Thursday, January 04, 2007

Hujan emas dinegeri orang....

Could't sleep...so rajin ler nih nak posting sesuatu yang nak syok sendiri.

Supposedly insightful...but I doubt it is. Maybe for me lah...

I saw this whole crap about Visit Malaysia Year 2007...I mean not that I'm against it or anything.

Just I think that the authorities and the people who actually have the power to open the purse strings of the country ni tak pandai tul merancang tourism.One major thing has to be improved...before we can spend...or more likely waste millions on wooing people to visit the country...and I'm not talking about public toilets either.

Something happened that day between friends....yerlah...sebab aku ramai kawan Melayu kan.

I grew up in this community where ada this mix of all races, evenly at that...and I was always comfortable with other people of different races. The term racist was never something I could understand.

Masaalahnya...as I grew up, I learnt to be politically correct, sebab masa tu, tidak lagi dapat nak senang-senang nak panggil orang racist terms which we used without intent.

Back then, innocence was the key to everything, and no one had any malice in reference to someone's race.

My friends were welcome to my home...regardless of creed or colour...and other distinguishing factors. Sadly enough...things seem to have taken a downturn now.

A few days ago, a little spat between friends, which was more of a misunderstanding than anything else...resulted in me being called, what was that now..."cina babi busuk".

Sampai hati...memang kelakar kan...kalau tak kena ngan batang hidung sendiri. It's not so funny when it's your ancestry that becomes a joke though. I was dumbfounded by it...until a friend pointed out that as non-racist as I choose to be, there will always be people like that. It's embedded so deep in us that we just ignore it when we choose to. However it rears its ugly head when anger...or some form of a stronger emotion pushes it out.

I was a little distraught by what I was told by my friend...tapi nak wat per kan?

Aku terima.

What was a little hard to swallow was the fact that he told me that it WILL happen again. Each time they needed to mock me...or make fun of me. The easiest and most distinguishable point would always be my race. That's the hazard of being friends with friends of other races...I don't want to believe that.

I never feel that way kalau aku bengang manapun ngan orang. I never resort to race or religion.

An asshole is an asshole...no distinguishing factors about that...not visibly at least...

Susah ler...orang camnih nak kutuk ikut bangsa ataupun agama nih...sama ada memang takde modal...ataupun cam katak bawah tempurung. As we pride ourselves on racial integration...ada lagik yang judge by the colour of skin.

Aku tak penah anggap orang tuh keji sebab warna kulit dia...ataupun fahaman agama dia. If you're an asshole...then you are. Nothing makes you that way...least of all your race or religion.

Another friend yang balik daripada Bali selepas bercuti, SMSed me the moment she touched down on KLIA, telling me in comparison to the Balienese she met, she realised how rude and ugly Malaysians are. That's KLIA for you.

Just walking down those hallowed hallways will do that for you.

And yet we pride ourselves on our warmth. Our loving nature...our harmonious culture.

All I can say is we are like a carpet. Pretty on the outside..attractive in ways...but the reality is, there's a lot of ugliness and dirt that lies beneath....

And that's what we have to address first and foremost. Be real...be loving.

We can't turn the clock back to the 80s (retro sih!!!) to achieve that, but as globalisation kicks in, I realise our people are more divided than ever....call it the nasty remains of past generations. This hatred and fear of others...

So will Visit Malaysia Year 2007 work? Probably during the period...but I think that those who make the call forget what is the biggest selling point of our country.

Hmphh...and we get pissed when we're among the rudest....really!!!!

Oh..and they should realise that at the end of the day...selling the country with malls...theme parks and skyscrapers isn't going to work. I think they have that in other countries too.

And golf courses??? Really...

Eco-tourism? Such a joke...when it becomes more of a circus sideshow when packaged to tourists.

Anyway...here's hope that they realise a simple warmer and more genuine people will help achieve the aim. A clean public toilet helps quite a bit too lah...

Not all of us travel business class, or stay in five star fancy spots that HAVE to treat you like gold because of the greenbacks you carry.

Is it too late for me to wish...selamat datang...and welcome to Malaysia....just a smile away... or is it?

DISCLAIMER : Entry ni aku tulis time berat mata....so merapu ler sikit...just needed to get it off my mind so leh tidur...

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