Saturday, August 29, 2009

Malaysia, you cannot get better than that!

I have got something very important to say today. This just got to me just now when I was surfing through the channels and I saw Manchester United all in their very chio red jerseys. I was suddenly reminded of what one of my teachers said on stage the other day about when Man U came for their Asia Tour.

She said it was a disgrace that when our national football team played against Man U, the majority of the supporters in the stands were in favour of Man U. This was Malaysia! The team playing was Malaysia's NATIONAL TEAM! And who were the Malaysians screaming for in the stands?

MANCHESTER UNITED ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! was what they were screaming.



Picture does not belong to me. NCII.

My teacher said something I've never thought about before. She did not immediately chastise the Malaysian Man U fans for supporting the opposing team but she said, What would the foreign people have thought when they see how traitorous Malaysian people are being towards their own national team? Would they still respect the Malaysian team? They would be sniggering about us with each other in the changing rooms! And then she continued on saying that those kids weren't patriotic bla bla bla...

I thought what she said was extremely true. At least, for only a second.

Because then I realised, this is not about Malaysia and UK. This is about who plays better in football. If Man U were better in football, OBVIOUSLY they would get more fans. I mean, just imagine if both teams were Malaysian teams, it is only natural that we choose to side the team that plays the best!

If we only choose the team because say, our son plays in that team, then isn't this nepotism? We only like the team because someone we know is playing in it. Isn't that a little bias? Apply this same theory to Malaysia's national football team and Man U and you'll see what I mean.

To me, I don't think there is anything wrong with supporting Man U, instead of Malaysia's national football team if it's really true that Man U play better. So I really think that it is not right for my teacher to have said something like that and then surmise that those kids who supported Man U back in the stands at the stadium weren't patriotic Malaysians.

This isn't about patriotism, it's about interest. If Simple Plan and say, Siti Nur Haliza were performing on the same day, I would definitely go for Simple Plan's concert, duh! It doesn't mean I'm not patriotic, I just don't like Siti Nur Haliza's songs! See! Heck, even if it was my Mum and say, she chopped of my hand because she LIKED doing it, I would still HATE her and cut all relations with her and call the police on her. Just because she's my MOTHER, doesn't mean I should show her favouritism or not call the police. When they say love your mother, it's because she's shown YOU love. Not just love her because you inherited her DNA.

So see what I mean?


Picture does not belong to me. NCII.

So Malaysian Man U fans, don't worry about people saying that you guys are not patriotic people or whatever! It is not your fault that Man U play better!

And if anything, it is Malaysia's national football team who should improve. THEN they would get the support and fans they need. That's all I'm saying.

The truth is, I love Malaysia. I really do. And it is not because of all that crap of Oh, inilah tempat tumpahnya darahku, so I love it because I was born here! I love Malaysia because it's simply the country which has done the most for me. I'm protected by their rules and regulations and laws and everything, and they have granted me my citizenship. I mean, sure, if I was born in another country, I would have got the same privilege too, but MALAYSIA is the country in which I was born (hence, all the protection by laws and citizenship). This cannot be changed. That's just my luck.

You may be thinking, American citizens have got better privileges in their country than we have in our own. Or in Singapore. Or in Indonesia. Or in New Zealand. But who's to say that citizens in THEIR country don't long for something which Malaysians have and they don't?

What are we complaining about, huh, Malaysians? Are we being under-fed by the G? I don't think so. I do not believe that there is a government of a country in the world that does not prioritise their people's welfare. If there was, then they wouldn't be elected as the government. They wouldn't have supporters. There wouldn't even be a COUNTRY.

To me, I'm satisfied with what the country has done so far. The development, the culture, everything. The G could give us more, maybe, but give them time. I do not feel under-fed, or oppressed. I get free textbooks when I'm in school. Bus fares are only like what, RM2.00 from Klang to Sunway and back? I don't have to pay for the examination sheets for SPM. I don't have to PAY when I go to school, for almost 200 days. Everything is PAID for by whom? The G. And taxes and everything? You think that's too burdening? But see, without taxes, where is the G going to get the money for development? Where is the G going to get the funds to build roads and highways and telephone booths?

Come on. It's not THAT burdening. We are probably not the best country in the world, but the G is trying. Really. You don't see their hard work because all you can see about the G is how they are beating about the bushes with the Altantuya case, Teoh Beng Huat trial, Anuar scandal and the BM-English for Math and Science thing. That's all you care to see. That's all you WANT to see.

How come no one has said anything good about free textbooks? Free education? Free alot of things? There are stuff which you think are mistakes that the G has done, but you haven't heard THEIR part of the story. What if they have a rationale to it? A good reason that you may have foreseen?

I'm just saying, be satisfied with what you have. It's more than alot of what other people in the world have. And most importantly, if it has been enough for you to live until your age right now, then isn't it ALREADY GOOD enough? We may not be able to wear our casual clothes to school like in America, or have Disneyland, or get to see Gong Li walking down the streets like in China. (Is all this so important by the way, that just because Malaysia doesn't have them, then Malaysia is a bad country?)

We only have Lee Chong Wei (World No.1 HELLO!), Nicol David (ANOTHER World No.1 HELLO!), Hitz. fm morning crew JJ and Ean. Who all apparently suck simply because they are LOCAL.

Do you realise that there are Americans who wished they had uniforms? And people who HATE Disneyland because it's destroyed their country's infrastructure? (Besides, we have GENTING HIGHLANDS, which is almost as good, if you take the time to look properly). And even Chinese nationals who think that Gong Li is ugly?

If you want to battle me on my Malaysian football team-Man U theory, then tell me: HELLO, Lee Chong Wei is WORLD NO.1. You canNOT get better then No. 1! Aren't you at least PROUD of him? Nicol David. TOP in squash in practically the whole world. Not even a LITTLE proud? And JJ and Ean? Don't they rock? Don't they make you laugh? GOTCHA! rocks okay!



Picture does not belong to me. NCII.

Come on people, Malaysia IS as good as any other country, if ONLY you try to love her.


Picture does not belong to me. NCII.

If Malaysia has done something really bad to you and that is why you hate this country, then well, I can't say anything about that.


Picture does not belong to me. NCII.

But I'm sure for most of you, Malaysia has done nothing bad. So why do you dislike your own country?

I love Malaysia and you should too. Not simply because you were born here, but because this is your country, who has taken care of your welfare since your birth. And she hasn't done anything bad to you. And she's not ugly (look at the pictures! She's gorgeous!), she'll look automatically beautiful in your eyes if only you would take the time to love her. Think of why you should love her, and not why you shouldn't, and you'll see what I mean. (:

And I believe really, that Malaysia Boleh! And so should you. (:

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Go united! haha

TOLANIC said...

Malaysia is a boring country T_T

Ken Wooi said...

haha i agree with you! i had that thought too actually =)

kenwooi.com

Viya said...

it's nothing wrong to support man utd. it's just a friendly match meant for entertaining.

if we lost and the country will belong to UK, then we can argue that all malaysians shd support the national team.

Jo-Yee said...

Ariff> haha! :D

tolanic> haha, yea, with all its rules and stuff. but if we cant change the situation, we change how we feel about it! :D

kenwooi> :D

viya> :D

Audrey Juicy Tits said...

Actually a lot of people don't like Malaysia not because it tak glamor or is not good at sports or anything. There's things like corruption. In my International Risk class, me and another three friends of mine were the only Malaysians in a class of 40+ Australian students, and how embarrassing (though amusing) it was for my lecturer to bring up the world corruption index to find that Malaysia was with quite a high scale for corruption. Yes most of our money goes into the improvement of infrastructure, but we still don't know where a lot of that money goes to.

I'm looking at it from an adult's point of view, because youths who say they hate the country only because it's backwards and because some artists are banned from coming to Malaysia, don't know squat about what they're talking about.

In terms of education and work benefits, people overseas tend to get looked after a lot better. Government universities in Singapore are amongst the top in the world, whilst UM (which used to rank within top 50) had dropped so bad we don't know where it went. We don't have to put up with the stupid quotas where they have to fill a certain uni with a certain percentage of Malays while the miniscule rest is filled up with other races. We are Malaysian as well, are we not? The Malay special rights is another thing people are fed up with, especially if you know what the NEP is all about, and the truth behind it, I even have Malay friends who are bummed about being spoonfed (Yasmin Ahmad addressed this issue once in one of her ads).

Jacqkie's brother works in a gov. hospital in KL, works effing 100 hours a week and eats microwave dinners in between shifts (what kinda lifestyle is that for a doctor?), while doctors here in Aussie government hospitals work 60 or so hours a week.

Imagine a girl on school holidays, in Malaysia, becomes a salesgirl in a clothes store, like your sis. She works from let's say 10am to 9pm, full day. She gets paid RM5.00 an hour. That's minimum wage, and in Malaysian standards, for a part time job, is already considered pretty darn good. So for 11 hours, she gets RM55 a day. If she were an Aussie, not only are work hours shorter (since every place closes at fucking 5pm), my friend Gilson gets paid AUD30 an hour working at JayJays clothes. And he works 10am to 5pm, which equals him to getting paid AUD210 a day.

And because the Malaysian currency is getting weaker (I compare to both Sing and Aussie la), Gilson gets paid RM90 an hour to fold clothes and help customers near the fitting room. That's more than anyone gets in a single day back home.

Sometimes you can't blame people for going overseas.

Just my two cents. I'm not saying I hate Malaysia because of this, I'm just saying that people prefer other countries because of this and it's not just about the glamor. Think about it. I only love Malaysia for a few reasons: food, my car, 24 hour mamaks, and small little things in our culture that make us Malaysian, pretty much it.

Oh and Malaysia held its own very well against Man U in their recent game, in my opinion. The score, was what, 2-1?

Jo-Yee said...

I know. There are alot of things that Msia isnt doing right. But then, we shouldnt hate thew country, we should hate the politicians. plus, imagine if all of us were to flee, who will remain to make a difference?

CWKen said...

I assume you were not there at the match.

Before I entered the stadium, I thought it's gonna be hell of a thrashing by Man Utd. I didn't thought of supporting our national team at all. I didn't expect anything from them and I didn't put high hopes on them.

However, I remembered being in a similar situation when I attended the friendly match between Malaysia and Norwich City last time. My friend and I supported our very own national team although they sucked big time. I did't know why.

Upon entering the stadium and looking for my sit, I thought to myself, "This is ridiculous, why on earth would I want to support Man Utd when they're obviously the better team and are going to thrash us anyways? Why would I want to support another team to thrash us more?"

The match started and the Malaysian team started off with a very convincing start, better than expected in fact. And they actually scored two goals. I would say at least more than half cheered and celebrated, including those in came with their red shirt and jerseys. I screamed at the top of my lungs!

There, I realised something. We're Malaysians after all. no matter what foreign country/club we support, any given match day, we'll support our country after all.

I am very proud to say that whenever I watch any match in which a Malaysian is competing, my heart and soul is with them =)

Jo-Yee said...

CWKen> oh that's great~! :D that's why my teacher shouldnt have said those who wore red jerseys werent patriotic! but on behalf of those who supported man u, it's still alright, as long as u rmb your roots. ;)

malaysia rocks and it's a big congrats to them for playing well against man u. but for the overall fanclub thing, lets hope they will one day win ALL msian's hearts. ;)

thx for ur comments! :D and visit! :D

Audrey Juicy Tits said...

JoYee> Like it or not, unfortunately, that's the sad reality. Your own cousin (in case you didn't know who that is, ME, lol) is one of those people who love Malaysia as my home, but is going to Singapore to find work after my graduation. The politicians are the ones running the government and there's plenty to be unhappy about. No matter how much my mom loves Malaysia as a country she is fed up with the government, and she loves Singapore just as well, because Singapore is taking hell good care of her. It's the same for my Aunt Ping, she loves Malaysia for everything that makes it Malaysian, the bahasa rojak, the food, the culture, but she has left the country for America a long time ago because there's better opportunity there.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/17/business/4319046&sec=business

It's not easy tau, I gave up my dream of becoming an animator (and my secondary dream of performing arts) because I had a strong hunch (which is basically correct la) that I wouldn't be able to get anywhere if I pursued them. Sure The One Academy has graduates who have become famous, but they work with Pixar, DC Comics (international companies) and how often do such people get recognized??

If Malaysia doesn't start appreciating its people soon, no matter how many people love Malacca or Ipoh or nasi lemak or Lee Chong Wei or Nicol David, people are still gonna leave of there are other countries that can ensure that they can live better lives.

Again just my two cents. The government or how the country is being run, if they wanna keep Malaysians in the country, they're doing it wrong. (I have to put a disclaimer because people ALWAYS tend to see my arguments as negative or hostile or offensive, don't you hate it when that happens?)

Jo-Yee said...

yea, it's a good thing ur mum is being taken good care of by singapore. well, then i guess she is in position to compare. (: