On a more positive note, we began this week with the great news that Nicol Ann David has successfully won the British Open, considered to be one of the top prizes in International squash. I am truly proud of her achievements, especially this past one year where she has really benefited from the strict training regime imposed by her foreign coach. She and Ong Beng Hee are the two bright shining lights left in the darkness known as Malaysian Sports Arena.

Personally speaking, I think they have benefited from the fact not many Malaysians give a rat’s ass about squash. Malaysians fret and pamper the footballers, the sprinters, the hockey players while sports like squash and cycling takes a back seat. But people like Nicol or Josiah Ng should be spared from the limelight. It seems to be working. The SRAM has done a good job of finding sponsors, and it just goes to show that if you’re good enough then consequently the money will roll in. The sad part about all this is the fact that some States footballers are getting double what world-beaters like Nicol David is getting.

Remember what happened to our great badminton hope, Hafiz Hashim? He won a big event, gets recognition from everyone, greeted at the airport like the Beatles, given huge amount of cash and property – and now he is nowhere to be heard. Don’t worry, he’ll surface to win another Championship, and then go back underneath the sea of disappointments for a couple of seasons. That’s the trend isn’t it? Win just enough tournaments so that people won’t forget you, but don’t push yourself too hard less you get injured then you can’t drive that expensive sports car.

It’s all down to mentality, the winning attitude. I can’t really go too far into this area, because some of my comments and thoughts are pretty much inflammatory, especially to those who live and swears by rhetoric. Suffice to say, I get the feeling that our sportsmen don’t have what it takes mentally simply because they were brought up in an environment that does not promote education and knowledge. I’ve seen, met, and played with people who are not only talented, but also armed with intelligence and maturity but these people won’t take up sports as their livelihood. The ones who turn out for the State junior teams, the club sides, are also usually the ones who do not do well in school (general statement, without any credible data…just an observation). This is sad really, because during my days in high-school I can see for a fact that clever people CAN and DO play sports rather well.

Well, I guess important discussion as to how we can improve the standard of sports is too insignificant to discuss in parliament, as compared to which party called Nicol Ann David first. Just click here and read another example of petty arguments being raised in parliament. But perhaps we should encourage such display of immaturity. Have you guys seen the mass brawls that always happen in Taiwan’s equivalent to our Parliament? But they’re more prosperous than us, so I guess I should be applauding the MPs the next time they get into arguments.

On a lighter note, look at these balls MPPJ has put up at the junction in SS3, PJ. Another example of mindless decorative items filling up empty lands which are better served as a green lung to the already choking metropolis known as PJ. If you guys have interesting photos of such wasteful projects, do e-mail them to me at sikapitan@yahoo.com and I’ll try to post it in the site. Till then, let’s have a ball shall we…