Category: Sosial

Walid J. Abdullah: The Contextual Proud Singaporean

*this post is partially inspired by people linking an act of human kindness which should be celebrated when Singaporeans lifted a lorry to save a man trapped underneath, to the sg50 spirit, whatever that means (so if the incident happened next year, Singaporeans would not lift the lorry????)*

Whenever someone asks whether I am proud to be Singaporean, my response would be ‘what do you mean by that?’ More often than not, they would be stumped, as if it was inconceivable that someone did not know what being ‘Singaporean’ means. Then they would ask ‘I mean, would you die for this country?’ And again i would go, what do you mean by that?

If you mean dying for this country in a war where we were unjustly invaded, i hope and i pray that I would have the temerity to participate. If you mean dying in a war that is fought at the whims and fancies of politicians to serve their own political agendas, then i do not wish to participate and die such a meaningless death.

Being ‘proud to be Singaporean’, really has no innate meaning. For me, there are many things that Singapore and Singaporeans have done that i am proud of, and there are many others that i am not proud of.

I am proud that we are extremely efficient in most cases. I am proud of the cleanliness levels in our streets. I am proud that we have not experienced racial and religious riots since independence. I am proud of our universities’ performance in any global ranking. I am proud of the fact that I am able to practise my faith relatively freely.

I am not proud that over the past decade, there has not been any discernible improvement in our transportation system. I am not proud of the fact that many Singaporeans feel superior to other human beings – especially our Southeast Asian neighbours – because of our supposed material achievements. I am not proud that racial and religious discrimination still exists on so many levels in everyday life. I am not proud that many Singaporeans do not bother to read beyond official narratives. I am not proud of contraints imposed on some personal liberties in the name of ‘public order’.

If someone wants to proclaim ‘I am proud to be Singaporean, no matter what happens!’, that is really his/her choice that no one should take issue with. What i do take issue with is the attitude of some Singaporeans, who in their quest for national pride, think of people from
other nations as less intelligent, as less civilized, and even worse, as lesser human beings.

So am i proud to be Singaporean? It depends on what you mean….

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

July 25, 2015
She Called Him A Cina Babi. His Reply Was Pure Gold

One of our team members here at Greater Malaysia stumbled upon this story where an old lady and her daughter was cutting the queue at the express counter in a supermarket. When this happens, the usual response would either be silence or the people in the queue would tell the queue-cutter off and the matter would be resolved. Not this time.

After being told off, she called the netizen who posted this story “Cina b***…” and the story below ensued. We at Greater Malaysia would hope that one day, things like this will be relics of the past and we can all live without prejudice.

Note: The italicised words in the status update below are comments from the editorial team

Here’s The First Status (With Some Minor Censorship)

See below the photo for the short non-extended status

I told off a 40 plus year old malay lady and her daughter (probably in high school) for trying to cut the queue at the express counter in a supermarket. I said “tolong jangan potong queue. Orang lain pun beratur juga.”

Her response:

Cina b***…

Fuhhh! Cari pasal… Soh*****!

Pendek cerita, Abang Shuq kasi settle dan tepukan dari pembeli lain kedengaran sewaktu Abang Shuq meninggalkan cashier. Sekian terima kasih.

P/S: teruk sangat ke my Malay that she thought I was Chinese?

This was the short version of the story, before he added the extended version below due to overwhelming response.

Here’s The Extended Version Of His Status

Due to overwhelming response, here is the

EXTENDED VERSION:

I was the third person from the cashier with at least 10 people in line and this woman and her kid had been standing in the sidelines talking about how the supermarket should have more cashiers open. I was just observing cos I had a feeling that she was gonna cut the line cos she kept creeping closer to the line. True enough by the time I was the at the counter, she made her move.

I politely said to her:

Tolong jangan potong queue, orang lain pun beratur juga.

She gave me a cock stare, took a step back and said those two magical words…

Cina B***!

I was like, “oh no you didn’t b****!” Its on now m***********. You brought this on yourself. Abang Shuq is gonna tear you a new one!

Jilake betul.

Apa akak kata tadi? Cina b***? Cina b*** ya? Memandangkan akak ni tak reti nak beradab, saya harap akak reti baca…

…and I pulled out my IC. (Yes I did. How else was I to prove I wasn’t a b***) Note that the author explains his comments below if you misunderstood his comment about proving he wasn’t a ‘b***’ below.

Reti baca tak? Nama Melayu ke nama Cina?! Tapi pasal orang macam akak yang serupa takde agama, adab macam puaka lah saya nak mengaku orang Melayu pun malu!

Then I turned my attention to the people in the queue:

Perempuan biadap ni nak cuba potong queue, bila saya tegur, dia panggil saya cina b***! Patut buat apa dengan orang macam ni?

I then told the cashier:

Selagi dia tak ke belakang queue awak jangan kira barang dia!

I asked the crowd,

..fair tak?

Then they started to sound her. She didn’t know what to do and proceeds to say:

Pergi mampos laa korang!

Drops her basket and leaves with her kid. Throughout the whole thing, her kid just kept quiet and kept her head down.

The guy in front of me high-fived me and the queue clapped after me. Abang Shuq dropped the mic and left the building.

Here’s A Note From The Author Of The Status

NOTE: A friend brought to my attention that some have misunderstood when I said “How else was I to prove I wasn’t a b***” when I pulled out my IC to prove I wasn’t Chinese. Its not about race which I’m glad most people understood.

However this does raise a concern. Some of my fellow Chinese Malaysians feel that when the word b*** is mentioned, its referring to the Chinese race. Please don’t feel that way my friends. Its something you shouldn’t associate yourselves with. Only small minded people think this way. I know you’re better than that.

It raises a concern indeed, we are definitely better than that.

Source: http://greatermalaysia.com

July 25, 2015
Neighbour In Viral Abuse Video Charged

In a surprising turn of events, a neighbour of the household at the centre of an abuse video that has gone viral this week was charged in court this afternoon (July 24).

Darwinder Singh, 39, was charged for abetting his neighbour, Ms Siti Nur Redha, to voluntarily causing hurt to her mother by feeding the latter with human faeces and urine.

A district court heard that Singh allegedly abetted Ms Siti on July 1 at Blk 48 Lower Delta Road. No charge has presently been brought against Ms Siti.

The prosecution requested for Singh to be held in custody for police to conduct raids and visit the alleged crime scene, to investigate “the offences that have taken place over a long period of time”.

Singh, dressed in a blue polo tee today, told the court that Ms Siti had been feeding her mother, Ms Kamisah Burel, with faeces and urine daily. “I only ask them to feed her once, but they do that every day,” he claimed.

Singh added that he “pounded” his jewel and sold off mobile phones as Siti had asked him for money.

“I need to take care of my mother, I also have a medical condition and my mother too,” he said, adding that his family receives support from a community development council.

Singh will be back in court next Friday (July 31).

If convicted of abetting in voluntarily causing hurt, Singh could be jailed up to seven years, fined and caned.

The police and Ministry of Social and Family Development are investigating a video of Ms Kamisah being hit by a younger woman outside a HDB flat at Lower Delta Road. The video went viral early this week.

Police is investigating reports lodged against Ms Siti and Ms Kamisah’s husband and they have been classified as a case of voluntarily causing hurt.

Source: www.todayonline.com

July 25, 2015
Maggots Found In Noodles Bought From Stall At Afghanistan Family Restaurant

Stomper Ismail had eaten no more than three mouthfuls of his Mee Hong Kong when he made this disgusting find in his food yesterday (Jul 21).

The Stomper, who bought the noodles from a restaurant in Tampines, found a maggot on a piece of sliced beef.

He said:

“Yesterday (Jul 21) at around noon, I bought Mee Hong Kong from Afghanistan Family Restaurant and discovered that there was a maggot on one of the sliced beef.

“That seriously freaked me out as I had just eaten less than three scoops of the noodles and one of the sliced beef.

“I contacted the number given on the plastic bag and a man answered. He said sorry and that he would investigate, without mentioning about wanting to replace anything.

“Just be careful before you eat anything now.”

Source: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg

July 24, 2015
Chinese Youth In Malaysia Beaten On Bus By Assailants High On Drugs

A group of youths, believed to be high on drugs, assaulted a student in a bus on Sunday, China Press reported.

Teh Kian Wei, 17, said the group of about 10 in their early 20s approached him and his female friend (not girlfriend) on the bus they were travelling in from Batu Pahat back to his house in Pontian, Johor, telling them to “go back to China”.

He said they were on their way home at around 7.15pm after watching a movie at a mall in Batu Pahat.

“We were seated in the last row when the youths boarded the bus.

“They told us that this place was their ‘territory’ and asked us to go back to China,” he said.

Despite ignoring them, Teh said the group punched and kicked him.

“One of them even used an iron ring to hit me,” he said.

He also added that he suffered bruises on his back, shoulder and ears.

Teh said the bus conductor, who tried to intervene, was threatened.

“They told the conductor they would beat him up too if he didn’t mind his own business,” he said.

He added that his watch and a smartphone worth a total of about RM2,000 was snatched from him.

The driver later sent Teh to a police station to lodge a report and to a government clinic for treatment.

Source: www.thestar.com.my

July 24, 2015