I see birds in the sky,
flying past my eyes.
They stop and rest on a tree,
like a loving family.
Lesson learnt in Kuching #48 :
Never EVER park your car underneath a tree full of birds, especially after they’ve had their dinner.
Two Weeks Since I Left
Its been two weeks since I left Perth.
I have more or less settled down in Kuching, although I do experience reverse culture shock every now and then.
Kuching’s cityscape… somehow can’t be compared to Perth’s cityscape.
I reckon I still need time to fit into my new job. My work here involves overlooking the use and implementation of information technology within the company because I am one of the few people who have experience and knowledge in that area. Things are going rather slow at the moment, but I’m sure thats just the calm before the storm.
The sole reason I returned to Kuching is to be with my father. His health has always been my biggest concern since day one. I find comfort seeing the smile on his face everytime I talk to him about my day at work and the happenings in his company.
Most of the time, my father spent the day resting on the reclining chair in the living room. When he’s awake he takes his food, medication and goes to the toilet. At 9pm everyday, an expert foot reflexologist we hired visits him. We try to speak to him whenever he’s awake. He answers softly instead of with the booming voice we knew. Lately, he’s been exhibiting amnesiac tendencies. He used to have five cigarette lighters, all of which went missing because he forgot to take them out of his shirt pocket or something.
My father’s favourite cigarette lighter.
Whilst I am piling on weight because I can’t find a decent gym + irresistable Kuching food, my father is losing weight steadily. There’s no need for scales to prove that. He needs lotion to be applied on his upperback every evening before he sleeps, and I have been helping him do that. I can see the transformation with my own eyes – trust me, the hardest thing to do is to stop myself from breaking down and cry in front of him.
We have been assured by the German doctor and the cancer survivors who have been on the same treatment plan as he is that what he’s experiencing is a difficult, temporary but normal process. I seriously hope that what they say is true.
The foot reflexologist works on my father’s feet every evening.
I am so utterly financially broke. I remembered when I first went to Perth, I’d see the price tag of something, mentally convert it from AUD to MYR, say how expensive it is, and put it back. These days, I pick up something, mentally convert it from MYR to AUD, rave about how cheap it is, and put it into my shopping trolley. The fact of the matter is that I’m not earning Australian dollars anymore and I can’t spend like I used to. I sold off almost all my possessions in Perth at ridiculously low prices, spent tons of money to courier the remaining stuff over to Kuching and now I’m left with not much, except an almost empty wallet and a credit card debt that I’m still figuring out how to pay.
Tiffy + Jacky = unlimited entertainment watching them argue. Two of my fav people in Perth.
I miss the gang in Perth and I miss our weekly rendezvous for coffee and cake at Moon Cafe. I miss Jacky’s little-boy antics, I miss Tiffany’s funny exaggeration of everything, I miss Dine & David’s good food, I miss the guys at Spectra, I miss my sister and her boy Jayden… I miss them all. I looked at the photos I took of my house in Perth, my neighbourhood, the path where I jogged along every morning. These are all gone, all no longer mine. Looking at the photos is me like falling into that dream once again. I wake up when I put the photos away and find myself in an unfamiliar bedroom that’s not mine.
Waterford – the neighbourhood I used to live in.
I’m missing Nicole like crazy. I’ve been missing her the moment I stepped through the departure gates at the Perth International Airport. Not a day goes by without me thinking about her, worrying if she has been eating for the day, if she found a job or if she has spent all her money on another L.A.M.B. bag.
There’s shouldn’t really be anything for me to worry because she’s well taken care of by our friends over there. Then again, it truly is the first time she’s been completely independant from her family and myself, and I feel powerless because I can’t take care of her. We speak to each other on the phone consistently almost everyday. Somehow it just doesn’t feel the same.
The pond I always past by in my morning jog. The ducks attacked me once because I ran too fast towards them.
The way things are right now, I don’t like it. I am going through a dark period in my life, I am depressed, I know I have to be strong, but who am I to kid?
If only I were to have the remote control to my life, I’d rewind it back to the time before all these had happened.
Kuching City Council gave me a Present
A few days ago, I went to Satok Shopping Center to have my Xbox machine modified. Upon returning to my car, I found out that I received a gift from the Kuching City Council in the form of this…
Yes, barely 2 weeks back in Kuching and I got a parking ticket. Its not that bad though since its only an extra 50 cents. But what gets me is that they have the audacity to charge me an extra 5%. For what? SERVICE TAX! Gee thanks, you’re doing me a great service by giving me a parking ticket!
53 cents isn’t much to pay for an overparking fine. But if you don’t pay it, you’ll cop a larger fine. The question is, where do I pay? I found the parking inspector who issued me with the fine and I was ready to give her 53 cents for her effort. She said she couldn’t accept it, and that I had to pay at the pondok (booth) instead.
Now, since I’m sure many poor souls like me have to go there all the time, you would have thought that the pondok would be in bright striking red colour situated in a prominent location, maybe even decorated some neon lights advertising itself. Well, lets just say after some good 20 minutes of circling the carpark, I found the place behind the shop lots.
Seriously, it looked more like a cubicle where you chuck a shit than a place where you pay a parking fine!
To top it off, there’s absolutely no signage at all to tell me that that’s the place I pay I parking fine! What lah… I thought my girlfriend is the only one who wants me to guess what she wants.
Speaking of parking in Kuching, the city utilizes a coupon system. Each coupon costs 20 cents and enables you to park up to 30 minutes at any marked public parking spot. That’s definitely cheap!
There’s only one problem: everytime you park, you have to poke holes.
Now, it isn’t so bad if the holes are big, loose and allow plenty of space for manouvre… but the holes here in Kuching are so fucking small. With my overwhelming girth size, I have so much trouble trying to poke the correct holes. So every now and then I would have accidentally poked the holes too hard…
… which would cause pain, breakage, and the undesirable expansion of holes. 🙁
TNT Worldwide Express bombed my Printer
Oooh! I’ve got presents from TNT Worldwide Express. Must be the items I’ve couriered to myself from Perth! 🙂
Say hello to my Helwett-Packard 3-in-1 Printer/Scanner/Copier. Its the best thing invented since sliced bread!
Oh… 🙁
I’m Just Not That Into You!!!
Girls, please do not read this one. This entry is for men only.
.
.
.
.
Still here? Why am I not surprised? Pfft! Girls! Well, International Womens Day is over so I get to complain about girls. Right, moving along.
He’s Just Not That Into You because you’re just so fucking annoying.
Apparently, the hottest book on the market for women right now is He’s Just Not That Into You: The No Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys authored by the story editor of Sex and the City et al. Simply put, its a no-nonsense guide book for women about men. The book has taken the world by storm, translated into many different languages, and selling faster than a $2 prostitute. Seriously, its the next big book on love and relationships since Men are from Mars, and Women Love Penis.
Yes. That’s my book. I know. Shut up.
I’ll be honest. I’ve not yet read the book. I’m not much of a book reader. In fact, the last book I’ve ever read from start to finish was Sam’s Teach Yourself Visual Basic in 21 Days.
But judging by the transformation of girls I know who have read the book *cough*alli_talli*cough*lc_nguyen*cough*lilyng*cough*, I think I have a pretty good idea what the book is all about.
Man says “I’ll call you” to girl. But man never call after 5 minutes. Girl over-reacts “OMG OMG! Does he love me? Does he love me not?!? He doesn’t love me!!! I’m DOOOOOOOOOOMMMMEEDDDD!!!”
GIRLS! Calm down! For god’s sakes, us men are not supposed to be the creature that’s hard to understand! That’s YOUR job! But hey, I don’t see them publishing a book titled A Guide to Understanding PMS do they? Why do you even need a book to understand guys?!
Think about it… a book about understanding MEN? What the fork? Men are the easiest species to understand!
Hey, we’re not the species who takes 3 hours putting on make up only go to a totally pitch-black cinema! We don’t have 50 uncomfortable shoes from Vincci instead of 2 comfortable ones from Nike! We don’t find excuses spending RM2,000 on a Louis Vuitton handbag when we can have an X800 Radeon graphics card! (PS. Its ok Nicole baby, I still love you!) A BOOK ABOUT UNDERSTANDING MEN! What next? A book for women about how to read a map?
Still, I give them props to be able to sell a book that essentially tells you straight to your face you are not loved! And then tries to act all sweet with that You are exceptional, not the exception line.
Girls who have read He’s Just Not That Into You usually describe it with “That’s sooooo true!”, praising it like its the most factual book since The Bible. They become enlightened because after reading the book, they understand the reasons to all their woes. Then, they suddenly transform into relationship experts for all their friends, writing a 5000 word reply at one go, repeatedly quoting “If he’s into you he will BLAH, but because he’s just not that into you so BLAH”. Yet, somehow they still manage to become even more confused than they are BEFORE they read the book. Example (plagiarised from the comment section of www.xanga.com/alli_talli without permission. 😉 Thanks Alli!):
sigh – strap yourself in girl, cos this is going to be a long reply. remember what greg said: YOU ARE EXCEPTIONAL, BUT NOT THE EXCEPTION – if he really is into you, then HE would have done all the things in his power to make you happy, not sad and to please you by now. no ifs, no buts, no i’m busy with school or work or your family is weird or any of that bullshit. when he doesn’t call or be at a place when you expect him to be, if he has an answer for everything and criticises you, if he takes hours or days to reply – thats your answer. if he really is into you, he would move effing mountains! i know – it was so harsh when i read it but its true, isn’t it? because if u put the situation in reverse, ANY guy that we’re in love with, we’d put first – so the fact taht they’re making us do all the work or jerking us around (“you call me” bullshit) shows that “they’re just not that into us.” its hard to walk away, especially if you’re a loyal person – sometimes its like youre so strong and take three steps forward but tons of steps back. i dont think you should take what he says with a grain of salt jen —- THIS IS THE SALT! ahaha. this is the cold hard UGLY DISGUSTING SICK DEPRAVED, SO SOO DEPRAVED truth – omg i so feel like alanis morissette right now. if he wanted to: he would have. as for being kiss deprived … 1.5 years is long. then again, i waited like 21 years for a DECENT one (i’m excluding ones from high school and that one girlfriend I kissed… thats for another time) – and sure, like its sad when the person you SO WANTED to be kissing for a bloody long time isnt there to kiss you anymore (because he’s just not that into you) and you when people tell you “youre young and there’s so many more to come” – they tell you the best way to get OVER someone is to get UNDER someone else but its like aaargh – i dont want a hundred men, i just happen to want the one … one who “is just not into me”. so that’s the answer, i think. not really an answer because i ‘ve managed to confuse my own self even more but i know how you feel! ahaha. i mean, you know ridiculous it is right? to pine and PINE like some pathetic creature meanwhile they’re happy and contented and settled and have TOTALLY MOVED ON? when you think about how much of *your* GORGEOUS LOOKS you’re wasting (it’s a different story for me, but YOU! HELOOO!), when you think about how much time and ENERGY this is taking away from you, when you think about how much this is distracting you from things that REALLY matter like school or your career – when you think about all this when he couldn’t give a flying fuck – when you think about it in this light, welll, i dont know about you ,but it makes me just want to say “fuck this” i’m so over feeling like this – it’d be better (so i’m assuming, i wouldnt’ know) to know that they wanted you but … “they’re just not into you”. you may not be over him, but i think being OVER IT is the first step. so my dear there’s just one thing to say: DONT WASTE THE PRETTY! (even if youre still hanging out with him and he performs conversational masturbation on you … he still isnt that into you) 😉
(Diplomatic message interjection: No offense to Alli and the other girls that I have mentioned in this entry. Nothing against you all. 🙂 I think you are all smart beautiful women, exceptional not the exception and all that kinda stuff. But I’m just a little bit annoyed but the book… just a little bit. Anyway, you can always flame me back later! heh)
All I want to say to girls who have read that book (or those who are about to read that book) is CHILL OUT! Just because we didn’t make you the super-duper-number-one on our priority list doesn’t mean that we don’t love you. We could be sitting on our throne taking a dump before we decide to call you, because hell, shitting is more important than calling you, you know? Please don’t expect us to move mountains when its difficult enough trying to decipher what “Anything-lah” means when we’re ordering food for you at the restaurant and then having to put up with your black face because Anything-lah actually meant Grilled Fish instead of Chicken Pasta.
LADIES! If you want to understand men, let kennysia.com tell you in one simple line.
There’s only one thing, just ONE THING that on our mind when it comes to girls. And that’s the three-letter-word that starts with “S” and ends with “X”.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen.
Us men think of the number ‘SIX’ all the time.
And that’s beer, beer, beer, beer, beer, and BEER!
A Change In Profession
This week, I started my new job.
I apologise I can’t say too much about the company I’m working for (no, its not the FBI). Suffice to say that I’m now on the company payroll, working for my father, wearing suit-and-tie to work instead of Tshirt-and-shorts, and addressing my workmates by Mister and Madam instead of by their first name. Still, the working environment here is very different to what I am used to at Spectra Engineering.
Oh, to those who are related to me, much appreciated if you keep the existence of this blog to yourself. To others, I hate the fact that I can’t just say it here. My apologies for being so secretive. My job is not that much of big deal to be honest. But Kuching is a small place, many Kuching people whom I don’t know read this blog and I rather them not know. Anyway, if we ever do meet in real life ask me again ok?
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
I hate it when the forms you fill ask you redundant questions.
I visited the newest gym in town today, a government-owned gymnasium called Gym Masyarakat. I was ready to give them my RM250 to sign up for an annual membership, but instead they asked me to fill in the application form and wait 2 weeks for approval.
I wave RM250 cold hard cash in my hands, and they want to wait for approval. So I ask them.
“Why would you need approval for going to the gym and staying healthy? Have you ever rejected any applications?”
“Yes we have many rejections!”
“Why?”
“Mainly because they didn’t submit their photos.”
Go figure.
So fine. I was presented with the stupidest application form I ever had to fill.
Full Name: Kenny xxx xxx xxx
IC Number: 821127-13-xxxx
Date of Birth: 27-11-1982 (What the fish? Can’t you read my IC number?)
Age: 23 (Can’t you bloody deduce my age from my birthdate?!)
Nationality: Mongolian (OF COURSE MALAYSIAN LAH! I just gave you my Identity Card number didn’t I?! Bloody!)
Damn angry. I had to pay RM10 for a single visit because they need TWO BLOODY WEEKS to have my formal membership approved.
The gym itself was pretty crap. Its nice to see familiar faces though. There’s the heavily tattooed guy who spent all night doing bench presses, the steroid-induced muscle dude helping a scrawny kid spot as he yell profanities at him as a form of encouragement, and that la-la girl who wore hip-hugging jeans and stiletto heels to the gym just to use the threadmill. Nice.
Does anyone know of any good gyms in Kuching?
Fitness First is the only gym I know that seems to get everything right. I’m struggling to find another fitness center here that can deliver a similar quality of service.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Went to Red Tea Road for bubble tea this morning when I noticed this sign.
To WHAT?
Bad Engrish at the Education Expo
Bad English spelling and grammar never fail to humour me.
I still recall a story my father told me. Once, he was driving around the rural area of Kuching when he saw a big vacant land. In front of it is big sign board proudly proclaiming “LANG FOR SALE.”
‘Lang’ = ‘People’ in Hokkien
I have nothing against bad English. kennysia.com has never been good in English. In fact, I think its very much a Malaysian culture to speak/write English in a less than perfect manner.
That’s not to discount the efforts of education institutions highlighting the importance of the language. Yes, good English is important in a formal setting. But ultimately, the purpose of language is to communicate. We are Malaysians. So long as we understand each other, that’s good enough. No need to speak with the accuracy of BBC grammar, using words Kim would be proud of, complete with an accent to be able to use a language effectively, right?
*cough* Wellll…. now that I’ve say all the nice nice things I wanted to say, let’s all laugh at the people at Engrish.com 😉
The Civic Center building, a proud landmark of Kuching… no more.
Well, last week I went to the Kuching Civic Center because I wanted to take photos of the Kuching cityscape from the top of the building. I was about to take the lift when I realised that the lift was broken.
The only thing that’s broken is the English
…
WHAT ‘LIFT BREAK DOWN’ LAH! Either ‘Lift is Broken’ or ‘Lift is Out of Order’! What the fish is ‘Lift Break Down’?! The lift wanna break dance issit?
Actually it doesn’t look too bad if you put MC Hammer in front of it.
Coincidentally, the Sarawak Education Exhibition was going on at the time so I popped in for a visit. After all, I am planning to pursue an MBA degree when the time is right. I got the information I needed off the Curtin Sarawak booth, which unfortunately was the only education institution I recognised there.
I actually hated education exhibitions like this due to the fact that they shameless show the money-grubbing side of higher learning. I know its something I have to accept, that universities are businesses and students are customers. But education fairs like this are no different to, say, a computer fair where midriff-baring teenage girls shove pamphlets to your face and the main motivation is to sell, sell and SELL. It really is commercial exploitation of tertiary education at its worst.
The Stamford College booth is as empty as the head of their students.
Apologies for going off topic.
Anyway, there’s not much else to look at at the University Education Fair, so I decided to leave the place… after I filled out a quiz form.
I mean, QUIZ-ZE form! Must be a new word the big shot Universities at the education fair there invented. My bad. 🙂
Long Distance Love Triangle
Last evening as I was talking to a friend, I was told of a friend’s father’s mother’s son’s wife’s daughter (heh) who apparently is caught in a love triangle.
Its a classic scenario. A recipe for disaster.
Girl has boyfriend back home. Girl goes overseas for studies. Girl meets new boy overseas. New boy goes after girl. Girl hooks up with new boy. Old boy oblivious to the whole thing.
(Btw, ppl who knows me or them in real life… much appreciated if you don’t luan luan guess who I’m talking about. ;))
Girl goes to big city to further her education, and gets more than she bargained for.
I was shocked by the whole thing. I knew that the new boy has been going after her for a few months now, in full knowledge that she has a boyfriend back home. It was a few months ago when her boyfriend was visiting her that I saw them hugging intimately in front of the new boy. And now, the new boy is with the girl.
I asked Nicole.
“Can meh?”
“Can… the boyfriend not here. And he doesn’t know bah! Why not?”
Gee. Thanks for making me feel better, my long-distance girlfriend!
Can this really be done? Can a girl have another boyfriend overseas, when she has a boyfriend back home? Can she be allowed to subscribe to third party insurance, before the current insurance policy expire? Can she allow multiplayer for a game that’s meant to be for single players only? Can she install a back up hard disk, in case the current hard disk becomes corrupted?
Sorry for the cheesy analogies. 🙂
Is love a multiplayer game?
It reminded me the wise words of my friend Alston back in 2001 when Nicole and I were having our first bout of long-distance relationship. The wise one said “You are qualified to have another girlfriend if your current girlfriend is more than 500km away from you.”
Of course, this is coming from the same person who once said “A girlfriend’s expiry date is exactly one year from the first day of usage.” Well, Alston has been dating his gf for more than a year now. So I take what he said with a grain of salt.
Alston and his theories on long distance relationships.
I am worried. With Nicole in Perth and me in Kuching, she is in a perfect position to “find another one” if she wanted to. After all, she’s this smart, beautiful girl its only a matter of time before someone decides to hit on her and make her totally disregard my existence.
But she’s my girlfriend of four years. I should trust her. I know I should trust her. We had 1.5 years of long distance before and we survived dammit!
Then again, if she wanted to, she can do it and I wouldn’t even know about it. It makes me really vulnerable. I probably knew why the girl did it. The new boy is a fun and caring person, a great alternative to her boyfriend. She needs someone to fill in the void left by the current boyfriend when he’s not physically by her side.
Maybe I should be involved in a scandal myself.
Yet, she’s not willing to part with her current boyfriend because he’s someone she sees herself having a future with. The new boy is just a temporary one to fill in for the job, but she wouldn’t discount possibly having a future with him if he can prove himself right.
I could never approve of what the girl does, nor what the new boy did. I symphathize her current boyfriend for not knowing anything. And even if he knew, there’s nothing he can do about it.
I know many people would disagree with me, telling me that my thinking is old-fashioned and stuff.
“They are all young 20-something people, why restrict themselves to one person? All is fair in love and war, whattttt.”
“If she doesn’t mind, he doesn’t mind and the boyfriend doesn’t know… Why you so busybody?”
“Sometimes people know what they are doing is wrong, but they do it anyway… That’s called LOVE!”
They say it as a bright golden halo appears over their heads and a single tear rolls down their cheeks.
I say BULLSHIT lah! Now you get two for the price of one, and you find it so fun. Next time people do it back to you, then how? Are you gonna kau peh kau boo over it? At least you should break up with your current boyfriend if you were to pursue this new relationship bah, right? What if your boyfriend find out? Then how? And how long can this go on? Forever? I don’t think so! In the end you have to choose and when that happens… at best you have one broken heart, at worst you have three broken hearts!
Maybe eventually they can settle it WWE style in a 10-foot-high steel cage ladder match.
Then again, that’s just what I think. Judging by the number of people going overseas for studies, I’m sure many people would have experienced long-distance relationship at some point. So I’m interested to know what you think.
Is my notion of love and relationship too traditional to be applied in the 21st century? Are we allowed to have a temporary partner if our current partner is overseas, provided everyone keeps hush about it?
Hair Port ’86 Hair Saloon Review
One thing that constantly amuses me with Kuching is that businesses here can come up with rather funny names for themselves. Examples include Nemo Bistro in Jalan Ban Hock, or Titanic Lounge in BDC, complete with Finding Nemo and Titanic themes respectively. There’s nothing wrong with that, but somehow I’d find it funny if someone were to ask me “Hey! Wanna go Nemo Bistro drink beer?”
Hair Port ’86 – Silly Name, Serious Hair.
There’s a hair saloon in Jalan Ong Kee Hui (near Soon Onn Furniture) called Hair Port ’86. The first time I saw that name, I thought “What a stupid name. Hair Port… sounds like AIRPORT! What lah! The hair dryer like aeroplane so noisy one is it?”
It did pique my curiousity though. Perhaps Hair Port was meant to be like a central point for all things hair! That’s why its named like that.
Anyway, I’m about to start work again next Monday and I hadn’t visit my hairdresser since before CNY, so I figured its probably time for a hair cut. As I’m always up for trying something new, I popped in the saloon earlier today for a hair cut and wash.
The interior of Hair Port ’86, stylish and contemporary
I am rather impressed by the interior of the hair saloon. The variety of bright colours marry well with each other, and the design of the furniture are all stylish and contemporary. The soothing music playing in the background makes it all the more inviting. This contrasts other hair saloons I’ve been to that’s usually filled with patches of hair on the untidy floor, and the stench of hair care products permeating through the air.
I was greeted by Ling, who quoted me RM30 for a men’s hair cut and wash. That’s rather expensive by Kuching’s standards, but considering a similar 15-minute service in Perth would cost AUD23, I thought the price is rather acceptable.
One of the nice comfy arm chairs in the hair saloon
I was seated on one of their comfy chairs in front of the mirror. Ling placed a stack of Cleo magazines in front of me, which I never touched. Here’s a shot of me before my hair cut.
Kenny – Before Hair Cut
To my horror, Ling proceeded to pour shampoo and water onto my head while I was still sitting on the chair! Holy Cow! Wouldn’t that drench my top? I would have though that they would wash my hair in one of those basin instead. But apparently, that’s the SOP for hair wash here. Talk about a culture shock.
In Seat Hair Wash!
Somehow Ling managed to defy gravity and removed all the foam from my hair before it reached my tee. I was also treated to a good 20 to 25 minutes of head and neck massage, which was so good it made my neck numb. I was then led to the basin for a rinse of my hair. Ling wrapped a towel around my head, which made me look like Osama bin Laden.
Kenny bin Laden
This is what I look like after the towel dry. I reminded myself of a young Aaron Kwok. Teehee.
Kenny Kwok
The actual hair cut was done by the taukeh-nio (proprietor) herself, Lina Chung.
My hair is done by the taukeh-nio herself.
Lina is friendly and chatty. I learnt that Hair Port was established in 1986 (hence the ’86 suffix in the name) and used to be located in Kuching Plaza until December last year. As patrons to Kuching Plaza dwindled, Hair Port relocated to this new area. Lina’s father is the owner of Soon Onn Furniture, and the interior of the saloon was designed by her nephew Ronald Chung – coincidentally also a graduate of Curtin University.
Here’s Lina’s name card.
Hair Port ’86 Name Card
After Lina skillfully snipped and buzzed my hair, I was once again led to the basin to rinse off the residual hair. After a blowdry and some minor touch up, Ling returned to apply liquid hair wax on my head.
And this is what I ended up like.
Kenny – After Hair Cut
So what do you reckon? Good? Bad?
Or had I just wasted RM30 looking exactly the same as I did before?
Kuching is owned by Maxis, DiGi and Celcom
Maxis, DiGi and Celcom banners are everywhere in the streets of Kuching
I was just driving around Kuching today, trying to re-acquaint myself with my hometown, when I noticed a rather disturbing trend. It seems as if no matter where I travel in Kuching, I am bound to encounter some form of promotional material by Maxis, Digi and Celcom – the 3 major mobile phone carriers in Malaysia.
Bahhh… Siti Nurhaliza!
I can’t go shopping without walking past a life-size cardboard cutouts of Siti-freakin’-Nurhaliza promoting Maxis. Lamp posts that were previously just lamp posts, are now adorned with banners advertising DiGi’s 1c SMS promotion. Overhead briges that used to be in plain cream colour now bear the logos of Celcom instead. In fact, I couldn’t drive 5 minutes in metropolitan Kuching without encountering any one of those ads.
Telco ads are everywhere. EVERYWHERE!!! ARrgghhhh
Its terrible. I had expected Kuching to be that laid-back, relaxing little city that I grew up in – not some over-commercialised town who happened to have sold its soul to the highest bidding corporate company.
Some people may say, “Its not that bad whattt… just some posters here and there. At least we don’t have to pay so much taxes!” Well of course, extra money is always good. But as an example of how too much of something is a bad thing, see Kuala Lumpur.
During my last trip to Kuala Lumpur, I had the experience of taking the new KL Monorail (which finally re-opened after one of its wheel fell off). The experience was great. But to my horror, I noticed that the naming rights of almost all the monorail stations are owned by major corporate companies.
Excuse me, its not Bukit Bintang Station. Its COCA-COLA Bukit Bintang Station!
Bukit Bintang Station became Coca-Cola Bukit Bintang Station. Imbi Station became Maxis Hotlink Imbi Station. Even our national telco company joined in on the action – Titiwangsa Station became Telekom Malaysia Titiwangsa Station. Bloody ridiculous!
I don’t know, I’m just very much against selling the naming rights of our public properties to private corporate companies. Unfortuantely, almost every single government entity is privatised these days.
Why stop there? Why not sell the naming rights of, say, our police stations to Celcom?
Celcom Sarawak Police Station
Maybe we should increase the Sarawak General Hospital’s funding by selling advertisement space to Maxis?
Maxis Sarawak General Hospital
How much is too much? Who knows, maybe one day this website will be big enough to be able to afford purchasing the naming rights to the Sarawak state.
Welcome to kennysia.com Sarawak!
Maybe. Just maybe! 😉