Facility, Mentality, Affordability

I read a news a couple of days ago about a man and his family living under a bridge. He was detained as he was a suspect for stealing construction equipment. When he was asked what his address was, he wrote there, under a bridge. He could not afford to pay the rent of his previous house, so he was kicked out from the house.

A few days ago I watched a Malay drama on Astro Oasis. It was totally unintentional as I was just browsing through the channels. The title of the drama was “ Rahmat…..Ana Nak Susu” which was about a rich man who was robbed and he had to be a beggar for a whole day before he could go back. He encountered so many people, people who had no money to buy food, people who had to be a prostitute just to buy some food for her daughter, people who had to sell things at the roadside as they cannot afford the plush shops in shopping malls. Only when he experienced all these, he realized that he should be more compassionate about people on the street rather than just concentrating on his business.

I have a friend who volunteers for an NGO, Belamiskin(Pertubuhan Membela Miskin Tegar Malaysia), where they give foods and donations to people who are in need. He sometimes volunteers to teach there where they provide free tuition to school kids. We sometimes discussed about this and he told me how he felt pity for the people who came to the place. Most of them were from nearby area and could not afford to buy food for their family so they had to rely on NGO like this in order for them to survive. They did not have enough food or money but when they got to eat the food there, the smile on their face really lit up the day, he said. Maybe you would want to join their Facebook group.

Today I read a news how money were spent unnecessarily based on the Auditor General Report 2010. While some school kids could not get a decent meal, some buildings were built without following the specifications which led to a ballooning cost. It is good that we have a lot of development such as more constructions. But the problem is when we concentrate more on developments of concretes and stones rather than the developments of human beings. The poor get poorer while the rich get even richer. I mean, why would people be bothered about ethics and what happens around them when they cannot even fill their stomach with some decent food or having a decent shelter from the sun and the rain? So in the end, what we have are first world facilities but people with third world mentalities.

Beliefs

Some people say that I'm a rebel,which is not entirely true. I just like to provoke. Provoking here does not mean I like to make people annoyed and such. But I like to provoke people's thinking. This is what I have been doing to people who are almost the same age as me, or the Gen Ys, this past week. People have been saying that the Gen Ys do not care about anything other than themselves which is not true. Some really do care, it is just that they are not given the proper channel to speak out or to give their opinions which made them to be perceived as those who like to be confined in their own world. What we need is the ability to discuss and debate things in a mature, civil manner. We should know how to agree to disagree. There is nothing wrong in disagreeing and questioning something. If questioning something is deemed as being insolent, then let it be. Nobody is perfect so there must always be some sort of questioning as to clarify things and not to accept something entirely as it is. This can surely force people to get their brains to do more exercise rather than just letting it rot. I salute my friends who have been able to stand on their ground and can actually give facts in discussing rather than saying something out of emotions. But for those who think that we cannot discuss something just because it is deemed as sensitive, maybe you can do some soul searching and try to find the maturity in thinking and discussing as getting older is a must, getting wiser is optional.

Proton oh Proton

Malaysians are always fascinated by cars. Though it is widely known that a car is an asset that depreciates, many people are willing to pay huge sum just to be seen in it. So when the new Proton Inspira was launched, there was a huge buzz about it which divided people either those who do not have the money but want a car that has that expensive look and those who already bought the Mitsubishi Lancer and are pissed off as the Proton Inspira is a total rip off from the Lancer. Yes, rip off. Say whatever you want, rebadged, rebranded or anything, it is still a rip off.

Spot the difference?

Why would Proton even have an R&D division when the cars that have been produced by them are mostly rip offs from other cars? Might as well we cease to produce anymore automotive engineers, concentrate on those who know how to get car designs from other companies instead.

After the recall of Proton cars, Proton Satria Neo and Gen2 that were manufactured from 2004 to 2008, it is no wonder that they are not designing their own cars for the time being. It just shows the flaws of our so-called national car company. Sure, other car companies recall their cars too, but the other cars that were recalled in 2010 were not manufactured in 2004. Why did Proton take so long to identify the problem?

Tired of below par cars that have been churned out by Proton? Thinking of buying imported cars? You can surely do that, if you have the money. With the high tax that is imposed on imported cars, it is very difficult for common people to buy imported cars. All in the name of protecting national interest. How about the interest of the people who do not have a lot of money then? Is this what we call People’s First?

Waiting for the AFTA to be fully implemented so that the prices of cars will go down? Not when we have a minister who blurted out that the prices of cars are controlled by the car companies. Well, of course, as the car companies have to put a high price tag on their cars when some cars are even taxed up to 200% and 300%. I guess it is better to get the Malaysians to pay a premium for their own national cars while some people in Saudi Arabia can get cheaper Proton cars right?

Oh well, I don’t get paid that much and cannot afford a Mitsubishi. So I guess a Proton it is for me.