Showing posts with label infrastructure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label infrastructure. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Drive, baby, drive


I don't understand Malaysian drivers. They just don't seem to be able to drive properly.

They are slow to react and move their cars when the traffic light turns green.
They think that amber light means speed up and red light means go!
They honk and flash you because you didn't shoot the red light like they would.
They agressively speed up when you signal that you are changing lanes.
They honk and flash you when they think you are driving too slowly.
They honk at you when you (rightly) don't let them muscle their way into the lane.
They agressively tailgate you even in the midst of a traffic jam.
They steal the parking space that you have been waiting for; with your indicator on.
They take their own sweet time getting out of parking spaces.
They park indiscriminately.
They double and even triple park when it suits them.
They harass you to evacuate your parking lot / petrol pump / move out of the junction / roundabout.
They think that the highways are racetracks.
They pimp up their cars until they are unrecognizable.
They love
big-@$$, low-riding exhaust pipes that make it impossible for them to go over roadhumps without slowing to a near complete halt.
They love to tint their car windows black until you cannot see the inside of the car.
They show you the universal finger when it suits them.

Then we have the motorcyclists.

They weave in and out of traffic like wannabe MotoGP participants.
They think they have right of way; all the time.
They shoot red lights frequently or they congregate in the front so that the cars can't move.
They refuse to travel on the motorcycle lanes provided when there is one.
They like to ride in the center of the road at a slower pace than other vehicles.
They seldom use their signal indicators.
They ride in packs known as Mat Rempit to intimidate other motorists.
They'll harass anyone found guilty of accidentally knocking down a fellow motorcyclist.
They are prone to yelling at you when they find they have less space to ride the bike.
They sometimes hit your car or side mirrors to make a point that they are passing by.
They show you the universal finger when it suits them.

Welcome to Malaysian roads.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

The solution to the flood

Whatever will they think of next? Our oh-so-brilliant Malaysian members of parliament (in this case, a senator) have done it again. From previous inspired ideas like chastity belts to prevent rapes from occuring, we now have... relocation to prevent flooding from occuring!

This article in the Star
quotes Senator Dr. Mohd Puad Zarkashi as saying, "Rather than spend billions on flood mitigation, which have yet to prove effective, why not relocate and rename the federal capital Ibu Kota Tanpa Lumpur (Capital City Without Mud)?"

Wouldn't it also incur cost to relocate the federal capital? Furthermore, relocating the capital doesn't solve the problem of the floods which will still continue to occur in KL. It's just a diversion to draw one's attention away from the flooding because then KL would no longer be the capital city and thus, conveniently ignored.

I call this... Just Being Malaysian.