Whinges of an Alien

"Malaysia Truly Asia". Have no freaking idea what it means, but THAT is the tagline for the Malaysia Tourism Board advertising campaign all over the world, particularly targeted at countries where the sun doesn't scorch your skin, and where there isn't an average daily temperature of 34C all year round. In it you'll see pretty snapshots of white sand beaches, blue skies, blue sea, clean places and good food. Obviously, they will never show you this -- Signboards (put up as directional boards to weddings, loan shark advertisements, etc) and rubbish on the road side, pavement, and in between plants on one of the major motorways in Kuala Lumpur: A pay phone booth (without the phone) filled with litter: OR, their infamous public toilets (although there has been some "improvement" in certain shopping centres only recently), or those people who burn their rubbish openly and frequently. And they're so proud...

Receipts. One of the most annoying and pointless yet unavoidable things in life. It is necessary as evidence that you did not steal something from a shop, for making claims when you return the goods, as proof that you've been overcharged, etc. But most of the time you'll find that you have more receipts in your wallet than money. As if it is not bad enough, we've just got ourselves what's probably the longest receipt in the world, from a book shop in Kuala Lumpur. We only bought 2 books but the total length of the receipt is 37.4cm. What made it this long is the 2 paragraphs of very meaningless text (some "receipt stories" thingie) printed on the end of the receipt, taking up more than half the length of the paper. Did it serve any purpose? We have no idea. But we're sure that halfway trying to read the 2 paragraphs, we nearly fell asleep. While some of us are trying to reduce wastage and stuff going to landfill, there are those who try every possible way ...

On 28th March 2009, right before 8.30pm, I heard this screeching voice of a woman shouted at our apartment block: "Hey everyone, turn off your lights for 1 hour to support Earth Hour! Do your part for the environment please!" 3 minutes later, she shouted very rudely again: "Hey turn off your lights you stupid people!" and it sounded like she was going to punch anyone who does not obey. This, is a very IMPORTANT day for these - I believe - new "earth lovers" who got converted after being brain-washed by the biggest pretence amongst the environmental organisations, who now suddenly became nobles! Ambassadors! Spokesmen and spokeswomen! Doesn't that just make you (and I), who have probably been trying to live a sustainable life for the past 15 years, want to slap her? I am not against turning lights off when not in use, nor would I keep the lights on just because this woman disgusted me. If she thinks by conforming to the Earth Hour symbolic act makes her...

To my biggest surprise, when I approached the check-out counter in a supermarket and the cashier asked me, "would you need a bag?" It is definitely not a norm for that to happen in Singapore! Even when some major supermarkets do sell reusable cloth bags, they have never once asked me if I prefer to purchase one of them! And to actually ask me if I need a bag? In your dreams! Oh but that is finally happening now, so it's God's gift! Of course my answer is "no, I don't need a bag, thank you" - with a big smile, which they don't usually get when they tried to shove me plastic bags. Then when the next customer said he would like a bag, there was a 10-cent extra charge to his purchase (he then quickly changed his mind ahahaha). Then I noticed a sticker on the cashier counter top, advertising about some "Bring Your Own Bag Day" campaign. So I see... Singapore is FINALLY "doing something" like a few other countries. Of course, for a star...

“KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Malaysia's health ministry is considering a ban on fast food advertisements because the meals they promote are considered "silent killers", the Star newspaper reported on Saturday.” The health ministry said they want to send a strong signal to the consumers. They do not allow advertising for cigarettes and liquor, and in their opinion, fast food should be treated in the same way as alcohol. Wow. That -- is BIG news. Are they finally awakening from the fast food dreamland and realising its evilness, or are they simply jumping on the bandwagon – since the US and the UK are already moving towards that direction – thinking that this is the way to fight against evil? Whether fast food is equally evil as cigarettes, what good would it do by banning the adverts, while these fast food outlets are still out there? Are you going to chain these consumers and not let them get in there? Because that’s the easiest way out. If they don’t see it being ad...