Eternally grateful to be Malaysian....

I am now about 4 hours away from berbuka puasa. I have booked a placed that is supposed to serve quite nice seafood at a reasonable price. Ramadhan always remind me of how lucky I am to be a Malaysian. Why you may ask, well for one, I am lucky because since I was a child I have benefited from all sorts of government programmes that has made me who I am now. I am lucky because when I graduated there was no such thing not able to find a job as long as you're not picky over things that you want to do. I am lucky because I live in a country that is in peace and harmony where people are tolerant of each other. I have always wished that nobody would come along and just trash all these things away just because they want to fulfill their own political ambition.

Ramadhan always remind me of places that I've been to where life is hard and difficult. It reminds me of a young child in the streets of Bandung who wears mask and dance to the tune from the stereo to collect contribution from the cars that stopped at the traffic light. It reminds me of the family living under the highway in the downtown Jakarta with no running water nor proper sewerage. It reminds me of suburbs Addis Ababa where a young girl carrying a load of firewood walking towards the city to sell them for a small amount which then used to buy flour and other essential ingredient to prepare "Engera" and gravy just for a day. The cycle just go on and on each day with no possibility of any break to the cycle. There are other old women who has done it all their lives. Ramadhan also reminds me of the streets of Karachi where young boys fight over an empty bottles that they collect to sell them to the nearby small factories that recycle them. These people live on constant hunger and dilapidated home. And yet some of the happiest people you could find are amongst these people. The less wants you have the happier you become seems to carry some weight in the life of these people. I wish I took some photographs of these people and keep them for my children sake. They need to appreciate what they get growing up in the country is million times better than what some people in other parts of the world is getting.

But actually so do we..... my 2 cents worth... jumpa lagi....