The monsoon rains have arrived just in time to salvage our dams from further evaporation. It has been a hot year in Malaysia what with the Great Haze that came in from Indonesia and the dry spell after. I for one hope never to inhale smoke on a 24/7 basis ever again. If clean water is a luxury for most of the world’s population right now, imagine if we had to pay money for clean air sold in tanks.
Thankfully, even during our trying time dealing with the Haze, Malaysians still found humour in it all. Makes for a good conversation starter, everyone was saying. (I can attest to that.) Blah-dee Indonesia. Stupid Malaysian gamen. I’ll never smoke again. (Yeah right.)
Life was pretty much business-as-usual, save for the respiratory masks worn by everyone, from babies to bilals, and the fact that certain areas in the Klang Valley were proclaimed under a state of emergency. Still, some street vendors braved the choking smoke, as did traffic policemen - who still had no clue as to the appropriate number of minutes they ought to allow for a stop signal, but we appreciated them anyway and blamed it on the smoke disorienting their brains.
Skyscrapers literally vanished from the KL skyline and the sun glowed a sickened orange. At the Haze’s worst, even pedestrians were afraid of walking too fast because visibility was that bad. At least two people died of respiratory problems as a direct result of the Haze.
Countries around the region also suffered, but not as long as we did, because we are situated in a geographical bowl which contained the smoke for longer. The Haze found Singapore around the same time that the Singaporean government announced plans to extend its ban on smoking to more public areas. We had a good laugh over that one.
Fortunately, our story had a happy ending. The wind changed like it does in Mary Poppins and everyone was amazed to wake up one day to the bluest of skies and a skyline so clear that buildings didn’t look so far away anymore. It was as if we had woken from a bad collective dream. Radio deejays kept playing I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash.
Our country is legendary for its food and traffic woes, but did you know that Malaysian forgetfulness is also legendary? After weeks of anger directed at Indonesia’s and our own governments, all it took was a change of wind to blow our sense of principle away. Nobody’s crying out for heads to roll anymore, but we all know it will happen again next year. Until then, we’ll find something else to complain about while enjoying our teh tariks in the open air. We’re stupid that way, but sometimes you just gotta love how insane it gets here.
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Not bad considering I wrote this after a few daiquiris and a throbbing temple.
foray
Thankfully, even during our trying time dealing with the Haze, Malaysians still found humour in it all. Makes for a good conversation starter, everyone was saying. (I can attest to that.) Blah-dee Indonesia. Stupid Malaysian gamen. I’ll never smoke again. (Yeah right.)
Life was pretty much business-as-usual, save for the respiratory masks worn by everyone, from babies to bilals, and the fact that certain areas in the Klang Valley were proclaimed under a state of emergency. Still, some street vendors braved the choking smoke, as did traffic policemen - who still had no clue as to the appropriate number of minutes they ought to allow for a stop signal, but we appreciated them anyway and blamed it on the smoke disorienting their brains.
Skyscrapers literally vanished from the KL skyline and the sun glowed a sickened orange. At the Haze’s worst, even pedestrians were afraid of walking too fast because visibility was that bad. At least two people died of respiratory problems as a direct result of the Haze.
Countries around the region also suffered, but not as long as we did, because we are situated in a geographical bowl which contained the smoke for longer. The Haze found Singapore around the same time that the Singaporean government announced plans to extend its ban on smoking to more public areas. We had a good laugh over that one.
Fortunately, our story had a happy ending. The wind changed like it does in Mary Poppins and everyone was amazed to wake up one day to the bluest of skies and a skyline so clear that buildings didn’t look so far away anymore. It was as if we had woken from a bad collective dream. Radio deejays kept playing I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash.
Our country is legendary for its food and traffic woes, but did you know that Malaysian forgetfulness is also legendary? After weeks of anger directed at Indonesia’s and our own governments, all it took was a change of wind to blow our sense of principle away. Nobody’s crying out for heads to roll anymore, but we all know it will happen again next year. Until then, we’ll find something else to complain about while enjoying our teh tariks in the open air. We’re stupid that way, but sometimes you just gotta love how insane it gets here.
---------
Not bad considering I wrote this after a few daiquiris and a throbbing temple.
foray
posted by foray at 9:52 PM
3 Comments:
this is the best work on this board so far and no one, not even a solicitor, gives notice?
I read this again and it stands beautifully. The whole Lot of You in blog world just suck.
They're busy with tofurkeys.
I can only imagine how horrible it must have been to live with all of that smoke. Malaysians must appreciate clear skies more than anyone else in the world now. Even Seattle, where we appreciate clear skies immensely due to our perennially overcast skies.
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