The how to stuff and such...

Opinion and draft collections

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The Problem with Conditional Friends: Do They Exist? (Spoiler: Yes, and They’re Exhausting)

The Problem with Conditional Friends: Do They Exist? (Spoiler: Yes, and They’re Exhausting)

Let’s ditch the wayang kulit and speak the uncomfortable truth swirling in every lukewarm teh tarik at a gathering you don’t want to be at: Conditional friends aren’t just a Malaysian problem; they’re practically a national pastime. We excel at crafting relationships built on shifting sands of utility, convenience, and carefully calculated social credit. These aren’t friendships; they’re transactional alliances, fragile constructs where loyalty evaporates the moment the perceived benefit dries up or the slightest inconvenience arises. And pretending otherwise? That’s the real bodoh culture.

You know them. The “friend” who materialises only when they need a favour – a job referral, a connection, help moving house, borrowing that fancy baju for a wedding. Poof! Suddenly, you’re their priority...

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Myth or Reality: The Malaysian Need for Perfection

Myth or Reality: The Malaysian Need for Perfection

Let’s cut through the ais kacang sweetness and confront the bitter kernel: Malaysia is obsessed with the theatre of perfection while wallowing in the swamp of cincai mediocrity. We demand flawless surfaces while cheerfully ignoring the crumbling foundations. This isn’t a genuine pursuit of excellence; it’s a cult of appearances, a national performance art where the impression of perfection matters infinitely more than the messy, often inconvenient, reality of getting things truly right. We polish the hood ornament while the engine sputters and dies.

Witness the grand illusion. The Instagram Life: Meticulously curated feeds showcasing spotless homes, gourmet nasi lemak art, and blessed family portraits – a shimmering mirage obscuring the unfolded laundry, the takeaway containers, and the simmering arguments just off-camera. The...

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Confessions of a Chronic Complainer: Society’s Curse

Confessions of a Chronic Complainer: Society’s Curse

Alright, fine. Guilty as charged. My name’s irrelevant, but my condition is epidemic: I am a Chronic Malaysian Complainer. And if you’re brutally honest with yourself, you probably are too. We’ve elevated grumbling to an art form, a national pastime more pervasive than teh tarik breaks and almost as essential as complaining about the teh tarik being too sweet. We don’t just point out problems; we marinate in them, stew in the juices of our own dissatisfaction, and serve it up piping hot to anyone within earshot – the mamak uncle, the long-suffering spouse, the captive colleague in the lift, the void of social media. This isn’t discourse; it’s a national pathology, a soul-sucking vortex of negativity that’s become our default setting, and frankly, it’s exhausting even me.

Think about it. The moment we wake up? The air-con’s not cold...

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The Unspoken Pressure to Conform: A Malaysian Perspective

The Unspoken Pressure to Conform: A Malaysian Perspective

It hangs thick in the air at family gatherings, whispers through school corridors, and dictates life choices with the subtlety of a gavel: The Unspoken Pressure to Conform. In Malaysia, individuality isn’t just discouraged; it’s often treated as a mild social disorder, a deviation from the meticulously curated script of “how things should be.” We preach unity, muhibbah, but beneath the surface simmers a potent, often suffocating, demand to fit in, blend in, and shut up. Step off the well-trodden path at your peril, for the collective Malaysian gaze is quick to judge and quicker still to correct.

The script starts young. Education? Forget passion or aptitude. The holy trinity reigns supreme: Medicine, Law, Engineering. Express an interest in art, music, social sciences, or – heaven forbid – the trades? Brace yourself for the...

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When Will Malaysians Start to Embrace Diversity? (Beyond the Rojak Metaphor)

When Will Malaysians Start to Embrace Diversity? (Beyond the Rojak Metaphor)

Enough. Enough of the glossy brochures, the saccharine Merdeka montages, the performative “Malaysia Truly Asia” slogans trotted out for tourists and national day speeches. We’ve mastered the aesthetic of diversity – the colourful baju, the spread of festive goodies, the token multicultural group photo op. But scratch beneath the surface of this carefully curated rojak, and you find not a harmonious blend, but stubborn, segregated chunks refusing to truly mingle. When, Malaysia, will we move beyond merely tolerating difference to genuinely embracing it? When will diversity stop being a photo opportunity and start being the lived, valued, messy reality of who we are?

The evidence of our collective failure is etched into the daily fabric of life. It’s the self-imposed segregation that persists like a bad habit...

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Is Chasing Social Media Likes Killing Our Creativity?

Is Chasing Social Media Likes Killing Our Creativity

Step into the shimmering, soul-sucking void of Malaysian social media, and witness the grand illusion: a landscape teeming with “content,” yet strangely barren of genuine creativity. We’ve become a nation of manicured curators, not bold creators; obsessive accountants tallying likes, not artists chasing visions. The relentless, anxiety-inducing pursuit of that tiny red heart or thumbs-up isn’t just draining our joy; it’s systematically strangling the vibrant, messy, uniquely Malaysian spark of originality right out of us. Welcome to the Conformity Factory, where algorithms are the foreman and virality is the only quality control.

Observe the homogenised wasteland. The same sunset silhouette at the same over-photographed Penang mural. The identical plate of nasi lemak, artfully scattered with biji selasih and an obligatory...

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The Infamous Malaysian “Bodoh” Culture: Weaponising Stupidity as a Shield

The Infamous Malaysian “Bodoh” Culture: Weaponising Stupidity as a Shield

There’s a toxic reflex deeply embedded in the Malaysian psyche, a cultural poison masquerading as pragmatism or even weary wisdom. It’s the Instant Bodoh Defence. The moment complexity arises, effort is required, or something new dares to challenge our comfortable inertia, the cry rings out: “Bodoh lah!” It’s less an assessment of the thing itself, and more a pre-emptive strike against anything demanding we stretch beyond our immediate, familiar laziness. We’ve weaponised stupidity, not as an insult hurled at others, but as a shield for ourselves, a get-out-of-effort-free card we play with alarming, self-sabotaging frequency.

Witness it everywhere. Introduce a new, more efficient digital system for government services? The queue erupts with grumbles: “Bodoh system ni! Susah sangat! Dulu punya lagi baik!”...

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Why We Need to Stop Shaming in Society

Why We Need to Stop Shaming in Society

Malaysia, we have a sickness. It’s not dengue or haze-induced coughs. It’s a pervasive, toxic addiction coursing through our mamak stalls, family WhatsApp groups, and social media feeds: The Relentless Need to Shame. We’ve turned public humiliation into a national pastime, a spectator sport fueled by self-righteousness and disguised as concern, tradition, or even humour. From the auntie loudly tutting at your body shape to the online mob eviscerating someone for a minor mistake, we wield shame like a blunt instrument, bludgeoning individuality, stifling growth, and poisoning the well of basic human decency. It’s time we confronted this collective ugliness and put down the pitchforks.

Look around. The overweight teenager is mercilessly ribbed at family gatherings – “Eh, jadi bola lah nanti!” (“Eh, you’ll become a ball!”) – their discomfort brushed...

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Conversations in Cafe: The Decline of Meaningful Dialogue

Conversations in Cafe: The Decline of Meaningful Dialogue

Step into any trendy Malaysian cafe – the kind sporting Edison bulbs, reclaimed wood, and names involving obscure Italian words or ironic misspellings. Breathe in the aroma of overpriced single-origin beans and unspoken pretension. Look around. See the tables full? Hear the pleasant murmur? Don’t be fooled. What you’re witnessing isn’t a renaissance of deep conversation; it’s the meticulously curated theatre of its near-total extinction. The Malaysian cafe has become the perfect stage for the Performance of Connection, where genuine dialogue goes to die, suffocated by vanity, distraction, and a collective inability to look up.

Gone are the days of the kopitiam chinwag, replaced by the ritual of the Digital Shrine. Friends arrive, exchange air-kisses or stiff bro-hugs, then immediately erect their smartphones like miniature...

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Racism in Malaysia: An Unofficial Sport

Racism in Malaysia: An Unofficial Sport

Forget badminton, football, or sepak takraw. If you want to witness Malaysia’s true national pastime, played with unmatched fervour and alarming frequency, look no further than the toxic arena of Racism. It’s not just present; it’s pervasive, practiced with the casual ease of breathing and often defended with the fervour of an Olympic champion protecting their gold medal. We’ve elevated prejudice to an unofficial sport, played in mamak stalls, office corridors, family WhatsApp groups, and the dark recesses of social media, with everyone from the coffee-shop unker to the polished professional seemingly eager to take a swing.

The rules are simple, yet insidious. Point One: Identify difference – skin tone, accent, religion, surname, perceived cultural habit. Point Two: Apply sweeping, usually negative, generalization. Point Three: Deliver the...

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