Stay Classy!

It's unbelievable how the tables have turned.

Good ole Mahathir, who once ruled the roost with his 'Melayu Mudah Lupa' catchphrase and penchant for selecting his successors in a purportedly democratic nation, is now experiencing INSUBORDINATION!!!

Maklumlah.

The antagonist in question is Ahmad Zahid Hamidi aka Bugis Antarabangsa aka Jawa-yang-hilang-panduan, or as my Other Half commonly refers to him: The Grinning Imbecile. He earned the last moniker after we had to line up for 2 days to get my passport done. After all that waiting, a massive poster of him looking insufferably cheerful was too much to bear.

Anyway, Mahathir must clearly have done something egregious to earn the vicious attack. After 1MDB losing billions of ringgit, I could not bring myself to find out what Mahathir must have squirrelled away for himself. But I sacrificed myself for you, dear reader.

It turns out, the answer is: NOTHING. His shortcoming was due to - wait for it - his race!! Turns out Mahathir punya bapak has Indian ancestry.

PUT THOSE ROTTEN EGGS DOWN!! I know! It's such an anti-climax after the international fiasco over embezzled funds!

We all knew that ole Mahathir had Indian blood lah. We didn't call him Kerala mama and Kutty ayah for nothing!

It's just that Malaysian politics, pretty much like its American counterpart, sinks lower when you didn't think it was possible.

Norshahril Saat in The Straits Times, says:

These personal attacks speak volumes about the behaviour of Malaysia's political elites: They are willing to publicly shame opponents if things do not go their way. They are also eager to expose their opponents' weaknesses, while concurrently ignoring their friends' fallacies.

Currently, Mahathir seems to be attempting to salvage lost Malaysian pride in his criticism against the ruling administration, but he has already played that game one too many times. He has quit UMNO in a huff, and rejoined later, on numerous occasions!

I mean, he was the guy who gave Tunku Abdul Rahman a hard time! Johannan Sim elaborates on what happened when Mahathir left UMNO the previous few times.

All I am going to say, is that politics is so unpredictable. A lot of us have been tirelessly working to effect change, for free and fair elections. For democracy to work.

But sometimes, all it takes is a freak incident that snowballs into something else. Like the American Civil Rights Movement. Like the Suffragette Movement.

I'd like to think that change happens from sheer dedication and hard work. The sad truth is that often, it does not. It's often a serendipitous play of coincidences and bloody old Mother Luck plays a part too.

The whole world is in upheaval. God only knows we could do with a lucky break.

Bike Sharing Schemes

Okay, remember how I am constantly moaning about how cycling just refuses to catch on in Malaysia?

A couple of years ago, a rather soft-spoken but extremely industrious gentleman by the name of Jeffery Lim made great inroads in encouraging cycling as a form of transport. The guy is a bloody legend. He helped DBKL out by creating a cycling map from scratch! That is a monumental effort.

If you need a copy of the map, I am sure it's physically available at certain locations, but it's certainly ONLINE.

Now that you have some established routes, all you need is a bicycle.

Problem solved!

If you're in Melaka, the Chinese company Ofo has already launched its bicycles there. Users pay only RM1 per hour to rent the bike.

And if you're in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore's oBikes are not only launching, but are offering FREE unlimited one hour rides from 14 August until 30 September. No promo code needed.

Privately, I have had my reservations about these sort of bike rental schemes. Kuala Lumpur is not the first city for some of these bike companies to set up their business.

In Melbourne, for instance, the bikes for rent have been thrown in the river, up some trees, and basically just vandalised.

These are chunky bikes; how did they get up there??

I do despair of such asinine behaviour. You know how historians and social scientists love to tell us how far we have come as a human race? Bah humbug!

I hope Malaysians don't sink so low as to vandalise these bikes. I recognise that these aren't state of the art bikes; they are clunky and heavy, but they get you places if you put in the effort.

I must say that Rapid Transit Network has been improving their attitude towards cycling as they have mandated first and third Sundays of the month for bring full-sized bicycles on board the Kelana Jaya, Ampang and Sri Petaling Line LRTs.

Previously, people were only allowed to carry folding bikes onto the LRT, monorail, and MRT during off-peak hours on Monday to Friday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

I cannot emphasise how important connectivity with transits is, for a longer commute.

I have, though, wondered what the cost of maintaining and renting out these bikes must be. In Melbourne, the law is that helmets must be worn at all times while cycling. Apparently, the helmets went for a walk - very frequently!! Replacing them each time must be costly.

Frankly, I prefer to ride my own bike. It's a 21-speed, weighs next to nothing and rides like a charm. I also confess I wouldn't like to share helmets with anyone else. I have a bit of a hygiene obsession and that would put me off.

That being said, owning your own bike can have its disadvantages, as bicycle maintenance can be a pain. Degreasing the chains and then lubricating them up again takes up time and energy, not to mention the need to lay out the tools and clear out space for doing it.

And have I moaned about how dirty wheels contacting the rim brakes can squeal in such an annoying way that it can be extremely embarrassing if you haven't cleaned them in awhile? A cloth and some rubbing alcohol usually sorts that out, but it's an activity that car-users never have to worry about.

But that's life, and the cost of living healthy while keeping as low a carbon footprint as possible.

Perhaps Malaysia might learn to appreciate that.