the worse inner city encounter

I had to attend a two-day professional writing course in KL today.

Of all places, the organizer chose the worst hotel ; Cititel Express near Chow Kit area.

I always avoided driving to KL, especially during weekdays and working hours. Trying to take easy alternative, I chose to ride the train and enjoy the walk.

The easy alternative was not always the best one. I remember those early post graduation days, lrt and buses used to be the staple mode of transportation for me. I love the mobility, the ride and the different types of people I used to observe.

Today, after for about two years, I have mixed feeling when I ride Putra LRT. It got worse when I took the Monorel. It wasn't like MRT in Singapore, or Metro in Paris ,or the Underground Tunnel in London, or the cute little tram in Amsterdam. It is true our facilities are better than some developed cities in Europe. For example, Putra LRT is cleaner than Metro Train in Paris. I could smell urine in the subways. Yucks! And during winter, the smell just get even worse. Paris was not the best city after all.

But coming back to Malaysia, which I still adore and love to be no matter what, I felt a slight pang of guilt when riding the public transportation. This morning, as I about to step into the train, there was this guy who purposedly hit a woman because the lady push herself into the train, without considering those who waited patiently to get  to their destination. Imagine crazy situations like these everyday.It was the least expected event to happen in the morning, and certainly not my cup of tea.

And then, there was this crazy bunch of freaks 'lepaking' near the pavement. This morning as I walked briskly to the  hotel, these guys stopped me and said hello. And salam. I ignored them totally. They raised their voices to me and said;

Orang bagi salam  berdosa tak jawab.

I mean, what the ....? And now you're using Islam as your pick up lines?
Come on, don't be ridiculous.

I freaked out when I had to walk the same street to go home.

This evening it got worse, there were endless guys staring at me and saying hellos.
And the typical phewitt or whatsoever. Imagine you had to walk alone for 100 metres and guys go after you. This is weird. I mean, yeah, I did face that awkward situation before, but I thought they would give up after a while.

Chow kit towards Jalan TAR, you can imagine how many scantily dressed ladies passed by. Even slender chinese ladies in pencil skirts showing their fair perfectly waxed legs. What do I have to offer as opposed to them? Black long skirt with tailored coat?Nothing sensational about that .I was all covered,mind you. It was weird, and oh my God, I was in silent prayers all the way to LRT. Praying those freaks would leave me alone.

After lunch I sit beside the window in the Mezzanine Floor. I witness the good ol' KL with such awe and wonder. Old wretched buildings and dumps everywhere. People still lived here, and the alley look so filthy. There was this guy I saw, dressed in nothing else but his shorts, gather a huge pile of newspapers and place it into the huge garbage bin. He pour some water in it.and began wetting the papers.Occasionally he drinks for the water pipe..eww..geli betul.

I told my dad about it. My dad said, maybe some day you would have to carefully observe this people and bring back the good name of KL.It was our responsibility as the administrators to make sure situations  like this don't happen anymore. Imagine yourself as the Mayor.Think, it wasn't easy to bring changes and to settle for something better.

Yeah, maybe one day, KL will change.

Comments

[Nuraizah]

Cik Hal Mahera,
Saya akan mengangkat perkara ini untuk perhatian Y.Bhg. KSU KWP dan Y.Bhg. Datuk Bandar Kuala Lumpur. Segala aduan boleh dibuat di portal DBKL (e-Aduan).

Hehehe :o)