by Richard Loh
October 5, 2011
My dream comes true in a dream within a dream. I woke up to find a total different Malaysia that most Malaysians have been waiting for even though we have yet to attain the developed status. But, is being a developed nation that important when the rakyat are just as happy and living a peaceful and prosperous life with a matured democracy?
Home Front
My daily routine after waking up is to stand at the balcony of my 900 SF apartment, breathing some fresh air generated from the greenery’s not far away. This apartment was bought by my daughter who can afford to do so because it was reasonably priced and an income that allows her to do so.
On my breakfast table there were three newspapers, Utusan, NST and The Star. I read through them one at a time and feel happy reading them. Utusan headlines “Timbalan Perdana Mentri, XYZ, di- arah ka MACC untuk siasatan korupsi”, The Star front page news ‘A top NGO leader was sentenced to five years imprisonment for calling other ethnic groups ‘pendatang’ while NST reported that an opposition MP was disqualified after he was declared a bankrupt. All the papers were reporting exactly what is happening around us and I could not find a report about religion or racial conflict.
After breakfast I took a drive to the market,(usually I would take the MRT, which is nearby and directly stop at destinations where I wanted to go) about 10km away to test my new 1.6 Protonsia. This Protonsia is 100% Malaysian make, body and engine designed by local engineers and safety test approved by the international automobile association. This car model was even exported to the United States with the same price tag as other imported cars like Toyota, Nissan or Mazda of the same engine capacity.
Traffic was smooth, not many cars on the road as most people took the MRT to work. Finding a car park was not a problem at all. This market was huge which cater for the local population of over 100,000 and of three levels. The ground level for the wet market produce, 2nd level for groceries and dry products while the 3rd floor is the hawker center where you can find all kinds of food prepared by the locals from all races. Here you can see how the people of all races mingled together, sitting at the same table having their food while some older folks playing chess at another table.
As I drove out from the car park, a policeman stopped me. He spoke to me in English and Malay. “sir, please drive carefully, today jumaat, many people going to pray at a mosque nearby. Kalau Enche ada senang, Enche boleh pergi ka mosque selepas sembayang, sana ada jamuan untuk semua orang. This Sunday ada pun satu jamuan di church, panggil lah kawan kawan ramai datang.” He then handed me a leaflet, highlighting all my constituency communities events and functions for the month.
Before driving home I have to make a stop at the gas station. At RM1.20 per litre, our gas is the cheapest compared to most countries. Petronas dealings are no longer held in secrecy but in the open, managed by a team of qualified Malaysians selected and endorsed by parliament from both sides of the divide. Needless to say, food prices are also cheaper with the chain reaction originated from cheap gas.
Upon arriving home I saw my grandchildren playing with their schoolmates comprising of Malays and Indians at the apartment playground. I told all of them to come back to my apartment for some light snacks and clean up before they go home.
This is the Home Front that I am dreaming of, all communities of different races and religions living together, helping each other and leave religion and race on the back burner, only to be discussed and talked about as and when necessary only.
Dream, ya lor, different types – sweet dream, wet dream, nightmare, stale dream, etc
If the above dream comes true, than we will be in for a nightmare because all the middle eastern refugees currently sailing to Australia will head here to seek asylum instead.
Richard Loh needs to wake up, wash his face thoroughly and then wear his T-shirt that reads: “I don’t need sax. The bn government sods me for free every day.”
… the year had just ended. I sat myself down for a cup of coffee. Turned on the radio and reflected on the events of the year just past. On the airwave our beloved Mr Tan Pi Am was delivering an early morning new year speach, live, to the nation. One particular detail in his speech caught my interest. “Jibra Nazak will be sentenced tommorrow for the murder of Mongal Tan …” “Ahhh. About time.” I thought. An intense sense of relief then overcame me. The era of crushed bones and lost lives will be a thing of the past, forever. I then took a sip from the mug. It was the same brand of coffee I have had for the last countless decades. Somehow this time – this sip – of that thick black fluid tasted extraordinary fragrant. Life.
Dreams we all have…good dreams..bad dreams…sweet dreams…and occasionally…nightmares.
But driving from P.Jaya to KL..around cities.. are daily nightmares.
Town planning..city planning ….half done always.
Wait for hundreds of billions available and have 2/3 majority …then they will act.
Meanwhile…the priority is…. giving good news to civil servants to win their confidence and votes.
Incidentally, Malaysia has a “Satisfaction with life index” of 17 out of 178 countries in 2006, and a “Happy planet index” of 44 out of 143 countries in the same year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satisfaction_with_Life_Index
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Planet_Index
not even in western world . probably in Singapore , Taiwan , Hong Kong and China ( coastal city) . Can you trace why? multiculturalism not a perfect answer. All the mono and core value , the right platform.
Francis Loh, this piece below is not a dream—
Yesterday, a teacher from Penang phoned me sounding upset.
Apparently, a couple of Muslim pupils had obtained Deepavali cards to send to their friends and their tuition teacher.
Another teacher, however, found the pupils with the greeting cards. She confiscated the cards and handed them over to the religious teacher.
When the pupils tried to retrieve the cards, they were reimbursed what they had spent on the cards.
The pupils were told that it was against their religion to send such greeting cards as it amounted to celebrating the festival. They were also warned against such practices.
http://anilnetto.com/religion-and-ethnicity/ethnic-and-inter-religious-relations/is-this-1malaysia/#more-32307
Francis Loh, wakey, wakey, this piece below is not a dream—
Yesterday, a teacher from Penang phoned me sounding upset.
Apparently, a couple of Muslim pupils had obtained Deepavali cards to send to their friends and their tuition teacher.
Another teacher, however, found the pupils with the greeting cards. She confiscated the cards and handed them over to the religious teacher.
When the pupils tried to retrieve the cards, they were reimbursed what they had spent on the cards.
The pupils were told that it was against their religion to send such greeting cards as it amounted to celebrating the festival. They were also warned against such practices.
http://anilnetto.com/religion-and-ethnicity/ethnic-and-inter-religious-relations/is-this-1malaysia/#more-32307
Seems like our local novelists are beginning to take the lead in creating racial harmony. Begone most of the politicians and some teachers…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CQTV2xXsrs&feature=player_embedded
Richard Loh,
Come to Singapore, people will say you are ‘siao’, such boring and mundane thing you dreamt about and you wrote about it and got published.
In Singapore, this is the most boring and normal thing in daily lives. !!
chengho….what are you babbling about?
Can’t you write a simple sentence at all?
Your boss is making deals with Malaysians.
What say you?