When We Get Our Priorities Wrong..

It has been awhile since I last posted anything. God forgive, I have been really out-of-thought on what to write for awhile. It's not that I'm busy. I'm mostly free honestly. In fact, I'm pretty much stuck here in my own town in a three week-long holiday not going anywhere for a fresh breath of air. (Unless you consider going to visit your brother in another state as a holiday, well that's the only salvation for me I guess.)
So I've decided to tell you people how wrong our priorities can get. To quote an example, I should be on holiday, not stay at home. That's how a priority gone wrong. To quote a better example, Malaysia, in general has got its priority REALLY wrong. In fact, it's not just Malaysia, I believe the whole world is. Still clueless on what I'm speaking about? I'm blabbering about the World Cup fever!
It isn't as eminent yet, to see the fever striking youths here. I mean, I haven't seen any betting going on yet. But the again, don't you people think it's pretty silly for 20 people to chase after a single ball? Okay, I'm not delving into the silliness of football, so a thousand apologies for that statement. Let me get back to Malaysia first.
During the period of Uber and Thomas Cup, I literally saw NO adverts on the idiot box showing or depicting our national hero in action or practically anything related to badminton. Seriously? I mean, look at us! We're like, PARTICIPATING in Uber and Thomas and there's almost nil advertisements on it. Nil propaganda to make us cheer on our Malaysian team! The only feedback was, "Oh, he did well. He should work on his footwork." and that's it. And giving ourselves a small pat on the back, we consoled ourselves that we've been and DID support the country in Uber and Thomas.
BUT when it comes to World Cup... Something that Malaysians are not even participating.. we have gazillions of adverts on it, not to mention that stupid advertisement of Malaysians dancing as if they have cramps on their feet in Astro. That's gotta be like the WORST advertisement I've ever seen. Astro seems fond of making stupid advertisements at times. And it's a sad fact that we are paying to watch it.
I mean, honestly, don't you think we've got our priorities REALLY wrong on this one? Food for thought.

Nice guys are ugly, hot guys are jerks, and hot nice guys are gay.

So how true does this hold for some people? Mind me not for saying this, but I’ve got like tonnes of other girl friends asking or rather, telling me the same thing. It’s definitely something these girls are pretty afraid nowadays, considering the population of guys living on this planet although ironically is more than girls by figures, but undeniably the number of homosexuals are also on the rise.
Girls, how many times have you been in this situation? You head to a bar/club/bistro/whatever casually and you eye a hot guy at one corner, sitting alone. You thought to yourself that he’s pretty attractive; the square chins, the ruffled hair, the slim and toned body, that charming smile, the flattering height, the gentlemanly behavior; definitely a whole package itself wrapped up there just tempting you till no end. And then the thunderstorm came; another guy, almost of equal beauty and character with the first guy came over, sat beside him and gave him a tender kiss on the cheek. Your world just tumbled and crashed. Your jaws hit ground zero. Your eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. You ask yourself, “Is he for real?!”
Let’s give it another situation. You met a guy on the bus, and once again, he looks suave. He offered you his seat while he stood up. His sexy voice drowns your mind. You got to know him. You learned where he works/studies. You got his number. You both went out for a dinner, and you ask him to be your other half. Much to your chagrin, he tells you he can’t. You insist on wanting him to give you a reason, and he says, “I’m not into women.”
Again and again I hear my girl friends confessing to me how their boyfriends mistreat them in the harshest way possible, even if it was just an SMS. If you think this poor girl had it coming, allow me to tell you that the only “sin” this girl committed was going out for a “yumcha” session with other guys from her faculty and it’s common knowledge that the number of guys in her faculty is outrageously higher than the number of girls, hence it’s only normal that she make more guy friends than girl friends. If you think this situation is wrong, wait till you hear this.
Another friend of mine was constantly under the “surveillance” of her boyfriend who is not in the same state as her as she is now pursuing higher education, she moves to another state. What transpired was, she wants to go out for a movie but out of respect, told her boyfriend about it. Boyfriend goes skeptic and demand to know who is going. Girlfriend tells name, her roommate. Boyfriend calls the said roommate. The said roommate confirms it. The said roommate was then told by the said boyfriend to make sure that the said girlfriend does not sit beside another stranger, especially guys. Now let’s take a reality check here. If you are going to the movie, granted unless you are sitting on the less-desirable side of the cinema, you’re most probably going to end up sitting somewhere in the middle, or in between some seats. What’s more, imagine this, if you are with your friend, only the two of you, and you’re going to the cinema. How exactly can you make sure you’re not going to sit beside any stranger unless you’re sitting at the said less-desirable corners?! If this is not ludicrous enough, I rest my case.
Rest assured that the title is only a jab on the society, spoken with tongue in cheek. It meant no factual reports or whatsoever, yet on a more surreal level, it does apply to some, undeniably. Nevertheless, at the way society is heading, more and more metrosexual guys/girls are starting to emerge as the world shifts towards a more gender-equal civilization. Handbags are no longer for the ladies. They have manbags now. Short hairstyle on girls is no longer unacceptable or deemed immoral anymore. Even the tolerance against homosexuality has gone lower, albeit by a little.
I ask you now, how did this phrase come up, if these are just blatant lies? Admittedly, a slight number of female friends I have confessed having crushes on their homosexual friends, although they know fairly well that they stand no chance at all. Most of them claimed that they like being around homosexual guys because most homosexuals are pretty open-minded and are able to understand girls better than their heterosexual counterparts. Some girls are even spotted chilling out at gay bars. Queer? NOT! This is because they seem to find it safer, considering that they will not have to bear sexual harassments or catcalls from hetero males in normal bars.
As the world opens up to newer and newer generations, there are still a slight number of people who withhold their principal or religious believes whereby homosexuality is a sin and homosexuals should be punished. As justified as it may sound, this activity, known as gay-bashing has been highly looked-down by many alike who claims that these are just religious zealots that tend to hold their faith a little too close for comfort, what not contradicting their religion for hurting people, physically, emotionally or mentally.
The dawn is upon us to make or break. Taking on the stand “Whatever floats your boat.” seems to work best by looking at how society works. A word or two if you must, but do be gentle as they are still human and all, just like us.

The Otherside.

It’s like a big joke. Suddenly, and as always, Malaysians are up at it again, talking about human rights and official police conducts. Why now? And more importantly, why again?

Supposed if you had been living in Malaysia as long as I did, read almost every single political scandal with as much zest as I do, you would have understood what I meant.

The death of teenager Aminulrasyid Amzah was a tragic one, I admit but nonetheless, I can not help but feel the urgent need to throw in some questions lying in the grey area of this fatal accident. (Yes, it’s an accident.)

Allow me, to ask my first question. The alleged shooting took place at 1am – 2am local time. My question here would be what is a boy, a 14 years-old boy, doing driving around at 1am – 2am? According to Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ) Malaysia rulings, an individual can only be allowed to be behind the wheels of a car if he/she is 17 years old from the date of birth and possesses a driving license recognized by the JPJ. Quoting Assoc Prof Dr Teoh Hsien Jin, as far as law was concerned, such an act was an offense.

This brings me to my second question. The accused, Kpl Jenain Subi, was conveniently scapegoated for the alleged fatal shooting. It was also claimed by the police that the 14 year old driver, along with his friend, 15 year old Azamuddin Omar, was given chase for a 6 km stretch before the car crashed. My question here is, while being asked by the Kpl Jenain Subi to stop, along the 6km chase, why didn’t Aminulrasyid do as told by an officer? According to the law, while being asked to stop by a police officer, one must comply, regardless of the situation. He/she can ask the officer why are they stopped and what offense have they committed. If no specific answer was given by the police officer, one can just leave. But then again, should one not comply with a police officer’s order to stop, he/she is deemed as obstructing a police conduct and is therefore deemed as guilty.

Then, here comes my next question. Azamuddin Omar, who claimed to have held his dying friend in his arm, was there at the scene and was also present in the car during the chase. Azamuddin Omar is also the son of a policeman, which brings even more question about his understanding of the Malaysian law. Azamuddin Omar KNEW his underaged friend is doing something illegal. He knew that Aminulrasyid shouldn’t be driving at the tender age of 14, but did that stop him from enjoying the joyride at the middle of the night? I am to understand that a policeman should understand the law and his son or daughter are of no exception to the obeying the law and shall be persecuted like any other human in this land. Supposed you know your friend is doing something illegal, by keeping mum or not doing anything about it can be deemed as an act of condoning it, morally speaking, although in all legal term, arguably, the boy had done nothing wrong.

I have a lot more questions floating in my head right now, but after consulting a friend of mine, it’s best I just leave it here. Please be reminded that this view is purely mine and no one else’s, hence I take charge of all liabilities that may have incurred and a thousand apologies to those whom I may have offended. These messages are merely the questions of an individual who yearns to know more about the tragic death of a youth in his country.

Racial Polarisation in Malaysia.

So what exactly does the title imply? This title itself left me pondering on the contents that I should be writing. Allow me to first ask a few questions.

If given three possible answers, which are as the following; Malay, Chinese, Indian; place the race where you think deem fit in the given situations.

Who are the businessmen?
Who are the farmers?
Who are the rubber tappers?
Who drives luxurious cars?
Who drives Kancils?
Who drives lorries?
Who cheats and cons in businesses?
Who are the Mat Rempits and snatch thieves?
Who are the serial killers/rapists?

Some may have a vague idea of what I am implying now. These few questions are actually very thought-provoking though often times shied away in public, yet left as a topic on the dinner table, gossipy and saucy enough to actually replace the ketchup on my regular Maggie Goreng.

Allow me to quote from what I found in www.wikipedia.org when I key in “racial polarisation”.

Sociologist Dr Syed Farid Alatas pointed out "We do not live according to the three principles for harmonious relations – recognising the multi-cultural origins of civilization, inter-religious encounters and showing respect and understanding the point of the other," "We have little appreciation for each other’s religion and culture." "Our education system does not inculcate these attitudes in us but instead tends to polarise us. We have little appreciation for each other’s religion and culture. In China, there is a strong interaction between Islam and Chinese culture." He also said "Dialogue is a matter of national integration but the Malaysian education system does not inculcate the three pre-requisites for inter-religious cooperation and relations". [7]
When asked why this was so, Rais stated that in national schools, there is "too much religion, too much Islam. They became frightened. That is the big impediment to the races studying together under one roof." He then recommended "Have religious classes by all means. But keep away Islam from other aspects of life in the school. No doa (Muslim prayers) at the assembly, no doa in the classroom except during religious classes." (see Issues in Malaysian Education)
Note that the fault doesn’t lie solely with the Government system, but also the mentality of the people here. Probably because of the oppressive nature of the Government that hushes every breath that might create a racial tension that could probably drive a ruckus on the street. We have been living in a society that is almost on the verge of collapsing due to the constraints of racial polarisation. Even children nowadays tend to pick up the habit of practising apartheid from their parents.

Allow me to present a situation often times happen in our country. The beginning of a new year in a culturally mixed school calls for a new life, new environment, new knowledge, new teachers and what not, new friends. If your children/siblings/relatives happen to come home one day claiming that they have made some new friends and the following names are the names of their new friends;

“Ali, Abu, Zaid, Siti and Wati.”
or
“Chong, Chee, Lim and Meng”
or
“Bala, Puspa, Rinesh and Pravina”

Then, yes, you should be worried because this answer itself is the very first proof that the pillars that hold out racial unity together is falling apart right on the very base of it. I personally have many friends of mixed cultures and religions, something of which I have no problem with. In fact, whenever we dine together, we always take our friends and their religious obligations into consideration and we will always find a common ground (or food) to chow on.

This title also brought me reminiscing on the vivid memories of my distant past. Program Latihan Khidmat Negara, or rather fondly known as PLKN by many is a living proof of the collapse of our racial unity. PLKN was claimed by the Government as a way to integrate racial unity. This number of the intake for all races in this programme is a simulation of the actual ratio of the races amongst the Rakyat, or so it was claimed. First off, let me bat to you a simple statistic that I found out about the camp I was assigned to three years ago. The camp was situated in Bandar Seri Jempol, a rural little area in the dormant state known as Negri Sembilan. The number of participants in the camp I was in is a staggering total of 600 people. Our camp allocated certain days in the week for the Buddhist, Christians, Islams and Hindus to practice their religion and complete their prayers. Needless to say, several of my friends and I were to board the 8 o’clock bus every Thursday that brings us to a little Buddhist temple in Bahau to complete our weekly prayer. The number of buses needed to bring all Buddhists, inclusive of boys and girls and the extra empty seats available in both buses; were two.
Meanwhile, the Christians needed only a small van to cater all Christian boys and girls to the nearest church.
The Hindus needed two buses too, for both boys and girls alike.
And finally, for the Islams, let’s just put it this way. Whenever it’s Friday afternoon, the camp magically turned into a dead little encampment that barely holds any soul.
So, if I were to tell you that the bus can only hold 40 people at max, boys and girls in my camp are to be in separated buses, and there are about 10 empty seats in each bus every week, you do the math and tell me if the ratio was even right.

Claims that the PLKN is the pathway to racial unity can be easily shot down with this simple statistic. The situations are even clearer when you can noticeably see how the people in my camp spend their time on weekends when classes are off. On days like these, when I have nothing to do, I’ll usually hang out with my friends of all races. My Chinese friends will hang out in the basketball court, while my Malay friends will be at the canteen and my Indian friends will all be hanging out in their dormitories. First, I’ll visit my friend Ah Keong and tell him of the pretty girl he fancies is sitting alone at the slope of the hill of our camp, then I’ll go to Kannan and challenge him to a bunk weight-lifting contest in the dorm, then lastly I’ll tell Kamarul that we’ll be having an awful menu for dinner tonight unless our camp commandant buys us burger as a treat again. As much as I’m enjoying my time on that day, it irks me so much to know that I have to walk literally miles away whenever I am moving from Ah Keong to Kannan and to Kamarul. What racial unity when the youngsters themselves are already racially segregating the small community around them? Racial unity my foot. Why can’t these people hang out at the same spot, chat with different races and understand each other better? Are we really living in a first-world country with third-world mentality that practises apartheid?

Oh, and don’t get me started on the Character Building classes. My class was asked

“Adakah Malaysia satu negara yang adil dan saksama?” (“Is Malaysia a fair and just country?”)

And of course, to which many people kept quiet. Some small nods of head were noticeable but no loud actions or whatsoever. And that was when I boldly said

“Tidak!” (“No!”)

That definitely caught the attention of everyone in my class. When asked to explain myself, my reply is simple and to the point.

“Kalau Malaysia adalah satu negara yang adil, mengapa ada terma Bumiputra dan Non-Bumiputra?” (“If Malaysia is indeed a fair and just country, why does the term Bumiputra and Non-Bumiputra exist?”)

And that of course, left my cikgu CB pretty much dumbfounded that such an opinion can come from a young 17 year old. I was only left with a tap on the wrist for my bold, if not condescending statement.

The futures are really going to be set on stone, if not predictable; that Malaysia is going to tear apart from the racial tension if nothing solid is done soon. Checkboxes that needs you to indicate your races and religion should be exempted from any forms of application that doesn’t need you to reveal it. Terms such as Bumiputra and Non-Bumiputra should be eliminated. There is no such existence of Malaysian Malay, Malaysian Chinese or Malaysian Indian but only Malaysian. Let us not stoke the fire of the May 13th anger that happened in 1969 again.