Updated:
Original article:
Very patriotic blogger says "Good riddance" to Msians who wannabe Singaporeans. Zakhir Mohamad is a MalaysianMalay and a CEO in a MalaysianChinese-owned public-listed company. It would be unheard of in Singapore, the country a "growing number" of Malaysians are dying to belong to, or so according to Dina Zaman's piece Bidding farewell to Malaysia in the Malaysian Insider.
Read her article in Zakhir's latest posting Good Riddance. [I was told that this is Big Dog's longest posting ever].
I was a PR of Singapore for 18 years who left for Malaysia because my dad felt that this Malaysia would be greener pasture for a Malay. Well, I'm sure I'd do fairly well if I'd stayed back in Singapore but maybe minus the suburb landed properties that I have now and the big cars that I drive around, not to mention the dozens of bikes that I've owned (including the ones I keep overnight for test-rides). My sister is a Singaporean and she's doing fairly well. More importantly, she's happy.
And that's my point, actually. Happiness. If you are so very unhappy, you gotta leave. If you are really not happy in a marriage, and you happen to be in love with someone else, get a divorce. If you are really not happy with your boss, and you think that your friend's boss is kinder and kinda sexy, quit and apply for a job at your friend's. Same thing with citizenship.
But in the case of Daphne Lim and Saranee Joseph, the two women cited by Dina, I don't see them having much of a choice, really. If I read the story correctly, both have been married to Singaporeans. Saranee is still marreid and has given birth to a daughter in Kandang Kerbau (heh, everybody who was born in Singapore during the 60s were born or registered in Kandang Kerbau Hospital) so she's got to do the only right thing by her girl. Daphne, a single mom now, has always wanted a divorce. She said it herself: “It was never an issue for me. I knew that one day, I would no longer be Malaysian.”
The article says some 1 million Malaysians "are said to be residing abroad as expats, PRs and citizens of their chosen countries". I say, that's good. In my travels abroad, I encounter Malaysians or ex Malaysians and we always get on well. Most of them, having left Malaysia for good or for years, usually have only good things to say about their country of birth. Over time, they discover that home is where the heart is. Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri ... baik lagi negeri sendiri.
If your heart says Malaysia won't do it for you, by all means ...
Original article:
Well, however patriotic you think you are, someone is RM1.3 million* more patriotic than all of us. This Malaysian from southern Semenanjung is willing to pay that much money for PATRIOT 1, making it the most expensive vehicle registration number in Malaysia. But you can still outbid him/her; bidding closes on 22 July; for more info go to patriot.org.my
*I can't say if price includes GST or not.
p.s Elsewhere, the price of cigarettes is 30 sen more from July 1. A typical pack of 10 will be RM13.80, plus GST.