Why is it Malaysians dont want to come home?

This has been in the papers recently, not without the requisite self-righteous opinions hinting that people may be less than patriotic, or are greedy, or are lazy (yeah, sure - like lazy people have much easier lives in the US and UK).

But basically, for me, the reason people dont want to come home is in the papers every day.

Opaque government (and this is only a miniscule example).

Processes that victimise the people (rakyat), and protect incompetence.

The reported ability of some to ask customs to ignore illegal activities
( background on the above )

The ability of government to ignore the plight of the poor.

The triumph of narrow mindedness over rationality. (links are not in chronological order)
1. Film does not glorify Chin Peng
2. Government will decide on screening of film, not Umno
3. View screening of "Last Communist" with an open mind
4. Differing views after MPs watch The Last Communist
5. It’s the end for The Last Communist

All this appears in the papers on a daily basis - and yet we can not guess why Malaysians dont want to come home?
come ON.

RSS settings

Updated RSS settings - now you get the full blog entry on RSS. Per request by 50% of my readership...
(he asked for it this afternoon)
:)

How to loose a friend

I guess we all have our own patented ways to loose a friend, and for the most part, these ways are all intended or willful.

My way is different. My way, I am trying to help, and to be a good friend, but I make such an ass of myself that it ends up pushing the other person away. This is how you can loose a friend:

Wait till he has a problem with someone else he knows. This will happen eventually, since every relationship goes through both good and bad times. Then, make it your business to 'resolve' the conflict. Offer to bring the 2 parties together. Perhaps over dinner or lunch. Offer to arbitrate and help them understand each other. Unless you are a psychologist, with a known track record for resolving conflict, your friend will likely decline to let you wash his dirty laundry for him...

Now here's the clincher...

Be persistent. If you can not convince him to let you solve his problems, then hint vaguely that he is too proud, or to stubborn, or whatever....
And there you have it - one friendship down the drain, and not because of him, but because you were an insensitive asshole and just assumed you could solve other peoples problems for them.

But there's more.....

Invite him over to join your family for a holiday celebration - say Christmas or Hari Raya or Chinese New Year.... the dynamics of such celebrations are always focussed on family, so making such an invitation is fraught with risk and assumptions. More likely than not, your 'good' intention will offend your friend for any number of reasons, and that would put the proverbial last nail into the coffin of your friendship.

How do I know all this? - well, I am guessing, but then he has not accepted my dinner invitations for a long time already, and I dont think it is purely because he is busy.

I'm sorry Al, I was an asshole. Twice. Forgive me?