Letter to the editor

Dear editor,

      As a proud citizen of Malaysia, I have unfortunately come across many Malaysians who blatantly do not care for their country and this is obviously seen through their behaviour and inconsiderate acts in public.

      Firstly, many Malaysian smokers do not have the decency to smoke in an enclosed area or at least away from people. I'm sure many restaurants provide a section in the premise for smokers so as to not bring discomfort to non-smokers. Not only does the smoke and chemicals in the cigarette affect the smoker but it affects the people around the smoker as well, thus the term passive smoker. Besides that, I'm sure many of you agree that the smell of a lighted cigarette is horrible. Just the other day, I was walking in a shopping complex with my parents when we walked by a smoker and that idiot just blew the smoke at my face! Well..not directly at my face since I am vertically challenged. The smoke was above my head and I could still smell it. Before I could say anything to that person, he sprinted off in the other direction and threw the cigarette butt on the floor.

      In addition to that, Malaysians like to litter. They throw their rubbish everywhere, on the floor, in the drain except the dustbin. I often see a large pile or a mountain of rubbish bags in the alleyway containing all sorts of trash from plastic bottles to tin cans. Most of the time, the garbage is not disposed off properly therefore making the whole area smell and the air becomes difficult to breathe. Not only that, people like to throw their used tissues or candy wrappers by the roadside or in the middle of the road. Sometimes, I see roads, especially roads near coffee shops and restaurants, strewn with rubbish. It is such a gruesome sight.

     Last but not least, Malaysians have many bad habits when it comes to queuing up at counters. Just three days ago, I was at McDonald's with my friend to buy our lunch. After ordering, we waited at the side for our food. The lady after us was not that considerate. She just stood there after ordering her food, hogging up the queue, waiting for her food until the cashier had to tell her to wait at the side. Since there many people that day, a lot of us had to wait at the side at the same time. There wasn't much space but the lady waited beside us instead of behind us and kept grabbing her french fries when it was placed on her tray. Her bag kept bumping into me and my friend and I were literally pinned to the wall until our food came.

    It is people like this that causes foreigners to look down upon us. Day by day, our country is becoming such a discomfort to live in. Malaysia is such a beautiful country filled with multitudes of culture. Nowadays, is so hard to believe that Malaysia has an interesting and beautiful culture because of the behaviour and inconsiderate acts of most Malaysians. I hope that these people will change their ways so all of us can live in harmony and in peace.

Sincerly,
Frustrated and angered citizen.