Maniac

Welcome to Malaysia. The country with the lousiest railway system and rude citizens.

College is situated at the heart of KL, and since I don't drive, I use public transport to get there. And this is the thing that carries me to KL almost every morning...

jeng jeng jeng jeng


Our very the famous KTM which boasts a history since pre-independence( if you studied sejarah properly it was stated.)

I am proud to do my part as a environmental conservative earth inhabitant to travel by the least pollution causing means of transport.
But as a Malaysian, I find the railway systems.....So nothing to be proud of. And Malaysians, another embarrassment.

Imagine every morning you showered nicely and put on whatever make up or fragrances, neatly ironed clothes and clean shoes, arrived at the station feeling fresh and ready to start another new day, and the train arrives, and suddenly everyone starts pushing even before the doors were opened and you would be standing there like an idiot wondering what the? And alas, the doors opened and the crowd would be pushing their way in, even before they let the passengers who wanted to disembark to exit, and the irony was the loudspeaker would be blasting 'kepada para penumpang yang dihormati, sila memberi laluan kepada penumpang yang ingin turun daripada tren...' and nobody was giving a damn because they were so carried away with the best way to get their asses into the train and if better, secure a seat. And people inside the train would be screaming, and the Federal Reserve Team will come running, more shouting and more pushing around, and finally everyone got out and the rest of the embarking desperados happily squeezed into the train. And it would be so packed that the doors cannot be closed sometimes and the station guards actually have to manhandedly push the crowd inside to let the door close. And guess what, it would be super stuffy inside the coach and you will have maximum body contact with at least 5 complete strangers. You don't even have to worry about no able to grip on a handlebar to prevent you from falling if the train speeds because you won't get a chance to fall, because there will be at least 5 people cushioning your fall, if you ever do, which was the least of wonders, because I mean, it was so super packed, you don't even get a chance of moving. A simple act of reaching your hand to your pocket to grab your phone is already a challenge. And you know what, there will be all sorts of people from different walks of life and the best part, they smell very differently. If you're lucky, the most you get is nasty cheap pirated brand perfume worn by mostly ladies and if you're really really destined to lose appetite for lunch, you get people who smells as if they haven't bathed for days, and worst, bad breath. And finally you exited the train at your destination, you will look like crap with your sweat soaked shirt which looks even worse than before it got ironed and smelling a mixture of your own body and a sauna of different smells of the entire crowd of your coach. And whatever books or documents you are holding at the moment with or without file, regardless, would be either bent, or crumpled. And boy, you would have wished that you hadn't taken breakfast or was sick for the entire month.

That was not all. Sometimes problems faced were such as train delays. And the crowd would grow, in size and tension rises. And when the train comes people would just push, all moral principles forgotten, not even bothering to give way or be patient, as though they had seen salvation. It's really that sickening. Sometimes I would like, ar, if they were pushing I would step aside and let people pass first, since you are so desperate so I give way, but I was told that: " No need to be so courteous la dude, just push. The way is, just make sure you get into the train. How? Regardless." Some scenes in the train are the typical seen-place-to-sit-and-quickly-place-ass-down-because-scared-other-people-sit scenario. I see this almost everyday, and I think that such scenes are pretty saddening. Most passengers I see during peak hours are the educated, because they work in either the public sector or the corporate world (they dress decently in formals and they work in either all the government buildings or the banks and firms in KL)and yet I believe that they should acquire some sense of moral and civic consciousness. It is not to say they don;t have, but in scenes like this, they do not apply them. All I can see is a congregation of rude fellow Malaysians acting as if they have a mentality so low because of the fact that they wanted to get home faster. We all do, and we will, a little patience wouldn't hurt.

The typical all-time loathed scenes in the train cannot be listed down because the incidents can vary and can be very subjective. But here is my summary of my top 10 'pantang larang' in the train which pisses me off if they occur.

1. When there is a vacant seat, the person nearest to it would act maiden and don't want to sit. I mean, fine, it's your choice whether you want to sit or not but hello, come on la. Sit la my dear. What's your problem? You standing is already taking up space and when there is a seat in front of you, sit la. Why waste? Do you know how many people who are standing needs that space? Thank God He saved you a space, but, I can't believe this, they just refuse to sit. I don't get it at all, and it's so annoying it gets into my nerves to pull the person and tell her straight to her face.

2. There are kids crying.

3. When some dungus eat some exotic recipe in the train and the entire coach would be filled by the horrifying stench.

4. When someone needing a seat (pregnant ladies, the old) doesn't get it because some couple were glued together in their twin loveseat.

5. When some people blast their music in a foreign tongue with their low quality phone speaker which is so annoying because the noise even overshadow your earphones.

6. When somebody was on their way back form a football match.

7. When couples show affection. (details go figure yourself)

8. When the train is so crowded yet someone is grunting in discomfort because you accidentally knocked into them. Feel like slapping them. I can't help it okay? Newton's First Law of Motion applies okay?

9. When some people clean themselves (fingernails, ear, nose) during the ride. disgusting.

10. People who sleep while standing and their head would be knocking all over the place including the steel bars and finally it rested on your shoulder.

Fellow Malaysian who never took a train before in your life, don't think that a train rid is very comfortable like those you see in movies. Gone were the days of your childhood dreams of Thomas and friends because our Malaysian train doesn't happily puff smoke and give you a gleeful ride. Part of it, the railway system are yet to improve its standards. Timetabling, efficiency, service, minimise delays. Technical, hence difficult to foresee. But Malaysians, attitude have to be changed. I do not wish to dread every morning just because of the 20 minute train ride to college. Sigh, when do we actually learn to be more courteous? All the tax payers money for Kempen Budi Bahasa Budaya Kita can be said to have been thrown away and flushed down the ditch.