Why do people do the things they do?

I hope the boycott on the Utusan-owned Kosmo runs the paper into the ground.

The people there must really have nothing but fluff or possibly air between their ears. And a whole load of insensitivity to boot.

1. Show some humanity and respect to the dearly departed.
2. You must be out of your minds to publish salacious gossip about someone who was (still is) a someone in the media and advertising industry. 'Backlash' and 'consequence' probably don't exist in your vocabulary. You apparently forgot who it was you're publishing that juicy bit of gossip about.
3. Serves you right for angering a whole community of existing (probably not anymore) and potential (kiss them bye-bye) advertisers. Let's see you try to meet your advertising quotas.

But then again, what can I expect from people who work for the institution(s) who claim that a certain PA fell to his death from the 16th floor?

They really do think we're morons, don't they?

Aw shucks, guess we disappointed them yet again.

"Is She Malay Or Chinese?"

Neither, she is Malaysian!

Our people will never learn. In all the time I've spent in Singapore, and despite the rather unusual name that Sophia carries, I have NEVER been questioned by anyone on her race. And that's saying a lot because I'm out in Singapore with Sophia more than I am indoors. She has two activity classes a week and I've had to sign her up more than once for a few things; you know, the requisite form-filling and what not. People behind the counters or at their desks don't look at me, then at her and ask, "What race is she?" or "Is she Malay or Chinese?"

People would see us strolling along or taking the elevator to and from the MRT stations. They'd talk to her or remark on what a cute little thing she is. In all the times we've been out in the little island state, I've never once been asked a question on her race. Maybe the fair people in Singapore are so exposed to different races and the myriads of expats that one unusual name is but a drop in the ocean.

I get asked by other moms during Sophie's open gym sessions about where we're from. But that's because I also ask where they're from; they and their little ones. And also because we know that we are probably not locals seeing that we are taking our kids to let off steam at 2pm or 4pm on a weekday, not the usual times the hardworking locals would likely be there with their kids.

We've been wandering up and down Singapore for the several months that we've been living there and other than the fact that family and friends are in Malaysia, I feel more at home there than I do here. At least I am not classified as a race. The first question out of people's mouths when they see Sophia is not to ask what race she is. Does it even matter? It shouldn't. Instead they ask how old she is and sometimes whether she's a boy or girl. One of Sohia's teachers in class calls out to Sophie whenever she goes for open gym, "Sophia Meiyin!! How are you today?" and I comment to her, "Wow, you can remember her full name!" And she replies, "Of course, it's so unique!" And it ends there. Not a peep out of her about the origins of her race.

The attendant at Aquaria probably meant well, but it just goes to show how the whole race polarisation issue has permeated our daily lives and the mindsets of the people where all we can think of is if the other person is the same race as us or not. It's taken 50 years for the damage to spread to the masses, it'll take another 50 years, if not more, to undo the damage, if they manage to.

Luckily for the attendant, she directed her question at hubby who was carrying Sophia while I was busy with the stroller. I don't remember hearing his answer. But I was miffed. If it was me, I would have said, "Neither, she's Malaysian".

Happy birthday Malaysia? Until we can think of ourselves as Malaysians before we think of ourselves as Chinese, Indian, Malay or any other race that just happens to reside here, another birthday for this nation is just another mark on the calendar; it doesn't necessarily 51 years of independence.

D-day

Tomorrow is polling day. I already know which party I'll be casting my vote for: as long as it's not the ruling party. Luckily there's PKR in my area but even if there isn't, I just may vote PAS just to kick the ruling party's ass.

After going through alternative commentaries and sites on the government (who cares about what the local papers carry anyway? It's all propoganda; we all know the ruling party controls the media here), I've come to the conclusion that Malaysia's opposition does not stand a chance against BN. As long as the opposition is divided on race and religion - how do you bring together PAS and DAP? - and they indoctrinate their grassroots as such, they are playing BN's race game. And they will lose. They may take out a few parliamentary seats with them but they will not be able to topple the ruling party.

The opposition need to be united. The Chinese are not going to vote for PAS (someone I know said that he didn't want to vote for PAS and there were no other opposition candidates in his constituency and so he marked an 'O' in the box in the last election) and well, the business men (Malays, Chinese, Indian, doesn't matter) are not going to jeopardize their hold on the economy or their connections to projects by handing the opposition votes.

And so I will be casting my vote in a predominantly Malay, BN-controlled area. I just hope that whatever little it is that I'm doing will count in the future.

Easily Swayed

Been following the debacle over the use of the word Allah.

Here's my two bits: Malaysian Muslims are not only an easily swayed bunch if they are to be so easily confused over the usage, they are also a bunch of elitist hypocrites. Or maybe it's just those who are in the throes of power. Either way, whatever the people in power say affects the grassroots. Hang on, and I mean the Malay Muslims. And then I get to thinking, wait a minute, being elitist probably is a cover for an inferiority complex. And that's the gist of it: in order to be better or seem better than everyone else in the country, the word Allah can only be used by the Muslims (read: Malay) in Malaysia.

"Only Muslims can use [the word] Allah. It's a Muslim word. It's from the Arabic language. We cannot let other religions use it because it will confuse people," deputy minister for internal security Johari Baharum told the press in explaining the rationale for the controversial decision. "We cannot allow this use of 'Allah' in non-Muslim publications; nobody except Muslims [can use it]. The word 'Allah' is published by the Catholics. It's not right," he said.

Someone obviously didn't school him in world history or religions of the world, nor does he know what's happening in other parts of the world because believers other than Muslims use the word Allah to refer to God as well. Hang on, he was probably locally educated so it doesn't make a difference anyway.

One wonders, if the Malaysian Muslims are so easily swayed or confused, isn't their belief in their religion nothing but a shallow facade? One would think that if your faith is true and you have a personal relationship with God, nothing is going to shake you of your belief.

Yes, we make the rules therefore we can claim Allah for ourselves, others be damned. Context be damned.

Remind me again why we keep insisting we are a developed nation?


Note: This entry of course doesn't apply to certain quarters of the population, also to those whom I know.

Pointing The Finger

I've wanted to write this entry for a while now but just never found the time nor the energy to do it but it's something that I feel needs to be written, somewhat like the Britney post.

Malaysia has had its share of child abductions, abuse and murder. Many of these cases have not been solved nor the perpetrators been brought to justice. The same goes for the most recent sexual abuse and murder cases: Nurin Jazlin Jazimin and Preeshena Varshiny. The grief of all parents who have lost their child cannot be measured, we can only guess at the depth of their suffering.

And yet, the authorities presume to compound that grief by slapping the parents with a negligence charge. For a quick fix and for someone to put the blame on because they are unable to find the perpetrator, they conveniently say that the parents are negligent.

What they fail to understand is that it is a problem with society, not the parents per se. What is wrong with allowing your 8 year-old out alone to the market if it's been regularly done? Parents are only negligent if there have been repeated cases of neglect. A one-off case which fatefully resulted in an abduction or murder does not a negligence case make.

What is wrong with our society when we cannot even let our children out of our sight for one second? When there are 'community service announcements' on the radio to remind parents to 'keep your children safe, keep your children alive'? These announcements irritate the hell out of me because it makes the presumption that parents do not know how to look after their kids or do not have their kids' best interests at heart. It annoys me because we as parents have to be fearful for our children's safety because our society is so fucked up that if we are careless for just one second, our children's lives may be in danger. What do they think parents worry about and think about all the time? Do they think we need reminders about how fucked up society is? It is not the parents' fault when a kid goes missing, more often than not, all precaution has been taken. It is society that is to blame.

It is the society that we live in that creates these black holes for our children to fall through. As parents, we do our best to ensure the welfare and safety of our children. We don't go out there deliberately not keeping an eye on them so that they can be taken away, sexually abused and then murdered. It is society that needs to be watched over and corrected; washed out and bleached with mental chlorox, if only it were available. I would readily support the most torturous forms of retribution for these perpetrators because they readily deserve it; those who see fit to abuse and torment innocent lives deserve only the worst form of punishment and should be made to suffer as much, if not more than what the children have suffered.

In Malaysia we are told not to allow our children out of our sight, not to let them wander off alone. Well then, it's Malaysian society that's screwed up, not the parents. And charging parents with negligence is only a short term solution; it's so much easier to put the blame on the parents than to try to fix society.

I remember my visit to Japan a few years back. I saw nursery and elementary school kids walking from home to school by themselves either in groups or in pairs, sometimes alone. Without adult supervision. I couldn't believe it. It was an awesome sight and I was pretty much dumbfounded. I was struck by what a 'safe' socitey it is that parents could let their young children walk alone. It was a sight I'd never see in this godforsaken country. And I remember thinking to myself, "No way will it be safe for me to allow my children to walk unaccompanied no matter the distance or the destination. If they don't get abducted and abused by some sicko, an errant motorist would probably run them down".

That view holds even stronger today. Four long years after taking office and only today our PM realises and acknowledges that our crime rate has increased. Wow. It seems his frequent trips overseas has put some permanent blinkers on his eyes. Of course, the requisite action plans will be put into place to combat this social ill. Election is, after all, around the corner. We'll find a solution to fix the problem all right: set up an action plan, spend a whole load of money unnecessarily and then watch the crime rate skyrocket again. At best, it'll just remain stagnant.

We are a society of quick fix-its. And that is why we are so screwed-up.

The Heart of The Matter

Surfing the cable in Singapore, we came across the Indonesian national TV station; a national Christmas sermon was being broadcast. What's interesting here is that you would never see the Malaysian equivalent of national TV - RTM1 or RTM2 - broadcast a Christian/Christmas sermon. EVER.

One can only imagine the brouhaha that would emerge if such a programme was broadcast. Let's not even start. Malaysian leaders and certain quarters of the Malaysian population can be the most insensitive and hypocritical people around. Don't believe it? Click here to find out.

I stand corrected, however. Malaysian leaders are generally insensitive to people of other religions and races. They are TOO sensitive when it comes to their religion: Islam. Too many instances have occurred where this or that is construed as being insulting to Islam, the latest being this.

I wonder why we keep insisting that we're a multi-racial country? But then again I forget, what we say can only be taken at face value. Or maybe it's that we have to keep reminding ourselves that we are a multi-racial country despite the obvious Islamisation and disregard the country's leaders (and a portion of the Islamic community) have for all the other religions and races that make up Malaysia.

Values Vs. Rituals

Here's an interesting link to something Raja Petra wrote on Malaysia Today.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon...

I'll be wearing yellow this Saturday. I'll be wearing yellow next Saturday. I'll be going shopping for more yellow to add to my wardrobe and accessories.

It's the least I can do to show solidarity to fellow Malaysians who are fed up with the current government and to show support for the recent BERSIH rally.

An Eventful Weekend

While Sophie and I spent the Deepavali weekend across the causeway with daddy, the weekend in KL was hardly uneventful. The Bersih rally took place on Nov 10 despite warnings from the police and the ruling coalition. Bless the brave rakyat for taking a stance against a corrupt government amidst threats of arrest, even a heavy downpour, to hand their petition to the agong.

Look here, here, here, and here for more information.

Spaceman, Schmuckman

For lack of anything remotely positive to say about our recent so-called space programme, check this out for a fresh take on the whole space issue.

What We're Known For

This was going to be a whole piece, a proper post with reasoning and more of my own opinions. I decided to scrap that; it's just too tedious and a waste of my time.

Last night, Malaysia made the E! Entertainment news when Beyonce decided to cancel her concert to KL because of our stringent dress code for performers. She's not Gwen. Instead she's sashaying her bootilicious self over to Indonesia where her legions of fans will get to see her shake her booty.

Sigh.

This morning, as if the blow of receiving the news on E! Entertainment wasn't enough, the same spot of news surfaced on CNN. Migawd! We made the news on CNN. Over a bit of clothing, or rather, lack of.

Double sigh.

Yes, unlike our neighbour, we tout ourselves as a modern and progressive Muslim country but look who's progressive enough to allow Beyonce to perform lock, stock and bootilicious barrel.

Another Reason Not To Call This Country a Home

Our country slides further into regression, more specifically, a racial regression. Click here to find out why.

The Spiral Downwards

It's been getting depressing lately reading the dailies about the local news: the 'feel good' budget, the escalating crime rate, the nonsense that emanates from our Ministers' mouths. Now there's the Auditor General's report for last year. Sigh...we all know that our taxes are being siphoned off to various pockets through various means but the report drives home the fact even clearer just how badly mismanaged this country is. Check this out for further details.

I doubt if anyone will be brought to book for these transgressions. I suppose the PM will utter his standard drivel again, "I don't know". And not one of us citizens can do anything about it for now. Not until the next election, that is.

Discrimination

What a farce! Even in the matter of stray animals there seems to be discrimination in this country. The Malaysian government has extended their ridiculous policies down to the poor unfortunate strays of the nation. Look here for more information on a ridiculous witch hunt for stray dogs in Selayang and here for what people are saying about it.

I wonder why they didn't extend this ridiculously lucrative and barbaric competition to stray cats?

And it's amazing that sites like these exist in our country. Pardon me, but I thought the country I'm living in is Malaysia? I'm wondering when it became Malay Muslim land? If I've got my history down pat, our forefathers came here as traders (yes, Parameswara was not a native of this land), settled here and worked together to bring about independence and that at the most basic level, the only people that this land really belongs to is the indigenous people. Now I'm being reminded that I should be thankful that I'm actually living on this Malay Muslim soil despite the fact that I was born here.

The delusional really do have place in this world; they live here in good ol' bolehland.

Home Sweet Home

Sigh...why do I feel like a second-class citizen even in my own country where I was born and raised in, and in which I am now raising my own child? She will have minimum issues: her status as bumiputera will ensure that. Her mom on the other hand, remains, until the day she dies a non-bumiputera.

Must look for ways to move to Japan. At least I wouldn't feel as if I'm a migrant in the country because hey, guess what? I would be a migrant there!

Merdeka?

Not to me. Here's when it will really be merdeka, when:

1. We can live without the NEP.
2. We think of ourselves as Malaysians first rather than Malay, Chinese or Indian, bumiputera or non-bumiputera.
3. Race-based politics no longer form the basis of our governing policies.
4. Those in power stop blatantly usurping taxpayers' hard-earned contributions.
5. When everything stops being too sensitive to be discussed.
6. When there is REAL freedom.

Rest assured, I'll be sure to play my part in this coming election to bring about these changes.

Down Again!

I knew it was too good to be true!! Less than a week of being fixed, the stupid Streamyx connection is down again!! Error 678 keeps popping up and even after troubleshooting and disconnecting and reconnecting the modem and splitter, I'm still not able to connect.

So what am I stuck with? A broadband connection that doesn't work and another case number.

Sheesh!!

Banned!

Got the last copy of Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks off Kino's shelves before they took it down for good. Now at least I'll get to read it and decide for myself just how much "twisted facts" this book contains that the Internal Security Ministry needs to issue a ban on it and some other 36 books on religion.

Yes, we're progressing and moving forward towards 50 years of independence!

Morons.

Streamyx: The Story So Far

I walked over to the Clickers shop a few doors away from my office today. I hoped they would be able to help me where the TMNet call centre has failed miserably.

The girls at the counter were very nice, but no, they couldn't help me. The case has to be referred back to the call centre. After I looked harried and explained to them the situation (being pregnant helps, I think because they probably took pity on me), one of the girls asked for my user ID and did a quick check for me.

She managed to dig up the contact number for the contractor/installer who set up Streamyx for me. She told me to give him a call to see if he could help. I was very thankful and told her so; at last, I had a proper person to call and to voice my problems to. I crossed my fingers hoping that the installer had not left his job to do something else since he'd installed the service for me in 2005.

Upon getting up to leave, she told me, "Worse come to worst, I think it's better if you just write in to the papers."

Even their own people know how useless they are.

I called the mobile number even before I'd stepped out the door. The installer picked up and listened to my woes. After asking where I lived and what was the problem, he sighed. "That sounds like a port problem. TMNet have to head over there to fix the port. I've already had three calls this morning. It looks like I'm going to be very busy. Forward me your phone number and I'll do a check for you."

Eureka! Someone's actually going to do something about the darned line and they can tell me that they are going to do something about it instead of throwing out obtuse phrases that don't mean a shit such as, "...we have escalated your case to the highest level and you'll have to wait for an update from the technical team."

Later today I called the installer again. He told me that he'd already given my number to TMNet and they'd take some time to revert to him. "When should I check back with you?" "Give me a call tomorrow evening," he said.

A definite answer and a definite time frame. Wow!! Progress!

I have totally given up hope in the monolithic dinosaur that consider themselves an ICT company. Even their own people have no faith in them and can advice me to go to the press with my woes. And it took an outside third-party to actually do something proactive other than to give me excuses about why they can't fix a simple problem. All they have to do is send someone over to fix the port.

The issue is far from over. I still have to call the installer tomorrow and find out if anything's being done. But at least I'm not being given empty excuses or shunted from one customer service rep to another.

TMNet SUCKS!!

I'll find out tomorrow if they're totally and hopelessly useless. I may consider Maxis as an alternative if they can't solve the blurdy problem.

S'pore vs. M'sia : Part II

Hubby received his new toy - a Blackberry - from the new company. It runs on SingTel.

Upon arriving home, he called SingTel to activate the device or to troubleshoot, I forget which. The customer service rep gave him the contact number of a technician and told him that the technician would call him to walk him through, and if said technician doesn't call within 30 minutes, he should call customer service again to report.

SingTel: 15, TMNet: 0


The technician called a few minutes later.

SingTel: 30, TMNet: 0


There were various problems with activating and sending emails via the Blackberry but the point of this story is that for SingTel to actually troubleshoot the device and connection, they'd have to do it via the Maxis platform here, which they did. And throughout the day, there was dialogue and follow up with hubby on status. They not only called but sent test emails to the device.

What has TMNet done for our faulty and non-functioning Streamyx connection so far? Tell me time and again that the case has been 'escalated to the highest level' and refused to give out the direct contact to their technicians.

SingTel: 40, TMNet: 0


I think the Blackberry is working now, am not sure, have not checked with hubby. On the other hand, we're still stuck without a Streamyx connection.

So, compare the both, since they are similar cooperations in that it's SingTel and TMNet. How is it that just across the causeway, customer service and timely response is exemplary while we are languishing here in the muck of mediocrity?

For the whole experience, this is how I'd sum up the score:

Game, set and match to SingTel.