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Tuesday, July 04, 2006

KL as the 3rd rudest city??

So...I was alerted on this as I was on my way home from work....tuned in to Hitz.fm and heard this piece of news about 2 weeks ago....

I couldn't believe my ears initially...I mean, like KL???Capital of Malaysia? Malaysians are RUDE??? Well, yeah, we are exactly the best behaved citizens...BUT to be ranked the third among the other cities in the world...man, some serious soul searching needs to be done...and SOON.

Based on the survey conducted by Readers' Digest, I think they carried out experiments and found that Malaysians do not have the courtesy to help others or even utter the simple expressions of "Sorry" and "Thank you"...
Uh-huh...so, what's new?

I have to admit, Malaysians do have this habit of being aggressive or "kiasu-like" attitude when it comes to doing something for themselves. Also, we are definitely not the perfectly well-mannered folks around here....and the following are the scenarios that I can think of which has truly illustrate the true colours of the Malaysian nature:

1. Open House -> Being a multi-racial nation (which we should be proud of), we are blessed with the inviting arrays of festivals and occasions celebrated in the country; Hari Raya, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Ponggal, Christmas, just to name a few.
As such, most of the time, our leaders, namely the ministers will hold open houses which as its name suggests, welcome the members of the public....and offering free food for the day....
So, being Malaysians, FREE does pose the certain attraction by the mere mention of the word itself (I am sure you agree with me) and thus they will turn up in huge crowds to flock the ministers' homes.
Well, that's common but the ugly part sets in when dealing with the food. Every year we can see the media reporting; sometimes even capturing photos of these folks rushing and pushing their way for food - "Kiasu-nism" (that's what I call it....seems like they are so afraid they will not get their share of the "FREE" food).
And yeah, you do not need to watch WWF...you can experience it live when you see people pushing(erm, too mild), wrestling their way through eyeing only on the food(pretty determined predators)
YES, they PUSH and PUSH you like it's nobody's business....
(And look who's calling the Singaporeans Kiasu.....)


2. Picking up after themselves -> Yeah, in events or anywhere, Open House, beaches, parks, restrooms, you name it, any public facilities or amenities....which is perfectly clean?
The thing is, Malaysians do not pick up rubbish by initiative and they assume that the cleaners and the MPPJ or Majlis Perbandaran folks are paid to do so....none of their business at all and do they say "Thank you" or "Please" when these people pick up after them?
Hahaha....please do grab a lottery or 4-D ticket when you hear these words....*coughs*

3. Queuing in LINE(SSSS) -> Yeah, this is another common trend; you often see people cutting lines just to be there first (WHAT is wrong with these people???!!!)
Seems like patience is such a rare virtue these days....sighhhhh
These people will fidget even if they are standing behind you and start to wince and groan even if they've only got in the line like 5 minutes ago.....HELLO?? I have been standing here for 1/2 hour and I am still waiting.....do I have to go crashing tables and throw tantrums just because it's taking longer than what it's supposed to?

4. Asking a question -> Asking for addresses, or questions - they never do address the person first or start off with a greeting...some don't even use the word "Please"
"Where is this road ar??"
"How much is this?"
"You sure you know this bo?"
"What is that?"
"How to fill in this?"
"No water ar?"

Seems like the word "Please", "May I", "Could I", "Can I".....is too heavy-weighted to be uttered out of the mouth....
Same thing goes for the phone - when you call someone, or receive a phone call...
"Hello...."
"Eh, you ar? It's me lar"
"Weiii...."
"Woi..."
"You still alive ar?"
"Wrong number lar!!"

(Just hangs up on you when you call the wrong number)

5. Accidents -> dropping your stuffs, stepping on your foot, took your stuffs by mistake, etc
"This is yours ar?"
"You ok ar?"
"Soli ar...."
"You blind ar? Like that also cannot see!" (man, this is accusing you first before you say anything...sighhhh)


6. Offering seats to the elderly, ladies, children and pregnant women.....hmmmm, referring to the first scenario...need I say more?
They are too tired or exhausted.....they have all the RIGHT reasons not to give up their seats.....


7. No sense of public civic consciousness - coughing, sneezing without covering their mouths/noses, spitting, poking their fingers directly into the nose....

- Used to hear a lady who called a radio station before that she couldn't bear looking at people who just insert their finger into the nose at traffic lights (eeeeewwwwww, how disgusting, don't they teach you not to do this in public?)
** So when, those diseases start to hit the country and the government start to trace the method of how diseases spread, can we look at these people who cough into the air??**

8. Pulling out the chairs for ladies, going through the door after the ladies, holding the doors, opening the car doors - basically the gentlemanly stuffs
- Yeah, I know, we ladies have been talking and fighting for equal rights; but sometimes, it does not hurt to be polite or courteous once in a while, right?
- However, there are ladies who are so feminist that they regard this as an insult....sighhh...gone are those days of My Fair Lady....

9. Honking, tailgating, flashing their lights - Man, these people are highly impatient species...and i think they have done this research or survey before on our Malaysian drivers' behaviors - quoting them as monsters on the road and boy, do I agree so much. They can't even wait for one minute for the car in front of them to move after the lights turn green...worse still is when it's an L-driver (learning or they call them "Lembu"), they won't honk but they will steer their way furiously to surpass these cars and show them the victorious look or show off their mock "Michael-Schumacher" driving skill...

There are loads more....but I do need to stop soon or I am gonna fill up the whole blog soon with all the theories of rude Malaysians....what more with my endless rants and elaborations....

So, Malaysians, do wake up and buck up with your courtesy and a little more manners; can't expect an overnight revamp ; Rome was not built in a day either....let's just start with the simple pleases, thank yous and sorries......it won't make your jaw drop by saying this, I promise :)

Please feel free to drop me a comment if you want to share more of your views....
and of course, THANK YOU :)

Angel