Ayah is staying at Mand.Or KL for a few days (him being part of the organizing committee for a Cardio Conference at KLConCentre), so, I had to send Hanna to school this morning. Right after I dropped her off, I gave a right indicator signal. I was just about to join the main road when this woman in a sleek Jaguar stopped right beside me to drop off her daughters.
I was like - "Right, okay...no problem". I was not in a hurry anyway. It was only 7:05a.m, and I was only on my way to send Hasya and Hilman to my MIL's house, and I only needed to be at the office by 9:00a.m.
I waited for about 40 seconds while she chatted away with one of her daughters, and suddenly I saw the woman answering her mobile, and started talking. She knew I was waiting for her to drive away, as my indicator light was still on, and she was glancing my way a few times. I waited and waited...for a full four minutes before she finally ended the conversation and drove away - WITHOUT even raising her hands to say sorry or thank you, etc! She wasn't just blocking my way, but, a few other cars were also queing up behind her!
In my mind, I was saying, "Mentang-mentang lah I drive a small chiput national car, and she drives a Jag, dia ingat jalan tu datuk dia punya?" Don't get me wrong - I don't have problems with people driving all these luxury wheels. In fact, I have close friends and family members who drive these machines. What I can't stand are just those who drive all those sleek cars with THAT kind of attitude!
What happened this morning reminded me of another "luxury wheels" incident that happened about a month ago to a friend. This was relayed to me by another friend. Apparently, what happened was our friend M*t Z was looking around for a new car, and he was contemplating whether to get a Merc or a Beemer for himself. So, one day, he went to AB - just to look out for any Beemer that he might fancy. M*t Z being M*t Z, he was wearing his normal casual (baggy, and rather not-so-kemas looks) baju, and he was probably wearing a worn out shoes or chapal or something like that. He went into the showroom, and NOBODY came over to greet him or to bring him around. There were a few people/potential customers who went in AFTER him (who probably looked like they have the dosh) who were attended to promptly by the sales people there! M*t Z must have wandered around the showroom alone for nearly an hour and he was was SO P**SED OFF that he went up to one of the salespersons and told him that he was getting one of their Beemers that day - just to show them that despite his appearance, HE HAD MONEY!
And yet another "luxury wheels" incident was when we saw the sign on our next door neighbour's gate in BJ that the house had finally been sold. We were curious to know who our neighbours would be, and so, Ayah called the Real Estate Agent and spoke to her. Apparently, she had called Ayah a few times before this to ask if WE were interested to sell our house because there were a lot of people interested to buy it from us!
Anyway, Ayah was asking her about our new neighbour/her buyer, etc., and this was what she told him -
"Oh, don't worry! Your neighbours are not-so-old, not so-young couple, and they don't have any kids (or was it their kids are big already? Or something like that). Don't worry...I can guarantee you that they're VERY GOOD neighbours - the husband drives a BMW and the wife drives a CLK!"
And when Ayah told me what she said, both of us were like, "What?! So? Just because they drive a BMW and a CLK, they MUST be good neighbours?!!! And the fact that BOTH of us are driving national cars make us BAD neighbours?!!!
Apa punya attitude ni?!
So, you see - these kinds of attitudes are not just the attitudes of SOME of those who drive all these luxury cars. Yang tak tahannya, those who are ONLY SELLING these cars, or only associated with these cars or with those who drive these cars through work pun have the same attitude (or sometimes, lagi kerek and even worse than the owners themselves!)
Big sigh...
What I want to say here is - Jangan sangka people out there who don't show off what they can afford, cannot afford what they don't show off. Fullstop. And more often than not, those yang nawaitu they all memang nak show-off sebenarnya bukan gempaq mana pun...
Anyway, to those who might end up being our neighbours in the future - you have been warned -
WE ARE BAD NEIGHBOURS. WE BOTH DRIVE OUR NATIONAL CARS...
So there! Eherks...
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22 comments:
kak Shana Kournikova,
Hehe…VIPs are supposed to be educated-bunch. Fair enough. But what’s so clever when they cant even recognize a OKU-designated spot? Just because they drive a CLK doesnt mean they can simply park their machine at the nearest lift lobby, can they? Sadly, cases like these are really happening out there, kak shana. They may get away from the authority but not public’s impression on how terrible their level of stupidity can be.
*some of us small-time bloggers will have an informal get-together this Saturday @kayu tesco mutiara dmansara at 1pm. Incase you happen to be somewhere around there (curve) do drop-by.
which reminds me "excuse me, my daughter is an american. give her mineral water"
hahahaha tak relevant langsung!
and oh, i am a bad neighbour too... a very BADDDDDDDDDD neighbour, my WIRA is dented!!!!
Dear WS
Its all about perception. People see people with luxurious cars, think that they are well off.. therefore they must be good. For me its a matter of choice or preference. Personally I dont prefer a luxurious car even if I can afford it. I would rather drive a huge banged up 4x4 so that no luxurious car would dare mess with me the way that you encountered..:) Not that I aspire to be a road bully.... Anyway it is to make me feel safer, after all luxurious cars are HOT items.....
Hey, I dont drive a national car, neither do I drive a luxurious car... what do that make me? a moderate neighbour? :)
BR
Alamak, I pun bad neghbourlah... I drive si Kancil yg bijak, which turns
13 y.o this year.
Ahmad Kerpov,
I know what you mean.
I ni memang pantang when people pakai redah aje and park ikut suka hati they all. There are so many inconsiderate people out there!
Lagi satu tension - when we've waited for a parking spot and have given our indicator signal, tetiba ada Mat Rambo or Minah Kedaghah ciluk masuk!! Aaaarrrggghhh!!!
They're not stupid la, Kerp. They're big time BANGANG!!!!
I just don't understand why (some/most) Malaysians are like that...
This Saturday 1pm? Hmmmm...my kids finish their chess class at 12:30pm, and after that we plan to join Ayah at Mand.Or... See how it goes, okay? Insya Allah, kalau ada rezqi, will see you all there :)
Aiz,
HAHAHA! Kelakar!
Hmmmm...Wira dented tak per, Aiz. Jangan OTAK dented macam those people tu!
* Hope you're better now :)
Afsi,
I agree with you. It's a matter of choice/preference. For Ayah and I, our priorities are different. As for cars - as long as they get us from A to B, B to C, that's good enough for us :)
And yes, they're HOT items - those luxury cars. I've had a few friends who had their cars stolen from their front-porch in the middle of the night, and mind you -BOTH of their cars on the same night!! (Mr. and Mrs. Engineer - if you're reading this?)
Another close friend was held at parang point even! But, of course, with due respect, motor kapchai pun hot items jugak, kan? Hehehe!
Hmmm, you don't drive a national car, you don't drive a luxury car? I guess that makes you a schizo neighbour...Hahaha!
Mamamia,
Ha-ah..kita ni neighbours yang amat teruk, kan?
I'm still driving my first car which will be 5 years old this July - a Kembara. I only started driving in 2003, you see (sebelum tu, lesen letak dalam frame bertahun-tahun coz' phobia giler nak drive!)
Bila Ayah said he wanted to upgrade the car, I said to him - "Can we get another Kembara, please. If not, you nak get me a SUZUKI Grand Vitara pun, okay!! (Hahahaha! Berpeluh Ayah dibuatnya...)
Shana,
Azian who picks and sends our daughters everyday has to endure this kind of attitudes on a daily basis... mothers driving big fancy cars who thinks that memang this jalan datuk aku yang punya.... Everyday she complains...
And yes, it is sad that many people out there measure people by what cars they drive. And for many, since we drive national cars too, we are , not only bad neighbours, but a failure in life too. Sheeesh...especially kalau balik kampung beraya... lagi-lagi la.
Mior,
Tu lah kan...
Next time orang kampung bising, we'll just have to tell them that we could not decide between our CLK and our 7 Series Beemer to bawak balik, so we decided to settle on our Proton/Perodua/Naza aje lah... :)
Tak payah ambik pot sangatlah apa orang nak kata. Yang penting, we know what we want and what we do in life. Betul tak?
Do convey my salam to Azian, and tell her - sabar-sabarlah bawak kereta tu :)
Shana,
It reminded me with my friend who lives in The Hague. She is a mother of two. She drove MG Sport and at the zebra-crossing early morning, she let a man on wheel-chair cross the road. Kereta kat belakang (brand new, big BMW).. horn and keep on horning. Nak cepat la tu. Apa lagi, my friend, mood tengah swing (time period..he.he..) terus keluar dari kereta, went to the driver of the BMW and knocked the window screen asking him to roll down the window.
Once that 30+ year old guy rolled down his window, apa lagi, habis kena ´brain-washed´ kat situ!! Memang kena ´buku dgn ruas´.. ha.ha.. My friend kata, that driver senyap aje... takut kena sembur lagi teruk. And the people around (yg tengok).. siap tepuk tangan kat my friend!!??.. and of course the wheelchair guy was thankful with her.
Aiz, I have heard that kind of phrase before.... just because the person is American, they deserve a special treatment???!! They are BIG and LOUD, that´s for sure...
alah shana- orang beli kereta besar tu pun on HUTANG so tak yah lah action na kan?? Entah entah orang bagi or what. Ie, tak semua yang appear well off tu, ARE well off and even if they are, why are they better than the "normal" ppl?? Who are they to act so high and mighty? At the end of the day kalau sakit jumpa doktor gak like the rest of us...Where would their "air" be then?
I lagi lah the worst neighbour as my kereta is very the buruk - van lagik tu.
Kmar,
So I guessed it's not just a Malaysian sickness lah, ye? Orang kat Europe pun dah berjangkit? I would have applauded your friend, too, if I was there!
Sometimes when we come across people macam ni, rasa macam nak scratch their cars tak?! The thought had actually cross my mind a few times, you know. But, nasib baik saya ni a good citizen yang masih waras...Hehehe!
Superwomanwannabe@Shila,
SETUJU!!! More often than not, the cars still belong to the bank, kan? So, tak yah lah nak kerek giler. Orang lain pun hutang bank jugak tapi, hutang orang-orang kerek ni logically lagi banyak.
You all have a van? We have a mini bus - and it's a mini bus yang banyak berjasa to us selama ni. Hehehe!
I agree with Shila, kereta hutang nak buat apa? Sometimes, kereta pinjam. Lagi lah tak kelas! But for those who don't know, they think they are so great. Boleh blah!
I know some people who are like that. No need to elaborate here. Enough to say, better drive a Kancil and debt-free, rather than a Merc but hutang keliling pinggang!
MrsNordin,
True, true!
I don't doubt that there are people out there who have garages full of luxury cars who are debt-free, but, the numbers are few and far between - and I bet these rare species are quite humble people, and tak kerek macam the people in question here.
So, biarkanlah si Luncai terjun dengan hutang-hutangnya... :)
Err..Mommy dear,
Looks like all our friends in the blogosphere ni can become our extremely 'lousy and bad' neighbours..since they too have 'no frills' cars!
;p
Hehe, great entry Shana.
First of all, I'm not the type who cares what car a person drives, or what type of house a person lives in. Thats what my dad taught me And thats what I teach my kids too.
However, I now seem to think that the world is getting too materialistic. Its getting tougher and tougher explaining and trying to convince my kids on what should be their priority. PEngaruh kawan memang kuat.
And yes, there are 2 national cars parked in my porch too. One a 2.0 and another a 1.3. And I dont care what my neighbours think of me. Esp if they base it on what vehicle i drive. So there!
Ayah,
YES! Boleh bukak kampung - the one who owns the most dented and most scratched national car can be the Tok Penghulu. Hahaha!
Hmmmm...tough fight ni?!
Helena,
Yes, kids learn by examples and we have to set good examples for them to follow. I hope I have done enough and will continue to instill in them rasa rendah diri and not judgmental towards others.
Yes, pengaruh kawan memang very strong, especially when my kids go to schools in PJ ni. Ramai sangat loaded people here. Sigh...
Anyway, antara soalan-soalan yang sering ditanya -
"Mommy, why didn't you or Ayah buy a Merc, or Beemer or a Cooper like Uncle or Aunty XYZ?",
or
"Why didn't you or Ayah do this or that like Auntie ABC?", etc.
And standard answer -
"Saja suka...",
or
"We prefer to save our money in the bank so that you all could have a grand khenduri kahwin nanti" (much to our kids annoyance! Hehehe!),
or
"Mommy nak tunggu kereta yang boleh terbang..." HAHAHA!
i like this post of yours....i encountered this thing almost daily when i send my boys to school...worst this morning where this lady in the merc stopped in the middle of the road for almost 5 minutes to drop off her kid....pastu nak gi left bagi signal ke kanan...sheeessshhh panas telinga i di buatnyer...sabar jer la
Zaitgha,
Memang blood go upstairs macam ni, kan?!
And it's ALWAYS (well, more often than not) LADIES who have this high and mighty attitude when they're behind some hot wheels!
I guess that's the only thing we can do with people like that - Sabar jer laaa...
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