A world of difference - Malaysia Truly Asia

I have been back in KL for 3 days and really noticing the differences between Melbourne and my hometown. Been away for so long I had almost forgot how it was like at home.

It is so so so humid now, if I can bathe every couple of hours I would. After a clean fresh shower, within hours, my skin feels sticky and my face feels oily. It's pretty much the same thing in the evenings. No wonder air conditioners are indispensable machines. Cant live without them like in Melbourne.

There is so many people around everywhere and people responsible for every kind of job, however menial - at the airport, there was one person to pull out the bags & luggages coming onto the conveyor belt then there was another person dressed in purple uniform with VIP embroidered on his uniform helping a perfectly capable young woman to wait for her luggage so he could pick it, place it on a trolley (which is free of charge compared to Melbourne) and wheel it to the taxi stand.

This is the land of flaunters - I didnt thinking for once a man wearing white leather shoes had any sense of style, this man with his other half were probably half my age had branded leather luggage and were business class passengers. When my best friend took me out for a foot massage over the weekend, I found there were special malls built for high end shopping, cafes in them serves the typical hawker food but is waitered upon, with immaculate decor of chandeliers, chairs & decor coming straight out from designer mags. The retail brands were London, European designer wear. The night markets had cheaper copies of everything - music CDs, movie DVDs, branded Louis Vuitton, Tous, Gucci handbags, shoes, clothing to satisfy anyone who wants an ego boost after wearing branded goods even if they were fake. I wasnt the exception, I had purchased 5 pairs of shoes because they were so cheap, I could wear them several times and threw them away. This isnt a developing world, this is stinking rich country.

And on the other end, I hear stories of petty crimes, international and local companies alike with employees right up to the senior level involved with fraudalent activities siphoning money out for one's own benefit, discrimination against skin colour at work and home estate residents in order to protect their loved ones & property set up voluntary night watch and taking the law into their own hands when a thief is caught in action is beaten to near death & the police walks away for a while whilst that's happening in front of him. My relative's car was parked right in front of my mother's home in a street full of cars, some double parked because of lack of space and yet, some thief is alert enough to see the car is unlocked and steals the coins left in the car and the toll register machine.

I love this country because of my memories in my family, school, work & friends but it needs a lot of help. It needs a restructuring of the appaling quality of education, the congested transport system that never seemed to go away even after efforts like the super/highways. Most of all, it requires a change in thinking that all of us are living in the same home country and unless we treat each other with respect and dignity, and not out to gain an edge over the other - it is not a place to call home.