Why Malaysia's Government Arent SMART Enough.

I am proud to have a Malaysian background. However, the more and more I read about how smart the people leading Malaysia is, I am embarrassed. It has become a point that each time I see the face of a politician on TV or in the newspaper, I wonder if the politician knows what people really think of them.

 

Of course, not everyone shares my point of view. There are many people in Malaysia who will hang on every word politicians say because they want to be the recipient of projects. As you may or may not know, the Malaysian government has a glowing reputation of buying things at very high prices. Don't believe me? Why not read this beautiful article by Marina Mahathir at the Star Online.

 

When will the Malaysian public finally say enough is enough?

 

Pakatan seems to be doing well managing the economics of its states. Something that BN has failed to do during its time. Will Pakatan get the opportunity to run the country? I hope so.

 

But I also fear that BN might create chaos should they lose in the next election. Many people from BN have publicly threatened about the recurrence of May 13, 1969 should BN lose the next election. Their instilling fear into the public because their afraid that they might actually lose the next election. Their not worried about serving the people, their scared of losing their "under the table" stream of income.

 

Wan to see a humble leader? Look at the leader of the Kelantan or Penang state? They travel and live modestly, unlike the leaders of the other BN controlled state. How's that for comparison?

 

I am not saying its wrong to be rich. It's okay to be rich if you work hard. It's not okay to be rich from utter bribery.

Read Marina Mahathir's article at the Star Online, you'll know the truth.

Kill Someone and Get Only 3 Years Jail Time in Australia

I find it troubling to learn that in Australia, killing someone while driving a car, drunk (blood alcohol level 3 times that of the legal driving limit) only gets you 3 years of jail time.

 

Everyone is remorseful after an accident. This shouldnt allow them to be given a lenient penalty. Think of the loss the family and loved ones of the poor lady that was killed by the drink driver - not only was she hit by the car, she even had her legs run over a second time by the drunk driver trying to escape.

 

This is not fair.

 

Read the whole story here:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-24/milan-patel-jailed-hit-run-nailsworth/3597146

 

 

Criticism

In life, everyone will criticise you when you're trying to achieve something, not when you're standing idle.

 

People don't like it when you move forward in life and they remain stationary.

 

Take all criticism under consideration but evaluate for yourself which ones are valid and which are pure jealousy.

 

Life is meant to be changing. So be proud of your actions and don't listen to by standers.

 

 

 

 

 

Carlos Tevez: How Could He Have Misunderstood...

 

Carlos Tevez.

 

If you didn't know who he was before, well now you should know.

 

His recent decision to not come on an play for Manchester City in a Champions League match has catapulted his name in the search engines. His excuse - apparently he misunderstood what the coach, Roberto Mancini, wanted of him.

 

Duh? How stupid is this guy?

 

He expects us to think that he misunderstood the coach's language when asking him to come on as a substitute. Is this the first time he was ever asked to come and play from the bench?

 

FIFA is right if it goes ahead and bans Carlos from playing football for a couple of seasons. If nothing is done about this, this allows any player to refuse to play so that they can move to another club of their choice.

 

Carlos Tevez should be banned from playing for several seasons.

 

To The Liverpool Football Team

This is a plea to the great Liverpool football team.

For the last 19 years I have been waiting patiently for you to win the English League Title once more. But you allowed the Red Devils to take the thrown of the best team in England. And dont give me the bull shit that 18+5 > 19+3. It's quite obvious to everyone that Liverpool is no match for the current Manchester United.

So, stop all the tweeting and Facebook status updates patting the back of fellow teammates. Stop wasting time and just focus on getting the work done on the field. 

As always, the pre-season is always more fun to watch than the season itself. And its no different this season.

Stop all the Facebook chatter and all the back thumping and just win all your fucking games, for once, will you?

Then, at the end of the season, when you have won the league, you can go and carry each others balls on Facebook.

Hypocrites Everywhere

I guess there's hypocrites everywhere in the world, isnt it?

Just look at one of Australia's biggest hypocrite: Coles CEO, according to Dick Smith.

 

 

Is Leaving Liverpool Football Club Bad for You?

Is it true that all those who leave Liverpool, in arrogance, for better pastures never found the grass to be greener on the other side?

 

Just ask Michael Owen and now Fernando Torres.

 

Will Australia Lose its Christian Roots?

I read in dismay of a primary school stopping its 25 year tradition of reciting the Lord's prayer during its assembly because apparently its goes against the rule that no religion shall be favoured.

 

Story of primary school banning the Lord's Prayer in Western Australia

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/primary-school-bans-lords-prayer-20110920-1kj4a.html

 

I understand tolerance but I find it hard to accept that Christians, n the basis of tolerance and understanding, give up a lot of our rights in favour of other religions when the other religions will not do the same for us.

 

I am reminded of the plumber who came to my place a few months ago when a tree root burst one of our pipes and during our conversation, when I told him that I, a Catholic, may or may not opt to become a PR, he chided for me not wanting to become a PR and said that because of people like myself, people with other religions end up becoming PR and these people are not tolerant of the Australian way or life and want to impose their own culture here.

 

They keyword here is impose.

 

I find it really hard to comprehend people leaving their oppressive country and coming to Australia for freedom but then they start to ask for their rules to be applied in Australia. What a fucking moron. Why do they come here in the first place?

 

I also understood from a Malaysian news report that under the asylum exchange program, we would send 800 Muslims asylum seekers to Malaysia in return for 4000 non-Muslims. The ratio may be large but I think its a fair deal. Malaysia has always preferred Muslims compared to other races.

 

But whatever it is, please do not let Australia lose its Christian beliefs.

 

 

How Do You Deal With Old Age?

How do you deal with growing old by yourself? When you have no kids
and family around you, how do you cope with growing old by yourself?

Malaysia - Free Elections or Myanmar?

Things are changing in Malaysia. The question is will Malaysia end up being a more open society or will we end up like Myanmar?

Pictures above depict the governments reluctance to endorse Free and Fair Elections in Malaysia. I have no idea why the government is against it. The government should support this movement, showing the people that it is ready to be a more open and democratic society. Instead, it will lay the blame to foreign countries trying to influence life in Malaysia.

Read more here

Readers Digest Malaysia - What a Joke?

I always wondered if all these contest by Readers Digest was real or purely scams. I guess now I know their scams. Just imagine is every spent RM7000 and lets say there were 1000 people who spent that much. Readers Digest would have raked in RM7,000,000 or 7 Million Ringgit with just one contest. And all they had to do to was to offer a tour package say worth RM50 thousand.

 

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/7/6/nation/9039237&sec=nation

If you know any better, just stay away from Readers Digest. Buy their books, they have good books but stay away from their scams.

Taxi Drivers in Perth

Last week I called for two taxis at 3 am in the morning for my flight to Dubai. Both taxis arrived on time. One was an Indian or Pakistani or something, while the other was an Australian.

The Australian taxi driver came up to out house, knocked and informed us that the taxi's are waiting outside. And he also helped carry our bags into the taxi.

The Indian/Pakistani taxi driver just stood at his taxi and waited.

Why do migrants come here and give themselves a bad name? This is not the first time I have noticed the stark difference between a migrant taxi driver and an Australian taxi driver. Migrants are just not fucking courteous at all. Its like as though their parents never taught them an ounce of manners. So they come to find a better life in Australia with the crude upbringing.

Am I being racists? I too am not as polite as Australians are. But I learn fast. I am more courteous these days because it makes me feel good when someone is polite to me and I feel good being polite and courteous to others.

Why cant migrant taxi drivers learn that?

I am not saying all migrant taxi drivers are like that. I had an Iranian taxi driver one morning when I sent my car for service and he was wonderful - courteous and pleasant - I had a good ride in his cab. Now, why cant all migrants learn some mannerism???

What Happens When a Country Cannot Pay its Loans?

I am not much of a finance person. So it was news to me that countries can go bankrupt when they cannot pay the installment on their foreign debts. I also learned that countries borrow money from the International Monetary Fun (IMF). I wonder where the IMF gets its funds from? Do all the countries in the world pay it on an annual basis or is the IMF supported mainly by the rich countries?

Anyway, the IMF loaned money to Greece and Ireland because they couldnt service their current debts and Greece went on to default the IMF loan too. So that's a bummer. And now everyone is worried that Ireland might follow suit.

So what happens to a country when it goes bankrupt?



 

Will There Be New Attacks Worldwide?

Now with the infamous Osama bin Laden sent deep into the sea, will this signal the end of terror or the start of another horrific attack on humanity?

Was September 11 a valid attack on the US for all its incompetent handling of foreign invasions? Maybe yes, maybe no. But I have to admit - it was one very well planned attack -- something historians and military tacticians down the line will applaud.

War is never nice. The taking of innocent lives are never nice. You're even more insulated if you live in a nation where your army goes out and conquers the world. You never feel anything. Until something like September 11 happens. Then some people might pay attention to the plight of the poor people in Middle East, whose families are mistakenly killed in drone attacks. Drones make mistake. Innocent lives get killed. But all these are rarely reported. Even if they did, no one cares.

But I worry now. Will we another wave of penetrating and devastating attacks again by Muslims onto the innocent world?

I guess there wont be any peace until Israel gives up the land it illegally acquired from the Arab Nations in the late 1960's, will there?

Someone recently asked me why God allows for all this? He's a foolish man who doesn't know that the absence of God is what causes all these destruction's. When will people learn to see each other as their brother or sister living in a far land, rather than seeing past the people and into what resources their land has to offer?

For all of man's fault, and all the pain we cause others, I wish something would happen that would clean the world of man.

Cowardly or Arrogant Neighbour?

Today a friend of mine told me of an anonymous note he found his mailbox the other day in his house in Como, chiding him for letting the water from his reticulation system run onto the street.

Mind you, my friend had just paid $500 to get his reticulation system fixed and yet it seems to be spraying water onto the road and not onto his verge.

And my friend has only been to Perth for 5 months. And is wondering if Australians are really as nice as they portray themselves to be?

While he appreciates being notified of leaking water and all, it would be nice if he know who the anonymous neighbour was. I don't think my friend will bring a poisoned chalice to the neighbours place but maybe a call of thanks.

Is this the typical Australian?

What Is Your Legacy?

6.4 Billion.

That's the number of people on this planet as I write this blog post today. Can out world sustain more people? What's the limit?

Today we are seeing the weather change before our eyes. Our planet is getting warmer. All the icebergs are melting at a faster rate. The sea level is slowly, but surely, rising every year. Are we like frogs in a pot of boiling water?

But that's beside the point. My question today is what is your legacy? There are more than 6 billion of us here. And unless you're Newton or Einstein, who will know about you once you die?

Children - that's our legacy. I was told parents are only as good as the children they brought up. When I was growing up, we didn't have much riches like how the rich people in the city had. We played mostly with our imagination. But I remember my mother telling me to keep the family name good, never to spoil it. I was my mother's legacy. But will my children know or remember my parents? I don't remember my parents parents. Do you? Do you know who they are or what they accomplished in life?

But what about those among us who have no children? What is their legacy? Who will remember them? Look at all those living alone in old folks homes. Do you know their story?

When I was young, I was keen to know about others. But now I live mainly in my own world. I care only for myself. Is it wrong? Don't get me wrong - if my neighbour calls for help, I will run. But I don't know much about my neighbour. I don't know what he does or what he accomplished.

All this makes me wonder that we're nothing. Even our heir doesn't remember us after a decade or two.

Our task in life is to live everyday to the best that we can. Don't worry about what the future will think of you. Because they wont. People don't think of you as much as you think they do. Their busy thinking about themselves. To them, their important, not you. All you can do is to leave a material legacy - donate to a organization that will bear your name somewhere on its premise. Giving to organizations like World Vision or Child Care wont matter because your donor doesn't see you. To them, all they see if the money and the representative that gives them the money. To be remembered, you must give your time and go out there.

Mother Theresa didn't have money. So she gave people what she had in abundance, her time. And the whole world knows about her, even after her death.

If you have no legacy to leave behind, consider giving your time to the world. You can only receive if you give. That, unfortunately, is the laws of Mother Nature. Give and you will get. Like compounding interest, you have to put your money in before you can claim your interest. So start giving of your time in your local community.

Start small, make a difference.

Are All Malaysian PhD Holders Really Worth Their Degrees?

I was reading this article on CPI about the response by Dr. Ranjit Singh Malhi about Non-Malays not understanding Malaysian history and I am not surprised that he was defending his action against a so-called scholar (read the article to know who the scholar is).

This reminds me of a story my brother told me when he was doing his Masters in Engineering in a Malaysian local university. In one of the courses, two students presented a working software (only 2 out of the 18 students in class came up with a software, most of the other students found it too difficult to do so) related to their course topic. However, when grilled by the two lecturers on the contents of the software, they couldn't answer a single question. It was later discovered that they had paid another student close to RM500 for the software. And there were so stupid as to not even understand how the software worked.

And do you know the irony of the whole story? The irony was that these two students took an additional 3 years to complete the course when everyone else finished theirs in 2 years, my brother included. But the biggest joke of the whole thing is that these 2 jokers are now pursuing their PhD in England under a Malaysian government scholarship. And they will return home to Malaysia one day and tutor students in the local Malaysia universities.

And that is how Malaysia is going down the drain.

You cant make lazy people smart. Only hard work gets you to the top. But Malaysia believes in buying its way to the top. It's a country that is building on thin glass. Only time will tell when the thin glass will shatter and the whole country will be engulfed in a civil war.

Mark my words.

Liverpool & Manchester United

Footballs biggest rivalry continues these two weeks when Manchester United walk towards their 19th English League title, one more than their nemesis, Liverpool has.

The last time Liverpool had any success in the English league was when this man was playing for them, John Barnes.

Described by Ian Rush in his memoirs, Rush: The Autobiography: Liverpool's Greatest Striker, Liverpool's Greatest Era, The True Story, as the most skilled player to ever play for Liverpool, Barnes was remarkable in every sense. His unique skills in dribbling and curling the ball is something Liverpool will never ever see again.

After Barnes retired, the Kops never could find the passion that made them the most successful club in history.

And now, due to their own stupidity, they sit and watch as Manchester United win the 19th English League title and be crowned as the most successful English club in history. This is something I don't foresee Liverpool winning in the next few years.

Of all the Manchester United players, the one I despise the most is Roy Keane. He's an utter bastard who has no respect for the referee and the game. He is the thug that brings shame to the game. It is very obvious that all he has is his temper and not any skills nor brains because he cant do any better being a manager when manager are people who has a football brain. A football brain is not something you could ask Roy Keane for.

But the player I admire is the most is Ryan Giggs. Giggs is the complete opposite of Keane. While Keane was despised, Giggs was adored. Adored for the superb player he is, and also for his gentlemanly conduct and sportsmanship. His sportsmanship reminds me of Gary Lineker. Both players rarely got yellow or red carded in the game. To Giggs, you deserve winning the 19th championship for Manchester United.

The Malaysian Federal Constitution - Simplified

Below are links to the simplified version of the Malaysian Federal Constitution, courtesy of the Malaysian Bar Council. Most people, my wife inclusive, don't know about her own constitution. This was sent to us by a friend, below is the entire email.


One of the main initiatives of the MyConstitution campaign for the
past two years was to produce a series of simplified 'guides' on the
Federal Constitution, known as The Rakyat Guides (RG).

On 02 April 2011, the last RG was released, completing the series of 9
booklets. The complete set goes for RM6.00 per set as contribution to
the cost of printing the booklets. It is not for profit.

The booklets are available at the Bar Council and State Bar
Committees, as well at certain events participated by the Committee.
We are also working towards trying to make the booklets available at
bookshops throughout the country.

Soft-copies of the booklets are available online. Of course, the hard
copies are much nicer!

Anyway, please sebarkan!

RG1 - What is the Federal Constitution?

Eng - http://www.perlembagaanku.com/?dl_name=myconstbooklet_ENG_Draft6_light.pdf
BM - http://www.perlembagaanku.com/?dl_name=myconstbooklet_BM_rg1.pdf
Mandarin - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=3125

RG2 - Constitutional Institutions & Separation of Powers

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2372
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2373

RG3 - Federal - State Relations

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2512
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2513

RG4 - Parliament

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2561
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2560

RG5 - The Executive

Eng- http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2845
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2844

RG6 - The Judiciary

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2847
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2846

RG7 - Sabah & Sarawak

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2849
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=2848

RG8 - Fundamental Liberties & Citizenship

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=3122
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=3121

RG9 - Elections & Democracy

Eng - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=3124
BM - http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=3123

Who's Your Office Queen?

Every office has one of these.

It could be the secretary or it could be even the COO. You know who she is. She's the one who must know everything, who must be the centre of attraction and must be in the know-how.

Well, in my office, she's the project engineer. She's been with the company for 6 years and they have sent her to the other offices for various postings. So she thinks she's the big balls in the office. You can sometimes see the dislike in her face when she hears of someone else doing something better.

Ahh, people like her are the ones who cause the most problems in most organizations. Companies would perform much better without these people.

These people tend to create cliques of people who tend to get all the latest information first or who's privy to the boss and other confidential information.

You'll know who she is - she's the one hanging around the boss all the time. The one who laughs out the loudest in meetings.

Oh, you'll know her all right, she's been there since Eve got kicked out of Paradise.

Stupid Malaysian Government

When I read articles like this, it reminds me of why my family, and many more Malaysians, have decided to leave Malaysia.

1. Stealing a Jet Engine - the Malaysian government implicates 2 low ranking officials for allegedly stealing a massive military jet engine and selling it to parties in Uruguay.

2. 1-Malaysia Email - RM50 million, from a private company, to provide email to Malaysians? How stupid can Malaysian government officials be if they actually believe that this is a constructive idea. With half the Malaysian population not even having a computer, what will they do with their email?

RM50 million is  a lot of money. Money that can be well spent in providing better public transport or medical services or even improve the country's broadband service. But for a private company to fork out RM50 million just to provide an email service, where's the ROI in this?

Will the real Malaysian Prime Minister stand up and reply?

Another Typical Malaysian Scam!

This is yeat another scam in blood sucking Malaysia. When will the Malaysian police do something about this and stop wasting time pursuing sex actors?


Dear all,

I cannot stop myself from sharing this with all of you.

Its all started when I received a call from someone claiming that he was from Maxis and he asked me to shutdown my phone for 2 hours for 3g update to take place. As I was rushing for a meeting, I did not question and shutdown my cell phone.

After 45 minutes I felt very suspicious since the caller did not even introduce his name. I quickly turned on my cell phone and I received several calls from my family members and the others were from the number that had called me earlier - 3954380.

I called my parents and I was shocked that they sounded very worried asking me whether I am safe. My parents told me that they had received a call from someone claiming that they had me with them and asking for money to let me free. The call was so real and my parents even heard 'my voice' crying out loud asking for help. My parent was at the bank waiting for next call to proceed for money transfer. I told my parents that I am safe and asked them to lodge a police report.

Right after that I received another call from the guy asking me to shutdown my cell phone for another 1 hour which I refused to do and hung up. They keep calling my cell phone until the battery had run down. I myself lodged a police report and I was informed by the officer that there were many such scams reported. MOST of the cases reported that the victim had already transferred the money! And it is impossible to get back the money.

Be careful as this kind of scam might happened to any of us!!! Those guys are so professional and very convincing during calls. If you are asked to shut down your cell phone for updates by the service provider, ASK AROUND! Your family or friends might receive the same call.

Be Safe and Stay Alert!

Please pass around to your family and friends!

White Arrogance in a Black World

This world is full of arrogance.

During my time in Nigeria, I worked with a bunch of young people from Aberdeen. One of them, Tim, was really a young jock with no more brains than the peas in my lunch bowl.

Tim would make really stupid comments about Nigerians, degrading their intellect and making fun of the way Nigerians live.

I find it ridiculous to believe that in these times, people can be as stupid as Tim. Tim is what they call a young, stupid white boy. And he really is.

I don't know if what his engineering manager said will ever make him be more humble, but his engineering manager, Joe told the group that they should consider themselves very lucky to have been born white.

And I agree completely. They only reason Tim s where he is, is because he's white. He could have easily been born black and go through daily what the black people in the world go through. But he was saved from such an experience by being born white. Lucky him. Not to lucky the others are.

So maybe the Muslims are right in wanting to slaughter stupid, white people like Tim.

Will You Go Back Home to Malaysia?

The Malaysian Prime Minister recently revealed his plan to lure back Malaysians working overseas.

The main carrot dangled in front of returning Malaysian was a 15% income tax for the first 5 years.

But is this enough?

Doesn't the Prime Minister know that nearly all the Malaysians who left, didn't leave solely for money, but left because of the state their beloved country has become. I can speak for my wife who is a Malaysian when I say that she left he country because she wanted a better quality of life. A life where she is respected for being a citizen and not looked down upon as a second class person in her own country. She doesn't want to be marginalised anymore. My wife who is now with me in Australia earns more respect here, since we're Permanent Residents of Australia, than she did back home.

So, with all these major issues still going on in Malaysia, how on earth does the Malaysian Prime Minister ever think Malaysians will come back home?

Survey showed that majority of the Malaysians who left were Chinese and Indians. These were people who were fed up with how the ruling government has treated them over all the years. My wife is a Christian and an Indian but the local Indian part, MIC doesn't consider he an Indian since she's a Catholic and not a Hindu. With such blatant discrimination among people of the same race, how on earth will Malaysia ever develop?

While I applaud the Prime Minister for doing his best, sometimes I think he cant do much. 15% cap on income tax is a joke. No sane Malaysian would ever go back home just for a 15% cap on income. The Prime Minister has to know that most returning Malaysians will take a heavy pay cut just to come back home. They should be rewarded in other ways, like giving them prominent government jobs without the stupid red-tape, so that they can contribute to the well being of the country.

What About Us Malaysians?

Malaysians working back home voiced their displeasure at the Prime Minister ideas to lure back Malaysians who have left with the sharp question, "What are you going to do Mr. Prime Minister to prevent us from leaving?"

Brilliant question.

The Malaysian Prime Minister should focus on stopping the brain drain from within instead of trying to lure those who have left. Those whoe have left will never come back. So if the Prime Minister is smart, he will focus on preventing the smart ones at home from leaving for greener pastures.

Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United States have benefit from the migration of many experienced and smart Malaysians. These countries provide perks to Malaysians in the hope of luring them there permanently. ALl at Malaysia's expense. What a waste of talent.

So Mr. Malaysian Prime Minister, you should focus on retaining your local Malaysian talent and treating them with the respect they receive rather than losing them and then trying to get them back. Once their gone, most of them are gone for good.

Rejected by a Coach

The theme for high performance these days is getting a coach.

Coaches are supposed to accelerate your progress towards your goals.

Oh well, I tried signing up with Phillip. And after 2 emails, Phillip never bothered replying any of my emails. I still don't know what I said to make him lose interest in me. Maybe its the "I cant afford to pay much money Phillip."

I was expecting to pay around USD100/hour for him time and at that rate, I could probably only afford an hour of his time per month. Which for me, was more than enough since I could work on whatever advise he has to give me.

I remember he asking me about my goals and I told him that financial freedom is my goal. Is there anything wrong with that? He never replied after that.

I don't know why.

So I am through with coaches. Their just out there for the money, like everyone else.

Corruption

I have never experienced such high levels of bribery as I've been experiencing in Lagos, Nigeria. And that's even when I'm black. The fair skinned people get singled out even more easily.

Corruption is so rampant among everyone with power here that its no wonder this country is called a 3rd World country, and I expect it to be for the next half a century.

Two weeks ago when I was coming out of country, at the airport where the officer checks the passports of passengers going into the departure hall, I was asked for a donation. I would have given the donation if he had asked nicely. But he was very arrogant in his manner of speaking that I refused to give a single cent.

I admit that I do make more money than most of them. And I do give a lot, compared to all of my colleagues who despise them, despite coming to Nigeria and making tons of money at Nigerians' expense. But I have a different outlook to life. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have and I try to give atleast 20% back to the people around me.

But like any other human, I would like to be treated with respect. I don't like to be shouted at. So I felt angry when this young man, who's job was to just ensure that I had a passport to enter into the immigration section, was suddenly asking me for money just to get in. If he asked politely, he would have gotten some but since he didn't now courtesy, he ended up with nothing.



Nigeria, in my limited opinion, will never come out of the vicious cycle of war and poverty until the oil giants operating in the Niger Delta start giving back some money to the people living in that area. At the moment, all money goes to the utterly corrupted federal government. It is yet to see if President Goodluck is different from all the past, corrupted presidents. Goodluck seems to be something fresh that the people of Nigeria needs.

For those who are not familiar with what's happening in Nigeria, the oil companies rake maximum profit from the Delta region down south, close to Port Hartcourt but the people living there don't even have the basic amenities, like water supply or electricity or clean sanitation. The Nigerian Federal Government gets all the tax money and fills the purses of all the fat cats while the people remain poor. I hope President Goodluck can change this vicious cycle that's killing his country.

But corruption is everywhere.

I spent close to 10 years working in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While there is no corruption on the street level, unlike Nigeria, corruption is rampant among government officials. The fat cats pad their pockets with money from everything. In Malaysia, getting a government contract is like winning the lottery. Stories are abound of such rampant misuse of public funds. You could sell an RM10 meal to Malaysian Airlines for RM50 and no one will balk. Isn't that free money or what?

And I've heard of corruption in Australia too. Australia is a developed nation. But yet! I think the most recent case was that of Indian Nationals bribing officials to pass their English test!

I think it is unfair that others can get something they want unfairly just because they have money.

Who? Me?

Born in Barbados, married to a Malaysian, living in Australia, working in Nigeria.

How's that for a global traveller?

While the world is getting smaller, its also getting more divided. People are not as friendly as how they used to be. Everyone is living solely for themselves.

There is no good Samaritans anymore in this world, is there?

These are my stories of what I see happening around me.