this was actually a journal entry (one of those silly requirements for Academic Writing by the Prune). but i thought that it was so apt.. and since my blog has been collecting cobwebs.. why not.. haha.. enjoy reading!
Driving in Malaysia is like professional racing. It requires patience and a temper all at the same time, quick reflexes and slow reactions and last but not least, a blind eye towards road courtesy as well as road rules. I am proud to say that I am a fully qualified driver, just relieved of my P license (I think P stands for probation, but I do not think anyone actually knows what the bright red P stuck onto the windshields of most cars stands for). I am also proud to announce that I am probably one of the very few people who did not grease the palms of the driving instructors with a fat 50 ringgit bill, to ensure my pass at my driving license. I am a fully LEGIT driver, which is more than I can say for some of the crazy fools on the road today.
A close friend of mine was just involved in a car accident not too long ago. When he related the story to me, all I could think of is about the madcap fools that we allow to rule the road nowadays. My friend said that all the warning that he got was the loud doom chik doom chik of the speakers in the car as well as the brilliant blue-white lights flashing intermittently from far behind. And then, smash, and the next thing he knew, he was losing control of the car and the perpetrators were zooming away with a soon-fading doom chik doom chik.
Thankfully, my friend managed to walk away unscathed from the whole incident, with just minor bruises to his self. Unfortunately, the Toyota Wish was not so lucky. The entire rims of the front-right tires were smashed to pieces and the tire totaled.
Where did these hooligans come from and where did they get their driving licenses? (That is assuming that they DO have driving licenses) And if they do not have driving licenses, where are the police when all this illegal racing is going on?
All anyone has to do is to drive out in the early hours of the morning (and when I say early, I mean early) at about 3am, and they’ll get a free show of a grand total of no less than 100 free-wheeling fully-modified motorbikes zooming down the Federal Highway at breakneck speeds. Watch out anyone who gets in their way, because not even the red traffic lights stop these death-wish crazy fools.
Personally, I believe that there are three things that ought to be banned from the road. Motorbikes, Kancils and buses. Motorcyclists, in general, seem to think that they are above and beyond the law. More often than not, you’ll find a lone motorbike making his way on the opposite direction of the traffic, just because the other side is experiencing traffic jam (as is most of KLs roads after working hours). Not only that, motorcyclists often jump red traffic lights, hop over barriers and commit other road sins, just because they’re smaller than the average car. Campaigns encourage car drivers to be cautious on the road, because car drivers don’t notice the motorbikes. However, I think it should be the other way around. A campaign should be launched to come down hard on these two-wheeled menaces of the road.
Kancils simply annoy me because the car is so small, that they can squeeze into little spaces which cars are not physically meant to go. I think I’m not the only driver in Malaysia who feels frustrated when they’re looking for a parking lot, sees a seemingly empty space, rushes for the empty lot thinking YES, a parking space! God DOES like me!, and then… Darnit, there’s already a Kancil parked in there.
*yes, Li and Aida, I'm sorry.. but yeah!.. darnit, i get so annoyed when i see a parking lot, but alas, its just a Kancil..
Buses in Malaysia are just like the giant bullies of the road. Not only are they huge and cumbersome, most bus drivers seemed to have forgotten the use of the turning signal. Either that, or after turning on the let signal to switch lanes, the driver forgets to turn off the signal, so all the cars behind the bus are hesitating in taking over the bus in fear that the bus is going to switch lanes and squash their cars against the barrier like a bug on the windshield.
I could go on and on about all the frightening and yet totally real experiences of the roads of Malaysia, but I think that it would take up an entire novel. So, this is where I stop for today, before the keyboards start to wear thin from all the furious typing.