(Adam attempting the Malaysian record for holding a stainless steel spoon in his mouth for the longest time)A comment left by mob1900 gave me the idea of starting this blog to list down things that make us all so uniquely and proudly Malaysian. Although that does not make us Truly Asia-n. mob1900 commented..."we open our car doors to spit, even while driving. Tissues are for whussies!" How true! And how Malaysian. That's not the only thing that Malaysians do with their car doors open. They also like to open the car door to pay their toll charges. Winding down the window would a) expand too much energy that could otherwise be used to give other drivers the finger. Or b) would deplete the battery if it is an electrically operated window. Speaking of which do you know of or have met any Malaysian driver who would only switch on their parking lights even when driving along city streets at night? I asked a Malaysian driver why he did that and the answer was, "Save battery ma." Then he gave me a look like, "You stupid or what?"
Another uniquely Malaysian trait. If it's new and looks good, let's fix that. Seen any of the new Rapid KL busses on the roads? They are so nice la. Spotlessly clean. Signs that make sense. No A4 paper sign in sight. Empty. But don't be too concerned because the Malaysianisation of those busses has begun...
(Rapid KL bus photographed on Jalan Ampang on Tuesday 11 April, 2006)
(Sahaja sehari. Bad Bahasa maybe but it could prove prophetic.)Meanwhile, maybe Rapid KL should take heart. Once those new busses manage to retain a layer of grime, sound like a rock crusher gone berserk and belch black smoke the KL commuters will sell their mothers for RM2 to get on and ride.
Another very Malaysian thing is we love to impress tourists. Especially, when they come here for big sporting events being staged here like the annual F1 races. Each year when that time rolls around the city is dressed up for them. Sidewalks are paved. Beautiful flowers miraculously appear along the road dividers on Jalan Sultan Ismail. But straight after F1 is done.......
(Picture of dead and dying flowers on road divider across from the Sheraton Imperial Hotel along Jalan Sultan Ismail. Taken 4 days after F1 2006)
This is one of my favorites. We Malaysians love to "use other people's buttocks as our face" (old Chinese saying). Anybody that makes it into the big time on the international arena be it sports, the arts, entertainment we are super fast in discovering some Malaysian connection. Hey, Miss Georgia 2006! Her father is Malaysian. Never mind that he's maybe emigrated for decades. Hey, Anita Sarawak is big time! (well this is going back a few years la) BUT her parents are Malaysian. Don't matter if she's been Singaporean for years. Hot babe Vj, Paula Malai is now as Malaysian as nasi lemak since she married one of us. But even before that we laid claim to her beauty and talent. Just because she chose to be based here for reasons best known to herself. Feel free to add to this list of international celebrities that have Malaysian connections. Go for it.
Of course, there is that part of being Malaysian that we all know and love. Breaking dubioius records. Does anyone remember what our latest attempt is? One of my favorites is that record of the most number of people having a sit down Chinese dinner on a football field. Beat that!
This one just came in from a comment-er as I was typing...
..."parking our cars right in front of any restaurant while few steps away got parking bays! like we have no legs to walk for that distance"
That's right. We hate to walk. Malaysians will circle for hours in a mall's parking lot until they find a bay that is right outside the elevator door. It's a wonder that nobody has started drive-in businesses for mamak restaurants, pubs, cinemas etc. Malaysians would love it. Just drive right up, folks. No need to walk at all.
Some Malaysian-isms with potentially tragic consequences include our inability or unwillingness to question those we voted into power to manage our lives and livelihoods. I am sure we have all read about the abortion of the scenic bridge idea but the fine print also informed us that 100 million Ringgit will be paid in compensations to the contractor plus some government contracts on a silver platter as well. So at the end of the day we could be flushing a couple of billions down the toilet. And the most we will have to show for it is that potential white elephant they call the CIQ complex. It will be a nice building. For a while. Until that Malaysian-ism that has infected the Rapid KL busses gets to it. I am sure that topic will be debated at mamak stalls, offices and in traffic jams for a while. Until it's time for EPL 'live' on TV this weekend. Then it's back to business as usual.
I am going to stop here and go reminiesce about the time when being Malaysian meant being proud to be hard-working, passionate, productive people. Proud of doing our given tasks to the best of our ability. And hope that one day soon those times will return. So I'm a dreamer. So sue me.
56 comments:
"Feel free to add to this list of international celebrities that have Malaysian connections. Go for it."
I'd say Datuk Michele Yeoh is the biggest claim...she became a star AFTER she wen tto be an actor in HK.and only after being a Bond Girl, did she get the title Datuk. there's also another HK star from here, but i can't quite finger it.
I hope Jessica Alba have a Malaysian link somewhere. she did act as an Ibanese sometime back. if not I'll be her link...hehe
LOL! Patrick, that post was too damn funny. But funny and sad all at the same time.
OMG...
err...hope we could churn our sad Malaysian ways and turn it into something we could laugh and be 'proud' of, one day. =P
here's my 2nd contribution:
We Malaysians tends to shoot the Messenger or miss the target totally. Nvm if we're wrong, it's right when we defending our 'own'.
Lizzam,
I'm working on the Jessica Alba Malaysian link!
... as soon as she has time to answer my e-mail proposal...
A truly Malaysian trait that I truly hate are queue jumpers in a traffic jam. Here you are being the law abiding citizen by waiting your turn in the right lane and these bar-gers cut in from the emergency lanes. And the sad thing is, following the truly malaysian system of traffic law enforcement, probably none of these bar-gers will be brought to book. which leaves us pondering, do we really need a tough law enforcement system if the people just adopt the correct mentality ?
Here's another one for the list of truly Malaysian traits: our love of food knows no boundaries - especially when we don't have to pay. Just attend any of the company AGMs to see gluttony in all its glory. It's funny to watch, but sad too.
I remember a few years ago when some organization had a food spread for tourists, and they were over-run with Malaysians. What a way to put the country on the world map. As though the politicians aren't doing a good enough job of it.
here's another one..
they rejected Vijay Singh application for PR in Malaysia..so he went to Fiji..
and when he reached World No. 1 ranking...we started saying he could have been a Malaysian... lol...
same stuff with Han Jian...top badminton player..and top coach...his application for PR in Malaysia was rejected so many times, until he was being interviewed in the Star...and they highlighted this matter...
lol..Malaysia Buleh
we also like to complain a lot
those paying at the tol usually open their doors because they are most of the time driving a proton. (need i say more).
parking is only ONE ringgit but most prefer to park outside (good examples being at 1 Utama, Ikano, Ikea). when you think it's full on the inside because of the many cars parked outside, lo and behold, you CAN find parking spaces inside!
jumping queue when driving - such a malaysian trait.
when someone's crossing the road, ACCELERATE!
Come on, some people open their doors to pay toll simply because their hand is too short and the car is stop to far away from the booth.
International celebrities that I remember most for the wrong reason is the two young geniuses in UK some times ago. Then a few years later one of them ran away from home complaining about the way their parents treated them. Habis malu kita.
Malaysian traits that I loath most is the one about 'just because they makan more garam, everything and anything they do must be absolutely correct and be adhered to.
1) Malaysians like to delay stuff until last minute.
2) Malaysians are rude on the roads. Lots of figure pointing (up) and @#$%& words flushing out.
i absolutely detest this, raises my blood pressure by a few mm/hg.
accidents happen on 1 side of the road. traffic slows on that side as they swerve to avoid the halted vehicle(s). then you'll see tow trucks converging there like ants to sugar. strangely, the other side of the road which had nothing to do with it, will be jammed up too. stop and gawk, and mayb copy down some 4d number.
dont let me get started on malaysian lrt habits. if u see a glowering female in the lrt, that would be me.
hi Patrick,
one "explanation" for the opening of car doors to pay toll / get toll ticket: most of us drive proton, right? and how many people's automatic windows kaputted within the first year? And so expensive to replace, right? Easier to just open the door, maah! :p
and something on q-jumpers: the other day I was waiting to hand in my pass at Wisma Putra to get my IC back. The guy in front of me was filling up the log book to get a pass. Sure, he was slow, but hey, I'm patient. Then some b*gger just walks up to the counter and hands *his* pass, and the b*gger guard hands him his IC instead of aking him to queue up. I was too stunned to say anything. Then *another* guy walked up, did the same thing. Malas nak tegur lah, if even the guard doesn't see anything wrong with q-jumping! So , am I exhibiting non-Malaysian traits by actually being polite, patient, and willing to queue??
For some reason, every car I've owned had a busted driver's seat window. So i HAVE to open the damn door to even pakai touch n go....
And what about those drivers who ter-miss their lane on the highway, and instad of going slightly further up to U-Turn, decide to GOSTAN all the way back to the turning they just missed? If I didn't sayang my car so much I'd have just rammed them just for the heck of it.... hehehe
Psst... letting you know that the final section of "Lies... " has been posted. :)
wht abt hurrying to close the lift door, even though you know someone is just a few feet away..I caught it first and it is mine eh???
another one i can think of, park and stop as you wish, like your grandfather's road, even if you hold up 1 mile of traffic behind you. too lazy or too cheap skate to go look for a proper parking lot, so just stop your car right in front of the shop/stall/bank (even if it's a double yellow line). after all just a while mah. and of course, you won't be booked for such trivial things in bolehland.
"I am sure we have all read about the abortion of the scenic bridge idea but the fine print also informed us that 100 million Ringgit will be paid in compensations to the contractor"
patrick.... i know i quoted only part of the sentence and the main issue that everyone's discussing here is the typical malaysians' traits but couldn't help myself but comment on the cancellation of the bridge construction. that 100M ringgit in compensation is much much more reasonable than having to tolerate singapore's desperate plea for sand and airspace.
i study in segamat, last week my friends and i were flabbergasted when we heard some weird fighter jet-like-sound. as far as i'm concerned we've got none army airbase in johor. yes i'm being paranoid... but the plane sounded like it flew just inches above our heads and there's no reason why i shouldn't believe it belongs to singapore.
the plane may or may not be that of singapore. but if we to tolerate the demand just for the sake of building the bridge, better not build it. the bridge is to benefit them and the only share malaysia get is less contamination to the johor strait. but since it's very typical of singapore to be unreasonable, they want other things in consideration as well.
i wouldn't want to have to deal with the noise singapore's fighter jets make everytime they're practising just for the sake of having a bridge.
I find this bridge issue a total joke! Before this RM 100 million joke, one of our brilliant minister stating that if Singapore does not agree to the bridge, Malaysia will nonetheless construct it and it will become a scenic bridge. What arrogance and where is the arrogance now.
Instead RM 100 million is to be paid out to the contractor as the government now decided not to proceed with the project.
Firstly, should not the government sorted out all issues with Singapore before making a decision on spending our money! We shall not even go into the scenic bridge issue. Secondly, since the issues with Singapore has not been sorted out, should not there be a clause in the contract with the contractor which allows the contract to be terminated without penalty on the government in the event we cannot come to an agreement with Singapore? I am sure any lawyer worth his salt advising the government should have thought of such a scenario.
But as all Malaysian mega projects, the losers are us, the great Malaysian tax payers!! Such obscene amount of money should be spend on providing government housing for the poor, providing scholarships to the poor and maybe could be even used to provide petrol subsidy. I totally don’t understand as on the one hand, the government says sorry Rakyat, we just cannot afford to subsidize your petrol anymore, which is fair enough but then we see how our money is being used to construct some scenic bridge which now will no longer materialize (thank goodness) and we got to pay RM 100 million to the contractor.
What about the poor people living in unimaginable conditions?? I am sure with RM 100 milllion we can construct the much needed public housing for them. Are we being fair in flushing such amount of money to one company?
I wonder who is having the last laugh… the contractor for the windfall he will receive or Singapore for our pure poor decision making and planning. All I know is we Malaysians are the ones with the tears.
p/s: sorry for the long comment but i am so pissed off with the great government of ours.
Wahhh, RM 100 million for the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex (CIQ) for no one to use ah ? Very CHIC liao !!!
The bridge design actually not good with the curves. Assuming KTM going to jalan on that "scenic bridge", better to be straight than curvy lor.
Osso for adiba, if Malaysia kena attacked (hypothetically) by a neighbouring country and we need air support, better to call on Singapore and Brunei air force to help. They are trained by Israeli and British RAF respectively. Friend, friend, better to be sama sama.
Hi Adiba. Sure I agree that it is a prudent thing to do to cancel the project. What I am not pleased about is how the whole thing doesn't seem to have been thought through properly before money was committed and spent. Singapore fighter jets flying over your study place ah? How can they disturb Malaysian students studying? Don't they know that we are merely preparing the future Singapore work force? Sorry. Couldn't resist that.
Yes arkane. That is very Malaysian indeed. Illegal and just downright inconsiderate parking. And the drivers don't seem to be bothered that they are holding up a long line of traffic and when you pass them they pretend to be a) sleeping b) reading the paper c) talking on the handphone.
Immigrant, Malaysians are competitive people, right? I'm here first. I'm closing the lift door now. Sprint for it. If you can. Hahahahaha...
eyeris, that is sooooo Malaysian. Ooops missed la. Reverse back to the exit lor. Doesn't matter that it is a major highway and traffic is zipping by at 110 kph. After all, don't you know that all Malaysian drivers have a spare life in their office drawer?
Thanks lynne for reminding me that the serviceability or lack of of Proton power windows is probably what caused those drivers to open their doors. Being tolerant of queue jumpers by keeping quiet and not standing up for what is right is a very Malaysian trait, lynne. So don't worry you're still one of us.
If Vijay Singh had gotten his Malaysian PR status he probably would be a second rate pro at the RSGC by now.
Yes, there is a column in The Star spotlighting Malaysians who have made good abroad. Why? To give other Malaysians the impetus to do well enough to eventually EMIGRATE.
Hey lizzam, Jessica Alba played an Iban girl??? What you talking about? Details please.
One hand on the handphone, another hand picking nose,turning anywhere he likes, parking anywhere he likes, in fact, driving anywhere he likes.....
Guess who?
how true~
bolehland drivers like to open car door to do their biz like pay toll and so on... this is the well trained result of pro-tun, the well known of making malfunction electric windows...
"RM2 sahaja sehari"?! this is how the non-malay speaks/writes better malay than the malay... patrick is a non-malay... he speaks/write very well in malay and also english... i really respect him very very much...
We Malaysians love to "use other people's buttocks as our face"
Best example - Sarah Marbeck
Ms Marbeck's butt (and entire body)
David Beckham's face
Nuff said.
hahaha..funny...funny and shameful too. Let's see. Ummm...I don't understand why a motorcycle user has to park his bike in a car parking lot when they can park it at the motorcycle area. Some more at places where people fight for parking lot more than anything else.
Our parliment also a place to make jokes. No need zoo anymore...hahaha
jessica alba-the sleeping dictionary.
she played the role of an iban girl.wahau..raunchy ooo...
i watched it on the first day i arrive here in nz 2 years ago.
go check it out patrick!
sherrina: Don't you just wish you could just ram the motorcycles off the parking space? I know I do. I'm just waiting to get my 4x4 and mod it with an extra large kangaroo bar!
Oh Jessica Alba was in the Sleeping Dictionary. Didn't know that. I auditioned for that movie but didn't get a role. I don't think I will waste my time or money on getting a copy of the movie. It bombed big time.
ya dancing bunny, it's true. We even laid claim to that Marbeck woman. Anything for a bit of global attention.
Hey Patrick
You sure are showing your age when you starting looking back or looking around and wondering why things have changed so much (usually in the wrong way). But then again, I am not much younger and I think it is a sign of getting old (a kinder word would be 'maturity') that we start to do such things. Now I start to understand why my Dad, like most old folks, would often say 'Back in my days....' - because I am saying that to my son nowadays too!
I told you that I didn't plan on starting a blog because I am already fully occupied with my forum at malaysian motortrader but your blog is rather enticing - more down to earth subjects than Jeff Ooi's - that I just must add come comments.
So you'r talking this time about All Things Malaysian and one of the things that has often struck me is the way people stand in front of a lift door. In most other countries, people will stand away from the door so that those inside can exit easily. But here, you see those outside right up at the door waiting for it to open and they will even push to get in while people are getting out!
What is it with these people? Are they scared of missing the ride up or down? Scared of being crushed by closing doors?
I usually stand to one side and sometimes feel foolish because while I let people other, the other oafs are charging in and then it fills up.
Now that we have the LRT, same thing... and in an attempt to educate travellers, the LRT people have painted footsteps on the floor to tell Malaysians where to stand (which means they have to treat travellers like little kids) and also having pictures about the same matter!
Another one that really makes my BP rise (and I must be careful about this at my age) is the way drivers will go right up to a toll booth or carpark booth, hand over the ticket and then start to search for money to pay.
They know they are going to leave the carpark or have to pay toll, so why can't they have the money ready? Instead, it is like "Oh, RM1.50 ah... let me look for the money..." and then they open their handbag, pull out their wallet, search around the dashboard, sometimes drop the coins and then search some more. And then come out with a RM50 note....
Yes, Malaysians have a character of their own and it's not always something to be proud of.
Err...I would like to state that I used to be one of those drivers who open the door to pay toll...my power window rosak-lah!
For the others out there, I guess it's just plain laziness.
burntck... how very true. it drives me nuts when malaysian drivers switch on their hazard lights during a heavy down pour.
what makes it worse is those police escorted motorcades doing the same thing regardless of the weather.
and what about those so called cool looking cars adorned with blue christmas lights and strobe lights as their 3rd brake light.
hahaha...malaysia boleh!
one thing I want to know,what is the etiquette when looking for a parking space in shopping center?
Does the whole row belong to you if you stop and wait there for a space?
What if there is a space that opens up behind you, when someone else drives along and signals for that space? Who has the right to that place?
What really ticks me off is when someone comes in against the flow of traffic and takes the place,while you are following the flow of traffic.......
This just hit me,
Motorists tends to give way to Ambulances, which is GREAT!
...then we follow the Ambulance from behind, bumper-to-bumper with hazard lights on, leading others to think we're concerned relatives trying to keep up with the paramedics infront... hey, they don't call us the best in credit-card frauds for nothin'.
this should sound familiar... calling up a radio show then turn up the volume on the radio to listen to your voice.
~~~geekchic
Patrick, one more celebrity: Guy Sebastian when he became Australian Idol. *gag* Made me want to puke my guts out. What's with them trying to associate every celebrity with Malaysia? So lame until cannot be proud of our own celebrities meh? Got mah, everyday Dewan Rakyat lots of goons out there providing "entertainment"
Patrick,
I've been following your blog for a while but this is my first post. It seems that despite what one may see on the roads, at the LRT, in the shopping malls ... there are actually a lot of people who have a set of brains in their heads. If one didn't read your blog, one could lose hope.
You said "What I am not pleased about is how the whole thing doesn't seem to have been thought through properly...". Come on lah ... you're Malaysian right? Surely you should be used to that by now.
But seriously, the culture of "not thinking" combined with selfishness and laziness (and, dare I say it - thinking that you're more important than everyone else) is all around us. It's not just 100 million ringgit bridges ... take a look at queue-jumping, using hazard lights in rain when your car is working perfectly well, not indicating as you turn, not using your headlights in the dark (the small ones you use instead are called PARK LIGHTS for a reason), not strapping up your helmet, not wearing a seatbelt, driving too close to the car in front of you. I could go on and on...
I use the examples of driving, because no matter where we live or work, most Malaysians have to drive, and this is where our culture displays itself most proudly. But these are only the ones with the most direct effect. You don't strap helmet, you crash, you die. Simple. You're too close to the car in front, they stop suddenly, you die. Stupidly simple.
If we can't grasp the stupidly simple things in life, how are we to expect to achieve the greater things? The same people who spit, snort and throw cigarette butts out their car windows complain about how disgustingly dirty this place is, whether they drive protons or BMWs.
Unfortunately, the people who SHOULD be reading your blog, Patrick, are most likely the ones who aren't (probably don't know what a "blog" is) ... but we talk about them anyway. If nothing else, it gives us a place to vent our frustrations.
Thank you. And good luck to all Malaysians out there with brains. Keep up the good work!
Malaysians like to criticize other Malaysians more vehemently than they do people from other countries. I think criticizing the country and fellow countrymen must be a national hobby or something :) yeah, you really know you're old when you start to grumble about things. I'm starting to feel this way too. One day I'll start a blog just for it.
Dylan Thomas was right huh Patrick ? :)
talk about parking, if you see somebody coming out from a spot, best if you creep slowly cos if he sense that somebody is waiting then its trouble cos it's gonna take forever before they started moving.
emmm... yg highlight and relate those celebs to Malaysia tu pun sapa... bukan media ke?
I pun kadang2 terpaksa buka pintu nak swap my Touch n Go... but not my Proton's mistake... sometimes terjauh sangat la pulak my car from the machine... Nasib la jadi org pendek, tangan pun pendek, so have to u c... have to...
tak de yg bagus ke about malaysia ni? All those are true, but another common thing about Malaysians are we like to highlight all the negatives about ourselves... Merendah diri kot...
Hello mima. Ada bagus ke about Malaysia? Of course ada. Why don't you start by listing some. Please, the food is good here doesn't count okay?
Of late there have been comments about why Malaysians, like me I guess, like to complain about things Malaysian. Instead of what? Saying nice things about Malaysia? Of course, I think like all other Malaysians we are justly proud of things Malaysian. When there are things to be justly proud about. And as good citizens we should make our voices heard when there are things that are not right. True or not? Watch out for some POSITIVE stuff about Malaysia from Patrick Teoh. Soon.
Is maid beating a Malaysian trait??? I should hope not. NO, I don't think we can lay claim to that.
"...Malaysians like to criticize other Malaysians more vehemently than they do people from other countries..." I don't think that is true at all. I criticise things are deserve criticism. Malaysian or otherwise. More vehemently? Maybe. After all this is my country and things that happen, or don't, here affect me and my family directly.
Good comment, Adam. Maybe you're right. Maybe those that are blogged about don't read blogs. However, if enough shit is stirred in blogs the blog readers will not stand idly by the next time somebody jumps queue, spits out of their car window, sleeps on the job, does a job badly etc etc. etc. In our own little way, Adam. In our own little way.
this is one the best issues that i've read so far to come.
Mind the 1st issue that u stated tho, this normally happen to malaysian-made cars, and to be excact, Proton cars, just any Proton cars. Even how they make the car more modern (so they say), they still can't seem to rectify the driver window problem. And being people who drives one of Proton's cars, after the window go kaput, and sent for mending, the feel of phobiatic still lies in them not to use the window. and choose the door instead.
And man, the list of "Proud of Malaysian"? That hillarious. Guy Sebatian from the aussie idol (1st season) winner. and because he has a klang born mother (or was he born there), he's entitled for his song to be in one of the local radio station's "Malaysian English Top 10" chart show. that's totaly bogus. for goodness sake, he don'e even know how durian looks like and here half of the malaysian citizens want to claim him a a proud malaysian product?
For these issues, it could go on and on and on for years maybe till 4040... :p
awsome for you to brought up this topic up Patick~! thx~~~!
I agree with you that the bridge fiasco is best put to rest once and for all.At the end of it, malaysia came out with a very black eye and a laughing stock for all at the amaturish way it was handled.
That's what we get when we have clowns dealing with the smart cookies from singapore.They thought playing some golf and makan kechil of nasi lemak and teh tarik would kowthim the singaporeans.
When malaysia knew that sand and airspace was not possible and singapore was not willing to budge from their stand,we should have just closed shop and withdrawn.
Instead, the malaysian side went ahead and spent hundreds of millions knowing the chances of singapore willing to negotiate was slim.Not their money what?Rakyat's money can burn lah!( Another malaysian trait,right?)
Now we learn that part of the completed CIQ complex needs to be demolished for a straight road to the bridge.More millions burnt!!
Can we start a signature campaign to have all those involved in making utterly stupid decisions hung from the twin towers?
Direct contact and indirect contact with others.
DO you all realise that WE MALAYSIAN only practice our so-called "manner" when we are in a direct contact with others? on the other hand, malaysian are only "KNOW HOW TO SHY" when there is a face to face contact?
for instance, talk about traffic, Malaysian driver, love to "cut-q" and well, they are "daring" to do so because they have no "face-to-fact" contact with other drivers. Cars window and the distance are the barriers..
In the internet, we talk whatever we like, even condemning people... but what if it is a face-to-face chat?
When we critic about others, "tuk pui cek" , you dare to do it face-to-face? (exceptional case for over raged people)
don't you think so, it is a time for us to do thing face-to-face, malaysian, try to be brave,!!!
Zee kin, that's true. Anonymity gives false courage.
Patrick - a positive Malaysian trait - very generous when it comes to donating money for a worthy cause. Eg. when the needy lacks funds for medical treatment.
This post is good fodder for my upcoming book - a sequel to Life's Like That - Scenes from Malaysian Life. Some of the points I've covered in Life's already or while others will make it to the sequel. There are some nuggets here that I can use. Thanks!
You're in the first car that's stopped at a traffic light in the right-most lane. Just before it changes green a wanker swerves in front of you from somewhere on the left and does a U-turn. You slam on the brakes and miss his sorry arse by a fraction.
On the subject of U-turns, didn't it use to be illegal to do them at traffic light intersections? Coppers use to supplement their incomes by waiting in nearby bushes... anyway, recently they gave up the struggle. Most KL intersections now have a legal U-turn sign posted on the traffic light.
And don't forget motorcyclists coming from all angles of the road, including the walkway and suddenly leap in front of you and if they die, you, the car driver is at fault?
We can't be looking for the motorcyclist jumping in front of you from the top, can you? Ayo...
When they come together, they look like a mob of motorcyclist trying to run you down. Scary!
And they don't even have to pay for road tax and I suppose they don't have insurance. So our car goes scratched and has a few lekuk here and there and we end up paying for that! A bigger SIGH!
saint-seiya, a guy smoking at the fuel pump while filling petrol??? I'm glad you decided to get out of there. He must have left his house with his spare life that day. All Malaysians have one you know.
Anonymous, I kinda like to think that the bridge "fiasco" as you put it as one guy trying to correct a hideous mistake made by someone else.
Zee Kin, for years when I was on Radio 4 with my morning talk show I was accused of not being Malaysian because I chose to confront things head on. My question to the bosses was "What is the Malaysian way of doing things?" Was it to smile hypocritically in front of someone and then let loose when that person is turned or out of earshot? Was that better? The bosses never came up with an answer. Stabbing each other in the back seems to have become a Malaysian trait as well.
Lydia, glad that you found some fodder for your book. We shall expect royalties:-)
U-En, in case you haven't noticed Malaysian roads are in a state of total anarchy. Have been for years.
Well yes, it's illegal to make U-turns when there is no U-turn sign, but Malaysian roads, being what they are, sometimes we have no choice but to make an illegal U-turn. Otherwise, we have no way of getting to where we want to go. Happens in Subang Jaya and Puchong. Maybe in other places as well.
Patrick, I like the phrase "All malaysian has a spare life"...Very humiliating.
With the kind of "malaysian attitude" we have, personally I don't we could achieved vision 2020.
To be a developed country, it is not about GDP, it is about people mindset, thinking and civilization. With our "tak apa", "boleh lah", etc attitudes, we will never fulfill the dream of becoming a developed nation.
One odd thing about Malaysians is that we tend to put on fake accents to accomodate Caucasians (white people, meh) in general. Even if they mean to sound somewhat international or to just get the message across, but heritage/slang is pride.
However, one good thing about us Malaysians is that we tend to break the ice very easily when compared to people of other countries. We can make a stranger feel very welcome in a group. Couple that with a mamak session and voila, we ordain a new buddy.
"A truly Malaysian trait" if you observed closely.. can be 'a truly chinese trait'. being a chinese and having the opportunity to mingle with lot of races in my life, really i note that it's the chinese that always do those 'malaysian unique way of doing things', sad to say :D Oh ya i open my car door everytime i pay my toll, get my parking ticket.. because i'm driving farking proton, sue me :)
Sorry, bongkersz can't agree with you there. These Malaysian traits are cross racial, cross cultural. Just Malaysian. A farking Proton? Is that new? How many cc ah?
oh ya just yesterdayi witnessed an accident happened right in front of me. A lady driver/auntie beat the red light and knocked an old man on motorbike. Guess what, 1st thing the auntie did when she came out from her car was to check her car..touched the plate number.. what the hell happened to our moral value :)
Patrick:
*** IMPORTANT ERRATA ***
In reference to the part about Malaysian drivers like to open car windows to pay toll: It is NOT due to laziness.
It's due to the Proton windows BREAKING DOWN even after repeated motor replacements.
I can't wind down my Wira window properly. And tens of thousands of Proton car drivers face the same problem - check any forum: autoworld.com.my, zerotohundred.com, or google.
It would be MORE lazy to use the power window. But we CAN'T open the dang thing.
Please edit the post! If I open my car door because the window won't come down, I wouldn't like your blog readers to look at me funny.
They can look at me funny for other things, but not when it's all our national car maker's fault.
2 more things about Malaysians:
(1) if you go shopping, the salesgirl will be standing right behind you wherever you go. I am now beginning to tell them off - "tak payah ikiutlah..saya takde curik barang punye"
(2)the parking lots in front of tyre/ car audio shops are reserved for their customers only. Park there and sure enough you will find a few scratches when you return.
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