Lion-pore Pt 2: The Malaysia Dilemma

I don't know whether it's because I'm so pro opposition (but I dislike the government no the country) or that I have very little Malaysian pride, I really love Singapore. I always told people that Malaysia was a great country, just that the government wasn't so great. The idea behind this saying was it is because of such governance that places like Murni's in ss2, PJ has managed to occupy the whole street as their mamak place and not get caught by the authorities. Or to be able to pee in public places as long as you're not caught. Or to eat chewing gum!!

Now, after a brief day trip visit to Singapore, this is my new saying. "Malaysia is a great country, but Singapore is even greater!" Yes my friends, it is this bloggers opinion that Singapore is indeed greater. The reason behind this being that it has almost everything that Malaysia has, as fas as I'm concerned la, and a better and more transparent govenrment. A very prime example on Singapore's good governance is how they've handle their finances. A small ass country with no natural resources has managed to hold a higher currency than Malaysia and almost rivals Australia. The paradigm shift here is the result of an unveiling of once overlooked things. Things like how the police officers are paid very well, hence less tendency for corruption. Or how ministers are paid very well, hence less likely for corruption. Or how the schools alumni really give back into their schools, knowing how important education is (maybe cuz they're just so freakin' kiasu. You decide).

Don't get me wrong. I am not putting Malaysia down. As I have said, it is a great country. My point is that it is possible for Malaysia to be even greater than it can be right now. There is just sooooo much room for improvement. What's stopping us? The government. And please get me right here. I am dissing the government. Of course, in every country, there is a form of government. And these are made up from people, human beings that were elected by the other people, human beings. So let's all be realistic here. Human beings aren't perfect so naturally not every government is perfect. While that is a valid and certain truth, the problem with Malaysia is that the government is too close to imperfection. Corruption is so blatant and widespread that even a screwdriver can cost RM500. Here's another thought. Why do you think we don't have super resorts like Sentosa beach or the Sands in Singapore? It's because it'll just cost too much!! Everyone here wants to stick their hand in as many cookie jars as they can, all trying to get the biggest cookie. Also, there are very lame rules in Sarawak on how buildings cannot be taller than buildings that the Chief Minister has built or owns.

It is sad to see that the government does not want to change and after 50 years, where has it left us? Very well behind Singapore. I really have lost a little bit of my Malaysian pride and I now fully understand why they are people who want out. I suppose this is a good wake up call to what my dad is trying to do in politics. Now, after finding out that Singapore has everything that Malaysia offers and much much more, the future of me staying in Malaysia is getting bleaker. I suppose this could just be a 'happy high' one feels after oooh-ing and aaah-ing, and may have clouded my judgments. Regardless, if there is a hope for change, then I guess I'm staying :)

Lion-pore Pt 1

If you're Malaysian and still haven't gotten the really lame joke, I suggest you get a CT scan :P That aside, it really was a mind blowing experience going to Singapore this year (18th Jan) because at my age, I paid attention to a whole different set of things. The last time I was in Singapore was 5 years ago and the only thing that I could remember was that I was always on the look out for pretty girls. My point is that my priority and focus has changed la for holidays now. Yes that's my point.

ANYWAYS..

Firstly, a big big thank you to Elvine Neo, Marcus Chew, and Lynn for the tour around Singapore. To Elvine and Marcus for their valiant efforts in keeping awake the whole day while showing me and my brother around Singapore. Also, a special thanks to Elvine for getting my new awesome Taylor 414ce for me and bro (just picked it from my cousin's place, he didn't buy it for me ok?*I wish :P*) And to Lynn, who managed to get her make up all done in the car, and still managed to tell me stuff about Singapore on the way to work.

So after coming back again after 5 years, Singapore has, if I may quote Russell Peters, BLASTED MY MIND. The moment I landed in the arrival terminal I told my brother that I was going to post on my blog "50 reasons why Singapore is great", which I am hoping to get done after this.

To start of the greatness of Singapore, I'll start with their very own Singapore bak kut teh. I must say that this was definitely a gastronomical treat/torture. Most Malaysians think that all Singapore foods are copied and changed a little by the Singaporeans. I suppose this could be one of the modified foods but I must say that it could be very well be an attractive alternative to bak kut teh. Now, for some of you people who don't know what bak kut teh is, or have heard and eaten and still don't know what it is, it's basically pork ribs in pork stock. Most Malaysians associate bak kut teh with pork ribs in black herbal pork soup and eaten with rice and yew cha kueh. All this is done similarly with Singapore's bak kut teh except one thing. Instead of herbs, Singaporeans put in a whole bag of pepper into their soup!! So the big difference here is that Singapore's bak kut teh is very very very peppery which I found to my own surprise, very good. The meat wasn't hard to pull of the bone and the food was complimented with an interesting tea that had a very sweet after taste.

Next up was Ion Orchard, Orchard Road's new shopping mall. A friend of mine said that Singapore has too many shopping malls. I now know why. Singapore really has too many shopping malls. Anyways, Ion was great. Apparently, the higher you go, the more expensive things get. A good guide would be if you're shopping with your friends, you might want to stick around B3 to B1. Level 1 and above, you've got to bring your parents :) Of course I went the whole 9 yards and went from the bottom to the top to window shop, obviously. Lunch was Singapore's bak chor mee at Ion's food court. I think that's how you spell it. It's translated to mean minced pork meat and mushrooms. That's what Marcus told me. Although I didn't see any mushrooms, it was uber good. There's a good mix of 4 different sauces including vinegar and chilli along with the noodles and the meat toppings went deliciously well with the noodles all except one; the dried fish. Apparently I'm supposed to eat that first before eating the noodles kinda like an appetiser before the main meal. Funny much?After lunch was a road trip around the major parts of Singapore city which included Singapore's CBD, the Sands resort and the very windy Marina Barrage.

Now I've been saving the mind blasting part for the last :D I found this to be the most jaw dropping, the most 'oooh-aaah' moments during the trip. Ok, so the mind blasting part were the schools. Be it primary, secondary or colleges, the schools in Singapore are big ass epic huge/gargantuan/colossal/go look at the thesaurus. The Paya Lebar Methodist Girl's School building was as big as KDU college. No joke. It could be that since Singapore doesn't have much land so the schools must be pretty big to accommodate all the kids. That's not the case. Check this link for the list of schools in Singapore.

Now this primary school was just the tip of the mind blast iceberg. Next up is Raffles Institution (RI). IF you're from Malaysia, you'll know that all schools have the same architecture. You have one block for the staff room, a few blocks for the classrooms, some blocks for the labs and etc. With that mentality, you'll never spot RI from a distance. That's because RI can pass as some sort of corporation HQ building. There's also the Australian International School which could pass off as a hotel. It's big very nicely designed. I didn't manage to see NUS but to top it all of was the School of the Arts (SOTA). Very very corporate building with a nice dressing of creeper plants. I am really sorry that I could not take any pictures as I did not have a good enough camera to take pictures on the move so to really get things in perspective, the reader needs to go to Singapore.

With all that's been seen and said, I know where I'm going for my next holiday.

When October Ends

When October ends, exams end.

When October ends, the study ends.

When October ends, freedom begins.

Thank YOU God...Again

Thanks for puling me through again. *hugs*

Check It Out!!

Okay..so this is a special post for a special month occuring in a special year. It's 10.10.10 people!! But that's not why this month nor this year is special. It's because someone very special is turning 21 in October!! Yes, its yours truly. Sadly, exams fall around my birthday so celebrations have to be kept short and frugal. But it's ok. It gives me an excuse to party hard when I get back to Malaysia. That's all for this special post.

JB out!!

Reminisce

For once in a long long time I've touched Dota again and goodness I suck. BIG TIME. Was asked to a lan party at a friend's place and I've gotta say I played really poorly. Well, that's what you get when you don't practice.

Speaking of games, it's really weird that all the love for gaming is starting to reappear and it doesn't help when one of your friends just bought and Xbox 360!! I have an untouched Halo 3 cd in my cupboard and I intend to finish it by next week.

My neck hurts now from playing too long with all that stress building up to my shoulders. Bleh.. think I'll turn in soon.

Ramblings

It's times like these at 2.30am in the morning with a freezing weather outside you just don't feel like taking a bath. Why didn't I take a bath earlier you say? Well let's just say my bathing patterns are not the only things that have changed since the spring decided to go awol and winter weather has graced us again with chilly winds and dropping temperatures.

I used to hear stories when I was a kid of how you don't have to take a bath in winter because its SOOOOO cold. Well it's pretty true. The cold is a very strong deterrent to the notion of taking a bath. Sleeping with a little stickiness seems so inviting than the thought of stripping down bare and braving the cold to the bathroom, AND BACK!! Or it could just be plain laziness. Lazy to take a bath. Yes the cold here does something to your brain and induces you to make poor decisions. How'd you think I'd procrastinate taking a bath till 2.30 in the morning?

On another note, sleeping time has been fluctuating. Sometimes, bed time is before 12am. On other occasions, its at 3am in the morning. A comforting fact to know that lectures are recorded, hence the availability to wake up at 12pm or later. I've found out that I can sleep in cycles of a few hours at intervals of the day.

The math is simple; I have a total of about 9 to 10 sleep hours in a day. The catch is that I would sleep at 6am, wake up at 9am, do some stuffs till about lunch time, hit the sack at about 2pm and wake again at maybe 7pm and have dinner and you get the idea. Cool? SO NOT!! I feel like I've wasted the day sleeping. Well, this is Hobart and you only get to do something when the sun is up. After dark its pretty much a date with the laptop.

Okay, enough rambling for now. My hair is crying out for a bath. Oh the cold!!