KL: Good Side, Bad Side, Ugly Side

We can have the best city in the world! We can have up-to-the-minute shopping malls in the world! We can have one of the longest, one of the tallest….but honestly, do we deserved these accolades? We want our city to be a “six- star” city but with the negative publicity we hear so often, now, exactly where do we stand? Remember, we have to earn those stars! We need all city dwellers to cooperate. We need to work for a common purpose. With the right attitude and commitment, this would augur victory for us. Without these attributes, we can all sing “auld lang syne”. Do we know why we are “many stars” behind other Asian cities?

Of late, has anyone out there been taken for a ride by the cabbies who ply the streets in the city? I was one of them. Sometime ago, I flagged down a cab and I paid RM8.00 (according to the meter) when I reached my destination. After my appointment, I again flagged down a cab. That was one ride that I would not forget so easily. That cunning, old fox “robbed” me but not before he took me for a “sight-seeing tour”. What did I do? Nothing! It was best I shut up and “enjoy” the ride. Inside me, I was cursing and swearing till I reached my destination! That tour cost me RM20.00!

Running the meters or giving the receipts makes no difference! Some cabbies, with a blemished reputation for dishonesty, could still manipulate us! There’s no way we can win them. I’m not saying all cabbies are heartless, mean or dishonest. Thank God, there are still many saints around! For those who are out to fleece, the authorities must act fast! Many of us are painfully aware that very little had been done to put a curb on them! If the authorities cannot do anything positive, I would suggest they give these devious cabbies “the licence to cheat” all year round! Action must be taken immediately! We do not want to frighten the foreign tourists nor the locals! We do not want their effrontery behaviour to place us in a bad light! We want everyone to say nice things about this city and us when they go home! Can we do that?

It is always the few black sheep in this industry that give this city a bad name. We want a smooth flow of tourists from around the world. What would they think of our city and us if we disgraced ourselves by our deplorable act of dishonesty? Nowadays news travel very fast! Way too fast! Blame it on the internet…or blame it on ourselves?

It was a good move by the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board to approve 900 new individual licences to the women. Three cheers for the ladies! The men would be in for a hard time, competing with these women. “He-cabbies” must behave at all times when they are driving “she-passengers” and likewise, “he-passengers” must behave when “she-cabbies” are at the wheels. I would not be surprise if some are “dropped” at the police station instead of their destination! This is one “detour” that runs foul of the law!

Let’s take a look at another protrusion of the ugly side of our city. There are still some unscrupulous traders who stoop so low as to cheat on their customers. I feel so ashamed and embarrassed. Their actions reek of greed. There are many and various ways to earn a living in this city. There’s no need to be innately dishonest and cheat to survive! Kuala Lumpur is a veritable goldmine for anyone interested in making an honest living! But does anyone care? There are many vultures that swoop down on “pipits and pigeons” like us. Locals and foreigners alike! We have to fend off these predatory birds at all cost!

Fancy sharks living out of the water in the city? Yes, we’re talking about the loan sharks, the infamous “Ah Longs”. Miraculously, they can survive without “dehydrating” in this city! Why? Let’s leave the guessing game to the authorities. We, the “ikan bilis” cannot do anything about them anyway! The only way to survive is to stay as far away from them as possible. But, sadly, many of the weak-willed, the desperate and the very poor cannot “live without them”. This is not a love story. There would not be any happy ending. And before you make an appointment with these “bankers”, remember their advertising slogan: ‘Today, you got no money, you chase Ah Longs, tomorrow, you got no money, Ah Longs chase you’.

Let’s leave the baddies for now and let’s brood on another type of beast. Have you ever wondered why many people have wafer-thin patience or even none at all? Classical examples are abounding in many nooks and corners in this great city. Motorists and motorcyclists top the list. They are like Dr. Jekyll, a mild mannered man who turned into Mr. Hyde, a crude homicidal maniac once they take to the wheels! Sadly, there are many amongst us. Their atypical and sometimes horrendous driving would drive us nuts!

I’m sure many of us had crossed paths with them at one time or another. Their atrocious and often unpleasant behaviour is always difficult to fathom. Their fatuous behaviour while driving or riding on the roads not only endangers themselves but also other road users. Sometimes we need to take evasive actions in order to avoid collisions with these “road warriors” when we are on the road! I think to be absolutely safe on the road; we need to drive German–made Panzer tanks! Are there any APs for them? OTK, we need your opinion regarding this.

Do you think I’m just pulling your legs if I say there are many impatient clowns who simply cannot wait in line these days? These clowns are notorious for jumping queue and even at the slightest honking; they would show you their menacing red and often “distorted” faces. Some would swear and curse from the safety of their cars. More often than not, their little foibles are usually tolerated by many of us! These “heroes from afar” are nothing but “road sissies” and they only make “eye contact”. But not road bullies! They are very different! They make “body contact”! Always have your running shoes with you, just in case! What if you cannot outrun these beasts? Dial 911. Ask for Steven Seagal. Break a hand here, break a leg there! That’s him!

Go ahead, curse and swear! This city is also well known for its haphazard parking! Some hard-headed drivers always want to “stamp their authority” whenever they want to park their vehicles. These impertinent drivers couldn’t be bothered about others. Their high-handed actions would only aggravate these problems even more! As long as the authorities do not look into these matters with conviction, these drivers would remain as “kings of the road”! And many law-abiding drivers would “see red”. Do the authorities need the “green light” to act on these law breakers? Or are they still in the “amber zone”, waiting? Good, while they are waiting, shall we dedicate a song to them?



If there’s something strange
In your neighbourhood,
Who ya gonna call?
GHOSTBUSTERS

Ghostbusters? There are no ghosts in the city! But there are some slimy and horrible “creatures” on the loose, always trying to lookout for their own species! They want to champion only theirs…and they have a propensity to exaggerate. They have an obstinate streak and are always pigheaded! I find their behaviour very obtrusive…and their profound antipathy towards others, a complete disgrace and completely deplorable! They must have forgotten that we are living in a multi-cultural society and we need and depend on one another to see everyone through. Come rain, come shine, we need to stick together. We must simply ignore their puerile and pugnacious behaviour. At times, I even find their ignorance horrifying! They’re just people with machiavellian motives! Let’s forget them, shall we?

Not so fast! Let’s do the only sane thing everyone would do with these creatures! Obviously, we need to obviate them. These creatures should be tranquilized and in the shroud of darkness, sent to the jungles of Borneo! National Geographic might be interested to film a documentary on them. See how they survive in the wild! See them in their “natural habitat”, coexisting with the orang-utans. But let’s give these creatures an option before we “banish” them! We’re not that cruel are we?

If these creatures want to understand race relations better, I strongly suggest they watch the movie ‘2012’. For the racists and the bigots, maybe they would learn a thing or two! This movie would “hit” them and the “impact” might just “knock” some senses into the thick and stubborn heads of theirs! Please do not degrade yourselves! Degrading is akin to humiliating! We must respect cultural differences! Is that so hard to do?

Here is one shining example. Kudos to the Home Minister for doing another great job! You delivered as promised and when the time comes, they will deliver! That’s a promise. Many “new citizens” are smiling and beaming with pride! They would be eternally grateful to you. This is what 1Malaysia is all about! Regardless of race! Regardless of religion!

I would be more than happy to be into this kind of relationship where I would have no qualms greeting you as ‘Ali’ and you, me, as ‘Baba’. I’m totally against the ‘Ali Baba’ relationship where nothing looks genuine. You used me, I used you! This would be really absurd! This is totally against my principle of race relationship.

We are indeed a lucky lot! We are very fortunate to be able to live peacefully and blend well with the other races. We simply cannot live apart from each other. We must clump and cluster as one! We cannot look down on any one race. We are all Malaysians. There must not be any cold-war attitudes among the races. If we cannot do that, how do we possibly survive the “onslaught of the enemies”? Ask ourselves this: “Can we be victorious without joining forces?” It takes more than a valiant effort to overcome the odds. We must be one! We must be united! And nobody should be left out in the cold! Not now! Not ever! And we must not be emotionally disturbed by some creatures out there that are hell- bent on winning at all cost!

But nothing is more disturbing than to see “alien colonies” mushrooming all over the city! They are practically everywhere. We’re not alone! They can be found in the market-place, in the construction sites and anywhere we can think of! Swift action must be taken to round up those without proper documents and as for the legal ones; they must have all the relevant documents ready every time the authorities inquired about their status. They must produced authentic documents to support their claims! They have to toe the line like anyone of us. They cannot make a nuisance of themselves while in this city. There is widespread public concern about the brazen behaviour of some. A line must be drawn somewhere- they must behave or leave!

Another extremely disturbing news we often hear is regarding the very confident and suave tricksters that are on the prowl in our city. They are the “black magic (wo)man” from the Dark Continent that got some of us frenzied and dancing “to their tune”! Their “dance steps” were so superbly executed that some intellectual eggheads got “conned” away! How could our folks be so gullible, so easily deceived by their dark and sinister motive? One word: “Greed”! Maybe our smart alecs are not so smart after all! Haven’t they heard of the “black money” scam? A most egregious error of judgement of people and an excruciatingly painful experience for those conned! Let them absorbed the painful lesson of their own follies! They would be wiser the next time around!
There is still a cause for concern by yet another very disturbing sight in this city! I’m talking about the unhygienic and dirty eateries many of us patronised. This is not an attempt by me to discredit these eateries. But wouldn’t you be filled with nausea at the sight of rats and sometimes dogs and cats “to keep you company”? The standalone eateries, do they have enough water to wash and clean their utensils and the cook wares? God knows how often they changed their “recycled” water. Every little saved is every little earned! They are not the only culprits. Even some ‘A’ rating eateries are giving us ‘C’ rating services. You may think everything look spick and span in the open. You would be surprised at what goes on “behind closed doors”. “TT anyone?”

Any more surprises? Yes, our city is also famous for her “open air” eateries and with tables and chairs “parked” along the shoulders of the open roads, every patron must keep their eyes and ears opened every time they dined. Fatal accidents had happened before but many people do not learn! Why are actions not taken against the operators of these eateries by the authorities? Could it be that the authorities were welcomed with open arms? Seriously, the authorities must take effectual action immediately. Do not deliberate on what action to take or not to take. Do not sacrifice another life or two before you decide to take action. It would then be too late! You might just end up “picking the pieces”.

Eat if you must, but please remember, your life is more valuable than your stomach! Eat to your heart’s content but do not let anyone “pick up your pieces”. The wisest thing to do is to pick a “safe” eatery. You’d not need to “look right”, “look left” and “look right” again to eat.

My heart sank everytime I see our youths destroying their young lives by indulging themselves in unhealthy activities. Some puffed, some boozed and some puffed and boozed! These are all very harmful activities and they all have a detrimental effect on the body. All of us would like to live to a ripe old age but some chose to shorten “the journey”. We cannot simply draw a veil over their appalling activities. We have to do something positive like restraining their urges but that is not going to be easy. It would take a lot of patience and understanding on our part to place them “on the right track”. Some are rebellious and more often than not, rise up in open rebellion! Our genuine concern, seen as an unwelcome intrusion, would be met with a cruel rebuff!

Sadly, there’s a huge decline of moral standards among the youths of today. Many youths have a moralistic attitude with narrow beliefs and judgements about what is right and wrong. Many of them are readily and easily influenced by the “yellow” culture of the West. Nothing escaped their sharp eyes! They want to enjoy complete freedom to do as they wished! They want a free rein.

Alas, have we become more “westernised”? Sadly our future generations would be at the losing end. Most, if not all, our multi cultures are fast disappearing! We see the gradual disintegration of traditional values our forefathers had so jealously kept. How do we curtail this “bad” western influence that is rapidly seeping into the lives of our people? Some might disagree with me and brush me off as an old goat that’s behind time. Believe me; I’m not against western culture or their customs. Whatever that is good we absorb. It is perfectly alright. But, can you imagine males with “accessories” all over their bodies? I wouldn’t want them for a son-in-law. Would you?

“Hey! Is there anyone who would like to follow me to the hair saloon? Me want to dye me grey hair ‘the colours of the rainbow’. Ha! Ha! Ha!”