Last Sunday we shopped in the Forest Hill Chase shopping centre, partly to look for kiddo’s stuff for a “show and tell” session in school. As we were about to leave, we walked past a Tatts Lotto outlet and saw a poster with the bright red ball with “22” written on it. Theresa and I looked at each other and said, “Yeah – why not?” It was a “powerball” draw (whatever that means) and it is to take place today
Today’s the draw. 22 big ones. It’s only the second time we have bought a lottery ticket. It is more a fun, raffles sort of thing. There’s a sense of excitement which clever advertising has obviously and successfully created.
I was just dreaming about it (the advertising catchphrase was “ticket to dream”) and thought about what I’d do if we actually win 22 million bucks. Would I quit my job? I guess so, but what would I do? I guess most of us work because we have to. So if you suddenly have 22 million dollars, you’d start thinking about stuff you really want to do.
Yet as I thought about it, would I make any sense if I said I don’t want the trap of freedom from routine? If I say routine liberates me, that having to wake up every morning (especially on a Monday) to go to work on time and put in the required hours, that these obligations liberate me, would I make any sense?
Imagine having to do nothing everyday. Wouldn’t that be a trap that emasculates instead or is it a liberating act which empowers? I know, I know, true freedom comes from wanting to do something, and doing something because one wants to, not have to. But what if you have no conviction of any kind and you only do what you want to do for some epicurean indulgence? I mean if I have nothing to do, even if that means I don’t have to do anything, what would I choose to do?
I could choose, because I now acknowledge the role God has in our lives, to preach the gospel or serve in the church in some full-time capacity. But that is a calling, not a volunteer’s first port of call. I must fit into His purpose and He must see it fit to use me, for which I believe some preparation is essential (before the calling comes). What do I do then? Charity work? But I have no heart in that one. Travel? Not without my family, and my daughter cannot grow up an idiot just because I now have 22 million dollars – she has to go to school. Employ a private tutor? No, I want her to learn like everyone else, to get along, to overcome bullies, to have homework, music lessons and all the other worries of a typical high school student. So if she has to go to school, how can Theresa and I travel? We have to wait for her school holidays.
What WOULD I do? I think I’d still go to work. Yes, wake up early every morning and go to work. So I guess the 22 million dollars wont change very much of what I do day-to-day.
Speaking of waking up, isn’t it about time for daylight savings? This delaying of daylight savings because of Commonwealth Games business is annoying. Isn’t it bad enough we have roads closed all over the city, we now have to live with pitched dark mornings because of some third rate Games? The Commonwealth Games is third rate, is it not? Especially now that Ian Thorpe would not be swimming and Paula Radcliff would not be running? Who else isn’t coming? I wonder if Asafa Powell now regrets showing up. He must be thinking he’s not in the “happening” party.
I can imagine the Sydney-siders sneering at us Mexicans now. They had the 2000 Olympics and we have the Commonwealth Games. They have the Oscars and we have some Malam Anugerah something – that’s the comparison, I guess.
Someone told me yesterday, that the Malaysian contingent had their boxes of Maggi Mee confiscated. I guess no one told them about the Australian quarantine rules. And no one told them you can get Maggi Mee pretty much anywhere in Melbourne where Coles or Safeway is, which is pretty much anywhere in Melbourne! But why Maggi Mee. I often wonder why self professed food lovers like Malaysians stick to our diet so much.
I recall being in Rome once with Theresa and her father. We missed Chinese food so much (read: rice and three dishes, preferably all cooked with varying degrees of dashing the soy sauce) we walked for over an hour all over the cobbled streets of Rome, looking for Chinese restaurants when the rich Italian cafes and cuisines are begging for sampling.
Thus when I found myself alone walking the streets of the La Ramblas in Barcelona, I happily sampled the tapas, paella’s and sangrias. They were wonderful. Even the oily battered deep-fried prawn cutlets of some smoky English pubs are to be preferred, when on a holiday.
Perhaps when I get my hands on 22 million dollars, I’d take my Theresa, her parents, my parents and of course kiddo, and go somewhere exotic like Burkina Faso, then pay some Chinamen to whip up our rice and 3 dishes. That would be truly liberating, wouldn’t it?
Ante 
I am currently studying in the Australia, I grew up with the slogan “Malaysia Truly Asia” – however, this is not true, it seems more like “Australia Truly Asia” and let me explain why I think so – when I first landed here, I saw a multi-cultural society consisting of people from various ethnic backgrounds. It doesn’t even matter if the person has landed on the moon, you will only be awarded if you can prove that you deserve it. Your well being here depends on who you are (your personality), and what you can contribute! Unlike Malaysia, where opportunities are given to the malays, regardless of what they are worth of. Shame! As a Malaysia citizen myself, I am ashamed to tell fellow Australia citizens that I am from Malaysia, because they all know that people like malays are given privileges. The malays have no pride in themselves and that is why they will never ever be able to compete on a level playing field. There is so much discrimination among the other races that there is no sense of pride whatsoever in being a Malaysian. Your eyes are open now because you are in the Australia. That is the difference between a developed country and a third world dump!
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The malays are a truly hypocrite bunch of people. All this bullshit about the ‘freedom of religion’ as only appears to apply to anyone but not the malays! The malays have made Islam such a hated religion with many man-made laws and impositions, all to suit their own convenience, and yet they claim to be ‘Islamic’ without even practicing the religion as it was intended to be practiced.If Malaysia only wants Islam, then get rid of all the other races and live truly as ‘Malay’sia, and see the country being destroyed by brainless malays monkeys in a matter of one year! Why can’t all races live in harmony? Why must anything that is related to Islam be such a huge contentious issue? What the hell is the Syariah Court? These so-called Syariah ‘lawyers’ are a joke to the legal profession. The travesty of justice in Malaysia regarding converts to Islam especially is demeaning and a pathetic joke. The Federal Court which is the supreme legal authority in Malaysia is ‘impotent’ against this useless Syariah Court when it comes to matters dealing with conversion! What absolute rubbish!The malays are nothing but over-zealous hypocrites who don’t even understand Islam in the proper context, let alone profess to practice it!If malays want to progress in the world, you malays will have to rid the notion of God and your religion. It is your backward religion that is holding you back from every strata. Look at Muslim countries. They are absolutely backwards in every aspect, living in the most poverty-ridden corners. But when it comes to religion, and building mosques which is half empty always, they build the best ones. Ignoring the poor people who live in shacks.In Malaysia there is a mosque about every 100km and now they are built along the main streets of all towns. Is it to prove that you malays are so very religious? You malays think that every one has only sex in their mind all the time! This is a fault that undermines humans.Now you malays have to rid your backward religion and go forward. And you malays must learn to accept that there is no God but dog.Malaysia will never achieve developed status, certainly not with the malays. At least Mahathir built two tall structures that got the attention of the world, as he knew that the intellectual ‘capabilities’ of the malays were as good as a cow in the padi field, regardless of any kind of miracle!Despite all that the Malaysia government has been doing for the malays for ages, the malays are still way behind in terms of everything. They are lazy and have become so accustomed to handouts that they refuse to work to earn an honest living. It is very sad. Why can’t all races compete fairly? Remove all the barriers and ensure free competition based on merit and capability, rather than by race. Will that ever happen?Everything in Malaysia is a joke when it comes to the malays. They are laughed at by everyone in this world for being incompetent, lazy, useless morons. Be like Raja Petra……….a self-made man to be proud of, also a malay that is objective and can distinguish right from wrong.
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Absolutely agree with you……….I feel so sad that our MCA and Gerakan……….all blind……….act like idiots, they even go to blame professional non-malays for leaving our country……….Sad to say they just want to serve their own private interests. They are the worshippers, followers of the great greedy.They shamelessly lie, mislead and deceive on all issues, we find the traces of work of these running dogs. They distorted facts, twisting the principle of social fairness, justice and equality, for just to win a bone throws by their master.The people acted like beasts, had already traded their souls with the devil.My daughter scored straight As in her STPM exam in 2003, but she was only offered a place to pursue an ordinary science course in University Malaya instead of her choice pharmacy course. Other students (malay pig) with 2B 2C result had the opportunities to enter pharmacy course. Eventually, my daughter decided to apply Singapore University, she was not only accepted to study a course of her choice, but was also offered a scholarship. Where is the justice? Now I am thinking to emigrate to Australia for good.Like many others say, losers will stay, go out winner.I sympathize with you on your some bad experiences in foreign countries. I can relate 10 similar bad experiences in Malaysia, and I can also relate 10 good experiences in foreign countries. So it is not the few bad experiences that should determine your and your offspring’s future.You feel comfortable in Malaysia because that is your comfort zone, so you prefer not to leave. In a foreign country you don’t know their custom as well so you might have behaved inappropriately that caused some bad vibes. Understandable.All the same, a frog in a well can only describe the world as big as a well. I am not saying you are a frog, just a Chinese saying.For my overseas experience, I can say that Australia is very beautiful, very high class, very nice country! Indonesia otherwise is making troubles, terrorists, robbers, pirates, they are a “negative group inferior people”. Never go to this inferior country travel, your life will be safe, don’t forget terrorist attack in Bali Island. Never employ this inferior people working in your house, they can murder your family and took away your money. Never employ this inferior people working in your factory, they can damage your machines. I suggest we must employ India, Thailand, Vietnam labours. Thank for cooperate.
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In the 1980s when Mahathir was asked to comment about the brain drain, he curtly replied that, “If he open the doors of this (Malaysia) country wide, a lot of people would be happy to come in.” His message to the non-malays was leave if you want to, the more the merrier, because for every 1 of you leaving, 10 people from outside would be more willing to come in to replace you.What Mahathir uttered reflected Umno’s agenda of wanting more non-malays to leave, and more Arabs, Indonesians, Pakistanis – in fact anyone Muslim to come in to replace them. That way they would eventually have a Malay/Muslim country with Ketuanan Melayu being more meaningful, and not a Malaysian country with the playing field being level for all races which they would oppose at all costs! A Ketuanan Melayu country with all its defects stemming from all kinds of brainless cods is more preferable to them than a progressive Malaysian country, with equal opportunities for all races being able to take its place among the best in the world! Their warped logic as reflected by Mahathir is why should this country be progressive when the malays do not benefit. Better to have a regressive country with malays benefiting and always dominating the others. But retribution will come eventually, although not in our lifetime. Maybe a hundred years from now, they will wake up and find that all that pampering, muddling and coddling of the malays would have the ironic effect of making them degenerate into spineless creatures, reflecting a chaotic mess which will hinder them from competing with the best brains in the sweeping era and tide of globalization which knows no borders.The world is increasing becoming a global village. As the popular saying goes, the world would not care who we are (malays) or what we stand for (Ketuanan Melayu) – only what we can offer to compete with the best. And going by the future is predictable. By the prophecy “melayu takkan hilang di dunia” will be fulfilled in reverse. An epitaph to Umno!
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There is a huge diamond in the centre of a square room and there are 4 people in the room. Batman, dumb malay, smart malay and Spiderman stands at each corner respectively. So the lights went off, and 4 of them rush towards the diamond. Who got the diamond? Answer: Dumb malay, because Batman, smart malay and Spiderman are fictional characters.
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Does anyone really expect Pak Lah to full frontally outright challenge the malay special rights? Even if he wants to, he can’t; Umno will disown him. I like to think that when he mentioned subsidies, he was thinking of the special ones the malays receive as well.Everywhere I go, it is the same. The malays expecting the government to enforce this or that special privileges. The Chinese expecting the government to pull back those special privileges. Malays are deteriorating in social and moral values so fast in the last few years that we shudder to think what is going to happen in the next few years!Apostasy, incest, molest, rape, sodomy, unwed pregnancies cases are getting out of hand and spreading throughout the country!Islam in Malaysia is a total disgrace. Malays are a disgrace lot. In due time they will take their proper place among the Orang Asli and the Orang Asli will have moved on.So many malay youths are incarcerated in drug rehabilitation centres, prisons, and that so much money is being wasted on these social delinquents!A genetically flawed race (babiputras) cannot be fixed by politically. Nature will take its course and globalization will put them out to pasture.What have we got now? Brain drain, economic disparity getting wider, poor education system, racial segregation, widespread corruption, inefficiency and uncompetitive on the government departments and others.Likewise, fixing the nation’s problems begins with you – all of us.
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Does anyone really expect Pak Lah to full frontally outright challenge the malay special rights? Even if he wants to, he can’t; Umno will disown him. I like to think that when he mentioned subsidies, he was thinking of the special ones the malays receive as well.Everywhere I go, it is the same. The malays expecting the government to enforce this or that special privileges. The Chinese expecting the government to pull back those special privileges. Malays are deteriorating in social and moral values so fast in the last few years that we shudder to think what is going to happen in the next few years!Apostasy, incest, molest, rape, sodomy, unwed pregnancies cases are getting out of hand and spreading throughout the country!Islam in Malaysia is a total disgrace. Malays are a disgrace lot. In due time they will take their proper place among the Orang Asli and the Orang Asli will have moved on.So many malay youths are incarcerated in drug rehabilitation centres, prisons, and that so much money is being wasted on these social delinquents!A genetically flawed race (babiputras) cannot be fixed by politically. Nature will take its course and globalization will put them out to pasture.What have we got now? Brain drain, economic disparity getting wider, poor education system, racial segregation, widespread corruption, inefficiency and uncompetitive on the government departments and others.Likewise, fixing the nation’s problems begins with you – all of us.
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Yup, throw meritocracy out of the window and see what happens! In Australia, a Malaysian Chinese becomes youngest ever PhD holder in University of Melbourne, top university in Australia. That is because he went there at 3 years old.Conclusion? Migrate to somewhere else where you are appreciated and where you can excel and bloom. Don’t waste your talent here in this Malaysia country where only the mediocre and the well-connected (usually not mutually exclusive) excel. And yes, Vijay Singh would not have been world champion if he had stayed in Malaysia.And for those Malaysians with ambition to become a world class golfer. After using the unforgiving fairways and greens here in Malaysia……….get out! Go out somewhere where you can really become a champs. Places where sports don’t mix with politics.Do you think you are lucky too? No! You will be even more lucky if you go to Australia at age 16. Do you see the change of environment changed the person! If Malaysia allows open competitions and accept only those capable students into the capable universities, Malaysia will not be Malaysia as is today.Some shared this sad theory:The poorer the country (education and money), the stronger the government influence. So in order to gain prolonged control, the people have to pay (with debt and education).Well, how true……….the NEP failed. Make me question, was it ever meant to be successful? No wonder these talents left Malaysia. They emigrated for ‘self incubate’ themselves to be successful.On the other hand, I have to admit that in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is the king. Thus, anyone smarter with guts could make it with a lot of hard work. Also true.Let us face the real issue here, education is a political issue to be used and score points and that is what Malaysia ministers in parliament will ever see it as. Strange, one can say that the NEP was really helping non-malays. I am non-malays and fully support the NEP as it is preparing us for real world outside Malaysia. How many Malaysians have moved to overseas and contributed to their adopted country? Just like the Jews in the second world war, they have contributed so much more to their adopted country. So, the NEP is great for us as it force us to be more that we are and force us all out of Malaysia, and competition is easier when we move into another country.Thank you Bolehland for forcing former Malaysians to be more than what we are and to contribute to our adopted country, by rejecting us and telling us that we are not good enough. After all, we have the results to prove it.Also, just to note, this sort of treatment does not only extend when you are in Malaysia. I know of countless cases where Malaysians of their adopted countries have rendered more help to them than local Malaysia embassy, as they do not want to know you if you are less than a “Dato”.This is true especially in Australia, as I have met with Malaysians in Australia not getting any help when their passport was stolen or burnt.As regards to the passport thing, there is a joke about the comparison of the Malaysian passport and the Australian passport.The Australian passport isn’t worth that much as it is valueless if possessed by others, and to reapply back the passport, you just get it back from any post office within ten days time. However, when their citizens are in trouble overseas, the whole country is backing them as reflected from the recent cases of drug couriers in Singapore. Though it is not a good example, but it just shows how much they care for their people, please note that the citizens include yellow, white and black.To the migrants, Australia is a place they really can call it home!
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Yes. Better fly off whenever you feel not satisfy.What I do know is that with so-called special rights, Malaysia lost a lot of talented brains. Those well-off enough go overseas to study and stay there. The rest just make do. Some turn out to be big and successful businessmen. The rest may be on smaller scale but beside business, what can they do?With many families who had moved to a country that outwardly displays basic rights, it would be wiser the families who are still in Malaysia can really push themselves to get settled in Australia, from been regarded as second class citizens. With so many who had already established, and became citizens of Australia, in all fairness they must pull the stranded families from the clutches of the evil and bigoted malay government.It is pleasing to the hearts and souls to see success stories in this board, and hope many more can get out from the horrible and nightmarish daily events anyone have to go through been in Malaysia, that regards its other citizens as unimportant and not part of the fabric.Once again success comes from hard work and determination, and I know everyone has to go through to get the rewards, but in Malaysia there is no such thing for any to be successful from determination, because it only favors one race and no one else.No matter how many times you tell your encounter abroad, they would just turn a deaf ear, continuing to practise their racial discriminatory policy.They are just like robbers. Time after time they’d said if you don’t give us what we want, violence is the only answer.Regretfully, there is no such thing as a free lunch in the real world. Whilst someone has to pay for it in the interim, everyone has to pay for it in the end.
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Ian, are you being comment spammed?Though I agree with the gist of the 9 comments, being too extreme is unhealthy. The comments hint of reverse racism towards Malays in general ;)My 2 cents.A Fellow Malaysian living in Australia
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I guess this looks like spam. I seldom publicise my blog so I guess there’s a way to find articles/write-ups on such subjects and spam the site carrying them. I dont expect too many more so would not include any filtering/ censorship features as yet. If it happens again, then maybe I would.
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