SALAM AIDIL FITRI...

The month of Ramadan for 2009 came and went and most of those who have left the cities and headed for their respective Kampongs and villages are now struggling to get back to the humdrum life of the life they had left behind and pick up where they had left continuing with their desperate need to excell in the material world. The villeges will return to its normal rustic existance again with the elderly and the retired puttsing about their gardens and the backyard or daydreaming at the edge of the rice field. The women will be back at their task of keeping up with the latest soap on TV especially the Indonesian and Korean series while in between doing their daily chores. Yep, the Ramadan this year has not changed much and as a matter of fact it seemed not as alive as it used to be. Not much fireworks or fire crackers as the police and customs departments made sure of that, the great party poopers! If they wish to kill of every form of celebration that the people enjoy at least they could also do us the favor of throwing us less crap from the politicking and economic scandals that we are also subjected to. What are we to become? A nation of Zombies law abiding morons who live in dire fear of the very people elected to protect us and our freedom! Take the fun out of the people and what have you, just moans and groans of dissatisfactions or give them F1 quality entertainment that they can ill afford and then you ask why the people are not too happy with their elected Dickheads.
It is very sad to visit homes on the Hari Raya and see children sitting with their heads in thier hands bored to death or watching the TV while just about every channel has choreographed performing the same old songs. And we complain why our young ones take to the roads performing death defying antics with their motorcycles, what else is there to do? Why can't the Customs department put on a real fireworks show with all their confisticated fireworks for the public? No, that would defy all simple imagination, counter productive as we are trtying to curb our chikldrens' yearn for excitement and hey where or what happened to the cofisticated items? Reserved for Chinese new year celebration? One or two dumb kids blow up his fingers and the media gets frenzy making sure that this is well covered as a warning to others. In short we take and take deprive our children of every so called 'bad habits' but what do we give them as a replacemnt? Nada! There are millions of children who enjoy making a little noise on this special days its human nature noise making is synonimous with celebration for crying out loud! Perhaps we are having a bunch of old farts making up these laws, they who have almost totally forgotten what it is being a child. In my childhood days we created 'Canons out of Bamboos and metal pipes and bought carbides with a few drops of water fired off loud booms competing with out neighborhood gangs, who can make a louder cannon, no one died that I know of from this. But we were tought to be resourceful and played it safe that safety precautions came naturally from experience not from being taught by Dato' Lee and his Department at NIOSH.
So the Ramadan came and went woe unto the future generation if this trend persist and the only excitement they can expect will be those fireworks coming out of the house of parliament.
On the thrid day of Hari raya I travelled to Kuala Trengganu to pay my respects to my brothers and sisters in the East Coast. Drove my trusty Kancil with my daughter and was stuck in a traffice jam for almost two hours in the middle of nowhere near Macang in Kelantan! Travelling at less than a crawling pace for over ten kilometers we watched the smart ones pass us by driving along the curbside. At one point my daughter turned to me and said. Papa sometimes you just have to just join in and break the law like everyone else don't you? Ya I said, I have promised to be a good citizen but look at what it got me. Those years of my life when I live the 'Davil may care' kind of life style i was doing pretty good and respected even! Try to turn a new leaf and they kick you in the teeth!
We dont need wars in this country, the roads and highways are our killing fields every year during festive seasons. You take your life and your loved ones' in your hands when driving on Malaysian highways and the death rate rises every year eachtime the festive seasons comes along. Other than the children committing suicides on their motorcycles, one major contributor of accidents in this country is the AlMighty Ego! Malaysians are great drivers and are out to prove it to the next guy on the road especially if the driver has a fancier and faster vehicle. Most travellers who take to the roads on festive occaisions are not long distant drivers, most are like horses let free out of their corral after along time of being caged in. So they are out to out drive anyone and everyone regardless of how experienced they are on the highways it is time to let loose with the car. Most accidents occurs when overtaking and especially at night. Most drivers loose controll of their vehicles from freezing in fear when caught in a bad situation, they simply are not used to being in that situation as when they drive in the city to and from works day in day out. Fatigue can do worse when driving long distances and most drivers fail to recognize this untill too late.
Impatience is the number two killer on the road second to Ego. Most drivers wants to get to their destination in record time so that their realtives can look at them in awe, Wow! three hours only from KL to Penang? And how old are you? Sixty two you say?
Well life goes on...SELAMAT HARI RAYA for those who survived.