My Slideshow

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

We don't complain

My biology teacher once said that humans need three things to survive : Food, water and oxygen. I think she was sorely mistaken. Malaysian humans need to do 5 things to survive

1) Eat
2) Breathe
3) Drink water
4) Buy a handphone
5) Not to complain.

Nowadays, it seems that everyone is blaming the politicians for screwing us out of a better deal for us. But what about us? Do we let ourselves continuously get cheated out of a better deal for ourselves?

And really, are the politicians the only ones that are cheating us? When was the last time you went to a mamak stall or a hawker stall and got served a ‘drink’ which consists solely of 100% ice cubes and a few atoms of Milo ais? Have you seen the proprietors of said premises preparing drinks? The steps include : -

1) Jamming chipped ice into a cup
2) Then, when no more ice can be jammed in, they then jam MORE ice into it, bending the laws of physics.
3) Serve the drink, hoping that the patrons won’t notice the difference.

Upon slurping such drinks, what do we do next? Do we complain, or do we suck it up (quite literally) ,lest they put cockroaches into our food? More importantly, the following week, when we need a drink, what do we do? We return to the SAME mamak/hawker stall, order the SAME Milo ais, and again, we DON’T COMPLAIN. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Or how about our handphone credit? For years now, we have been taken to a dark alley, blindfolded and gagged while our wallets are being stolen, in a matter of speaking when it comes to our handphone service providers. The most blatant daylight robbery is with regards to Maxis’s prepaid plan. When you purchase RM 30 worth of credit, you are only allowed to use that RM 30 WITHIN A MONTH. After a month, you have to buy ANOTHER RM 30.

Now, let’s ask this fundamental question. I have already subscribed to Maxis, shouldn’t what I do with the credit be left entirely up to me? What if I wanted to buy RM 30 of credit to last me an entire year, because my social life is so abysmal that I don’t have anyone to call anyway? But no, every month I have to top up, in case an emergency happens, like being stuck in a toilet with no tissue paper.As of now, I have RM 1240 worth of accumulated credit which lies sullen and underused in my SIM card. Sometimes, feeling sorry for my credit, I use them to call random people and ask, “ What’s the happiest burger?”.

If you listen very closely, on a calm, still night, you can almost hear the powers that be who get away with all their sins laughing their way to blissful sleep.

Life in UCD

As the book I wrote is about my first year in University College Dublin,Ireland, perhaps it is fitting also that I introduce to you a video of what life was like in Dublin. Everytime I watch this, I am reminded of why I always say the years in Dublin were the best ones of my life