Flags, food and flabbergastation.

Flags, food and flabbergastation.

I’ve been staying in Malaysia for over a decade. I’d like to say that this country has been good to me, and in many ways, it has. I suppose that there’re things that I’d change if I had the power to do so, but I can at least say that life here isn’t as bad as most locals would make it out to be.

Maybe there’s some kind of resentment towards the fact that KL’s a sleepy town. Some people who’ve stayed “overseas” (e.g. Australia) for sporadic periods of time tend to find KL ill-fitting to their plans. Others would rant on about the lack of personal liberties that the Government has deprived its citizens of. To some people, Malaysia, as a whole, is the world’s most inefficient bureaucracy (though I can vouch for that).

I’m not saying that I outright love this country, but I’ve been enjoying the stay so far. The food is good…it’s still arguably cheaper than what you’d find overseas. Fuel is affordable (though it’s on a rampant rise). The climate is bearable (once you get used to it). We’ve got three major races living in quiet resentment of each other, but never publicly displaying any disrespect (though…how is that a good thing?). Yeah. There’re a lot of things that’re good about this place. But that doesn’t necessarily mean I’d be willing to do anything for it.

One thing I always scorned was the fact that Malaysian terrestrial television had the knack of airing these incredibly tacky propagandist music videos. The videos were poorly shot, and the songs were just…well, let’s look at it this way. You’ve got a marching beat and lyrics waxing lyrical about how great the cyber age is. Let’s not forget the amorous relationship we were supposed to have with I.T.; in its bid to make people more aware towards the benefits of information technology, no other than Malaysia’s premier songbird, Siti Nurhaliza (to her credit, she does look cute even though she’s got a large forehead area) was roped in amongst a bunch of faceless vocalists to spread the love.

This whole propagandist thing didn’t really touch me at all. It didn’t sicken me. It was more of a feeling of cynical amusement. You can’t get Malaysians to be patriotic. We already are.

I never thought that I’d be roped in into a situation which would reek of the same disenchanted spirit of patriotism I’d encountered on the idiot box.

That was until Tuesday.

Previously, on the Ian Tai Show:
Lena called me on Friday evening, asking if I was able to make it on Tuesday to be a part of the Perhimpunan Patriotik 2005 (loosely translated into “The Patriotic Gathering 2005”). It was going to take place in Cyberjaya. She couldn’t find anyone else to come, which is why she called me, her BIZ Council protégé. I had to agree, I mean....I’m just nice that way, y’know? Hou Hong, the Accounting Club’s president, was also brought along for the ride. The rules were this: we were to only wear black pants and black shoes, while a t-shirt would be provided (I should’ve already balked at that last nugget of information).

So, I arrived at college at the appointed time of 8:30 in the morning. Max, from the DSA, was there, and he handed me the t-shirt, which was akin to those badminton shirts that our players wear each time they participate in a tournament. I felt icky. I went to the toilet to change, and figured that the collar was really tight. I made a comment about this to Max, and he suggested unbuttoning the collar the next time round. Oops.

This guy called Chris came along for the ride as well, as he was dragged in from the A-Levels side of things. So, there were the three of us, huddled together in HELP’s roomy Unser (we were supposed to take the Big Red HELP Bus, but there were only three of us…I suspect that there were supposed to be a lot more), and we took the trip to Cyberjaya. We got lost once we touched ground, and started driving aimlessly around, until we found our bearings and got to the program. On the bright side, we did manage to catch Putrajaya in all its glory. I actually do think that it’s a brilliant place, but not a brilliant place to reside in. It’s a redundant oasis in the middle of an arid land.

We arrived at the Multimedia University’s multi-purpose hall. Amongst the first comments we made were why HELP couldn’t make a proper multi-purpose hall. I mean, even Taylor’s had one. And that was quite massive as well. We had arrived at about a quarter to 10, and funnily enough, we only had to be there for short while longer. The event actually started at around 8. We had arrived just in time for the winding down of the Education Minister’s speech, and for the following hour, we were treated to dikir barat presentations, choral singing, dances, poetry recitals…all in Malay.

Not good for the Ultimate Malaysian Non-Malaysian Banana.

In my opinion, the dikir barat presentation was cool. They always are, if done well. And one of the choirgirls was quite hot. But, aside from that…I didn’t really have to be there. When we were adjourned for lunch, I rushed to the toilet to take a massive wee (my bladder was suffering ever since we left HELP), and then we got our free packed lunches and returned to the college.

Later that night, the BC, AC and YE had this orientation dinner held for the new Chinese students (as in from China) who’d arrived a week before. Not a lot of fun, really. In some ways, I felt like a second-class citizen. The Chinese students may be paying through their noses, but at the same time, they get treated like academic royalty. I suppose that it’s a customer service thing, but still, it made more than a few of us uncomfortable. But all in all, it was a good show.

I can say the same about the Merdeka Food Fair the BC had yesterday. Our food was sold out, but we still had a lot of drinks that we’re going to have to sell off on another day. Special thanks to the Mad Doctor for making an appearance to buy our packed fried noodles, and for helping us finish off our soy milk. It was a good day.

Today is Thursday. I want to rest. And so, I’ll try my best not to go to college unless I’m badly needed (we still have to take down the banner that we’d hung up, because for it’s red and bare now). I want to stay at home and soak in the sun and wash my clothes. It’s been a funnily fulfilling week, even though I haven’t gone to any classes. I mean…I have done a lot. In a way.

I’m so dead.