This Is Dreadfully Upsetting

I kena saman today near the Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan (JPJ). I was on the way home from prayer meeting in church, with Dad and Shaun in the car. There was a really, really long queue on both sides of the road. We didn't stop to think that it might be due to one of those redundant roadblocks of which the JPJ is incredibly proud.

To understand my predicament, you must first understand that a car can pick between three directions when nearing the traffic lights. The right side of the road is of course to turn right, and the left is to either go straight or to turn left. Now, do realize that only the straight road and the right turn are subject to the traffic lights. The left side of the road eventually branches out to the left for cars to turn left.

As we all very well know, roadblocks in Malaysia are, most often than not, completely useless and unnecessary. We also know that most of the time, you wouldn't know there is a roadblock until you bump into it yourself. After all, the made-in-Malaysia reflectors on those little cones were made in Malaysia, and have long exhausted their reflectiveness. And we must note that our policemen and JPJ officers don dark-coloured attire, rendering themselves quite useful for camouflage, but quite useless otherwise.

I was cruising along in my little Kenari (pink car) when I stumbled upon the jam-packed road. If it were any other place, I'd probably know it was a roadblock. However, this was the Bukit Katil road, where jams can happen anytime. So as any rational driver would do, I attempted to use the little road to the left (see pic) to turn left past JPJ.

Everything went fine until a guy in a dark maroon shirt gestured for me to stop at the side of the road. It was only then that I realized there was a white car (it's blue-green in the pic) in front of me with the left signal on. My first thought was, "Yah accident!" My second thought was, "Har? Kenduri?" My third thought was, "What the-"

You get the idea. It never crossed my mind that there was a roadblock. Even when I was a few metres away from it. Probably because the white car blocked my view. It might also probably be because IT WAS ALMOST INVISIBLE! Gah!!!!!!!

You put up roadblocks that block cars because they are seen from afar. You don't put up a roadblock and hope to block cars by having them bump into it! You think we're ants ar? Want us to bump into a piece of wood only know we're blocked izzit??

Anyway, the maroon-shirt guy, whom I will label The Rude Person, rapped impatiently on my window and asked me for my driving license. I gave it to him, and off he went without even a word as to the nature of my offence.

Dad had to get down from the car and personally demand an explanation from The Rude Person and The Other Rude Person (who was clad in a grey shirt). Even so, they dilly-dallied as they so often do before they could inch a word out about it. The Rude Person eventually came back to the car and said:

Ah moi, baru lesen P mau cut queue eh?

Cut the queue? What?

Dad explained that we weren't cutting the queue and it was his fault for telling me to move on the left road:

Encik, salah saya sebab saya suruh dia pandu situ.

Ol' Rude Person, thinking he was so smart, smirked and said:

Jadi kamu ngaku salah kamu ye?

Dad was like, *jaw drop open*:

Bukan--

Ah, ok.

And with that classic "ok" sign, which I suppose was supposed to look professional and chic, he walked off without another word. What?? Dad was merely stating that the reason why I drove on that little road was because he asked me to; he wasn't admitting his faults or anything like that!

Dad saw The Other Rude Person and went over to talk to him. He explained that the queue of cars on the straight road was for cars to go straight. And they were jammed up partly due to the roadblock, and partly due to the traffic light. We were turning left, so there was no reason for us to queue up like that. The guy completely ignored Dad and continued sketching doodles, as I call them, due to their illegibility, on his notepad. Dad had to tug at his sleeve to demand his rights. The Other Rude Person said I had committed an offence because I had cut the queue during a roadblock.

Cut the queue during a roadblock.

Summoned for cutting the queue (which I wasn't even supposed to queue up for) during a roadblock (which was barely visible).

Ada roadblock, ngape cut queue?
Encik, kami tak nampak roadblock tu.

What he said next was really the last straw. Or as Shaun put it, the whole straw bundle:

Orang buta tak patut memandu.

And then he told Dad to get back into the car or he'd put Dad's name down as well. Dad looked at the guy with "Are you kidding? Is that your best threat?" written all over his face and said:

Tulislah, saya tak takut! Saya tak buat salah!

Seriously. Like class monitor trying to threaten the class with the little notepad with their names on it.

Giving me a saman, not explaining it properly, and not giving an ear to a single word I say except to shoot it down with insults is one thing. Calling me a blind person and putting it in that crude phrase is quite another. Rude much!

I wasn't really angry with them for their lame saman excuse.

I was really angry when they said that line.

I can understand them being frustrated and worn out from doing such a boring job that they most probably knew was redundant anyway. But taking it out on innocent people like that? That's way past the drawn line! If you had a bad day, go sing a sad song to turn it around or something. Why take it out on us??

If we could just speak to them properly and in a civilised manner, in English, things would've been much better. As it is, our government is not planning on improving the government servants' English. They're so contented with the crude Malay these people speak. The Malay language is beautiful when used properly. It really is one of the rudest languages when people like that mould it to their own vessel of speech.

It's awful. If the Malaysian government cannot do anything about the professional behaviour (which isn't so professional after all) of their servants, then at least do something about the way they speak.

Or maybe the government can't do anything about that either.

Just listen to our embarrassing ministers when being interviewed by English-speaking reporters.

Anyway, Dad told me not to sign the summons because I wasn't in the wrong. So now I have this birth-cert-look-a-like piece of paper with hastily scribbled words on it (though The Other Rude Person took a pretty long time to write them).

hark! the ayam cakars!

Oh ya.

I believe The Other Rude Person's name is Kamarudin B. Kadir.