Tuesday, February 28, 2006

This World, So Unfair...Or Is It Just My Country?

Warning. The following story which I'm about to narrate will definitely boil your blood and burst your veins. Nah, just some hyperboule for introduction but then again, not just plain hyperboule. It contains a splinter of truth and the truth is, that was just what nearly happened to me on one Tuesday afternoon, dated 28th of February 2006.

It would be a beautiful and flawless day if it were not for the damn hocus pocus I had to go through in order to get my MyKad. You see, me and my mom had to travel miles, all the way to some cursed, isolated place in the middle of nowhere, just to get a piece of card when things could be a million times simpler if people were to just use what they have - brains. And that's just the beginning of a very bad dream which cannot even qualify as a nightmare.

Sometimes, I just could not understand where is the little intelligence in some people. I don't know where do they put their brains or when do they use them. I mean look, we have a nice building, completely or almost new, in the most strategic place one can ever imagine (Greentown Ipoh) and yet our Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara was purposely moved to some isolated place even further out than Silibin. And just today, the price of petrol has gone way up by 30 cents a litre. Man, I'm living in Pasir Putih! Can you fathom the distance I have to travel? And can you calculate the loss in that? Now, that's what we call mere wastage. Both of time and money. Talk about being thrifty. This is the first issue I would like to address.

Upon reaching there, I thought, "Alright. This will be worth it since I'm getting my MyKad." Hell no. I was completely wrong. It didn't really take me a long time to get my MyKad in there. But the way the staff were doing their job made me sick. Some of them were just walking around like they were doing window-shopping in a huge mall. They have few counters and yet only one or two were operating. The way they were doing their job makes one wonder if there's nobody waiting for anything in there at all. This is the second issue I would like to address.

While queueing up for my number, a woman came and stood next to me. I thought, "Well, maybe she'd move behind me when the queue moves." And this was the day when all my thoughts were wrong. She kept moving up alongside me. I was getting angrier by the minute when suddenly, she left the queue. I thought, "Aha. Now she knows who's the boss." But as I said earlier, this was the day when all my thoughts were wrong. This was my Friday the 13th. I turned around and saw her calling her husband and these were her words which fueled my wrath. She spoke in Cantonese to her husband, "Line up here. You're behind the guy with red shirt." She was completely ignoring my presence, like I was invisible. The guy with red shirt was right in front of me and here she's telling her husband that her place was just behind that guy, dethroning me from the place I deserved. And so, her husband took her place alongside me and continued what was started by her. While almost my turn, the staff at the counter made a remark to the husband of that unreasonable woman saying, "Encik, tolong berbaris." I thought, "Aha. Justice is served this time." But he got off by just mumbling, "Bini saya suruh saya baris sini." which I'm quite sure the staff didn't hear a word. And so, I lost out to the infamous queue-cutting couple.

The number rang and it was my turn to collect my MyKad at the counter. I went with an overflowing hope that I'll get a nice and beautiful MyKad. The first impression I got when I look at myself in the MyKad was that I was a drug-addict who simply can't get enough of drugs. Putting the photo aside, everything was well apparently. I went on to check my details and fine enough, something was good this time, or so I thought (Now take note of the word "I thought" here). Then I went to another counter to check for further details, which was my religion and to my dismay, I was entered as a Buddhist. The guy at the counter asked me, "Do you want to change your religion in the system or in the chip or both?" I replied, "Both." and he gave me some forms which were exactly what I filled up when I applied for the MyKad the first time. Then, I was given a number and I had to wait again. The apparent consolation I thought I was getting was this : I'd get a new MyKad with a better photo. =P

I went when they called my number and sure enough, I took a photo and was asked to wait till they call my number again. And so, the waiting continued for awhile before it was finally my turn. Now, this is the final blow which dashed all my hopes to the ground. I was asked by the woman staff, "Do you want to change your religion in the system or in the chip?" I told her I want both. And her answer was one you thought you heard wrongly or you had trouble with your hearing. She told me that to change the religion in the system would be free but to change the religion in the chip will cause me RM10. Come on! Where is the justice in that? I wasn't even at fault here and now you're asking me to pay for your fault? Finally, she told me that I had to change my MyKad again when I'm 18, which I will be in November 2006. She then told me to wait till then and not waste 10 bucks for nothing now. That's reasonable. NOT! I was forced to change my IC to MyKad because the government said they will fine those who don't in December 2005. And here, I was told I need to change it once more when I'm 18. So the question is, why didn't they just let me wait till I'm 18 and change my MyKad once and for all, thus avoiding all these nonsense??

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the brains of some folks.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

haha ... welcome to adulthood ! wait till you start working, & you've no choice but to visit other "no-brainer depts" ie. EPF, Tax, ...

Your eldest bro could soon attest to it ! Welcome to the "reel" world, ... isn't life a stage show?

discordant dude said...

Hey bro!

What is this about the religion part? Is it still keyed in as Buddhist NOW? Did you just left it like that?

I'm already utterly pissed off with the system (the way you described it) and now we, the good citizens of this country, have to be PENALIZED FOR THEIR INEFFICIENCY!!?? Do we have to be charged for a mistake that we have no part of?!
Hey, don't keep quiet about this... go make an official complaint (make a call or go back to make sure it's changed for you!). If that fails, write to the newspapers about this... inform our dear PM (work with him?) that inefficiency is still rampant in our government departments!

Yep, this is the REAL world we live in and therefore, we must make some REAL decisions on how to better this "reality". Call me if you need advice.

wadefish said...

Yo bro!

I did change my religion but only in their system cuz that's free. I made sure they didn't cheat on me. But in the chip, I'm still a Buddhist. No point changing it now (costs 10 bucks) cuz I'll have to apply for a new MyKad when I'm 18 so might as well wait til then.

Official complaint? How do I do that? Yea, I wanna write in the papers too, but exactly how? Need some help over here man.

Btw, mom's pissed too =P

Peanut Kong said...

Cuz,

Next time, don't be too kind la. If people cut your line, tap him/ her on the shoulder and ask him/ her politely to take their queue.

Secondly, if the deadline was December 2005 and you go and complain now, be careful you don't get fined because technically speaking, you are late.

But you could complain about the confusion of the timing to change your ID due to the age thingy. Just word it carefully and highlight the fact that if you have to change twice, it would mean you have to pay twice in a short span of time. That's darn unfair!

stmaverick said...

Say hello to the wonderful world that is Malaysia! Honestly, bureaucracy was designed in mind to make things more organized... but they've messed things up so well I'm wondering if they got their objectives reversed...

Be thankful that your religion is only mistakenly stated as Buddhist, and not Islam. The hassle you have to go through then would definitely inconvenience you more (not to mention having to write a longer post, lol).

The state government's decision to move this department outside of Ipoh certainly puzzles me. Maybe on the basis of encouraging development in the suburbs they create so much trouble for the city-dwellers? And imagine that gigantic building in Greentown Business Zone all empty now... money wasted, isn't it?

Which reminds me - I think I'll need to look up my religion as well. Kei Fai's mom got recognized as being a Hindu. Haha...

~verus rara avis~

Henry Yew said...

Yo, Clarence!

Guo Zheng here.... Hey, I'm pissed too from the way you described about their inefficiency. First of all, need they shift their office to somewhere farther? They just moved into Greentown not long ago, and now they've shifted again?

You wanna write to the papers, huh? Here are some addresses that might come useful: TheStar - editor@thestar.com.my, New Straits Times - letters@nstp.com.my or mailed@nstp.com.my. Feel free to write to both papers, man...

It's high time that the government does something with these inefficient bunch of people. They want to govern the country; they want our votes, but sadly, very very few would fulfil their words. It's a sad world we live in, huh?

Well, the way they work is indeed a major issue in a lot of government departments. As you said, there are a few counters but only one or two are open. Let me be open here. This kind of working attitude (whereby only one or two counters are open) is common not only in government departments, but also in banks and in some private sectors as well. I've bombarded (seriously, I did the scolding!) a few managers of some private sectors about the way their employees are working.

It's doubtless that we as citizens are unhappy about how the people in government departments work. However, no matter how much complaints that we've made, they always go unheeded. Once again, it's total sadness...

Well, about your problem, I didn't even know that I've got to change my MyKad when I'm 18. Hmmm.... I pity you, being registered as a Buddhist when you're utterly not. Well, just wait until you're 18, and make sure they do their work properly! And "get things right, this time... or else..."

wadefish said...

Thanks, friends and family members. I guess everyone's pissed with the inefficiency eh?