Onion

Malaysia has a twin in the vegetable world. The onion. This particular vegetable is an edible bulb that is made up of multiple layers that you can peel off one by one. Malaysia is just like that too. One day you peel one layer. The next day, you get another layer. Then again, the next one more day, you get yet another layer. First we got the disordered situation belonging to the failed leader known for his half-baked 'civilisation' concept. The country was in a real mess and he got rejected by the people. Then he got rejected by his own party. After that, we got a new leader who was highly regarded by many. Capable, energetic, sincere, smart and mostly unblemished, he gave us high hopes with the 1Malaysia concept. Then came the juddering news that the party known for bribery and money politics was intently trying to pursue 'unity' with another party known for its wishy-washy stand on basic moral and political principles. One day it wants to be the people's champion. Another day, it wants to mix with the wheeling-dealing narrow-minded corrupters who often harp on race and religion. Thus, you have a country which is made up of multiple layers. One day, you get a good layer. Next day, you get an unwanted layer. So, another layer has to be peeled when tomorrow arrives. And so, it goes on and on. The people want to embrace the 1Malaysia concept, but they cannot embrace 'unity' derived from race/religion-based considerations. Unity must be broad-based, not confined by racial and religious demarcations. The situation now is like a man being asked to get a bath but at the same time he is asked not to turn on the tap. Or turn on the tap but strictly no bath. Most puzzling. What is the true intention here ? Get a bath but don't use water or let the water flow but no washing of your body ? Thus, like onion peeling, the people have to wait for another day in the hope of getting the genuine treatment they have hoped for. But when that another day comes, there are yet new surprises. So, then, yet to another day.( We should write a song or two about this.) The government speaks about 'human capital'. All the politicians go here and there, lecturing the masses on the great importance of mastering English. And mastering IT and a lot of other things as well. Yet, the same politicians have never been concerned at all about the huge number of students happily playing truant all over the country. Yearly, our schools churn out half-baked students by the thousands and who are unwanted by our factories and businesses. Such enterprises prefer to hire foreigners instead. A lot of students wear their uniforms every day but they don't pass through the school gates. They end up in shopping malls, game arcades, residential playgrounds and parks or wander around the streets. But the authorities prefer to adopt a blank stare towards this problem. Human capital ? What kind of human capital ?

Many of these students end up taking the high road to crime. First, it's stealing motorbikes, then handbag-snatching and then onto bigger game. No wonder, the crime situation is so bad. The enforcement people are very fast and efficient when it comes to the matter of arresting minority politicians. But when it comes to the task of protecting law-abiding citizens, it's another thing. Everyday, law-abiding citizens duly get the short end of the stick on their safety and security and personal welfare. Hardworking folks, especially those who get up early while the rest of us are still fast asleep, often lose out to those seeking the easy life through crime. And this is so common in this country. The recent robbery spree in Puchong is a good example. A bunch of robbers went on an hour-long robbing spree at 5:30 am in the early morning hours. Such incidents are not new. People waiting at bus stops for transport to work early in the morning at between 5:30 am to 7:00 am are often targeted by robbers and criminals, yet these criminals are seldom caught. Many unfortunate women and teenagers were subjected to physical attacks too. The authorities have absolutely no solution in sight for such problems. So, we have people who obey the government and are hardworking and law-abiding but at the same time, are allowed to fall prey to huge and endless numbers of robbers, muggers and highwaymen. It is like peeling onion. One layer good. Another layer not good. But onions are vegetables. Our politcians are people, not vegetables. Therefore, should the country now become like one massive-sized onion that has endless layers just because our politicians prefer this 'onion concept' for the rakyat ? The true ultimate concept ? If that is so, then the politicians in Malaysia today are truly most untrustworthy. 1Malaysia ? Human capital ? Actually onions really. Malaysia could very soon become known as the land of onions.