The cat is Kuching's mascot
I had a chat with a Kuching lady in a private van to Pasar which is the transport hub,
Our conversation turned to the visit of PM Najib in Sibu where he was trying to drum up support for his ruling party, BN, in a bye-election.
She said, "People here are angry with BN. They take our resources and develop Semenanjong (West Malaysia). Public service in Sarawak is so poor. When you ask them when will my IC be ready they will say not yet.
The dyak come down all the way to town for their IC, and they say not ready."
I said, "Why can't you telephone the department instead of going to the office?"
She said, "When you telephone them they don't jawab. Not like in Singapore, There the schools make ICs for the whole class. No need for parents to go to the IC department."
(BN, despite promising millions of ringgit to Sibu, lost the bye-election.)
BTW, I learned that when you're in Sabah or Sarawak don't announce that you're from Semenanjong. They won't welcome you.
Say you're from Singapore. Don't say you've not been warned. LOL
This is the reaction from Sarawakians if you say you're from Semenanjong!
In Malay there's a term for such civil servants: 'aksi kucing' = 'the arrogance of the cat'.
ReplyDeleteThere's a song called, 'Aksi Kucing' which ends with the line: 'urusan kecil bisa jadi meruncing...' = 'small matter can become lengthy'
Like the IC. But I'd love to visit the place one day.
Thank you for vividly attractive images.
Thanks for the info and insight, Andy. Whenever I mention I'm from Singapore, Msians go "Wah, you all change money to ringgit, get a lot." So I always say I'm from KL or JB..
ReplyDeleteBut East Malaysians don't seem to like those from W Msia.
Anyhow, they always ask "Are you from KL."
That IC thingy is a long-standing problem in Sabah and Sarawak...since Dr. M era.
ReplyDeleteNot answering phone calls??? It's a common attitude among civil servants...be it east or west Malaysia.