My original plan for this blog is for it to be light-hearted, funny, and basically a platform for me to express the things that I find amusing or interesting (regardless if anyone reads my blog or not). However, today I will stray off a little to vent my growing frustration at my government who seems to go from bad to worse at an alarming rate.
May I point you to two news articles:
Article A:
Government decides to bring forward 'floating' price mechanism.Article B:
Najib: No more fuel rebates if you don't appreciate them.Take note that both these articles are published on the SAME day.
Ok, now let's play a game of "SPOT THE BULLSHIT".
Article A: Abdullah said in a statement yesterday the Cabinet decided to bring forward the “floating” price mechanism for fuel after considering the drop in global oil prices over the past few weeks as well as higher inflation in July.Article B:Najib added that the decrease was not the market price but only a further reduction in the fuel price.Wojiaojoe: So, did the government reduce the price due to the drop in global oil prices (Abdullah) or because the government just wanted to be nice and reduce the price? (Najib)
Article A: Abdullah also expects the prices of goods to fall.Article B: On whether the reduction in fuel price would result in lower food prices, Najib said the Government hoped that the inflation trend would decrease.Wojiaojoe: Abdullah "expects" the price of goods to fall, without giving a proper reason why he thinks so, or what policies he would implement to ensure that prices of good will fall. Najib is not as optimistic as he merely "hopes" for prices to fall. Both are non-commital. Hello dear PM and DPM, you don't just "expect" or "hope" for something to happen. I can "expect" and "hope" as much as you do, does that make me qualified to be a minister?
Article A: “It is a strong indicator of the burden that the rakyat is forced to bear. There is nothing wrong for us to pass the benefit of lower fuel prices to the consumers and it is the duty of a responsible government to do so,” Shahrir added.Article B: “The rebate, if translated, will cost between 35 sen and 40 sen a litre. If the people do not appreciate the rebates, it is better for us not issue any more in the future.Wojiaojoe: Shahrir being humble that it is the duty of a responsible goverment to reduce the burden of the people, while Najib being arrogant and threatening us if we do not "appreciate" the government (as if they are not obliged to reduce our burden and we should instead view them as doing as a favour). Dear Najib, can I not be appreciative, but also at the same time felt that more could have been done? Or must I be neatly categorised into either "I LOVE AND APPRECIATE THE GOVERNMENT" and "I HATE AND DON'T APPRECIATE THE GOVERNMENT"? There are no in-betweens?
Article B: He also said they have forgotten about the RM625 rebate given to owners with vehicles up to 2,000cc that was announced in June.Dear Najib, perhaps you have forgotten that the price of petrol was raised 78cents or about 41% overnight? RM625 is perhaps just 15% of my yearly petrol consumption. This is considering I'm driving a low cc car which doesn't consume much petrol. For other people, it is very likely to be even less that 15%. So please spare me the bullshit that I have "forgotten" about the rebate. Also, I drive to work not because I want to, it is because I HAVE TO. There is simply no feasible or practical public transport for me to go to work.
I'm currently in Singapore now. I can travel almost anywhere with public transport. I do not feel crippled without a car. But in KL, I am totally disabled without one. Whether it is going to the gym, going somewhere nice to eat, going to work, you know, daily routines, I am forced to drive as there simply is no feasible public transport to get me to the places I wanna go. So please also spare me the bullshit of changing my lifestyle and labelling me as 'spoilt' and 'addicted' to cheap oil. Even if I am to cycle to work, I think I'll almost certainly gonna get killed and run over as there are no proper reserved lanes for me to cyle.
Apparently we are an oil producing country and yet we cannot afford to give cheap oil to the people. Giving me a 30cent subsidy on the petrol price still does not make it affordable, considering the purchasing power of our salaries. The price of petrol in Singapore is currently around 1.90 SGD. Dollar to dollar, it is more still more affordable than in Malaysia! And they don't even have government subsidies! And they don't produce oil! So you're telling me that as an oil producing country, we can ill afford to make oil affordable to the people? Yes I realise that oil will run out one day, but what ever happened to all the supposed "savings" that the government gains from reduction in subsidies over the years? Don't mistaken me, I'm not crazy for cheap oil but I just want PRACTICAL transporation. Weren't it promised that the savings are to be used to improve public transport? Where are the improvements? And also to do proper planning and build new lines and routes for trains takes years. So I'm supposed to just swallow the burden and wait for years for the public transport to be improved?
Looking at how arrogant and insensitive our DPM is, it really is a scary thought that he'll be our next PM.
~sigh~
And here's the hopefully-funny-punchline:
Ok lame.
Ground floors are labeled as '1' instead of 'G'. So a 2nd floor in Singapore would be a 1st floor in Malaysia. Darn Singaporeans, so kiasu, always wanna be one notch up above of us Malaysians. :-P
Singapore seems to have a fascination with nameless, brandless, China-made phones. Everywhere I go I see them selling these. I'm not sure how much they're selling, but I would expect dirt cheap. Even normal branded phones here in Singapore is already cheap (compared to Malaysia, due to the higher purchasing power of Singaporeans), why would they wanna buy China-made phones?
This is an amphibious vehicle which supposedly brings you on a tour on the road and also on water. Interesting!
You might be wondering what's quirky about this one. Well to me, there actually is an expected completion date printed clearly for all to see, even for something as simple as repairing a public fountain! Deadlines for public scrutiny! In other words, more transparency and accountability. I love this, I only wish Malaysia could be more like this. *Sigh*
The time taken to travel between stations are clearly mentioned, allowing you to make a pretty accurate assessment of the traveling time required on the MRT. Again, this is a simple thing that helps the public know what level of service to expect. I wish this is something Malaysia could do! (KTM KOMUTER and STAR LRT, I'M LOOKING AT YOU!!!!)
Olympic bird nest stadium cake! LOL! Maybe they have this in Malaysia, I'm not sure.
This is a soft drink from Singapore.
Here's the tagline: Any taste, for any thirst. Does it make sense? Not really. But I can tell you, it tastes just like anything. Hehe ok seriously, it kinda taste like Zappel.
Nice streetlamp.
Nice streetlamp again.
Nice cranes.
Confused looking fish.
Super fresh fruits and vegetables. Look at the size of those corn compared to my finger. Those of you who knows me well knows that I have really huge hands and long fingers, so you can imagine the size of the corn. I ate it raw, and it tastes sweet! Yes, raw corn! Fantastic. However, one of my friends observed that there were no ants on the corns. I wonder could it be due to pesticides? (Maybe I shouldn't have eaten it raw...)
More beautiful, colorful, cheerful plastic-wrapped vegetables...
Spotted the new singaporean Honda Jazz / Fit, which will be released in Malaysia soon too. There's tons of them in Singapore. And by the way, here's a link to the highly anticipated 2009 Honda City.
Tea plantation
Communications tower right on top of Mount Boh. Ok I kid. There's no such thing as Mount Boh, but I'm actually referring to the Boh Plantations.
Beautiful flowers at Mount Boh... I mean Boh Plantations.
Here's a sign asking us to love our rivers and to take care of it....
And here's the aforementioned river. It's disgraceful. When can we stop having third-world mentalities??!!! Sheesh!!
