Oh dear gawd

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/5/12/sibu/6240021&sec=sibu

And they say the current government is politicizing the whole matter????!! Look what DAP is doing in Sibu?

Someone's not practicing what they preach.

One way but not the other?

My director shocked me the other day with this exchange.

We were out to lunch one day with the girls, and he was the designated driver. As he backing out the car out of the parking lot, one of the girls piped out, "Watch out for the girls."

"What girls?" He said.

"Those girls walking out the back, don't run them over," my colleague said in jest.

"Oh those tudung-ed girls?" Mr Director answered. He then proceeded to say, "God, seeing girls wear tudung (head scarves) annoys me!"

We were stunned. At least, I was stunned. 3 of us in the car were Muslim, one Christian and Mr Director is a self-proclaimed atheist.

Perhaps sensing the sudden dip in the pressure of the atmosphere in the car, Mr Director proceeded to say that it's not necessary to wear the tudung in the country as it's hot. He also went to quote an Egyptian friend of his who said that his mother wore tudung and was discriminated at work due to that, therefore women should not wear tudung at all.

"What about the Christian nuns? Should they take off their head covering as well?" I asked.

No answer. Instead he proceeded to ask if any of us were made to wear tudung in school and somehow the conversation veered into something else by the time we reached our designated eating-place.

I could've kicked myself for not speaking out more. To me, this is a rather discriminating remark. And somewhat targeted towards Muslim women, since the ladies in question, whose sight of head scarves had so annoyed Mr Director, are Muslims. Why the hate?

Personally, I have yet to take up wearing the tudung as I don't feel ready yet. Or to be honest, I'm just too vain at this particular time to want to put it on yet. Screw me, I never said I'm totally pious. But then again, this is a free country. In Malaysia a Muslim woman is free to go about sporting an uncovered head without fear of being apprehended by the religious police. It is within our right to want or to not want to wear it. It's fact.

Which is why I strongly believe as it is as much right for a Muslim woman to be able to wear the tudung if she wants to.

Surprised?

Why must be it be only one way and not the other? If people are so strongly against the veil or any head covering, then don't wear it if you don't want to. But does it give you license to make fun of tudung-clad ladies or deter those who WANTS to don the veil from doing so?

Mr Director, the reason your friend's mom is being discriminated at work due to the fact that she wears the is not due to her veil. It's because those who discriminate her are intolerant and good-for-nothing bigots. Just as much as you are.

You preach freedom and democracy and equality and yet you turn around and reveal your narrow mind and bigotry. Just because it doesn't fit your Western idea of a 'free, liberal woman' does not mean these women are not 'free' in their own right.

This video cannot say it better.

Why I find it hard to respect Opposition Leaders

... because the way they present their points is through bullying, ridicule and mockery.

Why do we remember figures like Lincoln? Or George Washington? Or even Dalai Lama?

Because of their leadership quality, grace under duress, and integrity and civility towards others.

Even Tun Mahathir, known for his sharp tongue, had never thrown in juvenile jibes to belittle his oppositions, nor make a mockery out of them that their arguments seem insubstantial.

And yet here I read distinguished DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, calling other political figures that are BN-friendly 'Katak.. Mocking their decisions as though they're incapable of doing even the most basic of human functions. Belittling them in the eyes of the public.

For me, it sounds too much like frat boys ragging newcomers, humiliating them so that they'll submit. It's so high school mentality - popular boy making fun of people he does not like, and everyone else start joining in the taunt and mocking because it's fun making fun of people whom you know will not fight back.

So many of these juvenile names made up for various 'adversaries'. Katak is a popular one, this is what they'll call party hoppers. 'Mamakthir' is another, a jibe at Tun Mahathir's racial ancestry.

How juvenile can you get? And talk about being RACIST! Try calling Obama a nigger, will you, and see you get shoved into Guantanamo Bay so fast your party punya Rocket pun tak boleh kejar!

I don't see Tun Mahathir or BN leaders calling Lim Kit Siang 'Lim Chink Siang'. Or Lim Sepet Siang. Or Lim Gila Bayang. Or Lim Naik Tongkang. Or even Lim Cina Mali.

That's because such name calling are only for the classless, crass and vulgar people with bullying mentality.

Look in the mirror first and see who's the bully before you start calling other people bullies.

Ok seriously

This whole Perak assembly is such a joke. And seriously, the Oppositions - acting like hooligans and shouting and shoving in the name of democracy is not likely to get you any respect - except maybe from even MORE HOOLIGANS! Maybe that's why most DAP and Pakatan supporters are all jenis orang kurang ajar. Panggil orang lain penyamun, tapi sendiri acting macam penyamun. Look at yourselves in the mirror!!

What happened to being civil to each other? Act like juvenile delinquents, you're most like to be treated like one. The photos in the last assembly in 2009 showed speaker V. Sivakumar being dragged out of the speaker chair, which the Oppositions wasted no time in posting in their blogs and lauded him as victims of BN's 'police state' policy etc etc. BN being barbarians they said. What they did NOT show is new speaker R Ganesan being shoved and pushed out of his chair by Pakatan Assemblymen. That's not barbaric? Yang si Sivakumar ni satu jugak - dah diminta dengan baik untuk keluar dari kerusi Speaker - dia tak nak keluar. Last-last nak camana? To proceed with the assembly, he'd have to be taken out forcibly, but only because he FREAKING ASKED FOR IT. Like if someone insisted sitting on the operating theatre while you're about to preform on an important surgery and that person won't leave, of course you kena tolak orang tu keluar so that you boleh buat your surgery. Ok.. probably bad analogy but you get what I mean.

Yang baru ni pulak DAP and PAS assemblymen ended up shouting at Perak Menteri Besar. Since when do people get to barbaric? I know Pakatan and DAP have their own good points and ideals, but really, do I want people who act like pirates in order to get what they want? There're rules and ethics and these are meant to followed, because if they don't then what does that mean to the rest of us? Everything will be plunged to chaos and anarchy. And when there's chaos and anarchy, people will suffer. Those people will be you and me.

So seriously, orang-orang yang kurang ajar, tolonglah beradab sikit. I'm sure your ancestors will be ashamed of you if they knew. Sheesh.

Kelentong

So this morning I woke up late.

Set the alarm at 7.45 am, must've shut the alarm down when it rang and then I dreamt that my cat was slapping me in the face and when I woke up it was 9.40 am.

9.40!!!

My first thought was holy crap Carpool Buddy must be waiting down there for me. The thing is that Carpool Buddy does not have credit on her phone - why she didn't top up at any chance she could is beyond me. So Carpool Buddy cannot call out.

So I called (let's call Carpool Buddy CB) CB's phone. She didn't pick up. Then I called her home phone. The maid picked up and said that CB is asleep. Pwhoah! Lucky break for me. So I smsed her (I can sms or call her but she cannot call out, get the pattern here?) and said I'll get ready asap, just let me know (via house phone ke apa) when I should get downstairs to meet her.

So tunggu punya tunggu, around 11 I called CB's phone.

"Where were you???!!" was her first line.

"I'm here at my apartment. Where ARE you??" I said.

"I was there the whole time but I didn't see you!" she wailed.

"Well I'll come down now. You're still there right?"

"I'm on way to work already. I waited then I came up to your apartment and rang the doorbell but no one's there so I thought you went off without me!!" she said

I was stunned. How on earth do moi, with no car and no visible option of transportation be able to go off to work, and most of all without informing her?? I'm the one still stuck at the apartment, so who's ditching who to get to work?? Plus ..'rang' the doorbell? The doorbell's pretty damn loud that my cat will scamper off to hide every time it went off so why is it that I am not able to hear it at all? She could even knock on my door but nooo.. she 'went up' and 'rang' the doorbell and then went off without me.

After much "I was there" and "I'm sorry didn't hear the doorbell (roll eyes)" CB agreed to turn back though I can tell she was quite disgruntled. Went downstair, got to the car and went to work. All is good again till she complained about an event being held at the office compound which caused us having to park across the street for 2 days.

"Well I paid for my parking space I don't want to park any anywhere else!" she said.

Oh honey, it's only two days! And we were given notice preceeding the event for a whole week already so if you are so mad about it you can always talk to the event manager. But there's always something to complain isn't it?

On that note, gonna check with my apartment security if CB DID actually enter the apartment compound to go up and 'ring' the bell. Still tak boleh percaya lah that she did actually do that. Nak kata bell rosak, dah check - masih kuat memekak bagai nak rak. My theory is that CB did not ring the bell nor wait for me - or she waited and just zoomed off and later blamed me for not hearing the doorbell so that our reason for being late to work is me not hearing the doorbell instead of her waking up late (later than me, even!)

Red Flag

So this morning, indeed, the blood issued forth as it had for every month for the past 20 plus years.

I had cramps today at the office and it is most annoying and uncomfortable. I seriously thinks employers everywhere should give a kind of recognition or at least a reward for female employees who still work through the worst of period cramps and whatnots. It's worse than you think it is. Imagine trying your hardest to concentrate on finishing your work on time when your stomach felt like it had pulled out from your innards and and is scrambling frantically like a wild animal for ways to escape in a flurry of entrails, gristles and blood. And that's just for starters.

Halfway through a massive headache on the base of my head started to join the party. But that's probably from bad posture while sitting for hours at the table, staring at the PC, a colleague suggested. Methinks it's time to find a new job that does not involve sitting my sorry ass on the chair for yoinks of hours.

The Aching Vestibule

My stomach is hurting now and it is not from lack of food.

It is signaling the onset of the female malady of the monthly period.

O cramping stomach how I hate thee! It makes me cranky and angry and dissatisfied for all sorts of reasons; it also sought to magnify little peeves that I have encountered to make them significantly and criminally bigger. One instance is the example given below:

On the way to work today a colleague told me there was a Malay wedding at the community hall at her apartment complex.

I said, 'Wow how cool! Did you crash the wedding? Wedding crashings are fun."

She said, "No, I didn't like it. There're cars parked all on the side of the roads when there's a proper allocated parking area nearby."

I said, "Is THERE really a proper allocated parking spot nearby your area?" Because I've been to her apartment complex before and if you're not a resident it's not easy to find a parking spot around the area.

She said, "I'm sure there must be." And pulled a sour face.

'I'm sure there is.' 'I'm sure there must be.' Words of assumptions, which can also be so dangerous. Do people want to purposely congest up the roads because they want to? If there an actual allocated parking lot nearby, I'm sure they'd taken it up already. In my old neighbourhood sometimes certain lorong/ roads are blocked when there're a wedding, or funeral, be it Chinese, Malay or Indian event - people just try to find an alternative route to get around it. It's annoying to hear people who just make assumptions and draw to a conclusion just because they're temporarily inconvenienced by something. Is it so hard to just be tolerant for a period of time?

Then again the tolerance level is at such an all time low in this country, at this time and place. And the sad thing is that people who cry out intolerance against certain elements in the country are often the perpetrator of intolerance themselves.

Agh. Such a depressing issue. Must be the hormones acting up. Must seek out chamomile tea, even though it tastes vile. Maybe it'll cheer me up.