I love this country. I really do. Though I didn't use to feel this way. Kalau zaman dulu (about 20 years ago during the 80s) I constantly compared Malaysia's coolness with Singapore's.
I'm a JB child, so of course I was bombarded with mat sallehs prancing around in sleek ads on Singapore TV. I used to wonder "Kenapa takde iklan macam tu on RTM haaa, mummy?"
"Haruslah. Kerajaan kita meng-impose strict guidelines on things they televise on local stations," my mum replied.Of course, mum did not say it exactly like that.
My family used to go shopping at Orchard road a few times a year. Back then (stress on the "back then") JB had nothing on Singapore in terms of latest goods: quality clothes/toys/music cassettes/ imported chocolates. Mind you, I was eight, so my yardstick of comparison were toys, music, tv shows and general coolness of shopping malls.
Back then, the exchange rate with the Singapore dollar was bearable. Now the rate is much much higher.The point is, back then Malaysia was slightly less cool than say, JB or KL. My friends in the Klang Valley, Ipoh, Penang and East Malaysia may have different views in this matter.
Tapi sekarang, we are on par with Singapore and other Asian cool cats like Bangkok and Hong Kong. Or at least, we try to be on par with these sultry cities. Though we still lag behind in getting the latest products, at least we are proud of our "scene". There is a scene. Arts. Commerce. Medical Services. IT. There are "scenes", of varying levels for all these sectors.
Compared to other developing countries, we have plus points. These plus points make me love Malaysia:
1) Our obsession with sex.
Sodomy. Check. Leaked sex videos on the internet. Check. Leaked sex videos involving local personalities. Check. Check. Khalwat (close proximity) stories on every paper, TV programme and magazine. Check. Leaked videos of Malaysians having sex while having the act recorded on handphones, either deliberately or unknowingly. CHECK. I love Malaysia.
Though sex is still discussed and practiced behind closed doors, all of those "behind-the-scene" footage always end up on the net or on everyone's mobile phone. Suppression has never been more publicised.
2) Certain people's obsession with stamping out immoral influences from foreigners.Canadian pop rocker Avril Lavigne is regarded as a threat to our youth's values. Nevermind lah if she is a Grammy-nominated songwriter who is truthful and honest in her art. I suppose some people think she's a bigger threat than the PROBLEM of Muslim youths who come from broken homes and gulp down Carlsberg in Bukit Bintang on Merdeka eve while popping hallucigenic pills and smoking syabu. I rather have those kids watch Avril Lavigne than wonder around Dataran Merdeka that night.
3) hypermarkets. There seems to be one of those in every single town in Malaysia. Malaysia boleh!
4) Motorists
The most polite and berhemah people in the world turn into devils on the road. Only in Malaysia.
5) Overall messiness of things. Whether it's unreliable public transport, dirty public toilets or the pile of rubbish shoppers leave behind after a pasar malam, Malaysians seem to love this lovely mess. As Sheryl Crow sings "God Bless This Mess...."But don't worry. Some of our expatriates find this messiness appealing.
A French teacher who once lived in Singapore told me how he prefered Malaysia's messiness to Singapore's efficiency."Malaysia is slightly messy and chaotic. Not unsimilar with France. I like it."
6) ASTRO
Before Astro, we were nothing. I mean, it's a big deal to have MTV's Total Request Live, ESPN's sports centre and CNN's daily news from Washington. And most importantly, the Discovery Channel. Thankfully, local TV producers have caught up with their foreign conterparts. Great local TV shows include Akademi Fantasia, Kopitiam and Gol & Gincu the series. TV3's Buletin Utama is a great news programme. Astro Awani will hopefully be a leader in local news coverage. Fingers crossed.
7) Being able to eat roti canai for breakfast, sushi for lunch and pasta for dinner.
Malaysia is a food paradise. And everyone takes the Makan culture very seriously. Local cuisine is soo yummlylicious. But the best thing is knowing that you can get all kinds of foreign cuisine in any large city in Malaysia.
I'm a JB child, so of course I was bombarded with mat sallehs prancing around in sleek ads on Singapore TV. I used to wonder "Kenapa takde iklan macam tu on RTM haaa, mummy?"
"Haruslah. Kerajaan kita meng-impose strict guidelines on things they televise on local stations," my mum replied.Of course, mum did not say it exactly like that.
My family used to go shopping at Orchard road a few times a year. Back then (stress on the "back then") JB had nothing on Singapore in terms of latest goods: quality clothes/toys/music cassettes/ imported chocolates. Mind you, I was eight, so my yardstick of comparison were toys, music, tv shows and general coolness of shopping malls.
Back then, the exchange rate with the Singapore dollar was bearable. Now the rate is much much higher.The point is, back then Malaysia was slightly less cool than say, JB or KL. My friends in the Klang Valley, Ipoh, Penang and East Malaysia may have different views in this matter.
Tapi sekarang, we are on par with Singapore and other Asian cool cats like Bangkok and Hong Kong. Or at least, we try to be on par with these sultry cities. Though we still lag behind in getting the latest products, at least we are proud of our "scene". There is a scene. Arts. Commerce. Medical Services. IT. There are "scenes", of varying levels for all these sectors.
Compared to other developing countries, we have plus points. These plus points make me love Malaysia:
1) Our obsession with sex.
Sodomy. Check. Leaked sex videos on the internet. Check. Leaked sex videos involving local personalities. Check. Check. Khalwat (close proximity) stories on every paper, TV programme and magazine. Check. Leaked videos of Malaysians having sex while having the act recorded on handphones, either deliberately or unknowingly. CHECK. I love Malaysia.
Though sex is still discussed and practiced behind closed doors, all of those "behind-the-scene" footage always end up on the net or on everyone's mobile phone. Suppression has never been more publicised.
2) Certain people's obsession with stamping out immoral influences from foreigners.Canadian pop rocker Avril Lavigne is regarded as a threat to our youth's values. Nevermind lah if she is a Grammy-nominated songwriter who is truthful and honest in her art. I suppose some people think she's a bigger threat than the PROBLEM of Muslim youths who come from broken homes and gulp down Carlsberg in Bukit Bintang on Merdeka eve while popping hallucigenic pills and smoking syabu. I rather have those kids watch Avril Lavigne than wonder around Dataran Merdeka that night.
3) hypermarkets. There seems to be one of those in every single town in Malaysia. Malaysia boleh!
4) Motorists
The most polite and berhemah people in the world turn into devils on the road. Only in Malaysia.
5) Overall messiness of things. Whether it's unreliable public transport, dirty public toilets or the pile of rubbish shoppers leave behind after a pasar malam, Malaysians seem to love this lovely mess. As Sheryl Crow sings "God Bless This Mess...."But don't worry. Some of our expatriates find this messiness appealing.
A French teacher who once lived in Singapore told me how he prefered Malaysia's messiness to Singapore's efficiency."Malaysia is slightly messy and chaotic. Not unsimilar with France. I like it."
6) ASTRO
Before Astro, we were nothing. I mean, it's a big deal to have MTV's Total Request Live, ESPN's sports centre and CNN's daily news from Washington. And most importantly, the Discovery Channel. Thankfully, local TV producers have caught up with their foreign conterparts. Great local TV shows include Akademi Fantasia, Kopitiam and Gol & Gincu the series. TV3's Buletin Utama is a great news programme. Astro Awani will hopefully be a leader in local news coverage. Fingers crossed.
7) Being able to eat roti canai for breakfast, sushi for lunch and pasta for dinner.
Malaysia is a food paradise. And everyone takes the Makan culture very seriously. Local cuisine is soo yummlylicious. But the best thing is knowing that you can get all kinds of foreign cuisine in any large city in Malaysia.
Comments
Here's why I love Malaysia...:
1. I can hold hands with my Chinese/India/Dan lain-lain boyfriend and no one can stop me. So okay, sometimes, I get the stares.. but that's alright.
2. The food. And at any hour too! I mean, I can get nasi lemak, tosai, chappati at any time of the day.. :)
3. Err.. you got it right there. Sex is everywhere... Hahaha.
4. The banyak-banyak public holidays... :)
5. The spirit of Hari Raya, Deepavali, CNY, Xmas... Everybody just loves the public holidays... :)
Hahah.