9 July 2011

Another call for electoral reforms, another rally in the city, another show of police brutality. All we wanted was a free & fair election and they treated the rally goers like some cold-blooded criminals. I dreamed of a day when the authorities treat people with respect & professionalism. Where the police would assist the crowd & control traffic instead of spraying chemical-laced water & firing tear gas canisters at innocent and harmless civilians, you know like in developed countries. Forget about vision 2020, Malaysians would be lucky if we don't go the way of Myanmar. At least the government of Myanmar never pretended to be a democracy. If our election process is so transparent & clean and not rigged, why does the government has to be so scared of meeting those 8 tiny (but significant) electoral demands? It is an open secret that the opposition was never afforded a fair playing field in any elections big or small. That is why we need Bersih, to make the playing field level and let the people chose the best persons to lead the government.

While I didn't personally join the rally, I tried my very best to create & build up awareness of the event for my friends whether in real world or in Facebook or Twitter. That's why I never rejected any request to be friends on Facebook, all 4. If I can enlighten at least a few dozens of them to realize the wrongs of this government and how they have taken us for a ride for the last 5 decades or so, that would be a success of their own. My prayers & salute goes out to all 50,000 odds Malaysian who braved the police, road blocks, rain, tear gas & so many other obstacles to ensure that their voice are heard. You guys will forever be remembered as the real heroes, the ones who dares to act and make a difference. If Bersih 1.0 managed to capture 5 states for the opposition, I can't wait to see how 2.0 would influence the next general election. Judging by the number of crowd on the streets today, I predict the future is bright for all of us.

29 December 2010

There was tears of joy all over the country this evening as Malaysia has the AFF Suzuki cup for the first time after a 4-2 aggregate win over Indonesia. It's something considering we were never favorites at the beginning of the tournament. To be honest I don't harbor any hopes of the national team winning anything in any competitions. I guess we are so used to losing that winning would be the exception. Anyway congratulations to Malaysia and the national team. The PM even declared tomorrow as a public holiday after being coaxed in Twitter. Winning this Asean-level cup is good and all but defending it is another thing. Consistency is key. I will only true believe in the national team if we keep this up all the way to the highest level. Let's see if we can qualify for the Asian Cup next.

Meanwhile halfway around the world, Liverpool, yes the 'mighty' Reds lost again this time to bottom of the table Wolves. Right about this time I am not the least surprised who beats us anymore. Liverpool under Roy Hodgson can only be good enough for a mid-table team if not relegation dog-fight. Honestly I don't care anymore as long as that loser is our manager. I cringe at watching any Liverpool games these days. Mortified at the possibility of us losing again for the umpteenth time. I'd rather sleep than bother staying up late in the morning than watch us lose to some small clubs. Really, Liverpool has gone to the dogs.

15 December 2010

Yesterday a French man came to my office to promote something, a product or service. When it was time for him to leave, he tried calling a cab but after 20 minutes no cabs arrived (or wanted to come). So I offered to take him to the taxi stand in Equine Park knowing that there's always a couple of taxi drivers hanging around there. When we arrived, all 7 taxi drivers refused to take him where he's going - Jalan Maarof in Bangsar. Exasperated he said back in France you cannot refuse to take a passenger or they will revoke your license. Sorry to say monsieur Herve but taxi drivers in Malaysia can get away with pretty much anything. They can refuse to pick you up, send you anywhere they don't want to and especially refuse to use the meter and rip you off at every chance. The law is there but the enforcement s severely lacking.
In the end I offered to drop him off at the Serdang train station where I told him to take a train to Mid Valley. In Mid Valley he should have no problem getting a cab to Bangsar. Was I embarassed by the whole incident? Of course! But then sadly that's the norm here. We are still light years away from being a developed country judging by the attitudes of some of us. I'd like to say not all taxi drivers are like this but I know I can't. Most of them would do exactly the same. But you can't really blame them because everybody knows how bad traffic is at 6:30 in the evening in downtown KL. One would be crazy to head on there at that time for no concrete reason, taxi drivers included. Au revoir monsieur Herve. I Hope you won't bad mouth us too much when you get home. Most Malaysians are not that terrible but taxi drivers here, they're the exception.

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