I mentioned that I wasn't going to do any more blogging today but this really can't wait.
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Old lady: Besok cuti tak? (is there a holiday tomorrow?)
Guy: Tak tahu... (Dunno...)
Old lady: Badawi punya bini mati... (Badawi's wife passed away...)
Guy: Ya-lah, kalau cuti syiok lah! (Yes, if got holiday then syiok-lah!)
I came out of the mini-mart of the petrol station disgusted. Here we have the demise of Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's "No. 1 Supporter" and all some people could think of is getting a long weekend. Well, some states like Selangor and Penang are have a holiday tomorrow anyway because of Nuzul Al-Quran but that is not the point. The point is, some people need to take a good look at themselves.
To these people, don't you have any sense of compassion or sadness? What kind of a human are you? A woman who had been battling cancer for 4 years just passed away. Pak Lah just lost his wife of 40 years. Kamaluddin and Nori just lost their mother.
I was ICQ-ing with Danny about this and this is what he said:
"I realise we are really insensitive and selfish beings... everytime got disaster.... GOT HOLIDAY AH? got death... GOT HOLIDAY AH???"
True, we may not have known Datin Seri Endon or Dato' Seri Abdullah personally but that doesn't mean we have to behave like jerks about it. I heard someone even joked that he skipped class the night before to mourn for her, and that I am appalled. To that person, would you joked about that if that person is your friend's mom?
Put yourself in this situation. Imagine your loved one just passed away and everyone is asking you "Are you going to declare a holiday?" Does anyone care at all? Are we Malaysians in short supply of holidays? If we don't care about her demise, why should we care if it's a holiday or not?
This reminds me of 21st Nov 2001. When the previous The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Marhum Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah passed away, the government declared 21st Nov(or 22nd I'm not too sure) a holiday. I was working at Gurney Plaza in Penang then and I saw my fellow Malaysians taking advantage of my King's demise to do more shopping!! The place was packed and business for the retailers was excellent that day. I suspect probably the shopping complexes in the Klang Valley must have had a wonderful day too.
What is the purpose of declaring a holiday? The government does it out of respect for whoever just passed away and by going shopping and having fun on that day, we are making a mockery out of this.
I really wonder if the term "caring Malaysians" is a fallacy. Then again, they do CARE about getting an additional off day...
