This afternoon, I drove to my son's school fifteen minutes before the scheduled time just to get a good, shady spot to wait for him and to read my book. Just as I secured a lovely spot and was about to take out my book to read, this WOMAN sneakily parked her car in front of the other cars beside mine. It must have been my fierce face that deterred her from plonking her vehicle smack in front of mine. 
Our Lah-Dee-Dah Madam not only blocked those cars but also the flow of the traffic. Thankfully, no one was leaving yet.
Three minutes later, a lady entered the car beside mine. Madam Lah-Dee-Dah saw her BUT did not proceed to shift her car. The lady on my left started her car engine. Lah-dee-dah still remained in a state of inertia!
Soon, four cars were waiting behind Lah-Dee-Dah's car. She still DID NOT budge. I started honking and soon, all the cars followed in cacophonic harmony!!! Lah-Dee-Dah DID NOT MOVE at all. No one could budge. The cars that were turning in could not move as well due to the jam caused by Lah-Dee-Dah.
My blood was boiling and I was exasperated with that inconsiderate and idiotic driver. I got out of my car in a huff and a puff, proceeded to knock on her window and asked her to shift her car and turn out to the main road. Then I walked away. Three steps later, I turned back.
Lah-Dee-Dah still DID NOT MOVE even though the other cars were still honking at her!!!!!
I stormed back to her car, knocked impatiently on her passenger window. She wound it down and screamed at me!!!
"I am waiting for my son," she hollered at me.
"Yea, no problem but can you see that we are all stuck behind you and the traffic cannot move because of you so you had better shift your car now you inconsiderate *****!!!" I screamed at her!!!!
Most reluctantly, she took her own sweet time to reverse into a nearby parking lot. Exactly! There was one available BUT she did not want to park there just so she could zip out of the area quickly even if it meant causing a massive jam and inconveniencing other people!!
I am sure if I had not gone down to do what I did, I would have been stuck there waiting for her to pick up her son, and together with other irate drivers, I would be honking away while SHE had her way while we suffered inconvenience for her selfish ways. I cannot imagine how myopic and deficient of neurons is this character. Jeepers! Even my hamsters and fish are more considerate than her and they live in harmony and unity!
Good heavens! This is the problem with MANY people in the world today. They think only of THEMSELVES and not about how their actions or lack of ability to take action affect other people.
On Saturday night, my family went to Batu Maung for seafood dinner. On the way home, my husband wanted to stop by TESCO to get some fresh milk. As I absolutely HATE crowds, I asked him to get his stuff while I tried to find a place to park.
As I zig-zagged around the parking bays, I was COMPLETELY APPALLED that so many people had parked their cars in no-parking zones causing so much inconvenience to others. In fact, a guy was waiting beside his Hilux - he could not drive out as others had parked their cars along the wall adjacent to the parking lots!!!
This malaise of many Malaysians is not just in parking but in politics and many areas of daily life as well. As long as it does not affect them directly, many just don't care to vote or to register as a voter or even to go home to their hometowns to vote cos they would rather use their leave for a holiday!!!
And so they park or do whatever they please!!! This rot has to stop!!!
Small but responsible acts of kindness DO matter and they DO affect not only ourselves but others directly and INDIRECTLY.
We HAVE to care. We HAVE to do something positive about this scenario to make the world a better place. Let's see beyond our noses and take a bird's view of the country and do something to effect change. We cannot NOT care any more.
So if you still have not registered to vote, PLEASE GO AND REGISTER AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN. If you have never voted before, please make sure you vote at the next G.E. And by the time the next GE comes, please make sure that you return to your hometown to cast your vote! Thanks.
Ad of course - drive and park safely and considerately! Thanks!
Here's an inspirational piece to end this post.It was posted in my other blog HERE today. Change always begins with OURSELVES!
PAYING LAST RESPECTS
One day not too long ago the employees of a large company in St. Louis, Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym."
At first everyone was sad to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be.
The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: "Who is this person who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he's no longer here!"
One by one the employees got closer to the coffin and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.
There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: "There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.
"The most important relationship you can have, is the one you have with yourself."
-Author Unknown-
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Thanks for reading. Take care and do leave a comment if you wish. Have a lovely evening.
After more than 22 years as Prime Minister, 78-year old Tun Dr.Mahathir stepped down in October 2003 and was succeeded by his deputy, Tun Abdullah Badawi who called for a general election in March 2004 to give him a mandate to rule and to strengthen his hand in the upcoming UMNO elections. At that time, Badawi had hoped he could capitalize on his popularity by holding early elections and projecting himself as being different in substance and style from Mahathir. His main policy pronouncements were a pledge to fight corruption.
UMNO and the BN won convinvingly in an election that heralded the return of the Malay vote, to the disappointment of those who hoped that UMNO’s dominance was waning. The Barisan Nasional won 198 of 219 parliamentary seats (90.4%—the highest ever) with nearly 64% of the popular vote (an increase of 9%). It also won back control of the oil-rich state of Trengganu.
Badawi won with the UMNO/BN advantage of having sufficient funds, strong control over the media control and party machinery. Prior to March 2004, Mahathir had already weakened the opposition. Some Keadilan leaders had been detained under the ISA in that period. Three others were jailed on various charges which meant they were ineligible to stand for election in 2004 while languished in prison. Without leadership and organizational structure, Keadilan won only one seat. At that time, the federal government had rescinded oil royalties to the state, a major source of revenue, when it came under PAS control. UMNO workers were also very successful in getting out the vote in Trengganu—85% of eligible electors voted which was a record turnout.
With that came a strong demand for the fulfillment of economic and consumption expectations that valued political stability above all. Despite the presence of a large, educated middle class in Malaysia, few actually wanted more democratic practices at that time because many were in comfortable positions.
Many were contented to maintain the status quo to protect their positions so to speak. Malays win as their percentage of the population is a more stable majority, nearing 60%. The Malays now are also better educated, more prosperous, and confident than in previous eras.
Through the years, UMNO and the BN became divided andembroiled in issues of corruption, cronyism, and nepotism. Some engaged in patronage to develop their power base and to progress in party hierarchy. Many ventured into business, using the opportunities created by the NEP and UMNO to fund their activities but for some, this led to conflicts of interest and related problems. Business competition led to serious divisions and issues that eroded public trust. Subsequently, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi pledged to crack down on corruption and “money politics,” but faced many barriers.
Despite being widely regarded as "Mr. Clean", in the UMNO elections of October 2004, Badawi did not get many loyalists elected to important party posts. He failed to kick out the old guard which meant he did not have a serious Cabinet reshuffle for a clean house. More factional fights among up-and-comers happened and allowed Mahathir an opening to become active in party matters again. Nepotism reared its ugly head if one had a father, father-in-law, or some relative in the party hierarchy.
The situation inside UMNO is not new, but the rivalry between “rising sons”, the intensity and rancor between the factions, and the escalating financial costs of being a successful factional leader were very real problems. In 2005, 62 high-powered UMNO veterans led by former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Ghafar Baba met to discuss what could be done to save UMNO. They passed a resolution to end “money politics” and to restore democracy in UMNO. They feared that internal infighting could cause UMNO to disintegrate. They also expressed concerns about the economic situation of the Malays and called for efforts to “bring UMNO back to the rural Malays” before it was too late.
Undeniably, certain policies have helped Malay business folks but these fared poorly in achieving equity. Malaysia has one of the worst disparity ratios in wealth and income in the region. Some argued that these policies are benefiting “UMNO-putra” more than others. A UN development report found Malaysia to have one of the worst income disparities in Asia, with the richest 10% earning 22 times more than the poorest 10%. See Ioannis Galsiounis' article HERE. This could lead to Malay anger directed at UMNO in the future.
Although UMNO could overcome challenges in the past, the internal “condition” of UMNO with its inherent problems and changing demographics, may make UMNO dominance vulnerable, especially during an economic downturn, accompanied by wrong moves that alienate rather than befriend the public.
The last two UMNO crises occurred in a more authoritarian Malaysia under the reign of Dr. Mahathir and both led to splits, neither played out entirely according to the rule of law.
UMNO has weathered a number of recent storms and continues its role as a dominant party. It survived various endogenous challenges, such as factionalism, changing ethnic allegiances, rival contenders, inter-generational differences, and leadership transitions and so on. Clearly, UMNO has withstood some severe tests, demonstrating a remarkable capacity to maintain its dominance.
In the near future at least, the political opposition is unlikely to provide the catalyst for a decline in UMNO control. Can Pakatan Rakyat offset political change in Malaysia? Can civil society seeking more democracy generate enough support to undermine UMNO’s dominance? If Pakatan Rakyat does not get its act together at the rate things are moving against the grain, it seems quite a monumental task. If UMNO falls, I believe it is more likely to be driven by internal factors rather than external pressures, at least judging by the way things are moving - I could be wrong as I am just an arm-chair observer.
UMNO has proved itself to be a party that adapts to environmental changes. In the past en route to independence, it socialized itself to the norm of losing as part of the democratic process, but this socialization slowly faded after independence as UMNO came increasingly to equate itself with the state. With the various political changes in the climate now and more to come in the future, will UMNO survive the challenges?
"It appears that as long as UMNO remains identified with an ethos that is relevant for Malays, especially vis-à-vis Islam, and is perceived as “delivering the goods” for Malays and protecting the non-Malays from theocratic rule, its dominance will continue indefinitely. If and when UMNO is no longer relevant to these groups and cannot perform well in power, then it would have little legitimacy for remaining in power if it lost an election. It may be the case that this is when formerly dominant parties bow to the will of the people and must learn to lose." (Mauzy & Barter:29*)
Personally, I believe that it will be internal factionalism and not the threat from Pakatan Rakyat that may lead to further splits in UMNO in the future. So will their dominance ever end? I honestly do not know. Do you?
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* from Political Transitions in Dominant Party Systems, edited by Friedman and Wong
