Salam 2-Malaysia

So… I said I believed in a 2-Malaysia. I mean, why not?

For example in local news, there’s the Sabah & Sarawak (let’s shorten it as S&S) section (though it does make us feel special).

In the address of Belanjawan, the issues are always divided into 3--for Semenanjung, S&S (well, Sabah gets more money I guess, sometimes?)

The prices of books, magazines, newspaper and other consumer products are different for Semenanjung and S&S, always S&S having the poorer end of the bargain. Yes, prices are hiked up over here! What, u guys think we make “that much money”?

Well, these are just a few random observations on my part!

There have been other stuffs to contribute to this. And it all started when I was watching the 6 o’clock news, which ends with “Salam 1Malaysia”. And I just saw the section dedicated to S&S.. They basically divided up the news that way, so shouldn’t the news end with “Salam 2Malaysia” then??

Oh yeah, another contributing factor. My parents are from Johor & Sarawak. I grew up both in Selangor and Sarawak (though I call myself a full-blooded Sarawakian!), sangat lupa daratan!

So the story goes.. My relatives from the mainland (Semenanjung!!) would ask us, “bila lagi balik Malaysia?”
Hello!! I am in Malaysia! Just not in “your” Malaysia!!
Thus the need for 2Malaysia!!

And the other day, my parents were talking about their wedding in Johor (wayyyyy back in 1974), how the kampong ppl crowded at my grandparents’ house to see how a Sarawakian (i.e. the Father) looked like.

Do they have long ears? Do they have visible tattoos? Do they speak foreign languages (imagine the clucking sounds made by the aborigines on Discovery Channel)? Do they carry with the parangs to chop of head i.e. headhunters? Do Sarawakians even wear clothes?? Do we still live on trees?

YES WE DO!


Sekian, Salam 2 Malaysia!

p/s: Pls don't take this seriously.. In a way, the 1Malaysia concept is a good thing. Hidup Perpaduan!!

1 Malaysia!

I think the 1 Malaysia is bull.. Well, I take tht back, I don't think we Malaysians (or it might just be me) are ready for that concept.

I think it should be...

2 MALAYSIA

1. Peninsular Malaysia
2. Insular Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak to be exact)

Dwell on this concept! And I might jut be rajin enough to discuss this..

"Now, now.. Watch ur mouth!"

"Puk*mak miak tok, canne kau boleh hilang!" This is one of the few sentences I remember as a child walking at Pasar Minggu, a mother scolding her own child in front of a group of ppl.

WORD CHOICE: puk*mak, why would u swear on your own pussy or how do u name it?

But to think on this issue again, why is such word a bad word? Word like S.H.I.T, F.U.C.K, cibai, lanchau, puki, etc... I mean, they don't mean bad things, or do they?

So what qualifies as a swear word? S.H.I.T means "ship high in transit" (but refers to of course shit/dung), F.U.C.K stands for "for unlawful carnal knowledge", cibai, lanchau, puki is a reference towards human's private parts. What's so bad with these words? Why are these words "blocked out" on Malaysian tv for example? Why?? Maybe because they were taboo "back then"?

Well, I don't use swear words on a freuqent basis, so that's a good start right.

My opinion on this? I don't think it's bad, maybe just inappropriate. You wouldn't want your kids to say all those things now do u?

So as I use to say to friends who do swear "now, now.. Watch ur mouth!"

Confessions of a Facebook Addict!

What do I do the first thing I get to the office?

I switch on the computer and get on facebook! Like OMG, am I that pathetic?

What is the first site I go to once I open up Mozilla? Facebook of course..

What do I do on Facebook? What does one do on Facebook for hours a day?

LOL... It's sad isn't it, when the high points of my day would be having notifications on Facebook!

So, quick note to self for 2009: Don't Facebook!!

Luckily I'm not one of those person who actually take pictures of themselves and post them (if this is somewhat offending, I'm sorry--siapa yg mkn cili dia yg trasa pedas!).

More new yera resolutions... Do I have any? Oh yeah, I want to be those super skinny Kate Moss model type, but I love food too much to actually get there! Oh well, and I'm too cheap to go spend money on a new wardrobe! 2009, here I come!

Some Malaysians are Nice..

What do ppl who has lived outside of Malaysia complain about the people here?

U know for some reason I can't remember much of my complaining, but one of them could be the driving and the lack of manners, and sometimes the heat.. But it's part of who I am now.

I think an earlier blog was about how I found Malaysians to be rude, but putting that aside, some Malaysians are pretty decent people! Here are some examples that somehow makes me proud as a Malaysian.. LOL!

So I lost my IC when I went to the weekly wet market with my parents. I knew I lost it there, and I didn't make a fuss out of it. I didn't want to hear the nagging, the "responsibility talk" yada yada yada.. But that's not the point! Some random guy found my IC, and was so sweet and responsible enough that he actually sent it to my house by hand! Meanwhile I was contemplating on how to break the news to my parents. There, no need to tell them, they already know!!

And I'm not the only one apparently who has been in similar situation. A friend of mine lost his IC and someone actually returned it to him at his house (and his house is like dalam ceruk mana entah!)

A different event was me trying to help by just being there for a friend whose tire went pancit. I have limited knowledge on how u go on about changing a flat motorcycle tire. So here we were contemplating what to do. And this young man asked if we needed help. My friend, being a bit skeptical said nothing, so I said, "yeah.. We have a problem. That tire there is flat!" He offered to take the wheel off, and bring it to a tire shop to get it fixed! I'm like.. Is there actually such nice ppl in Malaysia? But I think I'm lacking the doubting/pessimism of ppl of a typical Malaysian.

But he came back with the tire (if anyone was wondering)!!

See, there are nice ppl in Malaysia!!

U speak English or not? Ur Malay sounds funny!

So here I was sitting at home with conjunctivitis, and wanted to share my experience with another airline: Etihad.. But it got me thinking, why am I so critical on airlines? I reread my blog entries, and most are on airlines, and I just realize how I wrote back then and now are kind of different..

That's when I came to the conclusion: My English is getting worse!

Oh well.. Must be from lack of practice and use. Huhuhu.. The other day also, I was chatting up with a new found friend of mine, and we spoke in Malay. I keep on tersasul cakap Melayu Sarawak. So I changed my medium to English.. This is so against my principal tapi what to do kan? I mean I speak Malay at home and it's my mother tongue, so why can't I carry a conversation in Malay? If I speak in English, it'll b mostly English, and no ketersasulan.

So as a personal observation I think I can only speak Malay to family members and maybe old friends who I'm comfortable with. Speaking Malay is so hard especially with people u just met, what with how to address urself and other people. Whether to use I/U, aku/kau, saya/awak, or the 3rd person calling thingy.. Arghh, so confusing! At least with Sarawak Malay I can stay safe with kamek/kitak.

My cousins from Johor says that there's a distinction between the Semenanjung Malay speakers and Sarawakians. We (Sarawakians) speak Malay softer. Do I? Maybe I speak softer from lack of confidence? I know for one that my sister don't speak Sarawak Malay, but she does speak in a more softer well-mannered way, so good for us then?

Oh, and I was also chatting up with a friend back in USA. "I got red eye," now how Malaysian is that, as supposed to "I have the red eye"? LOL! Oh no, my English is getting more Malaysianized by the day!! And my Malay is getting Sarawakinized too!!

I guess I'm embracing my culture and language by the day then.. I just hope my English and Malay won't be too bad in a few months and years to come!

I work...

So here I was, at work and trying to read up on "stuff I should know" as a mechanical engineer graduate.. And I go, hey I know this, or perhaps I've seen this before.. And yes, I've learned about them, took exams on them, wrote papers on them.. But what do they all mean?

I rack my brains and can't remember what role they played in the whole equation.. Sad isn't it? But there u go.. A waste of a 4-yr degree study. And I believe I'm not alone on this one.. How many of u read the paper, magazines, or even watch tv and go on saying "Hey, I learned about this before!" but when asked about it, u don't know a single thing!