Let Them Eat Cow Dung! Putrajaya Isn't Listening!

From Malaysiakini Letters "We are tired, Putrajaya. Get it?" Jayenjr Sep 24, 10 1:53pm:

I refer to the article If it's a problem, don't recognise it. Somebody had to state the obvious on the latest Idris Jala show, and I think Kee Thuan Chye did a good job at that. There was a time - not too long ago - when fancy PowerPoint presentations would mesmerise and sell but no longer these days, though.

For all the GTP, ETP, KPI, SRI show etc, I want to ask the PM and Idris Jala one thing:- why is it that my ringgit continues to shrink these days? Just listen to the hordes of young couples who struggle to afford a decent landed property in Klang Valley. In agreeing with Kee's perspective, I would like to borrow if I may, from the words of a lady who told off President Barrack Obama a few days ago, that she was tired of him, and apply it in within our local context:

Many of us are either middle class Malaysians or those who live below the poverty line. And quite frankly, we are tired. We are tired of being told to support this government when clearly it has been corrupt for the past 30 years and blew away at least US$100 billion of our money through wastage and corruption.

And we are tired of fancy presentations which continue to ignore this bane, and instead assumes that we are naïve enough to buy into a let-us-hold-our-hands kumbayah session, and, voila!, our problems will disappear. We are tired of being told that we are '1Malaysia' when in reality we are anything but '1Malaysia'.

It definitely is '2Malaysia' out there. We are tired of watching photo-op moments splashed out on the front pages of mainstream media, trying to get us to believe that this is '1Malaysia'. We are tired and disappointed of paying tax ringgit earned from our hard labor only to be told that our children can't get scholarships or places in universities, whilst we have to endure ministers who build mansions and enjoy expense paid luxury trips to wherever they fancy, with our money.

We are tired when relevant authorities continue to ignore what is so obvious – whether they ignore investigating a minister who is able to afford a mansion or why a young man who is about to get married supposedly commits suicide. We are tired that taxes and rates we pay do not guarantee our personal safety and security, and instead we have to fork out extra ringgit to put alarms, grills, and security guards.

We are tired because of the never-ending indecisiveness of our government leaders whilst they ask us to continue tolerating their lip service on 'improving things'. We are tired at being told to 'adjust' our lifestyles or that we would be bankrupt if we don't, whilst the same government continues to pussyfoot where it concerns lopsided privatization contracts or crony enrichment deals. We are tired of being passed around from one department to another just so that we can mercifully get approval for our business license. We are tired at the numerous barriers we have to put up with when conducting our businesses.

We are tired of having our religious freedom curbed and double standards practiced by immature individuals who are clearly doing it to score political mileage. We are tired of being reminded of May 13 time and again, when in all truthfulness - with our present day reality - we are just trying to make ends meet. We are tired of having to pay tolls at jam - clogged highways. We are tired of a public transport system that is so muddled up, they might as well give us bullock carts to ride.

We are tired of racist bigots that hide behind their so-called nationalistic masks. And we are tired of their continued tolerance from a government that wants us to believe we are '1Malaysia' instead. We are tired when real perpetrators such as cow-head protestors get sympathy from ministers who are supposed to be impartial and defend the defenceless.

We are tired of having politicians who run our country as though it is their birthright, when in truth, most of our present administration wouldn't cut it in any developed country. We are tired of seeing deadwood politicians still having a job and then condescend on us as though we owe it to them.

We are tired of being treated like naïve children in an age where the breathless pace of change and technology has enabled us to be well informed. We are tired of hearing of the various programs from our government about transformation when, quite frankly, we do not see or feel any tangible transformation, in spite of a new man being at the helm for more than a year.

We are tired of being taken for granted time and again, as though we do not have our breaking point. Putrajaya, we are tired. Are you one day going to say to us, like Marie Antoinette, 'Let them eat cake'?