My Daily Roti Kopitiam - NS for Everyone?

Above: My company flag, designed by yours truly.

In this moment of boredom, where I am lazing about at home today.....and possibly the next 2 months, I began to think. It is in moments of boredom that ideas are thought out, memories are recaptured. It was in a moment of boredom that Sir Isaac Newton bothered to figure out why an apple fell to the ground instead of up into the air, in a moment of boredom that Gregor Mendel decided to make plants have sex instead of doing his daily routine of watching nuns. Unlike them, I was bored of burning bugs that I find around the compound or feeding guppies to my dogs, so I rested on the reclining chair and began to hypnotise myself. In this moment of boredom, memories of my stint at national service, or NS started to come back.

Above: "I smell fear"

    God damn I thought, I miss those 3 months like hell. I remembered the 1st day I knew I was going to what I thought would be hell at that particular moment. It was at my chemistry tuition and someone decided to kill the boredom by finding out who will be going to hell. I decided to join in and I was one of a few there that were the unlucky ones, or we thought we were. 1st day at camp was hell, so was the 2nd day and so were the 5 or more days after that. I hardly knew more than 3 people there. The following 2 and a half months were one of the greatest moments of my life that I will cherish forever. I remembered the moments of hardship and friendship. I learnt lessons there, how to iron my clothes, hand wash my clothes, how to not get my stuff stolen after my phone was and of course how to kill flies with a rubberband. NS was fun, the friends that I made and not to mention some enemies. Ah..and the tears everyone shed on the last day. After the stint, I felt sad instead of what I thought how I was going to feel 3 months prior. NS was great and till this day I believe that I was in fact lucky to be chosen to participate in this one in a life time experience while others who laughed at me for being chosen didn't get to go. In the end, I got the last and the loudest laugh.

Above: Not exactly like Auschwitz is it??

    Anyway, thinking about NS, I remembered our gov's plan on making NS compulsory for every teenager and for once I thought that the gov will be doing something right if the plan is to be implemented. I remembered when the idea of NS was first brought up, people complained that it's another waste of the rakyat's money. But actually, I think it will only be better if NS is made compulsory. Perceptions were changed, I've heard so many parents of NS-ers that have praised the programme for being so good at disciplining their children. Children came back and knew how to wash their clothes on their own and wash dishes etc. Also, I saw with my very own eyes that barriers between teens of different races were broken, everybody worked together, slept together and bonded together. It was wonderful. Of course there are bound to be troublemakers, but in the real world troublemakers are inevitable and it only makes one stronger by learning how to deal with the challenges that they will be facing once they are out into the real world.

Above: Pray that you will be chosen and you shall.

    Think about it then, if every teen were to go to NS, so many lives would be changed, so many paths straightened and so many barriers would be broken. Unity among people of different races would be stronger and the future of our country would be brighter. Therefore, gov, if you are listening, make NS compulsory for everyone in this country. Many need help, NS is one way and what a damn good way to help them. For those that have just finished their exams and are thinking of giving excuses like bad health or studies to try to avoid NS if you are chosen, I think you're an imbecile. I promise you, tears will come out of your stubborn eyes, even the worst people among all come the day when all of you throw your berets into the sky, and I've seen all that with my own eyes.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - My Roti Nostalgia

I have always wondered why people like to dine at fine dining restaurants. There are so many rules, use the utensils in the wrong order and you will be sentenced to death by embarrassment, dressed in shorts or slippers and you'll have your feet amputated, and in some places you have to dress in a suit, how is that comfortable for eating???

    Sure, people argue that fine dining is an experience and I do agree with that. It's fun to dress up once in a while, fun to spend extravagantly once in a while and fun to indulge in luxury once in a while. But for all you pay for, is the food more satisfying to the taste buds than the best or chien, wantan mee or char kuey teow which are all 10 times less costly? NO. In fact I have to say that I, and I'm sure a lot of you crave more often for cheap, honest street food than Foei Gras with Chef's Salad. Also, most of the time the tiny portions force some of us to go for another session of street food gorging. 

    I have to say, in terms of fun, making a comparison to cars, fine dining is like a Mercedes Benz. It's quiet, comfy and luxurious but hell it's boring. Compare it to an Ariel Atom, which is comparable to  dining in a kopitiam or road side street food stand; you only get one seat, no windows, no doors, no roof and a million times more fun. I wonder why then, people would crave for McDonald's which makes some of the worst tasting burgers in the fast food world when they can get 2 packets of 4 rotis per packet from one those forgotten bakeries around the country that tastes and smells oh so fantastic with the texture of fluffy cotton. I did just this afternoon(Thursday), my sister brought me to a bakery, one that we used to go to when we were younger and bought all sorts of buns to my dad's office to indulge in. Biting into the oh so soft and great tasting roti brought back a lot of memories. Who needs Breadtalk? You get 4 pieces of these for 1 piece of rock-textured roti at Breadtalk.

Above: RM2.50/packet and 4 rotis/packet. Fish Ohhh Shit from McD .> RM 5.

Above: I might not look as good as a cheesestick, but I taste twice as good and was made with more soul.

    I have to make a conclusion then that street food, or any cheap food, despite the low price tags are so much more meaningful and honest compared to bits of meat and colourful vege in the middle of a plate the size of an elephant's feet. Who goes to travel in a country and dines everyday at a 5 star restaurant? He/she must be stupid. Street/cheap food is the true representation of the people that make it, wolves in sheeps clothing, like a middle aged woman, dressed in a simple dress but she has experience on her side while in comparison, fine dining is like a young girl that dresses well to impress but has little experience. Who would you have more fun with? You make your choice.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - Stop Teaching Science & Maths in English?? Stupid?

When Dr Mahathir introduced the system of teaching Science and Mathematics in English in 2003, I was one of the people who rejoiced. Finally, our government has done something beneficial for us for the good of our future. I remembered, I was actually the 2nd batch of students to be given the privilege to be taught under this system. However, recently our government has thought that "Mmmm....people in the kampungs are suffering...we should teach in Malay". So from 2012 onwards, the teaching of S & M (stop thinking bout something else you horny people) will be done in Malay!

    I was extremely disappointed with this decision. Only after 6 yrs (decision was made in 2009), our government has given up and Dr Mahathir is not a happy bloke. Now, I think I should let you know in case you don't read the news that this is because of a protest by Malay linguist saying that this could threaten the Malay language. No offense, but this is for our future. Some might argue that countries like Japan and China have their S & M taught in local languages but they are still more advanced than us. Well, if you compare us to Japan or China, most of their university courses are done in native languages. Most of them will also work in their country which provides good jobs with good pay (in Japan at least). Here, our courses are taught in English and I have known so many people before me that struggled to keep up with the terms. Even nowadays, many students that went through the English system struggle in keeping up. So how are they going to keep up if they are taught in Malay? If you are in Japan, a very scientifically advanced company like Honda or Toyota will hire you and your job is done mostly in Japanese. Here, our jobs are done in English! English! You teach Science in Malay and you go to work in an English speaking environment, not damn Malay!

    In the old days, everything was taught in English. It took many years for certain non-Malay speaking students to keep up with studying Malay when the system was changed, my dad was one of them. It needs to take the same time for students with weak English to master the language. 6 years is not a long time, and in this short time our government has given up hope. I asked many lecturers and so many of them told us it is so much better nowadays for students to be able to understand the terms in Scientific courses especially. Before that, a lot of students had to go through hell. I am sure that if you are a modern human being wanting our country to prosper in the future, you would know that we need to globalise our country. Admit it or not, we have to know that English is THE global language. If you don't speak English, you can't compete with the world. With exception the already ultra-modern countries like Germany or Japan where they can and will continuously keep up with global trends even while neglecting English. Problem is they have the resources and the ability to do so, we don't. This is the reason why we slack behind countries like Singapore. Singapore is very much a globalised nation. They are educated in English, yet they have not forgotten their roots. This is evident in the films they make, they still make them in Chinese. So, why we as Malaysians, wanting our country to be globalised and modern, still reluctant to accept the importance of English? Why are we still fearing globalisation of making our next generation forget about their roots when they wouldn't? Why O our government, why did you make another stupid mistake?

    People, please, comment and tell me your views on this issue and please, make a change if you can. The general elections are coming soon, if you are eligible for voting, register yourself and make a change.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - Are Traditional Holidays Still Significant to Modern Children?

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, otherwise known as mooncake festival for chinese people all over the world and I am stuck in my room doing my lab report. The mooncake festival really brings back a whole lot of memories for me. Not only the mooncakes I used to eat (actually I don't really like mooncakes), but especially the lanterns. I remembered the days when I used to go over to my granpa's to have sort of a gathering with all my cousins and we used to light up (sometimes literally) and take the lanterns and stroll around the taman at night. I also remembered that besides us there were also kids from other families strolling around the taman and we used to join them and play together. Also, not to mention we used to look forward to Chinese New Year where we would run around the taman chasing after lion dances, playing with fireworks (those days they were legal) and fire.

"Yeeer...mama, why this cake so weird de? Got egg inside de? No nice leh", says the kid wearing thick spectacles sitting in front of his computer creating a new strain of computer virus.

    However, all these activities just started to fade away with the advancement in technology. Today, it is a rare sight to see children still playing with lanterns and chasing after lion dances. Because they rather stay at home shooting up people on their computers. Very few children realise the significance of traditional holidays. They are actually important because if they weren't, you wouldn't be having a day off from school. A lot of modern parents don't help as well, they don't seem to feel it is important to educate their children on the importance of festivals. Sooner or later, these holidays will just become another day off school or work.

    I actually rather prefer to live back in the days when there were no computers in every house and children propose their liking for each other with scented love letters rather than email that would end up in the junk mail. Those days were more interesting. When my parents proposed to go to a restaurant to have our reunion dinner on the eve of CNY, I actually objected because it would be meaningless. Yet, many families do that nowadays. Some even decide to skip CNY and go for a vacation. These days, holidays have become rather boring. Probably the only interesting thing about CNY nowadays is I get to rest longer, eat better and get new clothes. Children have become soft nowadays with over protective parents. They don't get to play with fireworks a lot while in my childhood, me and my cousins would try to think of interesting ways to demolish stuff, blacken the walls of other people's houses with fireworks, strap insects to fireworks. Nowadays children are happy with even the "sand fireworks", heck, we used to pop those with our fingers while children nowadays think its dangerous to throw it at each other.

    It is a pity to see this happening. I guess when new things come in, some older stuff have to give way and be sacrificed in place. The world is getting worse and less interesting. Back in the old days, many of us didn't even knew where babies came from until we were in high school while you can probably catch your 9 year old brother looking at dirty stuff on your com, or you wouldn't because he knows how to delete the history.

    It is true that traditional holidays are getting less significant for the younger generation, but however bad the situation is, there will still be those that treasure them. The festivals might be less interesting but they will never die off.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - The BENDERA Drama, should we apologise?

Recently there has been this drama unfolding between Malaysia and Indonesia. No. There certainly will not be another confrontation occuring but I do not understand why are the BENDERA (<< lame name..obviously they ran out of ideas) group making a big fuss out of this issue.

    So some Indonesian Maritime Officers trespassed our waters and caught some fishermen in OUR waters and they in turn got caught by our officers. They claimed that they got handcuffed by the Malaysian officers. C'mon children, what did you expect? Candy? A hug? You trespassed our waters illegally then of course you're gonna be handcuffed and your making a big fuss out of this? Aww...poor you.

    Btw, the fishermen and the Indonesian officers are already returned to their respective countries so forget about it already. There's no use throwing shit at our embassy because that just proves that you're a dumbass. Seriously? Handling your own poo and throwing it at others? Nice move man.

    So do I think we should apologise to the BENDERA members? No. You are wrong. We did not demand an apology so why should you behave like small children? Btw...for those that do not read the newspapers, the Indonesian gov has nothing to do with this incident. It's just another protest group that might be paid by someone to throw faeces at our embassy. I believe this is just a small matter and it will just fade away and pass by. So for no we can continue with our normal lives and not worry about another invasion.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - MLM for students

Now I read an interesting article on MLMs for students recently on The Star. MLM or Multi-level Marketing is an interesting and very very convincing concept. I'm sure a lot of you might have been approached by MLM-ers to be recruited as part of their team. I'm too lazy to explain how MLMs work but you can try to Wiki it.

    This brings back a lot of memories for me...lol. I was one of the "victims". Now, don't get me wrong but I have nothing against MLMs. I have friends that are involved in MLM companies. But one thing's for sure. Not everybody can be the top dog. I can say about 1 in 15 people that have joined these companies succeeded and not many of them succeeded in an...um....honest way. Along the way, you lose friends and you gain friends. I had a fun time doing MLM and have learnt a lot from the experience while doing it but have decided to stop. There's nothing wrong with MLM companies, my advice is if you wanna do it you can give it a try, in fact many of us found it a great learning experience. Along the way you start to see the true colours of the people around you, you start to see who your true friends really are. Along the way, if you think you can do it then do it the right and ethical way. It's not worth it to sacrifice friendship and relationships for money.

    Here is TheStar's article on MLMs and direct selling.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - The Dark Side of Pet Ownership in Malaysia

Now if you know me well, I'm not much of a kid person. I have no knowledge on how to hug, cuddle or play with a child. I however do have a soft spot for animals. My whole childhood I've grown up with pets in my household, be it rabbits, guinea pigs, dogs of course, tortoises, fish even insects that I caught. I was lucky to be born into a pet-loving family. We however have less pets now given that we hardly have time to take care of them, so currently we have 3 dogs, 2 mother and daughter guinea pigs (thanks dad for the additional burden =.=) and of course fish.
  
    Now I'm not here to talk about my family. I'm here to talk on pet ownership in Malaysia. What prompted me to write this post was something I saw while lepak-ing at the mall with some friends. There was a pet store at the mall and my friend said to me :" Look how cute is that dog." I took a look and it horrified me, the puppy was barely a month old. Trust me on the age of the puppy, my family have bred dogs numerous times. It's just not nice to see a one month old puppy being on sale. As I've mentioned we have bred dogs and we don't sell or give them away until they are at least 2 months old when they can eat properly and are properly weaned. Pet stores nowadays are not owned by people with love for pets, they are mostly owned by people who just wanna make money. Also, the kennels that produce these puppies, most of them hardly care for their dogs, they too just wanna make a quick buck. Gone were the days where people bred dogs and sold them for the love of it. Nowadays, it's just another "business".

    I also wanna talk about new pet owners. I realise that pet ownership, especially dog ownership had started to become a trend especially among the youths in Malaysia. Most of these youths have very little knowledge of what to do with a dog. Leaving a dog in their care is like leaving your child in my care, you wouldn't want it. I've seen many people buying dogs and then giving them away because they find them too much a burden. In fact, one of my dogs was bought from one of these owners. Her previous owner hardly had time to take care of her and she was locked in the store for a whole day sometimes. When she came, her fur was matted and it took us a month to get rid of all the mats. I guess the trauma she experience explains why she is the most troublesome dog we own now, always doing things the opposite way we have taught her to, always making us shout at her, she's enjoying her freedom. Worse still, there are people that buy pets and just abandon them somewhere and expecting them to survive on their own. This is the reason why I don't feel like recommending pets to people nowadays, it'll be like giving them a life sentence.

    My advice is, before you decide to buy or own a pet, do some research on it. It may be exciting and fun at first but after a long while you might not feel the excitement anymore. I have a friend that bathes his dog like once every two days and his dog's fur quality is really poor. Even though you think you are giving your pet the best care, you might be doing more harm than expected. It's also better to adopt a pet rather than to buy one. And lastly, be responsible, do not throw or abandon your pets to the dog pound where they'll be killed or somewhere by the roadside or in the jungle. Take good care of your pets, I learnt this the hard way when my sis was away for her studies and left me in charge of her guinea pigs. Of course I did a shit job and when she came back they were in such bad condition all of them died except one which just died not long ago of old age. I felt so bad for what I didn't do that it changed me totally. I'm sure none of you want the same thing happening to you, so think before you do it.

My Dogs =)

Jasmine: Silky Terrier, real troublemaker, bought her from her previous owner who was too busy to care for her.

Becky: Shih Tzu, what an I say? Dimwitted and slow.

Honey: American/English Cocker Spaniel mix, sorry but you can hardly find her in another state other than this. Probably the most obesed dog we have ever had.

My Daily Roti Kopitiam - Can anything today still be a "legend" tommorow?

This will be my first My Daily Roti Kopitiam post where I discuss anything under the big blue sky. Today's topic....just read the title lah.

Above: Legend and rubbish.

    What prompted me to write this kopitiam post was really the death of a legend not long ago in the name of Michael Jackson. What is a legend? One of the definitions of the word is "Any person or thing of extraordinary accomplishment". To me, a legend is more than that. A legend has to be a pioneer, someone that will leave a mark in our lives, a mark so great that it will be left there in our memories for generations to come. Michael Jackson is a legend. He pioneered his own style of music and dancing. Legends are all great people or things, but not all great people or things are legends.

Above: Both are great, but only Bruce is the legend.

    At this point you might be feeling a bit confused, like "wtf he talkin about lah?". But it's true. Take any modern entertainer as an example, great as they may be in whatever they do, none of them will ever be a legend like MJ himself simply because they are living on the legacies left behind by the legends. Or take the Chinese actor Jet Li as an example, great guy, great skills...but....will he be a legend like Bruce Lee? No. Bruce Lee was great because he pioneered a new style of Martial Arts and he was one of the very first Asians to be recognised as an icon around the world as a great actor. Not convinced? Take any new great movie...hmm....Inception? Great plot, great acting....10 years down the road nobody will remember about it. But look at movies like Aliens or Jurassic Park...it's been almost or more than 20 years and people still remember and talk about them because they were the pioneers of special effects in movies. Last example, excuse me for being boring but I'm a car nut so here goes. I'm sure you all have watched Iron Man and the car he drove, an Audi R8. No doubt about it that' a great car. Fast, cool and handsome. But will people really remember it like how they remembered the legendary Audi Ur Quattro from the 80's that revolutionized 4wd in road cars? Not really.

Above: The legend, Ur Quattro and the pretender, R8.

    Legends are pioneers, they are the greats among the greats. They are not just special but they were extraordinary. Question is...can anything today still be a legend tommorow? From my point of view it's a "yes". Do not just pick up what others left behind do the same as they did. Pick up what they left behind and improve it and change it into something really special, something that will be remembered for generations to come. Bill Gates has done it, you can too.