Of Arabs and Disservice...
Written on 1/13/2007 04:24:00 am by sikapitan
I read in the NST today about these women who got entangled into relationships with men of Middle-Eastern origin and then was blackmailed with their nude pictures (but of course…).
I like Michael CHOng (bloody hell...), and I think whatever his motives are, at least people know that if there is someone who could speak up on their behalf, it’s him. Is there an equivalent in UMNO or PAS? Not that I’ve heard of. But the report in NST featured 3 different tales from 3 different girls with one common denominator – Middle Eastern men.
It’s hard enough to be an Arab nowadays, what with everyone thinking you’re fully strapped with explosives every time you stroll along KLCC, without being further implicated as some sort of kinky, blackmailing adulterer who takes no prisoner when it comes to loving Malaysian women.
It’s the same when we talk about Africans in Malaysia. All they seem to be associated with is fraud, fake money and selling fake Rolexes. But I’ve seen and met Africans and Arabs who are simply here to earn a living/getting their education/having a nice holiday And I can bet that there are more of these than there are those who sells fake Rolexes (or maybe not…). I don’t have Arab friends or African friends, so you can be rest assured that my motives here are simply to remind everyone to think twice before pigeonholing any particular race, gender or nationality.
On another, more somber note, the flood disaster engulfing various parts of our nation is estimated to have cost more than RM100 MILLION in damages. The Government has just announced a further RM500 for families affected by the flood. I am estimating that each family has now received around RM1000 after this RM500. Is RM1000 really enough to survive nowadays? I mean, think about it. We are talking about damages not only to living quarters but also, for some, to their livelihood. Farmers and such will be without income for the next few months! And they have to survive only on RM1000? For the WHOLE FAMILY???
Isn’t it ironic that the poorer just gets poorer? They don’t have that much savings in the first place, and whatever savings they have will be used to continue on living. This is the vicious cycle that people don’t realize. How can you think of buying your children books and those learning videos or send them to “child enrichment centers” when you’re more concerned with whether they have enough food or clothes to wear? Thus these children are at a disadvantage, leading to poor performance in school exams, which in our result oriented education system, will further limit their potential to learn. They become farmers just like their fathers and grandfathers before them. I have deviated from my desired course, but I think I need to make that point.
So should we give them more? Yes, I believe we should. And when I say we, I don’t mean only through donations and such. The Government must and should ease their burden. It’s too expensive, they might say. But expensive is relative. When you can spend RM500 MILLION on a summer camp, or millions on pretty streetlights or billions on over-priced projects, then perhaps RM5, 000 per family doesn’t seem too expensive now does it?
Forget about donating money then. What about more manpower?? The government agencies are doing their best but they are not being creative. What the affected States need is a group of young, hardworking workers who has to follow instructions and will serve the State for a couple of months. Not experts, but just able bodies who can clean up the mess, help families clear up their homes, rebuild houses and other menial work FOR FREE!!! Where do we get them from?
Remember this group that the government rounds up everyone year, and send to camps all over the country, under the banner of National Service? Let me spell it out for you – N A T I O N A L S E R V I C E. Servicing the nation (well, that doesn’t sound quite right…) is their motto. But what do they do besides getting stuck waiting for buses? Yes, they do go around doing “gotong-royong” but here is an opportunity for the Government to really emphasis that the trainees from NS will be useful and IS USEFUL. Just think of it as another gotong-royong, just that this time, they will be really helping those in need.
I like Michael CHOng (bloody hell...), and I think whatever his motives are, at least people know that if there is someone who could speak up on their behalf, it’s him. Is there an equivalent in UMNO or PAS? Not that I’ve heard of. But the report in NST featured 3 different tales from 3 different girls with one common denominator – Middle Eastern men.
It’s hard enough to be an Arab nowadays, what with everyone thinking you’re fully strapped with explosives every time you stroll along KLCC, without being further implicated as some sort of kinky, blackmailing adulterer who takes no prisoner when it comes to loving Malaysian women.
It’s the same when we talk about Africans in Malaysia. All they seem to be associated with is fraud, fake money and selling fake Rolexes. But I’ve seen and met Africans and Arabs who are simply here to earn a living/getting their education/having a nice holiday And I can bet that there are more of these than there are those who sells fake Rolexes (or maybe not…). I don’t have Arab friends or African friends, so you can be rest assured that my motives here are simply to remind everyone to think twice before pigeonholing any particular race, gender or nationality.
On another, more somber note, the flood disaster engulfing various parts of our nation is estimated to have cost more than RM100 MILLION in damages. The Government has just announced a further RM500 for families affected by the flood. I am estimating that each family has now received around RM1000 after this RM500. Is RM1000 really enough to survive nowadays? I mean, think about it. We are talking about damages not only to living quarters but also, for some, to their livelihood. Farmers and such will be without income for the next few months! And they have to survive only on RM1000? For the WHOLE FAMILY???
Isn’t it ironic that the poorer just gets poorer? They don’t have that much savings in the first place, and whatever savings they have will be used to continue on living. This is the vicious cycle that people don’t realize. How can you think of buying your children books and those learning videos or send them to “child enrichment centers” when you’re more concerned with whether they have enough food or clothes to wear? Thus these children are at a disadvantage, leading to poor performance in school exams, which in our result oriented education system, will further limit their potential to learn. They become farmers just like their fathers and grandfathers before them. I have deviated from my desired course, but I think I need to make that point.
So should we give them more? Yes, I believe we should. And when I say we, I don’t mean only through donations and such. The Government must and should ease their burden. It’s too expensive, they might say. But expensive is relative. When you can spend RM500 MILLION on a summer camp, or millions on pretty streetlights or billions on over-priced projects, then perhaps RM5, 000 per family doesn’t seem too expensive now does it?
Forget about donating money then. What about more manpower?? The government agencies are doing their best but they are not being creative. What the affected States need is a group of young, hardworking workers who has to follow instructions and will serve the State for a couple of months. Not experts, but just able bodies who can clean up the mess, help families clear up their homes, rebuild houses and other menial work FOR FREE!!! Where do we get them from?
Remember this group that the government rounds up everyone year, and send to camps all over the country, under the banner of National Service? Let me spell it out for you – N A T I O N A L S E R V I C E. Servicing the nation (well, that doesn’t sound quite right…) is their motto. But what do they do besides getting stuck waiting for buses? Yes, they do go around doing “gotong-royong” but here is an opportunity for the Government to really emphasis that the trainees from NS will be useful and IS USEFUL. Just think of it as another gotong-royong, just that this time, they will be really helping those in need.
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