. Not because I don't wish to believe them, but it is my profound belief in the separation of church and state, and in the issues these people present, most of them happened to be wrong in the matter of state.

That is, until I read in The Sun about how an 82-year-old chapel of very viable heritage in Penang is about to be moved to make way for a MYR 700 million housing project. At the same time, the cases of apostasy have yet to reach a verdict (Lina Joy, Vijaya Letchumy a/p Rajamanickam), which I personally think is because the judges are all scared for their lives.

Truth be told, there are a lot of Muslims in this country of ours who insist that Islam is their religion, but do not conduct themselves in a way that portrays it. Not that I'm much of a scholar, but instead of greeting people with a word of salam, I get a 'Yo' from a guy who berated me for my support of the Inter Faith dialogs.

The level of paranoia towards other religions by the Muslims seem to come from politics. When you have politicians claiming that the government are kafirs, one must ask, who the heck made you the source of penance to get into Heaven?

Adding to that, the abuse of Islam in the hands of those who enforce it's rules goes pretty much unchallenged and unpunished. Cases of mistaken identity in raids, breaching private functions and undermining individual rights to privacy are all examples of the basic human rights that these religious council hacks have mutilated in the name of Islam.

Personally, I foresee a further separation of unity if this matter begins to get out of hand. If such were to occur, Malaysia can no longer preach as a country that is 'Truly Asia' or multicultural or even close to being a unified country anymore. Hopefully such an occurence can be handled by a more notable leader than the one we have now.

The time for Onn Jaafar's idea has long passed!

2007-01-12T07:20:03Z

The time for Onn Jaafar’s idea has come

When it comes to ideas based on politics, I can't blame the press for being late. Especially when it involves the ruling coalition and the fact that all mainstream newspapers are owned by the government.

Freedom of the press? What the hell is that?

The idea brought forth by Onn Jaafar, grandfather of the keris weilding nutcase known as Hishamuddin Hussein, was the unification of all races under one party, instead of a coalition. I'm sure most of us must have thought along the lines of "that's a great idea" or "wow! that's something we should consider".

But this was far from what the Malays did. They stood along the lines of

"Why should we fight for the Chinese/Indians? Fuck you!"

So Onn Jaafar left and started a multi-racial party, that failed because, well, Malaysians were racists back then. Back then refers to 1951. We achieved our independence in 1957.

This year, Malaysia is about to reach it's 50th Anniversary as a nation.

Yet, the nation is more divided along the lines of race as it was when I was 13, and the people are all unhappy because of issues mainly along the lines of government policies on race, religion, education and economics.

Happy 50th year of Independence from the British, Malaysia. So, when exactly will we be free of bias and prejudice based on rank, race and religion?

Malaysian Youth Apathy A Myth.

2007-01-10T07:19:34Z

Branding our youth with this apathy label because they don’t get actively involved in politics or social issues is no different then calling all of them slackers for earning a low pay or posers for enjoying both indie and pop music at the same time. It’s ridiculous and it has to stop right now.

Just because today’s youth do not go out marching on the street, carrying pickets or banners and burning flags does not show apathy. Personally, it shows me that the youth are actually smart enough not to want a file on their lives opened by our country’s Special Branch. Plus, it shows that they know there are alternative routes to the road of making a difference in the world.

What we must understand first is that each youth member is unique. Not all of them are creative writers like those who write here before me, nor are all of them firebrand speakers with the charisma of our past leaders. As Lewis Black points out, we are all snowflakes.

So what does the youth do?

Well, let’s start with consumerism. We actually have youth members who insist that they don’t need a plastic bag when buying a can of Pringles, which they simply stash in a backpack. There are those who refuse to buy fur. There is even a girl I know who actually wanted me to boycott Starbucks because they support the Jews.

Of course, these are simply small, baby steps, but just mentioning it and spreading such thoughts is a viable way of spreading their causes on issues of environmental and racist issues.

Now let’s look at the second proof against youth apathy. When a sober fellow offers to drive his friends home after a New Year’s Party. That’s an example of activism against drunk driving. When a friend asks his peers to use an ashtray or a trash can, that’s environmental activism. Heck, when a cousin yells the front passenger to wear her seatbelt and put the iPod down for a second, that’s Road Safety 101. A campaign that even certain parents don’t understand yet.

Look online and tell me there isn’t a single blogger who has, at one time or another, blogged about a social pain in the country. Sure, some are more politically sound than others, but they do exist. Figuratively speaking, you can find how some Malaysians were blogging about their personal lives one day, and suddenly they post about AIDS awareness on World AIDS Day, a post about Nanowrimo in November and even a petition to stop Maybank from collecting a 50 cents for each fourth withdrawal onwards every month. A subtle form of activism, but it’s there nonetheless.

There are Malaysians who after some considerable time decide to pick up skills to help others as a form of activism. These are basically those who learn up a skill to be used whenever a need arises. Martial arts to combat confrontations and instill discipline in oneself is a form of self restraint. Learning up religion, whichever religion, teachers the same thing, as well as compassion for the fellow man. Learning up sign language, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or even learning new cultures, these are all examples of how our youth are looking forward to caring for others, and how to be sensitive and not to offend others.

In other cases, there are some Malaysians who insist they don’t have time to be socially active or be active online to voice out their forms of activism. The world tends to do that to those on the bottom ring of the corporate ladder. So how exactly their stances on issues that affect the world? Money. They donate by having their salaries deducted every month to certain causes such as cancer, the environment, heart diseases, or even the kidney foundation.

The truth is, we are surrounded by youths who actually care about the country, the people, the environment and even the government. They care enough to learn how to protect, to communicate, to be environmentally friendly and even socially responsible, both for themselves and for others. Therefore, I refute any claim that simply brands the youth as being indifferent to our surroundings.

Just because you guys can’t see it doesn’t mean we don’t bloody well care.

msrants @ 2006-12-07T11:34:00

2006-12-07T03:34:59Z

Dearest Prime Minister,

When you decided to note that the racial unity in our country is under threat, you took a big step in admitting the one thing that most of us are mad about, which is how certain members of the Malaysian government sacrifice unity for limelight in the media.

However, I wish to point out that actions speak louder than words.

When you said that these seditious speakers would be charged under the Sedition Act, it would have been a proper action against those who threaten our national unity. Instead, we are now told that they were only given "strong words" of advice and counsel.

Where is justice and law in this case?

When the MP from Jasin said that he knowingly told Customs to close one eye to allow his lumber shipment through, why was there no action taken against him?

When Dato' Zak was guilty of building a business on government land, renovating a house without a permit, not paying thousands in assessments, why was there no action taken against him?

Since the business on government land which was illegal was under his sons name, why was his son still permitted to be elected a councillor?

Dearest Prime Minister, your words and your actions deem you hypocritical beyond reason.

I deem your promises of being anti-corruption and pro-transparency as null and void.

Your control over your members in government are lacking.

America was proof enough that the people are the determining power in any election. As such, I deem it necessary to preach the action of "cleaning house" during the next election right here in Malaysia.

On The Malaysian Education System.

2006-12-01T16:23:07Z

Crossposted to malaysians and my LJ, as well as my girlfriend Keisha's Livejournal.

Dear friends, apa khabar semua.
Had a run in with the Ministry of Education a few days ago, and I'd just like to spread the word about what me and my girlfriend keishaks had to endure when we called up to get the info to help a little girl in need. It's more than a rant. This little girl needs a chance to shine, for shine she will, given the chance.

Both our accounts of the campaign are here, Keisha's and mine.

Keisha's account.

Hi everyone! This post is a follow up to the previous post regarding the complacency of the Malaysian Ministry of Education and Azadnisa's, or Nisa for short, heartfelt desire to pursue an education.

Firstly, I would like to expatiate about this little girl's life in more detail. When Nisa was born, her father abandoned her and her mother, for reasons unknown, although I am assuming that he was financially inept. Unfortunately, Nisa's mother was not well to do and she had to seek the best available job. Luckily enough, she found work at a South Indian restaurant in PJ called Grand City. How did I come to find out about her? Well, my grandfather's maid is quite an affable character and as such, she knows many workers/maids around the P.J. area. One day, she met Nisa's mother and Nisa, and she came home to tell me of the living conditions and the predicament they were in. Hearing my grandfather's maid elaborate, I was deeply saddened and decided that I will go and see this girl. When I took a walk to the restaurant's back alley, I saw Nisa playing on the road with some rotten old toys, tears immediately filled my eyes. I then went into the restaurant's kitchen and saw the small room in which Nisa and her mother slept. I was absolutely horrified to see the deplorable conditions they were living in! In the room, lay one small mattress on the dirty, wet cement floor and raggy, old clothes hung on a dilapidated rack. After seeing this, I hurried back to my grandfather's and told him everything. He and I both agreed that we needed to do something. As I remembered correctly, my grandfather made a few phone calls and got someone to arrange for Nisa to be enrolled in St. Paul's kindergarten. He then gave me some money to buy some presents for Nisa, since at the time, it was almost Christmas. We also invited Nisa and her mum over frequently so that She could play or watch T.V. In the following year, she went to St. Paul's but at first, she couldn't communicate to the other kids because she couldn't speak English. However, in due time, being as intelligent as she is, she grasped the English language so perfectly! And now, she is seven years old, ready and determined to take on Year 1 but unfortunately, this current dilemma has debouched.

You know, I've had experience with the Education Department before. You see, my half siblings' mother wanted to transfer her kids from the Malaysian education system into the American syllabus offered at many churches around Malaysia. These centers are extensions of the Church Ministry and they offer an alternative education to Malaysians who are sick and tired of the ineffective Malaysian education system. Anyway, I called them up and I was redirected at least ten times before I got the information I needed. And 3/4 of them couldn't speak English so I had to use the limited Malay I had learnt back in elementary. What baffled me most right is that why can't they process the info I gave them and connect me directly to a division which deals with the relevant information? As a nation that seeks to be a first world country by 2020, don't you think it is absolutely unacceptable that the people working in government especially, cannot communicate in English effectively? There are a number of reasons that one needs to speak in English. Firstly, it is a globalized language and therefore, for a country to maintain good sentiments with other countries, a common ground is needed and that common ground is language. And what language you might ask? English! Simply because it is spoken by the majority of this world. And please don't get me wrong, it is also important to preserve one's own culture but that does not mean that you shouldn't expand your horizons! Being able to communicate in a variety of languages allows you to expand your knowledge of this world as well as come to an appreciation of the diversity of ethnicity and culture!

I sincerely hope the press will stand up against the MOE so that we as a nation, can remedy this problem.

Earlier in this blog, I talked about the power of education. Nisa, being adamant and resolute, desires an education because she knows that education is the key to freedom.. whether it is freedom of hardship or freedom of oppression..! Almost every job demands a college education, it's a tough world out there and Nisa is begging for a chance to succeed and like many other unfortunate kids, she wants someone to believe in her. So I plead with all of you fellow Malaysians, give her that chance, and I swear to you, she will not let you down. She is our future ladies and gentlemen...our tomorrow.

My account.

The true story is as follows.

Azadnisa Rahman is a seven year old girl, who hopes to enter school in the coming school year. She is the child of a Indonesian cook at a South Indian restaurant who entered Malaysia on an Indonesian passport with a valid work permit, and a Bangladeshi father who has since disappeared for good. Azadnisa was born in Malaysia, and as such has a Malaysian Sijil Kelahiran(Birth Certificate). However, her birth was not registered with the Indonesian nor Bangladeshi Embassies, rendering her de facto stateless.
As such, it is difficult for her to obtain Malaysian citizenship, or Permanent Resident status. More importantly, and more pressing at this time is the fact that she has been barred from entering a Government school, due to the fact she has been registered as a foreigner, "Daftar Orang Asing".

She currently desires to have an education, at present, she and her mother live in the restaurant itself, having nowhere else to stay.
The family of my girlfriend, Keisha, have been helping her, her grandfather having aided in enrolling her in a church kindergarten.

However, she is now of school age.
As such, Keisha and I tried to determine what was the procedure to get her accepted into a primary school, run by the Malaysian Ministry of Education.

The procedure was a nightmare. No department of the Education Ministry had the information we sought, nor did anyone speak English with any fluency.
I personally collected at least 8 different numbers before any progress was made.
The common statement was "we do not handle this", or "you speak to so and so at this number to get this done", only to call the number and to find out that no one was there,
or worse, the person did not deal with Azadnisa's issue, and once again, I would be given yet another department within the Schools Division.

It was only when Keisha and I had had enough, and decided to threaten the Ministry with a press release of their inefficiency, did we get anywhere.
We were redirected to Customer Services, who were about to divert me to another number yet again, but actually gave a response upon hearing our threat of press exposure.

What we found out is this. Azadnisa's situation bars her from entering a Malaysian Government School, and as such, she needs to enter a private school, keeping in mind the new government policy regarding mandatory school enrolment.

Azadnisa's bright. She needs a future. And, at this point, she needs a sponsor. Please, help her.

Thank you, friends, for any help you can provide. Thank you, for spreading the word.

Azadnisa needs us all.

msrants @ 2006-12-01T15:05:00

2006-12-01T07:05:13Z

Until either me or fayenatic have time to re-do this page, the layout will be defaulted to "A Novel Conundrum"....at least, that's what I think it's called.

Beware of road bullies

2006-12-01T03:27:36Z

A little clip of a personal experience with a road bully yesterday. So much for Wawasan 2020.

For full details of what happened, it's in my journal. :) Hope this is OK, 'cause I really need to get it out of the system and road bullies deserve to be publicized for their stupidity. If this is not allowed feel free to delete.

msrants @ 2006-11-29T22:20:00

2006-11-29T14:20:43Z

RM50 worth of petrol is finished in less then two days. RM40 before, RM30, RM60.... Do you guys go through the same dilemma?

I'll be darned if they naikkan harga minyak again :/