How do you deal or interact with a person who seems to be perpetually in a sour mood and doesn’t seem to make effort to be pleasant?

In an ideal world, or rather, my normal reaction would be to ignore this type of people and minimize contact with them. Unfortunately, I don’t live in an ideal world and my normal reaction would not work in this situation. It’s one of those things where I don’t have a choice but to put up with it.

But man, sometimes I feel like saying “Does it hurt you to smile or be a bit more pleasant?”. Sheeeeshh…

Recently, someone close to me advised me not to publicly comment on the happenings in the country, lest it would get me or my family in trouble.

This infuriated me and I feel that it is wrong in so many aspects that I was quite speechless when I first heard it.

Firstly, what exactly is wrong with commenting on the happenings in MY country? I am a citizen, I contribute my share by paying my taxes duly and fully, I follow the country’s rules and regulations as every sane citizen does, so I think I have every right to comment on the happenings in my country.

Secondly, everything that I comment on is nothing new. Race issues? You read it in the news all the time. Incompetency issues? You read it in the news all the time. The whole saga about non-Malays being called pendatangs and being told to go back to the land of our ancestors? Hallo?! This has been going for eons and I doubt it will ever end until the entire country has a major attitude shift. So we have to live with all these things but it doesn’t mean that we should just sit quietly and swallow everything in silence.

Thirdly, and this is the one that infuriates and disappoints me the most, is that the people advising me to stop commenting publicly about issues happening in our country are the very same people who have comments about what’s wrong with our country but are afraid to air them out in public because they are afraid of what “might” happen.

I do not understand this at all.

What is the point of complaining about the things that are wrong when you don’t stand up for what you believe in?
What is the point of complaining about the things that are wrong when you don’t take action to try to change things?
What is the point of complaining about the things that are wrong when you are afraid of the very thing that you’re so aggravated about in the first place?

I am just so angry about this whole thing because I feel like I’m being told NOT to stand up for what I believe in. And it’s not like I did anything extraordinary. I was just sharing some links to news (which anyone can access if they want to, without my help) and commenting on them. Plenty of people do that. But I’m not doing it because others are doing it; I do it because I feel that something is worth sharing and to provoke some cognitive and analytical thinking. Which is something a lot of people lack, I observe.

I’m not writing this to get any negative comments about the “advisor”, so please don’t do that. I am writing this to show that the way things are being run in this country i.e. the fear that is instilled in people just for talking about certain topics, I’m experiencing it firsthand now.

Because this is exactly how they want us to feel. Fear. Fear of saying the “wrong” thing (who defines what is right or wrong? Should there even be such a definition? Why can’t we talk about anything and everything?) and what could happen to people who say the “wrong” things.

And it is making me angry as hell.

If I don’t stand up for what I believe in, no one is going to do it for me. And by allowing this, I will be forever cowed and oppressed by the very people I despise.

This is NOT how I want to live my life : forever in fear of what I say or do.
And I do not intend to shut my mouth when I feel like commenting about any injustice I see or read about.

“The Malays and bumiputeras do not want to be given only table scraps. We also want the main course of the economic stake,” said the veteran politician.

So says the Perkasa dude who seems to be completely off his rocker, based on the pictures that are published of him in the media. Seriously, have you seen pictures of him? He looks deranged!

First and foremost, I think the usage of the bumiputera term is grossly inaccurate because based on reports, it seems that the REAL bumiputeras have not been getting what they are entitled for. And personally, being Malay doesn’t automatically qualify one as bumiputera, if you go by the pure meaning of “sons of soil.”

And, if you want the main course, WORK for it! Isn’t it enough that so many ‘privileges’ have been and still are being handed to your people (since you want to play the race game) on a gold platter for years?

What? Scared that your ‘special privileges’ might be taken away? Scared to have to actually WORK to get what you want? Time to join the real world!

If you want something, you can bloody well put in the hard work to get it like the rest of the world and stop whining all the time! I’m so sick of reading/hearing about them crying and yelling whenever someone mentions anything about the NEP! Like, “Don’t you dare question the NEP because you are not Malay nor bumiputera.” *pukes and barfs* HALLO?! It is MY hard-earned tax money that is being used to support some of the likes of you lazy $#@%!!!

Gawd, sometimes I just feel like slapping these people.

Disclaimer : I’m totally aware that this doesn’t apply to ALL Malays. Unfortunately, the majority shouting the loudest seem to be coming from this incompetent bunch, and it doesn’t help that their voices are the ones being headlined in the news almost everyday.

UPDATE

Was relating this story to Mich during lunch and ranting, and she told me to let it go, he’s an arse. Why? Because he cancelled his MC gig at her friend’s event TWO hours before the event was to go on.

Cancelling TWO hours before the event?! How unprofessional is that?!
It doesn’t matter if there was a valid reason for cancelling; he should have gotten a replacement if he really couldn’t make it for a good reason. But no, Mich’s friend had to end up scrambling to look for another MC at that last hour.

~~~~~

Some time down the road, I’ll probably look back at this incident and reflect on the hilarity and absurdness of the whole situation but right now, I am downright incensed by it all.

At this year’s Malaysian Salsa Festival, I was assisting the Hubs to take some close-up shots of the performances. On the last night, we set up at our usual spot which was in the center back of the room together with James, slightly diagonal from the DJ/audio console.

So we were standing around there, waiting for the event to start (this was before doors were opened for people to take their seats). In strides this local celebrity who was MC-ing the event.

Almost from the start, he was barking orders at people…. “Where’s my mic? Where’s my mic?” I heard from where I was standing. I was thinking to myself “Wow, your parents didn’t teach you how to say ‘please’, is it?” James muttered “You mean you didn’t get the memo to bring your own mic?” LOL! So funny!

Then Local Diva went towards the stage and proceeded to test his mic(s). One of the first things he said was “Is this a bharatanatyam event? Welcome to Temple of Fine Arts” blah blah blah because a lot of the ground crew were Indian. I was thinking, and getting more annoyed at this point “Is this dude kidding? What the hell IS his problem?” He probably thought he was making a smart joke but unfortunately for him, no one was laughing. What a racist arse!

I was, at this point, standing with my back facing the stage because I was already annoyed by his diva-ness and lack of courtesy to the ground crew, and since I know the muka tahi I can have when I’m around people I don’t like, I thought it was best I didn’t show my face.

So there I was minding my own business and fiddling with the camera, not listening nor paying attention to what was going on around me coz it didn’t have anything to do with me and I couldn’t be bothered, when I caught some snippets of “…perempuan yang pegang kamera tu, dia orang Malaysia ke?” and in a condescending tone at that. It didn’t register to me immediately that he was talking about me so I still continued facing the back for a while then I turned around to face the stage (and Local Diva).

Here’s the exchange that happened next (I’m not proud of how I reacted but that was the only thing I could think of at that very moment).

Local Diva : Hey you, girl with the camera. Are you Malaysian? (in the same condescending tone he used earlier)
Me : What do you think? (in the most sarcastic tone I could muster coz the first thing that came to my mind was “Why is this silly man being so rude to me, I didn’t do anything and I have no idea what he’s talking about!)
Local Diva : I don’t know, there are so many internationals here. Why are you so snotty? Malaysians are polite people. (the nerve of this idiot! HE was racist and rude right from the beginning!)… *and he stalked off*
Me : *speechless* (coz I was really speechless, dunno how to react coz he was rude to me in the first place!)

I was fuming by then because not only had he insulted me, he had insulted me with his mic on in front of a whole bunch of people! I continued fuming throughout the night and it totally ruined my mood.

Much later, I learnt that while he was testing the mic, he was asking “Can you hear me” but no one responded to him. That was when he made the comment in Malay about the “perempuan pegang kamera”. I don’t know why he picked on me because there were so many other people there whom he could’ve pick on. Maybe because I had my back to him and him being a celebrity, my theory is that he can’t bear NOT having the full attention of every single person in the room. Or maybe coz I was the only female there who looked like a crew (perempuan pegang kamera ma) so he thought he could pick on a female?

Anyway, when I found out about this, I fumed even more because hello?! How the hell was I supposed to know you were talking to me, you imbecile?! I was not facing you and it wouldn’t have mattered if I were because the room was dark and I couldn’t see nuts, you didn’t specify “Hey camera person, can you please let me know if you can hear me” (I would’ve been willing to help if he had asked politely). Most of all, the audio people were in the room so why the hell didn’t they respond to his highness?! Instead, they just stood there, mute and acting dumb, while I had to take the rap. Argh!! Such incompetence!!

You know what, I was there as a full paying participant and helping a friend out by unofficially assisting to photograph their performance. I wasn’t there as a sound crew NOR did I sign up to get publicly insulted by some local diva aka former newscaster nincompoop.

In hindsight, I reacted rather than responded (we covered this during our teambuilding) and this part I’m not proud of but at that moment, I felt like I was being attacked so my defenses went up and unfortunately, I didn’t handle it as well as I’d like to have imagined. Note to self : Work on responding, not reacting.

Now I know which events to boycott because I know this imbecile will most likely to be invited to MC. Guilty by association, so too bad, I’m not attending any more events by this organizer. If this organizer chooses to get divas to MC their events, they better learn how to manage them.

In conclusion, this is the 2nd unintentional case study of myself that proves I will not “give face” to anyone, I don’t care if s/he is a celebrity or some titled person, if I find that the person is not behaving with integrity and doesn’t show common courtesy to others.

It also strengthens my perception of the rich and famous thus far i.e. they think they are all that just because they have money and fame and expect everyone else to serve them.

I totally agree with the comments on our fixation over titles.

Do not understand why this concept even exists, especially when it can so easily be purchased and abused.

Where these titled people go around flashing their titles to get things done for them, irregardless of cost/inconvenience to others.

What’s worse is that the ‘regular’ folks allow these people to do so. Because either they fear repercussions if they don’t or they hope for ‘special’ handouts or concessions from them.

It’s so disgusting sometimes it makes me sick.

I wish I could do the same thing that these monsters did to this poor defenceless dog, to them. I’m sure they would enjoy it.

I wonder what brings on a migraine coz a splitting headache is what I’ve got right now.

And I am appalled at some people’s complete lack of communication skills. Gawd!

Ow.

I think I finally found out how I got the blister on my finger.

Ironing!

Bah.

After my hen’s night party, Jo was driving me and Gkay home. There was a police roadblock along Jalan Tun Sambanthan (I think that’s the road name), before the YMCA, heading to Brickfields.

For some reason, our car got stopped and Cop #1 comes up to Jo and asks for our identity cards. We gave it to him. We ask Cop #1 why are we stopped and what is the purpose of the check but Cop #1 ignores us. Cop #1 looks at our MyKads and gives mine and Gkay’s back to us but keeps Jo’s and goes to hand Jo’s MyKad to Cop#2. Cop #2 starts taking down Jo’s details from her MyKad. At that point, I ask Jo and Gkay “Wait a minute, why is he taking down your details? I’m gonna ask them when they return your card.”

So when Cop #2 came back to return Jo’s card, we started asking him “Encik nak check apa? Kenapa kereta lain tak dihentikan?” (few cars were allowed to pass without being stopped). Cop #2 says “Jangan risau, kita lakukan check secara rambang saja.” Jo asks “Tapi check apa?” And the moron repeats the same thing! And then he asks for mine and Gkay’s MyKads again! We were grumbling as we handed it over “Tadi polis tu dah check dah, kenapa kena check lagi” and Jo sarcastically remarks “Oh, nak check tengok kita warganegara ke tak, ya? And the moron of a cop still can’t answer what was the EXACT reason for the roadblock except that it was a random check and they are doing it for the sake of the citizens. Oh.my.effing.gawd!

You know, I wouldn’t have minded being stopped if the cops are able to articulate clearly their reason for stopping us and taking down our details. Saying it’s a random check is NOT good enough. Random check for what?

Can someone tell me if I have the right to refuse to hand over my identity card if they can’t tell me exactly what they are checking for? Heck, the information on my identity card is confidential! I don’t care if you are a cop! With all the corruption going on, what’s to stop them from using my details to commit fraud or something?

This country is seriously going down the drain. Sheeesh.

My mom forwarded this to me. It’s very funny, lol!

I suppose everyone of you must have boarded a plane before. Ever encounter any proud and arrogant joker like some sort of “Datuk” or “Tan Sri” shouting at the top of his voice at the check-in counter? Read this one. Very interesting……..especially the last bit ……
THIS SHOULD APPLY TO EVERY AIRLINE DESK ANYWHERE IN MALAYSIA – WHERE EVERYONE HAS SEEN THE “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM” ASSHOLEs everywhere: airports, restaurants, traffic lights……

An award should go to the desk attendant in Sydney some months ago for being smart and funny, while making her point, when confronted with a passenger who probably deserved to fly as cargo.

A crowded Virgin flight was cancelled after Virgin’s 767s had been withdrawn from service. A single attendant was rebooking a long line of inconvenienced travellers. Suddenly an angry passenger pushed his way to the desk. He slapped his ticket down on the counter and said, ‘I HAVE to be on this flight and it HAS to be FIRST CLASS’. The attendant replied, ‘I’m sorry, sir. I’ll be happy to try to help you, but I’ve got to help these people first, and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.’

The passenger was unimpressed. He asked loudly, so that the passengers behind him could hear, ‘DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?’ Without hesitating, the attendant smiled and grabbed her public address microphone: ‘May I have your attention please, may I have your attention please,’ she began – her voice heard clearly throughout the terminal.

‘We have a passenger here at Desk 14 WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHO HE IS. If anyone can help him find his identity, please come to Desk 14.’ With the folks behind him in line laughing hysterically, the man glared at the Virgin attendant, gritted his teeth and said, ‘F.. You!’ Without flinching, she smiled and said, (I love this bit) ‘I’m sorry, sir, but you’ll have to get in line for that too.

LOL!