i wonder ..

what does standards malaysia do? maintain standards? lower standards? build standards?
i wonder ..
can't be maintaining standards .. there wouldnt be much to maintain. if this is the case, they wouldnt even be able to justify buying this vehicle. but they must be busy doing something, or we wouldnt be able to justify the pay rise for civil servants once again. the pay rise, which normally happens before an election take place, however, has got nothing to do with the election. so i keep wondering ..

but wait a minute. standards are subjective. it actually takes a certain standard to keep someone waiting at a government office, to not have enough chairs to sit on, to provide a hot and stuffy place to wait while we look at government servants behind the counter sipping on coffee and making long phone calls, to notify us once again that we have to wait or come back, or to not tell us exactly when we will receive what we came for. and the best standard is to provide these services in an office with walls adorned with plaques stating awards won by that same office for service standards achieved. phew ..

these are tough standards actually. it takes a certain standard for someone to finish a form and place it in the out tray, and wait for an office boy to clear the tray to drop it into the in tray two tables away. if takes a certain standard for the office boy to clear two trays before coffee break time.

i wonder what what will happen after the pay rise ..

throwing our weight around

10 years ago, a lean, almost skinny policeman kept guard during early morning peak hours at the cross junction in front of universiti hospital. he obviously did not have any formal training in directi ng traffic, cos all he used was basic common sense. he based his judgement on the number of cars backed up on reach road, and ensured that we did not have to wait long before it was our turn to move. he only practised one "wave" style, allowing you to immediately know if he wants to proceed, or stop. he even flashed a smile every now and then, letting me believe that he may actually enjoy his work.

i havent seen him since. come to think of it, i havent seen any lean or skinny cop for ages. i guess we pay them better now, and they have better food on the table, or at last more food, much more .. much, much more .. so much more.. a lot ..

traffic cops nowadays are also trained in certain areas, but asked to use their judgement in others. they are allowed to use any form of hand signals. we have to exercise our own common sense to gauge if the cops wants us to drive on, or be grateful to the honking car behind us. but is the time allocated for each road that puts today's cop ahead of my skinny friend. they have a system. each road is given a certain number of "movement minutes", irrespective of how many cars there are on the road. a system, i say.

it actualy teaches us to exercise some patience in our daily lives, making us better people in the long run, and allows us time to reflect on our past, present and future. i was literally at the crossroads of my life today, late for work as usual, and was thankful for the systematic cop at the junction ahead of me.

he allowed every road 2 minutes, which actually translates to 1.5 minutes of car movement, which translates into 6 cars, as the front driver always needs to reflect on his life first before getting into gear. being 15 cards behind, i waited and reflected.

i wonder where the skinny cop is. i wonder where any skinny cop is.