Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Only In Malaysia

Christmas is over and nothing really much is happening in my part of the world. Surprisingly, life is pretty good at the moment :D I hope it stays that way (fingers and toes crossed) for the rest of my life. I'm pretty happy right now but ... yes, there is always a but when it comes to me ... LOL!

I'm not intending to say much and ruin my good mood but two things struck me as being totally absurd and ridiculous that I cannot help but post about it. If you're planning on not ruining your day or anything like that please go no further.

But us humans are curious creatures so I'm pretty sure you'll all still read on no matter what :D Here it is in one of my usual short takes formats.

Take One - Censorship

I was watching  a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond last night and there was this scene where Ray's father said to Raymond,

'You dumb bastard!'

Nothing wrong with that right. It's not vulgar or anything like that and it was quite funny in relation to the scene. And then, Ray's brother, Robert also called him a 'dumb bastard' but this time it was censored out and you could only see him lips move but he clearly said 'you dumb bastard' too. Then Ray's friends who were there also called him a 'dumb bastard' and once again it was censored out.

I'm not too sure if those morons in the censorship board really do have any intelligence at all cos first of all, why let the first 'you dumb bastard' go through and then censor the rest of it? What gives? Why not censor that line completely every time it's uttered?

And secondly, do they really think that if they didn't censor such lines (or words), we would all end up being scums of the earth? Maybe become some criminal that delves into immoral activities or worse yet, end up becoming a politician (LOL! I just couldn't help that!).

God, I really don't know what kind of people they hire in the censorship board but I'm pretty sure they're a bunch of morons with crap for brains. Some of the stuff they censor really boggles the mind. Words such as bitch, pig, pork (yes, I've seen occasions where the word pork is censored) and lots more are bleeped out.

Really, would just hearing those words make me go out and do criminal things? Have they even heard some of the words uttered by our 'beloved' politicians? This pales in comparison. And I'm not even going to bother talking about some of the ridiculously innocent scenes that are censored!

Well, maybe a little ... LOL! I once saw a show where an innocent scene of a mother pecking her son on the cheek being censored off (yes, really!) and a woman with a slightly plunging neck line had her assets pixelized.

Come you 'intelligent' people in the censorship board, if I wanted to see women with plunging necklines, there is always the internet and there is so much more than plunging necklines that I could find there. And it didn't turn me in some perverted monster.

Didn't you know that the more you stop or repress a persons curiosity, the more they would try to satisfy that curiosity of theirs? People are not as uneducated as you people in the government still think we are.

Well, only in Malaysia, Malaysia Boleh!

Take Two - Speed limits and express buses

This is a more sad but true take. Just recently, we had an expressway incident involving a double decker bus that crash along the highway and if I'm not mistaken at least 10 people (I really can't remember, it was too depressing to read) died and countless others injured.

In the past we've had a couple of seriously fatal disasters resulting in crashes that involved express buses. Here's the typical way it would always play out:

1. Express bus crashes killing god knows how many passengers.
2. Authorities make a big hoohah about it vowing justice upon all express bus companies.
3. We will take stern action on these bus companies, screams the authorities.
4. This op and that op and god knows what kind of ops will be carried out.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Another express bus tragedy happens.
10. Repeat points 1-10 again.

And that's exactly the efficient way how our authorities work over here. Something happens, make a big fuss about bring the fear of the Lord to the culprits. We'll put the in jail, they scram. We'll get them some new auto insurance quotes, they'll holler, then quietly let it slide in oblivion with no action taken until more lives are lost.

Look, any of us who has a car has at one time or other seen the way these express bus people drive. There you are driving along at the speed limits of 110 km/h and the next thing you know, you'll see this big, huge, monstrous express bus overtaking you at speeds that would make even Michael Schumacher cringe in fear!

By the way, for those not from this country, our express buses are supposed to have a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h on highways. Many a time I've seen these behemoths in my rear view mirror coming up real fast and I'll ALWAYS move out of their way. They're like missiles on wheels. A disaster waiting to happen.

I pity the people who have to rely on these buses to get around. They place their lives in the hands of some maniac the moment they step into these buses. And I know the authorities will make a big fuss about this for awhile and it will slowly fade away with nothing at all done.

We'll just have to wait for more lives to be lost again. As horrible as this thought may seem, I have every confidence this is not the end of these senseless express bus deaths.

Malaysia Boleh!
.

34 comments:

  1. I'm 1st! Merry Xmas! Haha Still in the Xmas mood!

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  2. I love Everybody Loves Raymond - such a funny sitcom! What! They censored words like bastard and pork? Yeah, and why not censored all but leave some? Maybe they want us to know what words they are censoring out. Haha!

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  3. So sad to hear about the bus tragedy. Yes, I've seen some buses being driven so fast I make sure I move out of their way and stay far, far away!

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  4. Some interesting trivia.... our beloved censorship board has all this while been occupied by retired civil servants... (no offense to old people), but they need to lighten up AND open their minds.

    The good news is, they have recently decided to spruce up the censorship board with those below the age of 56... the latest youngest member being 31.

    We, the rakyat, shall see how that goes, shall we?...

    (sorry, I can't state my news source... probably the papers, but I'm not too sure)

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  5. What happen to point 5-8? lol.

    Oh yeah that whole censor thing is retarded. Sometimes everything is uncensored it's so farnie that we thought we're lucky.

    And the whole speed limit thing. I'm guessing most of them aren't local. Reminds me of my trips. The way they drive orz. Is like wanna die early one. Eventhough I drive erm sort of fast sometimes. I owez know my limit ;)

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  6. I've been on numerous speeding express buses. Either the speed or the faulty bus itself (with "faulty" driver on the wheel) is a definite recipe for disaster waiting to happen.
    That's why now that I can afford to ride in a car, I'd chose cars. At least die also, die in small numbers. *touch wood* though

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  7. On TV and on those imported magazines too! Imagine buying National Geograhic mags and seeing black marker pens marks in them!
    I guess it's the censorship board people themselves who cannot control their urges, that;s why they think everyone else is the same too.

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  8. I agree, the censorship here is a bit inconsistent. I love how, in films, they censor the word before or after the swear word. Pretty hilarious.

    About the bus thing, it was a horrific tragedy, and truly saddening. How do we stop these from happening? Should they have two drivers instead at night? While driving to and from Penang, there were several times express buses were tailgating me at 120 KM/H. That's just crazy. I move aside of course. The giants that swerve in and out like cars is really asking for a disaster to happen. Its not just about your level of awareness (sleepy etc.), its about your damn common sense too.

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  9. A serious, thought provoking post.

    I wish you and your family all the best for 2010.

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  10. Foong - LOL! I think you're right about them wanting to let us know what words they're censoring out :D

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  11. Foong - It's needless deaths la. They've been talking and talking about this since god knows when. Maybe the quota of deaths is not big enough for them to really take action.

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  12. Terra - That's interesting trivia alright.

    But then again, I don't think age come into play much. If the mentality is screwed, it doesn't matter if one is 15 years old.

    But then I'm hoping that with the younger batch, there just might be a little more open mindedness ...

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  13. Maslight - Exactly! There is nothing in point 5-8 cos that's how out authorities work!

    Yeah, our censorship people can be clowns at times!

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  14. Lina - I don't dare take a bus! I'd rather walk or take a cab if need be but not a bus. Thank god that I have my own car these days :D

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  15. Lina - Yeah, I've seen countless magazines with blacked out images. I will never buy magazines that are 'defaced' like that.

    You're probably right when you say that they themselves can't control their urges and think everyone is like them.

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  16. Bem - Hahaha ... yeah, I've heard 'ingenious' censoring like that too.

    You hit it right on the nail - Common sense! It's something these maniacs don't practice. They've got peoples life's on their hands, for god sakes.

    To be honest, I've never seen a bus driver that actually follows the law. The speed when they like, they stop where they like and they make U-turns where they like, etc, etc, etc ...

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  17. The World According To Me - A happy 2010 to you too :D

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  18. ah...tells you how gov do their work...memang Malaysia boleh!

    Sad....

    Anyway,Merry Christmas and happy new year to you and family!

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  19. Hmm.. That IS odd they didnt censor the 1st Dumb Bastard on Everyone Loves Raymond but they censored the rest. Very Strange indeed.

    Wishing You A Safe & Happy New Year!

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  20. I have a fear of huge buses too. Better to avoid them than to be sorry later :)

    By the way, Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  21. Emelda - Yup, the government works in wonderful ways over here.

    Thanks for the holiday wishes :D

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  22. Meleah - It is not just strange, it's absolutely ridiculous!

    Wishing you a great 2010 too :D

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  23. Sriyany - Yes, it's really better to just stay away from them altogether.

    A Happy New Year to you and your family too :D

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  24. malaysia boleh indeed. LOL i know the horror of bus zooooooooooooooooooooooooooming pass me!

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  25. Hi Nick..
    I couldn't agree more with you on our censorship board in Malaysia..especially the 'pixelized' assets..hahahaha Kinda idiot and stupid..
    Anyway..just want to wish you and your family a wonderful New Year 2010.. :D Take care

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  26. Well, this is not as worse as in other Muslim countries or China, hahaa! They're just looking for something to cersor, otherwise they will lose their job, lol!

    You're 7hours ahead to 2010. Happy New Year!

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  27. Glad to hear you're enjoying life at the moment. Nothing beats that. Best wishes for the coming year!

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  28. Xin - Yay, Malaysia memang boleh! LOL!

    Yup, keep away from those missiles on wheels!

    Happy New Year to you.

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  29. Kadusmama - Yup, they think we're really stupid and dumb and that they know what is right for us.

    A Happy 2010 to you and your family too :D

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  30. Marlene - LOL! I think you have a point there!

    A Happy New Year to you and your hubby :D

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  31. Nick, a Happy New Year to you and your family. :D

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  32. Cidao - Hey buddy, I haven't seen you in a while.

    Happy New Year to you too :D

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