Actually I wanted to post about this topic for quite some time, since I was involved in Project Aware[/url], but I never quite got prompted to do it.
Since all this bullshit about handicapped toilets has come about, I think it’s time to address it.
I do wish people would care more, people would stand up for their rights, stand up for what they believe in, look after their planet and have some civic conciousness.
Most people just stumble through life, wasting resources, totally ignorant to the fact they are destroying the planet, and in some cases society too.
One example is littering, during Project Aware[/url] we were picking up litter on the beach, why because dumbfuckers threw it there, instead of in the bin. Why oh why? There are bins everywhere, if not carry it till you see one, or put it in your pocket or something, don’t throw it on the floor.
I see some people throwing tissues out the car window or onto the floor, and they say..
“Oh but it’s bio-degradable”Yeah no shit, I know that, you know that, but does the 6 year old kid that just saw you drop something on the floor instead of the bin know that?
I don’t think so.
Educate by example, lead by example, care about your environment and don’t just talk about it, if you see someone litter, say politely…
“Excuse me, but there’s a bin just over there”Honestly some elderly lady said that to me once when I was a youngster in UK dropping litter, and it made a big impact on me, I never did it again.
That’s just a small example, other things are using more organic products, using environmentally friendly washing powder, using environmentally friendly fridges, rated for lower power consumption, and lacking of harmful CFC‘s.
I guess a lot of it comes from my mother, who truly leads by example, she saves all organic waste from our house and makes her own compost to fertilise the garden.
She recycles wherever possible, I’m glad to see in Malaysia more recycling facilities are appearing, the first place I saw segregated bins were in Ikano Power Center, which shows civic conciousness.
In UK now the rubbish collection service provides different coloured bags for plastics, paper and others, to make the sorting easier for them, and to make recycling more possible for everyone.
Another example is caring for society, not just the environment, if the state isn’t fixing something write to your MP.
If there is something wrong with the road, write to who is responsible for it.If you got bad service in a resturant and were mis-treated, write to the management.
People might say we Brits are known for moaning, but I’d say we are standing up for our rights, that’s why in UK we get top-notch customer service and product quality, because if we don’t we kick up a shitstorm, unlike here, where people are rather lackadaisical and don’t really seem to care.
“Whatever la, it’s normal here”
Yeah but why should it be normal, can you not fight for better standards?
If something is wrong, I’ll write a letter about it, if I get bad service, I’ll fill in the comment card. The sad thing in Malaysia is that nothing happens. Like in UK if I’d filled in the terrible comments I did in the comment card in a Sushi place in the curve, I would have gotten a call next day and an invite back to the resturant for a free meal as maybe I just came at a bad time.
Word of mouth is powerful, that’s a fact.If you think something is wrong, fight for change, don’t sit and accept it.
An example would be Kimberly[/url], she is a civic minded citizen, I have seen her letters published in The Star regarding various matters from the state of roads in Cheras to the intermittent water supply in the area. She was a responsible citizen before this boycotting campaign and she will be after, I don’t believe it’s a personal vendetta against XiaXue, to be honest she didn’t even mention XX. Those who say so in my mind are rather pathetic.
I personally support her, she is standing up for what she believes is right, more than I can say for most people who just go with the flow and nod their heads, then chastise when the tide changes.
Anyway the point I’m trying to make is people should start caring, they should stop gossiping about small things like XX, and how rude Peter Tan[/url] was and look at the bigger picture of WHY these people said what they said, what is WRONG about it, and HOW we can change it.
In all honestly these are small issues, there are many things that need to be corrected and we should focus our energies on those rather than endlessly pointing fingers at each other.
Make a difference, do something for someone ELSE for a change, for your future children, or the future generation.
i agree with u.. i dun think it’s a personal vendetta against XX too..
but i think somehow the lessons given r kinda abit harsh..
i hate it when people spit on the ground, you are walking minding your own business when someone beside you suddenly GRAAKKK PTUI.
but all the highlight in the media has not changed people’s thinking about this. i don’t think a lot of old ahpek and ahma are going to change their life long spitting habit.
but as long as the younger ones do not do it and teach their kids not to do it, hallelujah.
What Malaysia needs is a cultural revolution. We’re done with the racial harmony bullshit that the government is (STILL) promoting after 30 years.
It’s time we took a look at ourselves from inside our own hearts, and say that we are Malaysian, and this land that we live on is our country. And that starts with everyone getting treated equally.
It’s about time we stopped being a 1st world economy (albeit wannabe) with 3rd world mentality.
We have the best technology money can buy and yet what kind of users do we have? I see people spitting onto the tracks of escalators and onto the tracks of the LRTs. They think that by spitting there, people won’t see and when people don’t see its dirty effects, it’s ok?
c’mon…
You’re just saying that to get free seks from Kimberlycun. 😛
Ok, joke, joke!
Hey she already offered me that last time, haven’t redeemed that coupon yet 😛
It does piss me off quite a bit to see people litter at places which would degrade the experience for future travellers…
Case in point – I was at the summit of Mt. Kinabalu about a week ago and I tucked myself into a discreet nook and smoked a cigarette while enjoying the view. I brought along a backpack and when I was done, I put the butt and ashes back into another (empty) cigarette box, and at this point, another guy comes along and bums one off me. He smoked it and threw the butt on the summit. I told him off and he just shrugged and kicked the butt off the cliff.
I would have kicked him down the mountain, except I was too exhausted.
i agree with u dude. My dad was a great example when it came to throwing rubish in the correct place. One day he saw somebody throw something on the floor, he correted the dude. I don’t litter for that exact reason.
“Yeah but why should it be normal, can you not fight for better standards?”
I wish I could agree on this, but looking at our national car Proton, I don’t think so.
In all honestly these are small issues, there are many things that need to be corrected and we should focus our energies on those rather than endlessly pointing fingers at each other.
Make a difference, do something for someone ELSE for a change, for your future children, or the future generation.
YAY! EXCELLENT! *tears tears tears*
there’s a bigger picture than all this petty finger pointing.
How inspiring.
next up, Roche vs Taiwanese government and Tamiflu 😛
But nice read.
Spitting is gross, but sneezing and coughing with your mouth open and uncovered is worse.
And for some funny reason, I always come across such people in the cinema and they’d be sitting directly behind me, unleashing thousands of little droplets of spit onto the back of my head every 20 seconds.
But to be fair, I’ve actually sneezed directly on to someone’s head before, point blank. I’m about 6ft 2, and was walking with a friend when I quickly turned the other way, covered my mouth (to direct the blast downwards) and sneezed onto a short lady who was just passing me below my face.
I wasn’t sure whether to feel apologetic or burst out laughing (at the irony of trying to be polite, but covering a stranger with spit and mucus instead)
to those biodegradable ppl, i’m gonna shit on their bed. Biodegradable maa
We don’t care is because care wasn’t drilled to us when we were young. so change that.
when we really make the initiative to change the man in the mirror, we can change the future of how our children will behave. civic minded.
But Care is still not strong enough around us to remind us, poison us the effects of global warming, slaps us silly when we throw rubbish.
Ciggie, everyone that smokes, throw the butts on the floor, flick it to the nearest drain, it will eventually kill the earth.
Increase the bloody ciggie to RM 90 a pack !!!
ST, my optimism upped a teensy notch knowing there’s at least someone else in Malaysia who’s environmentally aware. But then again you’re a Brit so it fell halfway back.
HB, couldn’t you have told the guide/warden about it? Airheads like that really should be BLACKLISTED. Last time I found candy wrappers along the trail, which are terrible things to see.
It’s appalling to witness people littering as if it was as natural as breathing. Appalling.
Maybe you *should* have kicked him off. After all, if nobody’s gonna see the ciggarette butt there… I’m pretty sure nobody’s gonna see the body too, right? 😛
lionel + dinghy: It’s a pet peeve of mine since it indirectly reflects on ALL smokers. Not all smokers do that…and by doing that, he’s giving smokers a bad image to people who don’t make distinctions and stereotype certain lifestyles.
Hey, I agree with you about the customer service. In UK once the customer complain…the company will take effect about it immediately. What I can said customer service is rather good in UK than M’sia.
My wife work in M&S and she also sometime fed up with that CS stuff…haha maybe we are not use to it. We now in UK as a WHM…
Good one.
I just wrote my experience in my blog, quoted your last paragraph, for my friends to read. Hope you don’t mind.
Hmm, well, my conscience is clear, cause I don’t litter, spit or abuse animals …
And morality is an ambiguous thing. As long as we’re doing what we believe is right.
Well my dearest Liz, isn’t that esentially the problem?
Morality is subjective, not particularly ambiguous, most people are clear about it, they just see it differently.
And from what you’re saying, if I believe it’s right to come to your house and burn it down whilst you sleep, it’s ok..that to me is a more skewed perspective than the others.
Dude, that’s different. Burning someone’s house down is no longer a question of morality. Its a crime and that’s the reason you can’t go around doing it. What Liz said is true. It is all all about morals and doing what you feel is right.
Look mate, aside from your English going a bit off the rails, you do talk some sense. However, being Civic Minded is such a nannyish thing to say. The things that are going bad here in the UK are precisely down to moaning old twats who harp on about something not getting done properly. We have a health system falling apart at the seams which needs propping up by private healthcare; we have the highest rates of single-mothers in Europe; we have the highest levels of teenage pregnancies in Europe; we also have a nation full of people who like to claim for this or that or the other, if you slip on a puddle of coffee at work you get compensation, if you burn your mouth on a teacup you get compensation. You’re idealising Britain from afar mate, you need to either come back here and realise what a fucking state we’re in or shut the hell up and get on with being an ex-pat.
And, because this really is getting a bit annoying, if you’re going to refer to it, please use the definite article ‘the’ when talking about the UK. If you want people to change, live the change yourself, don’t try to change others. Nobody ever changed another man’s opinion by forcing their own down his throat.
Totally agree with you, can’t really think of any other better term for it though. You can just label it as ‘caring’ if you like.
I ‘cared’ in the UK and it still got fucked over with too many immigrants AND locals bumming of the dole with housing benefits, child support, free healthcare, people having kids and being single mothers just for the housing and benefits they would get.
And those stupid salesmen on the street irritated the hell out of me too “Have you had an accident lately? Hurt yourself? No win NO FEE!”
A horrible trend that came from the US when that dumb bitch won the case for burning herself with coffee, because the coffee cup didn’t state the coffee was hot..
If everyone just lived for themselves, we wouldn’t have any scientific discovered, we wouldn’t have books, we wouldn’t have the Internet, we wouldn’t have many things. Sometimes you have to live for others, and make whatever changes you can, but yah I agree, it’s not by forcing your opions on others, but surely educating people doesn’t fall under that classification?
But in Singapore, you ask others to be more civic minded, they’ll ask you to fuck off, or smile and ignore what you say. Unfortunately. In that case, isn’t it a better idea not to bother at all? Unless you’re someone who has the power to make more changes…in which case you can start changing people whether they want it or not. I don’t know….that’s just what I think.
I understand your sentiment, but out of 20 you try, perhaps 1 will get the message and change, and perhaps they will influence another 5 others..and each of those 5 another 5 and so on.
I just think it’s worth giving a little effort for a return in the long term, it may not be our generation that benefits, but that’s not the purpose, people should to be a litle less self-serving.
The main problem with everything is apathy.
yo ST, good post to clear up your stance. have made a post on my blog to link back to this one. cheers!
Having lived in Sheffield for 4 years, I can say that – as far as civic mindedness is concerned – the UK is Stella Artois and Malaysia is Safeway budget lemonade (the ones that cost about 20p).
Seriously, you have no idea how I enjoy the little things about the UK that make it a far more pleasant place to live in:
1. People actually hold doors open for you.
2. Public toilets are actually useable!
3. Brits do litter, but no where as often as they do in Malaysia.
4. People tend to say “Excuse me”, “sorry”, “thank you”, “pardon”, “you’re welcome”, etc…
5. People actually queue in the UK. In Malaysia, we need velvet rails, “take-a-number” systems and the like to prevent queue jumping.
6. True, people whine in the UK, but at least the standards of service is better there. Here, if you don’t like something, you can go fuck off, apparently.
7. The brits have a sense of humour – just look at their talk shows and comedies. While some Malaysians have excellent humour (The Instant Cafe Theatre being an excellent example), most of the stuff on TV is horrible. I’ve yet to watch a local TV/film production that made me laugh. Actually, I’ve yet to watch a local TV/film production since the trailers and promotional spots are far too lame.
(Warning: blatant self-promotion)
For more rantings, click here
Yeah I agree, those are some of the things that REALLY bug me about Malaysia.
If you give way to someone on the road, 1 out of 100 will give a nod and acknowledge it, in UK 1 out of 100 would be the ignorant fucker that didn’t acknowledge.
People never hold open doors here, if you do it for someone they never say thanks.
People don’t say excuse me, they just barge.
People have no idea how to queue..
Local TV/Theatre here is pretty much a joke..but UK standards on that are very high, forerunners in weird and satircal crap like the office, goodness gracious me and so on..
Channel 4 is awesome, I miss it’s cutting edge documentaries about prostitution, strip clubs, drug dealers and gangsters.
Not the politcally laced ‘news’ reports you get here. The reality, and both sides of the story.
Sure, you could make a list of all the things the UK has that Malaysia doesn’t…a list that I admit is VERY TRUE. I love all those stuffs about the UK too. But typical of a Malaysian, you failed to make another list of all the good stuffs we have back here that you can’t get over there. Disgustingly biased, are you not?
Honestly I still don’t think so, now you are confusing law with morals, and from what you say, if it’s not illegal, it’s not immoral, which is totally wrong.
I can take a shit in a box and post it to someone I don’t like, it’s not illegal, but it’s certainly not nice or moral, burning houses down is illegal (obviously), but it’s also immoral (it’s an extreme example), there are things that aren’t illegal but are immoral..
And the people who fucked up the twin towers on 9/11 felt they were right, believed morally they were doing the right thing, the majority of the rest of the world didnt…same goes for Bali bombing, same goes for many other acts of terrorism and wars in fact.
One mans rubbish is another mans treasure, same goes for morals, one mans sin is another mans good deed.
There are some things within the boundaries of control which we should change, and some which we should not. Yeah the no win no fee thing has become a bit of an excuse for economic rape of the accused, that’s more to do with the EU Human Rights law though. We are gripped by a culture of wanting to blame someone else for the frankly shite state of our own lives, when some chap cuts his family to pieces he blames it on not getting enough love; when a woman cuts the eyes out of a love rival she blames an ineffective social services system for allowing her out of the funny farm too early.
Living for others is a very nobel cause, and is probably better termed as charity, though that is now a very unfashionable word which some see as patronising. Charity in its truest meaning is simply wanting to help others for no personal gain. As for educating people, I would say that giving advice, pointing them in the right direction is all that you can do, physical or any other kind of intervention when you are asserting your own will upon theirs is not quite right, not morally acceptable. People are not merely means to and end, they are to be seen as an end in themselves. So while it is correct to get someone to do something in order that society may benefit it must not be against their will, they have to agree and see that what it is you want to do is to their benefit as well, otherwise they are merely a tool for your own desires.
I think what they mean is that morality only goes up to a point – when something falls under the jurisdiction of the law, the moral argument is redundant.
If you do take a shit in a box and post it to someone you don’t like, then morally it is wrong, illegal or not, as you say. Morals come down to reason, not perception – this reason is practical, it tells us what we ought to do. Ought I to send someone a freshly laid turd? What will be the outcome? They will be offended, perhaps sickened, and no good will come from what I have done (though good is also subjective). Perhaps if they are in the habit of collecting human faeces, I will have done them a service and enhanced their gallery, though that is unlikely. What motivates me to do something more often than not dictates whether my action is moral or not. If I act in order to benefit another, without causing anyone else harm, then it can reasonably be argued that I have acted morally. Immorality, it must be remembered, is an absence of morals. If I act to benefit someone else but in doing so cause harm to another person, and knowingly do so, then am I acting morally?
However when we come to the question of 9/11, we face a thorny issue – is there such a thing as universal morality? For instance, it has been argued by some, that morally the terrorists had a point, but are these supporters morally right or wrong? Who decides? From their moral standpoint, they could build a case for the small striking out against the big, for the oppressed to hit out at their oppressors. I’m no supporter, I’m as disgusted by their tactics as the next man, but as you say, one mans sin is another mans good deed. Can there ever be a universal morality?
ST agreed to Chris’s post. I don’t think refraining from repeating another one’s point make you a biased person. Just practical.
Can’t say the same for minions though, they follow everything lah
Ok, I admit… I’m being a little biased. But just humour me for a moment, will you?
As far as civic mindedness is concerned, I sincerely do believe that the UK is miles ahead of Malaysia – but of course, this was mostly down to my experience (which was mostly pleasant) and the fact that – unlike a few Malaysians I know – I don’t have a preconcieved notion that all Brits are stuck up, that they dislike Asians (well, they dislike everybody, just ask them about the Germans/French/Americans), that they’re less intelligent than we are and that – because the Chinese created Kung Fu – I am therefore more agile than them and better at sports (which I’m not).
So yes, I’m biased. I like Britian. But, that’s not to say that they haven’t got social quirks.
First of all, I’m still not comfortable with 90% of the British student population being completely drunk on Friday nights – especially having lived in a halls of residents (i.e. a dorm). For starters, I felt like a Jewish girl hiding under the covers in my little room in the Ghetto while Nazi soldiers ran through the corridors, banging on doors and yelling stuff in some foreign language.
I’ve gotten more used to it, but I always had this fear that – one day – football hooliganism would transcend the boundaries of the stadium grounds and – somehow – manifest itself in my bedroom, courtesy of a six-pack of Carling (or Fosters, if you prefer) and an axe. True, it probably wouldn’t have happened. But the fear was real at times (they can get rather rowdy).
The other thing I don’t like about the UK, is that every school-going kid has an entire pack of gum in his mouth at any given time. And what’s worse is that they can’t be arsed to dispose of it properly (i.e. wrapped in tissue and tossed into a bin). You have no idea how often I’d end up stepping into something pink that wouldn’t let go of my shoe.
Ah, and there’s the beggars. At least in Malaysia, the vagrants just sit on the floor and shake their little plastic containers to create that conscience-bending jingling sound. In the UK, they come right up to your face, looking diseased and depositing large amounts of bodily fluids into your personal space, spouting “Ave you got any spare change?”
The worst are the ones who tell you the sob stories on how they need to get a bus back to Dover/Blackpool/Swindon/etc and need just 10p more.
And last, but not least – the ‘culturally diverse’ ones. Often, they’d come up to you and say “Ni-Hao” and automatically assume that you don’t speak English, that you know Kung Fu and that your dad owns a Chinese takeaway.
Although, ironically, every British-born Chinese I’ve met in university does, in fact. have a dad who runs a takeaway.
Coming away from social behaviour, the other thing about the UK is that the food is horrible. Actually, it’s not – but if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t appreciate a well-baked loaf of bread, the joy of a mustard-mayo-coated sandwich or the warm, tender innards of a pasty, you’ll hate British food. There’s no chili sauce in any of the fast-food restaurants, the Indian food tastes more like someone emptied some dry chili into your gravy and – if you don’t live in Manchester or London – good Chinese food simply does not exist!
Oh, and TV license. Why the hell do we have to pay a hundred quid so that we can watch television in the UK? And why do all the shops shut when the sun goes down??? And why on earth do pubs close at 11pm??? And why is it I can’t move my face when I talk – during winter – when everybody else can?
Rubbish place, the UK. Simply rubbish…
About the motivation part, I kind of agree, but some people are just mean and what motivates them to do things is what they feel is immoral. Often what stops people from doing things is the fact they don’t ‘think’ it is moral.
And about 9/11 I do see their moral standpoint, and I can see how they got the point they did, I personally feel strongly against how the US keeps poking it’s nose into other countries affairs for it’s own financial gain too..but well killing so many people is a little too extreme as a backlash against oppression.
Morals is an extremely complex subject, that’s why I don’t think it can be simplified to ‘doing what you believe is right’.
Yeah I agree with what you are saying, and you have raised a very interesting issue, which I kind of skirted.
Eh woman. Don’t you know how this commenting thing works? I was replying to Chris. Goddamn….Why you want to go around picking fights?
oh ya…i saw wrongly. sorry vincent
but pick fights? which part of my comment looks like im trying to pick a fight with you?
calling me a minion and saying u’re not picking a fight…..who you trying to kid? aiyah sod it la i had enough of this shit..
shaddap the both of you. minion is a nice word. DAMN FUNNY.
walallalallalalahahhahahahhahahah
rotflmao…
*pant pant*
entertaining shit.
i totally agreed to what Chris said about the goods and bads of UK. i guess every Malaysian who came to UK and live for a while would be like that. Chris is a good example, and me too.
oh, u missed out one thing Chirs – the council tax. why do we have to pay the stupid council tax when we are renting and not employed? where am i supposed to get the money to pay for it? u can try applying for benefits, the council says. yeah right, like they are going to grant me some benefits.
u just can’t help but to compare Malaysia and UK together. by then, Malaysia has a long way to go. do not forget that UK has been through all the hardship that Malaysia is now going through.