This post is going to be filled with profanity. I recommend those with an aversion to foul language to avoid reading it altogether.
I am going to contradict myself as this post will be a post based on irrationality and emotion, in absolute contrast to what I had preached about a couple of posts back, where I promoted rationality in the name of efficiency (or at least that was the idea, I might have been rather incoherent).
The profanity starts here.
Fuck you Abdullah Badawi. Fuck you Najib Razak. And in case anyone accuses me of being pro-Malaysian Opposition, fuck you Anwar Ibrahim.
Fuck you Abdullah, for not doing anything to prevent the political posturing from dominating the headlines and Parliament, even though you are the leader of this country, even though you are not directly involved in this farce.
Fuck you Najib Razak, for allowing your good name to be so tarnished beforehand that people believe any allegations against you before they have been provecd/disproved.
Fuck you Anwar Ibrahim, for idly boasting of the ability to topple the government through defecting members of the ruling parties. Fuck you for not having the balls to admit that you have gay, if not bisexual tendencies. Fuck you for shamelessly pandering to the anti-BN gallery and not working your pampered ass off for the people and doing something useful for a change.
Fuck you SAPP for not thinking your actions through. If you have the guts to announce a no-confidence vote, have the balls to try to force it through. If I'm not mistaken it's been 2 weeks since that announcement and now you say you don't wanna do it anymore? You guys had 8 days to at least mention it in Parliament, but noooooo......... Fuck you.
All the incompetent cunts in Parliament right now can go and fuck themselves. If I were a registered voter, and an election were held tomorrow, I would either abstain or send in a spoilt vote, or even stand for election as a candidate. Fuck you self-righteous arseholes.
And all the religious fanatics out there can go hang. If a person is dead, and you take him away to bury him by religious rites when his religion is in dispute, aren't you disrespecting your God, who is supposed to be just (remember what that word means? It's inedible, in case you were wondering) and also the sanctity of the family institution? Does that not go against the very teachings of God you worship? And finally, why do you even give a damn? The poor soul has moved on, for better and for worse, and if you do not know his wishes, would it not, logically, be better to let the people he was closest to decide how to dispose of his remains?
Reminds me of a comic panel I saw in Australia. A Palestinian (presumably representing the current government of Palestine) and an Israeli (also presumably representing the Israeli government) are facing off.
Palestinian: We were democratically chosen!
Israeli: We were chosen 2000 years ago!
I do not mean to insult any religion. In fact I believe that a God exists, however I do not believe in restricting my belief in God to any single doctrine in particular. I just feel that it is amazing how religion has the power to deprive people of rational thought and how easily it can be used to justify morally un-justifiable actions.
Screw all of this. I am just so tired of bullshit. This I think, is why Marx advocated socialism. Because people can just be so stupid sometimes.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Malaysian Politics
I am disappointed.
I am the type of person who favours stability over free speech in a government. Needless to say, in the March elections, I was a supporter of the Barisan Nasional, even though I was less than agreeable with their government, mainly because I was afraid of that unknown component: the Opposition's unpredictability. At that moment, my view of the Opposition's only contribution to the country was: a) Creating an unfair perception of our country as a backward pro-medieval Islam country through PAS' policies. b) Delaying Parliamentary proceedings as long as possible by indulging in slanging matches.
I do not think I have been proved wrong. 3 months on, the slanging matches are still there, the administration of all States have become much more unstable due to the Oppositions' antics, and the Opposition parties seem more interested in grabbing headlines rather than bloody getting down to WORKING.
Abdullah Badawi is a weak leader. There is no doubt about that. But trying to undermine him in every single decision only makes the country much more instable.
Protest against the reduction of the petrol subsidy, why don't you? Stupid short-sighted people. Petrol prices are going up all over the world. What did you expect the government to do? Give out free petrol? The real problem was that the subsidy has been around so long that everyone has gotten used to the (artificially) low price of black gold. "Kudos to you, if only you had done it sooner." Obviously that would not have been a very good opposition slogan, right? But it would have been the right thing to say. Trying to force Petronas to reveal their accounts are one thing, I agree that there is a sore need for transparency, but trying to get them to give you cheap oil is a bit too much to ask. At the end of the day, Petronas is a company, with its main reponsibility to its shareholders, and not the public.
What else has the opposition done? One of the fools tried to log the forest, saying it was God-given. Well, wake up sir, the world does not just belong to you and your precious State Government. God did not create this world only for humans, otherwise we would not be just one species among millions, we would have been the ONLY species.
The optimal government would be one where there is not only the Opposition and the Barisan, it would be one where ALL points of view are represented, Barisan, Opposition, and Independent alike. We need more people who are truly there to work for the people, and not for mere personal gain. It saddens me that this will probably never become reality, whether in Malaysia or anywhere in the world.
I am the type of person who favours stability over free speech in a government. Needless to say, in the March elections, I was a supporter of the Barisan Nasional, even though I was less than agreeable with their government, mainly because I was afraid of that unknown component: the Opposition's unpredictability. At that moment, my view of the Opposition's only contribution to the country was: a) Creating an unfair perception of our country as a backward pro-medieval Islam country through PAS' policies. b) Delaying Parliamentary proceedings as long as possible by indulging in slanging matches.
I do not think I have been proved wrong. 3 months on, the slanging matches are still there, the administration of all States have become much more unstable due to the Oppositions' antics, and the Opposition parties seem more interested in grabbing headlines rather than bloody getting down to WORKING.
Abdullah Badawi is a weak leader. There is no doubt about that. But trying to undermine him in every single decision only makes the country much more instable.
Protest against the reduction of the petrol subsidy, why don't you? Stupid short-sighted people. Petrol prices are going up all over the world. What did you expect the government to do? Give out free petrol? The real problem was that the subsidy has been around so long that everyone has gotten used to the (artificially) low price of black gold. "Kudos to you, if only you had done it sooner." Obviously that would not have been a very good opposition slogan, right? But it would have been the right thing to say. Trying to force Petronas to reveal their accounts are one thing, I agree that there is a sore need for transparency, but trying to get them to give you cheap oil is a bit too much to ask. At the end of the day, Petronas is a company, with its main reponsibility to its shareholders, and not the public.
What else has the opposition done? One of the fools tried to log the forest, saying it was God-given. Well, wake up sir, the world does not just belong to you and your precious State Government. God did not create this world only for humans, otherwise we would not be just one species among millions, we would have been the ONLY species.
The optimal government would be one where there is not only the Opposition and the Barisan, it would be one where ALL points of view are represented, Barisan, Opposition, and Independent alike. We need more people who are truly there to work for the people, and not for mere personal gain. It saddens me that this will probably never become reality, whether in Malaysia or anywhere in the world.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Politics (in general)
I'm back in Malaysia. And I think I'm finally ready to do a post on politics.
To me, there is no perfect political system, and there will never be one. Why? Because man is essentially an emotional being. When emotion is the main driving force in life, and the key to making decisions, it will be impossible to have a perfect world/administration/leader. Also, every living thing is biologically programmed to be selfish, as a base instinct, so that the species may survive. As the intellect grows, so does the inborn desire to be selfish. What does this mean? It means that there can never be an administration that truly desires to serve the public, out of purely unselfish reasons.
Democracy is a farce. What is democracy? 2 words. Majority rules. The law of the jungle. The law which our ancestors followed while hunting mammoths. There is strength in numbers. Remember the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth"? In a democracy, there is no guarantee that the best, and most efficient solution to a problem will be implemented, simply because freedom of speech and equal rights will give possibly irrational, possibly rational opponents voice, and thus create a society where people muddle along as best they can.
Dictatorships are efficient, but are they equitable? If the dictator were a man who imposes his will with an iron fist, but his policies were equitable and as fair as possible to all, would there be opposition? Yes, from power-hungry opponents. And no man is that perfect. For power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Politics is a game. It has been played by all those who have wanted their say in how things are run, all those looking to seize power, all those who think their opinion is more important than others'. It will continue to be played, so long as man governs itself and does not revert to animalistic behavior. And I think that although dictatorships/socialism can create a truly fair society
To me, there is no perfect political system, and there will never be one. Why? Because man is essentially an emotional being. When emotion is the main driving force in life, and the key to making decisions, it will be impossible to have a perfect world/administration/leader. Also, every living thing is biologically programmed to be selfish, as a base instinct, so that the species may survive. As the intellect grows, so does the inborn desire to be selfish. What does this mean? It means that there can never be an administration that truly desires to serve the public, out of purely unselfish reasons.
Democracy is a farce. What is democracy? 2 words. Majority rules. The law of the jungle. The law which our ancestors followed while hunting mammoths. There is strength in numbers. Remember the saying "too many cooks spoil the broth"? In a democracy, there is no guarantee that the best, and most efficient solution to a problem will be implemented, simply because freedom of speech and equal rights will give possibly irrational, possibly rational opponents voice, and thus create a society where people muddle along as best they can.
Dictatorships are efficient, but are they equitable? If the dictator were a man who imposes his will with an iron fist, but his policies were equitable and as fair as possible to all, would there be opposition? Yes, from power-hungry opponents. And no man is that perfect. For power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Politics is a game. It has been played by all those who have wanted their say in how things are run, all those looking to seize power, all those who think their opinion is more important than others'. It will continue to be played, so long as man governs itself and does not revert to animalistic behavior. And I think that although dictatorships/socialism can create a truly fair society
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Something to think about
This is just highly interesting blog post by someone else. It happens to encapsulate everything I've felt about religion at one point or another, just that maybe I've never liked to put down someone based on their beliefs, nor am I that articulate about my feelings. This is a must-read. trust me.
http://noworld4tomorrow.blogspot.com/2008/04/religion-debt-repaid-no-longer-needed.html
http://noworld4tomorrow.blogspot.com/2008/04/religion-debt-repaid-no-longer-needed.html
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Many Unexpected Happenings
First post in a while, mainly because I haven't found anything worth blogging about. As it is, I'm doing this out of sheer boredom, in the midst of trying to figure out economic costs.
There were quite a few things I didn't expect when I came here. One, most recent one, is that people would watch hard-core porn in the TV room (Hopefully this sentence won't lead to dodgy ads appearing on this blog). I mean, this isn't quite your everyday TV show.
I also didn't expect such wonderful inconsistency from our kitchen staff. Sometimes, they can cook some really nice stuff, worthy of being served in a restaurant, and yet, sometimes, they can fail to cook something as simple as rice, so much so that MiG (Indomee Mi Goreng) feels like gourmet cuisine. One of the best desserts I've had was here, a really nice choc cookie cream cake, as good as Secret Recipe's Oreo Cheese Cake. However I've also had incredibly bad chocolate cake, something that vaguely resembles a chocolate brownie, minus the chocolate. Scolarest (catering company) has us at its whim and mercy, explaining why I have overspent on eating out.
What else did I not expect? I did not expect to learn so many new things from the people around me. For example, I learned that Malaysia blocks torrents from overseas, meaning that all the torrents I receive back home are seeded by only Malaysian seeds. No wonder its so slow. I've learned of Saladin, and why he is considered a great leader. I've learned how to be rude in Thai, Japanese and French.
I've picked up new games. Ever heard of Settlers Of Catan? It's the world number one board game, only recently surpassed by some random vampire themed thing, if I'm not mistaken. It really is a very good game, involving intelligence and interaction in equal amounts. Luck, while a factor, is no longer a supreme decider, unlike Risk or Monopoly. I've played Dungeons and Dragons, a wonderful role-playing game where all you need is pencil, paper, dice and imagination. I've learned to play Magic:The Gathering, although I don't own a single card.
Unexpectedly, I've not done many of my favourite activities in a while. I haven't played pool since 2 weeks after I came here, I haven't played badminton, and I haven't been to a cybercafe.
Really, really unexpectedly, I've met an M2 senior. He's part of the class that made the kangaroo-shaped SAM badges. He's been taught by Ms Logesh, Ms Choo and Mrs Goh. He knows all the usual hangouts near Taylors. He is a slacker, but a closet mugger. In short, he is a true M2-ian.
Miss you guys........
There were quite a few things I didn't expect when I came here. One, most recent one, is that people would watch hard-core porn in the TV room (Hopefully this sentence won't lead to dodgy ads appearing on this blog). I mean, this isn't quite your everyday TV show.
I also didn't expect such wonderful inconsistency from our kitchen staff. Sometimes, they can cook some really nice stuff, worthy of being served in a restaurant, and yet, sometimes, they can fail to cook something as simple as rice, so much so that MiG (Indomee Mi Goreng) feels like gourmet cuisine. One of the best desserts I've had was here, a really nice choc cookie cream cake, as good as Secret Recipe's Oreo Cheese Cake. However I've also had incredibly bad chocolate cake, something that vaguely resembles a chocolate brownie, minus the chocolate. Scolarest (catering company) has us at its whim and mercy, explaining why I have overspent on eating out.
What else did I not expect? I did not expect to learn so many new things from the people around me. For example, I learned that Malaysia blocks torrents from overseas, meaning that all the torrents I receive back home are seeded by only Malaysian seeds. No wonder its so slow. I've learned of Saladin, and why he is considered a great leader. I've learned how to be rude in Thai, Japanese and French.
I've picked up new games. Ever heard of Settlers Of Catan? It's the world number one board game, only recently surpassed by some random vampire themed thing, if I'm not mistaken. It really is a very good game, involving intelligence and interaction in equal amounts. Luck, while a factor, is no longer a supreme decider, unlike Risk or Monopoly. I've played Dungeons and Dragons, a wonderful role-playing game where all you need is pencil, paper, dice and imagination. I've learned to play Magic:The Gathering, although I don't own a single card.
Unexpectedly, I've not done many of my favourite activities in a while. I haven't played pool since 2 weeks after I came here, I haven't played badminton, and I haven't been to a cybercafe.
Really, really unexpectedly, I've met an M2 senior. He's part of the class that made the kangaroo-shaped SAM badges. He's been taught by Ms Logesh, Ms Choo and Mrs Goh. He knows all the usual hangouts near Taylors. He is a slacker, but a closet mugger. In short, he is a true M2-ian.
Miss you guys........
Sunday, April 27, 2008
IH Ball
As mentioned in my last post, it's boring here, hence no updates for almost a month.
Anyway, went to the IH Ball last week. $66 for a non-drinking ticket :'(. But when we went there, we found that the staff didn't really care :):):):):):):):) Finished half a bottle of red wine, a glass of white wine and a sip of beer (beer's disgusting, I'll never drink it again). Was definitely drunk by the end of the night, lost coordination, really couldn't even walk straight. At least I was sober enough not to puke, and to stop drinking. Another friend had at least 10 beers and couldn't walk. He was almost kicked out by the bouncers "You can do this the easy way or the hard way". Cliched, but effective. He had to have us supporting him because he was almost unconscious. He passed out on the bus to the afterparty, then puked when the bus arrived. Puked again when we got off the tram at IH. He wasn't the only one, of course. The usual drunkards were wasted as well.
Anyway, enough about me illegally drinking. The ball itself was basically a party. We had a free flow of drinks, nice canapes as appetizers, a main course that was nowhere near worth the price, and cheap ice-cream. The veg and salad tasted better than the roast chicken they gave us for the meal, calling it some weird French-sounding name, can't remember what it was. No entertainment except the pleasure of others' company and a DJ playing dance music after dinner. And, of course, the dance floor.
The venue was interesting though. Called Red Scooter, it seems to be a party/function venue more than anything else (that explains the sucky food). Pool table, bar, projector, dance floor, tables, a small stage and nice deco. Didn't see a menu (drinks menus don't count) at all. Nice concept, wonder whether there's one in Malaysia. There's definitely one in Thailand though.
Thats about it for now. Can't post any pics because I didn't take much, quite sure there's ssome on Facebook though. Ciao!
Anyway, went to the IH Ball last week. $66 for a non-drinking ticket :'(. But when we went there, we found that the staff didn't really care :):):):):):):):) Finished half a bottle of red wine, a glass of white wine and a sip of beer (beer's disgusting, I'll never drink it again). Was definitely drunk by the end of the night, lost coordination, really couldn't even walk straight. At least I was sober enough not to puke, and to stop drinking. Another friend had at least 10 beers and couldn't walk. He was almost kicked out by the bouncers "You can do this the easy way or the hard way". Cliched, but effective. He had to have us supporting him because he was almost unconscious. He passed out on the bus to the afterparty, then puked when the bus arrived. Puked again when we got off the tram at IH. He wasn't the only one, of course. The usual drunkards were wasted as well.
Anyway, enough about me illegally drinking. The ball itself was basically a party. We had a free flow of drinks, nice canapes as appetizers, a main course that was nowhere near worth the price, and cheap ice-cream. The veg and salad tasted better than the roast chicken they gave us for the meal, calling it some weird French-sounding name, can't remember what it was. No entertainment except the pleasure of others' company and a DJ playing dance music after dinner. And, of course, the dance floor.
The venue was interesting though. Called Red Scooter, it seems to be a party/function venue more than anything else (that explains the sucky food). Pool table, bar, projector, dance floor, tables, a small stage and nice deco. Didn't see a menu (drinks menus don't count) at all. Nice concept, wonder whether there's one in Malaysia. There's definitely one in Thailand though.
Thats about it for now. Can't post any pics because I didn't take much, quite sure there's ssome on Facebook though. Ciao!
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Easter Holidays
No idea what to blog about....... Life's actually fairly boring here..........
Easter holidays! The time that almost everyone disappears to other parts of Australia (or the world)........ International House just turned into Malaysian House for a few days, until the others started trickling back in. The only non- Malaysian staying at IH I remember would be.... nope, can't remember anyone besides the staff.
The holidays just came too soon after the start of uni. I'm bloody bored! Finished my 3 assignments in 3 days (even while working on and off). Now I found out that I screwed 1 up only after I handed it in, and I have to redo the other 2 because my original sucked. So much for productivity.
Anyway, went to the Sandringham beach on Easter itself. The water was damn cold, but we probably wouldn't have gone in anyway because of the jellyfish. The jellyfish were basically infesting the waters there so much so that we risked touching a jellyfish if we stayed in the water for 5 minutes, whether the jellyfish were alive or not.
What else did I do? I went into town a couple of times, not really doing anything. I tried Max Brenner's offerings (waffles, chocolate banana pizza). I played Dungeons and Dragons (tabletop fantasy game), Munchkin (great game this, PLAY IT) and Settlers of Catan (great game too, but need experience to play this well).
And I volunteered for the Run for the Kids event last Sunday with about 40 other IHers. This was basically a charity run organized by the Royal Children's Hospital to raise money. I was at Drinks Station 1, just handing out cups with varying amounts of water in them. All for a good cause...... besides the fact that I really didn't have anything better to do with my time.
Easter holidays! The time that almost everyone disappears to other parts of Australia (or the world)........ International House just turned into Malaysian House for a few days, until the others started trickling back in. The only non- Malaysian staying at IH I remember would be.... nope, can't remember anyone besides the staff.
The holidays just came too soon after the start of uni. I'm bloody bored! Finished my 3 assignments in 3 days (even while working on and off). Now I found out that I screwed 1 up only after I handed it in, and I have to redo the other 2 because my original sucked. So much for productivity.
Anyway, went to the Sandringham beach on Easter itself. The water was damn cold, but we probably wouldn't have gone in anyway because of the jellyfish. The jellyfish were basically infesting the waters there so much so that we risked touching a jellyfish if we stayed in the water for 5 minutes, whether the jellyfish were alive or not.
What else did I do? I went into town a couple of times, not really doing anything. I tried Max Brenner's offerings (waffles, chocolate banana pizza). I played Dungeons and Dragons (tabletop fantasy game), Munchkin (great game this, PLAY IT) and Settlers of Catan (great game too, but need experience to play this well).
And I volunteered for the Run for the Kids event last Sunday with about 40 other IHers. This was basically a charity run organized by the Royal Children's Hospital to raise money. I was at Drinks Station 1, just handing out cups with varying amounts of water in them. All for a good cause...... besides the fact that I really didn't have anything better to do with my time.
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