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Thursday, June 27, 2013

Subway Sandwich, the line that never moves...



Typical of a Malaysian "service" outlet, expect no service good enough to make you glow and smile. Even if you do find that special one place that does, it has got to be rarely consistent. AEON and Tesco cashiers, KFC front of house, Pizza Hut servers and most recently Subway Malaysia line employees. Perhaps there are more, care to share?

Off the road Note: TESCO loves to advertise and display racks with no products...for Heaven's sake if the product is off the shelves - remove the price label please!!!

One thing I'm sure it's not the ethnic background of the hire, take Hinods "the Five Ringgit Store" for example - Malays as sweet and accommodating as can be.  Maybe then it's the volume of business - the more business you get, the less friendlier or appreciative the staff is for the business.

Well this video was captured June 24, a Monday and at about ten in the morning. It was only taken after 10 minutes of waiting in a line less than 10... not counting the 3 who left after waiting too long. And, it shows an unmoving line of customers waiting in queue at the Subway outlet in Kepong Village Mall. Although for the world to see, the minimum 3-person staff was down to 2 and it was impossible to provide timely service but the least they could do was to say, "Pardon us for the service wait, may I have your order please?"...

This entry is NOT really all about Subway. It's about the standards of service in Malaysia that is consistently the same. Even worse is when the help hired cannot even communicate properly is the same lingo (not making reference to Myanmars, Nepalese, Vietnamese and Bangladeshis - by the way there is a very fluent in Cantonese foul language Bangladesh cleaner wearing a Malaysian Harvest uniform at AEON Metro Prima, last seen chatting with a heavily smoking Chinese man in the loo). 

Malaysia Boleh?


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Majority of Malaysians Do Not...

I am a Malaysian and while what I am about to write may not represent the true Malaysian, I believe that there is some inkling of truth to what follows - please read on...

What makes a Malaysian? By definition, any person born after the first Merdeka (Independence) Day in 1957 is naturally Malaysian. Growing up in Malaysia was fun - people from different backgrounds, religions and ethnic groups mashed up in a wonderful loving environment. The streets back then were relatively safe to with me walking the length of Kuala Lumpur undisturbed. 

Okay maybe that incident with that one Malay drug addict while asleep on the famous KL BMW (Bas Mini Wilayah)...this person attempted to molest this schoolboy (yours truly). I was a scout back then and we had just done an all-nighter in school having carried out a campfire gathering, so I was bushed and fell asleep on the bus only to be rudely awakened by this person stroking my thigh (didn't even stop even when I awoke). Luckily I had my Scout's Knife with me and I persuasively showed him enough to stop, he alighted at the next stop. Good riddance!

Back to topic, so what does the majority of Malaysians not...

  • We do not simply park our cars. We park within allocated parking bays.
  • We do not key, scrape or dent the car next to us even if they parked too closely to us.
  • We abide by the traffic lights rules and stop at red.
  • We do not tailgate the person in front who is hogging the lane and holding up traffic.
  • We do not suddenly cut in another lane without signaling or at the last moment.
  • We queue when it is required. We do not cut queue.
  • We do not shout and use international sign language at other car drivers.
  • When we walk across roads, we make sure it is safe - walk quickly and at pedestrian crossings. We do not walk slowly daring oncoming traffic and act blind. We also do not hold out our hand, stopping traffic and act as if we own the road.
  • We do not walk shoulder to shoulder on narrow walkways with those next to us and prevent other people from overtaking us from behind or getting by us from the front.
  • We do not make merry in public places and create a noisy nuisance of ourselves.
  • We do not work for the need of money but rather for the purpose of assisting others get things done.
  • We do not force others to succumb to our will; rather we show them the way and allow them to choose.
  • We do not condone dirty politics and all its ills.
  • We do not complain when the neighbor litters the front and the rubbish conveniently  blows to the front of our house.
  • We do not also complain when heavy commercial & construction vehicles park and make the nice neighborhood we live in their depot. Even if we did complain to the local municipal, we do not expect much to change.
  • We do not wish for change as change is strange, new and unpredictable to us.

There's just so many things that we Malaysians are not but one thing certain - the majority of Malaysians do have 2 things in common, anything that's free AND food! 

So be Malaysian, Malaysia Boleh!

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Hot Hazy Summertime Blues in Malaysia

Wikipedia the free encyclopedia describes haze as a traditional atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky.

Well in Malaysia it is very traditional alright, right down to consistently during summer (since 1982 too). Just as if the ozone layer is already not depleted enough and so burning hot! The way I see it, only idiots (because there are definitely more than a few of them) in Indonesia who make it a point year after year to do massive wide open burning.

While the Indonesian Government has only made disparaging retorts so far and in the past along the lines of - "the 'people' doing open burning is no other than those from Malaysia and Singapore", they seem to be nonetheless appreciative of these business mis-adventurers from overseas. Otherwise, why would they be knowledgeable of the nationalities of the perps and yet do nothing constructive and effective against them !?!

Hell they don't even get fined...even if they do - money can't buy back what is already lost, or maybe they are thinking that when the haze lifts and until the next time - it is sufficiently timely for those poor affected souls (such as Malaysians) to "heal" before the next attack!!!

No action doesn't mean that the problem will go away, yes it does but then again what about a year from now !?!


Every year we in Malaysia suffer the same problem with hazardous levels of haze, what are we? Some meek neighbor who only hold weekend parties and stay indoors (gap shut) while the next door neighbor does open burning!?! Oh good! Maybe the wind will blow the haze back in their faces and into their haze-resistant lungs... Hmph! Fat chance of that happening!


Schools closed, eye irritations, breathing difficulties -- WHY WHY WHY must we meekly endure this annual assault to our precious health?


Surely there must be some responsible and caring people in Indonesia who do not appreciate the lack of action and who are equally concerned about their own health and the environment that they live in, right?


There is hope still:


Walhi or Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia (Indonesian Forum for the Environment) noted that the root causes of the haze have remained the same, three decades after it became a trans-boundary problem. Quote Walhi's Southern Sumatra acting Executive Director Hadi Jadmiko, "Efforts to stop open burning should begin from the Indonesian Government". He goes on to say that the haze COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED IF the Government (of Indonesia) had been serious in tackling the issue by coming down hard on open burning over the years.

If not:

Let us pray that the good people in Walhi get elected to government roles of power and hopefully (and thankfully then) will we only have a hot BUT NOT hazy summertime in Malaysia...

Until that happens, I'll be indoors with the air-conditioners on and god forbid having to go outdoors mask on...

By the way, Malaysian Government is ramping up efforts WITHIN Malaysia by telling us to call 999 and report any open burning...




MAHAP

MALAYSIAN AGAINST HAZE & AIR POLLUTION