Sometimes I wonder how Malaysia, a huge country with thousands of kilometres of sleek, majestic, clean and picturesque North South Highway is kept so clean.
Sorry to say tiny Singapore is no match to this vast and wide country in terms of cleanliness.
The road shoulders of the lenghty NS Highway (PLUS) is void of rubbish thrown out from cars.
Stop at any traffic lights junction in tiny Singapore and look at the right side. You will find discarded cans of drinks, beer, stout, rubbish and even soiled baby pampers among the bushes.
The long journey on the NS Highway is usually a very breezy one. Their tolls are cheap too. Their road taxes are low, petrol reasonably prized (off course no comparison with Indonesia where every citizen buys petrol and diesel at 4500 rupiahs (about 70 Singapore cents a litre).
Most importantly their toilets are spick and span and every cubicle is fitted with a tap and plastic hose. Gang of workers go about cleaning the toilets continuously. These loos are provided free of charge for all people using the highway.
Compare this with tiny Singapore where the toilets stinks to the highest heavens, is littered with tissues, more often then not has messy toilet bowls with the disgusting sight of human waste floagting in it or even staining the sides. Very seldom do we find taps within cubicles. Forget about rolls of tissue paper.
The workers deployed along the Highway (including the staff manning the booths) at all the exits are very friendly and always has a smile on their faces.
On our highways you have authoritative policemen, LTA marshalls and unfriendly staff at EMAS.
The hawker centres at the resting areas on the Malaysian Highways are clean and well-maintained. The food sold is also very reasonably-priced.
Compare this with our hawker centres where you have cats, rats, cockroaches, lizards, mynah birds, crows and other vermins. The old folks seated outside collecting 10 cents for a pee and 20 cents for the "big-job" (not including the additional prize for tissue paper) seldom clean the inside. They just keep listening to the blaring and boring Singapore radio stations where the DJs speak like "ang-mors". The users obediently pay the 10 cts or 20 cts and make use of a filthy urinals and cubicles. More often then not the electronic gadgets that are supposed to flush the bowl fail to work.
Even if expansive Malaysia is considered "poor" than Singapore, you will never find beggars at the rest areas or hawker-centres.
In Singapore, we have hordes of well-dressed aunties holding "supposedly blind" people walking from table to table "selling tissue papers". They then leave the scene in expensive cars. Moden day begging ala Singapore-style.
The police in Malaysia provide assistance to Singaporeans experiencing problems, despite being labelled as "corrupt".
Here the police have forgotten their basic responsibilities towards the Singapore people. Their current priorities are all wrong. I do not wish to elaborate but everyone knows what I mean.
Our dollar may be high and their ringgit low, our 3-room "apartments" are so expensive and their bungalows so reasonably prized.
Our homes are for 99 years, whereas theirs are free-hold.
Their scenery and natural resorts offer majestic sights, whereas ours are all man-made and carry entrance fees that are truly exorbitant.
Our food prices compared to them is also high.
At the end of the day, Malaysia is a better destination. It's truly Asia, affordable, has a British legal system in place and Courts with experience judges. It will become even better if the Pakatan government can come into power. Penang with Lim Guan Eng at the helm is a good example.
Nothing Unique about Singapore besides COE, ERP, expensive cars, homes, stagnated salaries and constant stress.
In conclusion, I envy the Malaysians for all that they have compared to us in this tiny congested city state of nearly 6 million people.
Hope this will erase the "mystery" about Johore and the whole of Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak included)
