Please mind your manners

Today I got a rude reminder of how uncivic-conscious Malaysians are. Coming back from the office on the LRT, I spied a seat and made a beeline for it, only to discover that some person (maybe a kid?) had left an empty paper cup that had contained pink syrup water which subsequently dribbled all over the seat. No one had bothered to pick up the cup and wipe the seat so now no one could sit there. Better yet, on the opposite row of seats, was wet with droplets of water. Who's betting that it was done by the same person?

We can aspire to have the best facilities and all, but if we still have a 'kampung' mentality, it will all be for nothing.

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.

You'd better Visit Malaysia 2007... or else

Isn't it a shame that when the government is working so hard (sic) to promote 2007 as Visit Malaysia Year, we have Malaysians destroying the image of our country in our visitors eyes? A report by the Star today said that a rogue taxi driver and three friends attacked a Canadian teen who refused to take his taxi when the driver did not use the meter. o.0 How unscrupulous can you get?

In the first place, the taxi driver shouldn't have attempted to make a quick buck off an unsuspecting tourist (not sure if the Canadian teen is a tourist or not!) by refusing to use the meter. In fact, the taxi driver should use the meter, seeing as how the rates were just recently increased.

Then, the Canadian teen was probably too smart for his own good. At night in Petaling Street area, you wanna get moral and argue / tell-off with the taxi driver for not using the meter? Uh-oh. Not a smart move in any country, I'm thinking.

Anyway, the Malaysians were so lembik that even though they outnumbered the teen four to one and were armed with batons and bamboo sticks, they didn't manage to do any damage beyond minor scrapes and bruisers. That teen must have been some brawler!

What a lovely advertisement for Visit Malaysia Year 2007, don't you think?

Did the Malaysian system fail the public?

That surely must be the question asked by many as details slowly came to light in the wake of the express bus tragedy in Taiping which took 19 lives, one of the worst Malaysian road accidents ever. I myself am asking:

~ How did the bus driver manage to get away with 13 summonses totaling RM1,980? Doesn't the JPJ or police check when the summonses were issued? I thought just last year there was a highly publicized campaign wherein those who did not pay outstanding summonses would be arrested. I still remember seeing photos of people who were arrested and promptly paid up. It is said that TWO arrest warrants were issued for the driver. But he was still a free man the day he drove dangerously and killed 18 others along with him.

~ Why wasn't the bus driver's license revoked for his numerous offences? It was reported in the Star that he had been driving dangerously for over six years, broken nearly every law - speeding (in five different vehicles), obstructing traffic, driving without a seat belt, not producing a driving license, driving a bus without a permit - and racked up enough demerit points to suspend his license. How did he manage to renew his license? Surely it would have been easy to detect this in the JPJ / police system and revoke his license. But no action was taken. Why? Because the demerit point system has more holes in it than Swiss cheese, allowing you can get away scot free by: a) not paying your summonses and thus reducing the opportunity of seizing your license; and b) you can CHOOSE not to surrender your license after it has been suspended or cancelled. Then what is the demerit point system for? For show?

~ Why did the bus company hire him and keep him employed? Evidently the profit of the company is more valuable than lives, even the Transport Workers Union agrees in this article here. I am sure no action was taken against the driver for his summonses because he was still driving around for the company. This is pure neglience on the company's part. Are they now to be held accountable for the consequence of letting the driver loose on the road?

~ Did the driver think he was Superman? A survivor of the accident said that the driver was speeding, which by all conclusions, caused the fatal crash because the bus in question had faulty brakes (it failed Puspakom inspection FOUR times!). It has been repeated numerous time in tv adverts - speed kills. Evidently this message is not getting through to the Malaysian public.

~ Why did the bus company allow the vehicle to be used when it was evidently not roadworthy? Again, I'm thinking of profit over practicality. And the bus had 19 police summons with 79 JPJ summons to boot. It should be off the road!

I agree with this opinion article that said the blood of those killed in the accident is on the hands of the JPJ and the police. Had they done just a bit more to take the bus driver off the road (and the bus as well as the bus company), these victims would still be alive today.

As usual, after any incident or tragedy that occurs, all the politicians and officials will be pointing the finger at each other and refusing to take the blame that is rightly (or wrongly!) appropriated to them. I don't want to hear the blame game, I just want to know what is being done to make Malaysia a safer place for all of us.

They fight, we lose

After the announcement by the Petrol Dealers Association of Malaysia (PDAM) that they will close at 10.00pm by hook or by crook, suddenly the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs ministry (DTCA) has become vocal about the subject. They issued a stern warning to the petrol dealers not to close as this would affect the economy and they have no right to make such a decision without consulting the Government. It also quotes Pan Malaysian Lorry Owners Association president Er Sui See and Federal Territory and Selangor Taxi Operators Association president Datuk Aslah Abdullah as saying that the closure of petrol stations at 10pm would only drive up transportation costs and affect taxi drivers' income. I can just see the domino effect - lorries and taxi drivers hike their costs and fees because of the scarcity of petrol stations. The consumer is the end one affected by all this bickering.

Then the following day, DTCA says that petrol dealers who cannot take the high cost of operating a dealership should give up as there are many others waiting to take their place. I agree with this point. If you can't hack it, quit and let others who are willing to take it have a go at it.