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This coming Saturday is Malaysia’s Election Day.

As it were with so many elections before it, this one will only give the people of Malaysia an illusion of the democratic process at work. A mere formality that we have to go through once every 5 years.

Why then, you ask, should the people be bothered with voting at all?

If you are a die-hard supporter of the ruling party, this is a non-issue. Election day is a day for you to reaffirm you allegiance to the almighty government. They must have done you tremendous good. And I am happy for you.

If you are leaning towards the other end of the political spectrum or if you have no political preferences at all. You will probably be thinking, “It’s not like voting against the ruling party would actually give the opposition a chance to topple their dominance. Why waste time?” or, “Even by some miracle the opposition wins the election, what’s to say that they will be better than the old government? They could be much worse!”

So better not to vote at all, right?

Not really. Because by not voting, you will be perpetuating the status quo. You, by doing nothing, by not getting involved, are encouraging the ruling party to become even more corrupt, even more smug in their response to criticism, even less in touch with the struggles and needs of the rakyat.

Not to mention in the 50 years of their continued rule, the issue of racial inequality, unequal distribution of wealth, cronyism, mismanagement of public funds, and the decimation of Malaysia’s Constitution have gotten worse by the day.

Granted, a simple vote would not automagically solve all these problems. But at least it will send a message. It will make known to the government that the people will no longer stand to be lied to, threatened, bullied and pushed around. They better shape up, or get out.

In the end, whoever you decide to vote for, remember this.

Don’t vote for a government that will be sleeping on the job.

Today is the grand opening of the latest shopping spot in Kuching. The Boulevard shopping complex opened its doors to the eager consumers of Cat City. When I went over to have a look this morning, only the hypermarket was opened. And to be honest, the so called ‘hypermarket’ looks just like any mid-size supermarket to me. Carrefour or Tesco it ain’t.

JAM!

The people of Kuching have a tendency to flock to newly opened entertainment or shopping venues. This is known locally as the ‘New Toilet Syndrome’. Droves of curious people will visit the new attraction until everybody and their third cousin had been there. After that, the place will become half-deserted, like most of Kuching’s shopping venues before it.

Very JAM!

Usually I couldn’t care less about people flocking to a new attraction like an army of ants racing to a broken pot of honey. But this time, it touched a nerve, my nerve to be precise. My house is just a stone’s throw away from this behemoth of a shopping complex. And everybody in town that owns a car had decided to make their way over to experience the “New Toilet”.

The back… ALSO JAM!

This has in inadvertently created a gridlock along the surrounding roads. I had great fun watching cars go bumper-to-bumper right outside my house. And the honking of impatient drivers and the barking of neighborhood dogs who had never witness such a sight was music to my ears.

Like I said, the “New Toilet Syndrome” will only subside when everybody in town had been to this place. So people of Kuching! If you haven’t expericence the “New Toilet”, come on down to the Boulevard! Let’s get this over with so I can have some peace and quiet.

I am going abroad for an extended period and will need to drive to get around. So I got myself an International Driving Permit.

I paid RM160 for the permit and to my surprise what I got is a cheap-looking, beige-colored booklet. One would expect a proper driving permit to be in the form of a plastic card or something. Why do us Malaysian have to settle for an International Driving Permit that resembles a primary school report card? Because “Malaysia Boleh” lor.

If I ever get asked for my driving permit when I’m abroad, I hope I don’t have to convince them that the dodgy-looking paper booklet is REALLY my driving permit. And I didn’t made it up myself by stapling a few piece of paper together and printing my name on it.

Fingers crossed.

On my trip to Phuket last May, I had a chance to visit one of its famous beaches, Maya Beach.

Maya Beach attained its fame after the film, “The Beach”, starring Leonardo Dicaprio, was shot there a few years back. Ever since, it has become a tourist magnet.

There was no denying that the beach was gorgeous with its soft white sands and crystal clear waters but one thing really bothered me. The beach was jam packed with tourists from one end to another. At the same time, there were at least a few dozen boats parked in the lagoon waiting for the tourist. All these man-made distractions kind of killed the ‘idyllic beach paradise’ feel of the place.

This is a prime example of how a tourist attraction is being blatantly exploited for financial gains. The natural beauty and secludedness of the place is slowly being eroded by the mass of tourists that made their way here everyday. As I stood there on Maya Beach amongst the bustling crowds, I tried to comprehend how this type of tourism could be sustainable in the long run.

It is funny how the tour operators keep this up without contemplating the risk of destroying the very attributes that made Maya Beach attractive to visitors. And in the process, destroy their own livelihood.

Watcha lookin’ at?

How short-sighted we humans are.

It seems like the virus that caused health havoc to a few of my co-workers last week had decided to pay me a visit as well. My body, not being a fan of viruses, had reacted with symptoms of fever, flu, sore throat, diarrhea and pain on every frickin’ part of my body.

I started feeling a bit funny on Saturday and everything just gone downhill from there. The damnedest thing is that this robbed me of my weekend. All I can do this past two days was to lay in bed and watch the ceiling.

I thought I could muster myself to go to work this morning but the damn virus decided to stay for another day. So I had to call in sick. Well, at least there’s no Monday blues for this week. Thanks for getting rid of Monday for me Mr. Virus.

And Mr. Virus, next time you decide to pay me a visit, do it on a weekday. Please.