The Ones We Love

Late last nite I was driving through a neighborhood in Bukit Jelutong. There was a cool breeze and everywhere the trees had shed their leaves. (Malaysia is in the northern hemisphere and our trees seem to know it is approaching autumn). The well laid out streets, the leaves on the sidewalks, the lights in the windows of a typical residential neighbourhood in Malaysia reminded me of the suburbs in the United States.  It evidences a quiet, peaceful and good quality of living.  (Except the American neighborhoods dont have link houses, their grass is more well kept and their sidewalks are less cracked up). We have built a nice country.

Well folks, I received email from someone who runs this site : Fake Malaysia News

They do pretty interesting spoofs and parodies of the local news.  I checked them out and also found out that I (OutSyed The Box) am featured in their list of  'The Ones We Love'.  Thank you guys. What can I say except  "tôi yêu anh".

Here is a screen capture.

I think I am not too far off if I say that politically the above site is more pro the Opposition than pro BN. That is fine. This is a free country. We have to keep it that way. So please support whoever you think serves your interests best. It is called freedom of choice.

Of course I dont suport the Opposition. I just cannot. Not in their present reincarnation. I think you have to be brain dead to support Pas.  And if you cannot see that PKR is just ex-UMNO types who lost their chance to make moolas, then you are brain dead too.

Ideologically the DAP has a chance - an extremnely good chance - if and only if the party's membership and leadership reflects the racial composition of the country.  Otherwise it remains a racial party - representing one race only. 

Supporting the present crop of BN leaders is also becoming increasingly difficult. I am not alone. I know too many people in gomen and in UMNO who agree 100% with me.  I can point names and name fingers but that would be a big booboo. 

One day when the Sedition Act is finally abolished I may share some information about meetings I have attended where people's extreme love of this country has led them to say some pretty wild things. And these people are not my old school chums either.  

There are patriots inside all of us. We have all consumed too much teh tarik at the 24 Jam mamak restaurant not to feel an intense sense of belonging to this land.

(The 24 Jam mamak restaurant is a huge symbol of the multiculturality that makes up the country.  Malaysians from all walks of life frequent the 24 Jam mamak restaurants - usually late into the night.  The food is a good mix of everything - mamak, Malay, Chinese, western, Thai - semua ada.  The waiters and workers are all foreigners, including illegals and illiterates. Indians, Banglas and Indons take your order (not neccessarily in writing) or cook your food. And the babble of tongues. The mamak restaurant is completely polyglot Malaysia. If you do not patronise the mamak joints, oh well, you just aint there yet.)

And the people in our districts, towns and kampongs literally live and breathe the land. They are the salt of this earth.

There is a convergence developing very rapidly in this country.  Increasingly we all share the same hopes, fears and have the same interests and objectives, irrespective of race, religion or language. This is largely due to urbanisation. This convergence was not there say 30 years ago.

This convergence of interests presents great opportunities to forge a truly united and prosperous nation, and in double quick time. We can become a fantastic country in five years. We can build a great nation in less than twenty years. All the groundwork is already there.

It takes some creativity, boldness and a genuine desire to do good. "Me first" has to be replaced with 'What can I do for you?' or 'How may I help you?' And you must be colour blind. Maybe its too tall an order?  There are giants among us. There is one in your mirror.