Going for a walk in my neighbourhood the other day, I came upon a
sight that we as Malaysians are all too familiar with – trash flung
right under a huge but impotent signboard spelling out a nasty RM500
fine for anyone caught dumping trash.
That same evening, I encountered another
familiar sight – dog poo piled in glorious abundance at random spots
along the sides of the roads and on grassy banks. Was picking up after
your dog too laborious or undignified a task? Better to let your
neighbours manoeuvre the obstacle course themselves and for those less
skilful, deal with the consequences in private. After all, what’s a
little poo-smear on your shoes or bicycle tyres!
Here are some more ‘nasties’ that Malaysians never tired of…
Queuing - Why does the
average Malaysian take such issue with the simple act of queuing? The
train finally pulls up and the once office-weary crowd suddenly bursts
into action, turning hostile and elbowing each other as they strain to
be the first in. As a young student using the public bus years ago, I
cannot count how many times the bus stopped right in front of me yet I
was the last up as old ladies, young boys and even meek and
mild-mannered school girls hissed, spat and jostled their way past me
with umbrellas, school files and elbows jabs blocking my pathetic
ascend. Sigh!
Flushing – I hate using
public toilets only because Malaysians harbour an aversion towards
flushing. It’s ridiculously painful to walk around with a bladder fit to
bursting, then have to peek into the toilet bowl first before actually
getting down to the business at hand. And yes, sometimes the mass that
greets you in the bowl is someone’s unfortunate dinner the previous
night. Absolutely sickening!
Squatting on toilet seats
– Malaysians are an acrobatic lot. How else could you explain muddy
shoe marks on a public toilet seat? Did it never occur to them to line
the seat with tissue paper, then sit on it before taking a dump?
Throwing trash from the car
– Soda cans, food wrappers, half-eaten food and cigarette butts. Yes,
these and many more are often seen airborne before unceremoniously
crash-landing on our highways. Once while waiting for a friend by the
roadside, a speeding car comes hurtling along the bend. A well-dressed
foreigner winds down his window and flings a beer can onto the divider,
probably thinking nothing of it since many Malaysians before him did it
too.
Smoking in restaurants –
So maybe they didn’t see the ‘No Smoking’ sign or maybe, just maybe
they are inconsiderate and selfish. It’s positively annoying (and
somewhat impossible) to carry on a conversation with your friend when
the goon beside you is spewing cigarette smoke into your face and
choking up your respiratory system with second hand smoke.
Spitting in public –
When Beijing hosted the Olympics, the government invested money to
educate its people from spitting in public. In beautiful Malaysia, we do
encounter this disgusting habit every so often too. What really is more
stomach churning is the guttural sound that precedes the act.
Double-parking
– A favourite among many Malaysians. Some even leave their business
cards on your windscreen so you can call them to re-park their car once
you’re ready to leave. Others just don’t give a damn and leave you
honking furiously till they casually emerge ten minutes later. As far as
they’re concerned, a curt ‘sorry’ should suffice.
Since many Malaysians are daredevil
thugs in corporate clothing, it would help if the authorities got
serious about enforcement. Right now, most people do as they please
simply because all those ‘no smoking’, ‘no dumping’, ‘no parking’
warnings are pretty much ‘all bark no bite’.
(Free Malaysia Today : Sandra John)
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