The KFC Affair & Life As We Know It...

What do I see in this video?



A bunch of KFC staff physically assaulting a customer.

Yet some people only see a bunch of Malay KFC staff physically assaulting a Chinese customer.


What do I see in this press conference?



A customer explaining that he did not provoke the assault at KFC.

Yet some people only see a Chinese man persecuting Malay workers.


But what's race got to do with it?
Absolutely nothing! The race of either customer or employee(s) is entirely irrelevant. Whether its a Malay/Chinese/Indian/DLL KFC employee assaulting a DLL/Indian/Chinese/Malay customer makes no difference whatsoever. Employees of any establishment should not physically (or verbally) assault paying customers.


From a cursory glance at some of the online comments, what do I think of these reactions?

"Cina it tipu" (The Chinese man is lying)

"[Why] Always blame the Malays"

and some of the more graphic ones e.g. these on Malaysiakini:

"pork eating slimy smelly rude yellow homo sapien ... [your ancestors] were brought here by british to mine tin ore. Gee Hin & Hai San, ...[also] brought ...vice activities, gangster(s), crime ... & 'taught' bribery to local Malay warlords & [which is] practiced ...until today"

or

"Malays, the British lapdogs"

or

"Cina babi, makan je babi, jangan makan KFC' (Chinese pig, go eat pork, not KFC)

Entirely unwarranted, and entirely offensive. Personally, I am sick and tired of people taking sides based on race. Malaysia makes a big show of being multi-cultural, multi-racial and perfectly integrated, yet these responses depict a divided, racist Malaysia. I am pretty certain that if the 'aggressors' and 'victim' were of the same race, there would be unanimous agreement that the KFC employees were at fault.

I take my hat off to all the Malaysians who stood up for what was right regardless of race, their own or the actors in this incident. Respect to the Chinese folk sticking up for the Malay folk, and Malay folk defending the Chinese folk. It gives me hope that Malaysia is not all lost and something of the fellowship amongst races I knew as a child might once again return. Where I grew up, the community I lived in was a melting pot of races, cultures and religion, and we all not only got along fine, but held each member of our community in the highest regard, regardless of race. I spent many of my childhood days with my 'Mak Teh', a lovely Malay lady who lived next door to us and who played the part of my 'second mum' and her kids, eating, playing and sleeping together, and vice versa, her kids spent alot of time with my mum, a Chinese lady in our home. On weekends, we would all go to Auntie Sundram's home, 3 doors down the street, for delicious Sunday breakfast, where we would have scrumptious Indian food. We all went on holidays together, and it never once occurred to any of us that the other was different/inferior/superior to the one or the other. Our families married across the races, Indians marrying Chinese, Chinese marrying Malays, Malays marrying Indians, and the result, someone like me who is officially categorised as DLL (Dan Lain-lain) which means 'and others' a.k.a. a mixed kid of various races, felt completely at home no matter which race dominated any social setting.

How did my Malaysia come to be the way it is today, with such animosity, and such prejudice? Or has it always been that way, and I had been only too blind to see?


For the sake of argument:

Does rude language used by customers justify violence by KFC staff?
Nope. Even if the customer was rude, the reaction was disproportionate and unreasonable.


What is the appropriate response when dealing with rude customers?
1) Refuse to serve the customer
2) Ask the customer to leave


But isnt it understandable, the workers are overworked and underpaid? Do poor wages/the lack of a minimum/living wage justify violence/poor service by employees?
Nope. I've done my fair share of crappy jobs, and the fact that I was a student, poor and hungry, in a crappy job, was not any customer's fault. So dont take it out on them. Take it up with your local MP/council/employment office/etc. But it's never an excuse for bad behaviour.


When, if ever, would such an assault on a customer be justified/excused?
Very rarely, and perhaps only ever in self defence e.g. if said customer punched/kicked/hit/threw something at the employee behind the counter (causing bodily harm) and then retreated far from the counter and beyond the employee's reach.

Island Paradise Here I Come!!!

Booked my flights to KL today! Hurrah!!! All courtesy of my 'sugar sister' who is flying me home for the holidays! 4 weeks of sun, sand & surf!


Yeay!! Yeay!!! Yeay!!!

Monogamy, a social construct?? Or genetic blueprint???

At lunch with one of my best girlfriends AG1 yesterday, we got to talking about relationships, which in turn led to the question of fidelity or rather the feasibility of fidelity, which in turn - turned to the role of social constructivism in dictating the temper of intimate relationships between humans. Simply put, is monogamy nothing more than a social construct? Or is it something innate that is part of our genetic blueprint?

Both of us, eternal pessimists admittedly, werent entirely convinced that human beings are genetically coded to co-exist in monogamous relationships for all perpetuity i.e. humans, people, men and women will inevitably 'cheat', eventually. Why? Because monogamy contradicts the one overriding genetic blueprint i.e. survival, cue arguments for and against evolutionary theory/natural selection/social Darwinism etc etc.

It got me to thinking... (always a bad thing). Perhaps the difficulty women (and men) have with partners who cheat, is not so much down to the physical act itself, but rather the deception, or lies that come with the territory. Hmmm I wonder. If a man (or woman) honestly said to the other, "I'd like to f*ck so-and-so, purely physical, I still love you to bits - are you cool with that?", shouldnt the rational and logical answer be something like "oh, okay, make sure to use protection"???

Cue 'social construct' that has us all believing that life should be about one 'true' love, one person, one soulmate (and no one else,) forever? I blame Hollywood. Now, that has me sounding all broken-hearted and depressed, but really, I'm perfectly content. All warm and fuzzy feelings all round - so people, no need to worry ;o) This is merely an academic curiosity...

On a completely random note, last night I dreamt I broke into RMC (yes thats the Royal Military College) and rescued a childhood sweetheart from some sort of military evil... now what would Freud say???

Probably, that I've been watching too many episodes of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer!!!

First Comprehensive Feedback from Development NGO.

And one of the nicest 'rejections'!!! ;o)

=====

Bernadine, I want you to be encouraged by your application and interview(s). Although we appointed someone else to this role, you should know that there was strong advocacy from various corners (and I am not at liberty to disclose any names) in the boardroom for your successful appointment. Unfortunately, our organisation is not an autocracy, and so compromises had to be made to accomodate every person.

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that should another role arise at our organisation, or indeed should I come across any opportunities with other organisations with whom I am familiar or connected, I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending you. I would be delighted to work with you and have every confidence that you would perform well in any given role. It is also worth mentioning that the reason you were not appointed to this role, was not due to any deficiencies in your application, CV or performance at interview. In fact, you gave extremely impressive interviews and your education and career experience are also impressive. However, in advertising for this role, we cast the net rather widely, and in the end, proceeded with an appointment at a more junior level.

In terms of personal attributes, there was consensus across the board that you are a clear thinking, thoughtful, highly articulate individual and you presented yourself very well. Certainly, you are not a person who speaks just to fill time. Your comments and responses were always substantive and well thought out. You have good interpersonal skills which is particularly important in a small organisation such as ours, and we have no doubt that you would successfully build and manage relationships with your colleagues.

You have a strong educational background, one that is very relevant to our organisation. Specifically, we liked the contrast of your legal background alongside the MSc in Environment & Development. There is particular strength to have two strands to education, as it allows for more innovative thinking and creativity.

Prior to meeting with you, I had concerns over your interest and commitment to working for a small, specialist development NGO. However, as you may recall from our meeting, when asked the question, you successfully calmed my fears and put forward a very strong and convincing case that clearly demonstrated your interest, understanding and commitment to our work. We were, in fact, impressed by your personal drive and commitment, which is, once again, crucial to the type of work we do.

Your career experience to date is another excellent point on your application, all of which highly relevant to our organisation. Your experience in the oil and gas sector was of particular interest, partly because you were the only candidate who had any such experience but also because you possess a significant depth of knowledge on the sector. I should point out that there are very few individuals outside of the oil & gas industry, or rather in the voluntary sector, who have such experience and I would encourage you to emphasize this expertise in your applications moving forwards. I would also encourage you to further develop this expertise, specifically in relation to local content sourcing and supplier development.

Finally, I would ask you to keep us in mind, should you come across any opportunities for collaboration, or should you have any research ideas which might be of interest to our organisation. I want to thank you for taking the time to explore our organisation and hope to work together in the future.

All the very best,

.........................

(Executive Director)

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Fabulous Fridays!

Today is one of those days where I love being 'gainfully unemployed'!!! I started the day trying to resurrect the chocolate baileys fudge I tried to make for AG. A recipe I've made to perfection for myself a thousand times over, yet when its meant to be given to someone else, all I've got is a gloopy mess. Still tastes nice though.

Hmmm... * lightbulb*

If I roll little pieces in some cocoa, could it turn out like turkish delight?

Er, scrap that, now it tastes vile! Blecchhh... Sorry AG, no baileys fudge for you!

Started the day proper, with a trip down to Zeit & Zaatar, on Uxbridge Road, an authentic Lebanese place that serves freshly baked bread. We had the 'Zaatar Bread' which was delicious, and at GBP1.25 a pop - you cant go far wrong! The owners were lovely and very friendly too - so I will definitely be back! Thank you AG for bringing me here!!!

Back at the 'mansion' and waiting for the 'oven man', the phone rings:

Guy: Good afternoon, I am calling from Consumer Life and need you to answer a few questions on our questionnaire.
Me: I'm afraid I really cant spare the time, but thank you for calling. Also this number is "ex-directory" so you really shouldnt have it on your call list to start with. I would be very grateful if you would remove this number from your list.
Guy: Oh no Madam, this is not one of 'those' calls at all. I am calling from Consumer Life, and just have a few questions for you to answer.
Me: So it is one of 'those' calls. I'm ever so sorry, but I really dont have the..
Guy: What type of healthcare plan do you have?
Me: Really, I dont have the time, please take me off the list.
Guy: So that's a no... Have you ever had a healthcare plan?
Me: I am not participating in this survey, thank you, please take me off your list!!!
Guy: No healthcare provision, what do you think of...

!!! Wow!!! The guy is defnitely persistent. I know, I know, I'm getting soft - but having spent my first year on my undergraduate degree selling windows over the phone, for only GBP3.60 an hour ( minimum wage back then), I do feel for the poor buggers... So here I am answering questions for consumer life... To be fair, not like I have anything more exciting to do... ;o)

New beginnings...

At the tail end of last year, having completed the MSc Environment & Development at the London School of Economics, I was duly promised that all manner of endless and very 'golden' opportunities would inevitably open themselves up to me - based primarily on the value of my university pedigree and secondly, on the quality of said degree.

In the real world however, whilst the phrase, "With Distinction, Bernadine Loretta Fernz" was indeed gratifying to hear at the Graduation Ceremony in December, I start 2012, alongside many of my colleagues, staring down endless job applications. Oh goody.

Being the Queen of Procrastination, I have devised numerous and varied ways with which to amuse myself, one of them being a new blog, in which I will surely lose interest in a matter of days. But for now, here I am. The devil really does make work for idle hands.

On a more constructive note, today I applied for a role at Earthwatch. Yeay! It looks interesting enough but paying less than half what my previous base salary was. Ouch! If crime doesnt pay, well, 'saving the world' certainly pays even less. Now that's the cue for many of my extended family and friends to chorus 'Why couldnt you just have stayed in your well paying job??', 'What's all this save the world nonsense??? Save yourself!!!', 'Why waste GBP35,000 on another degree when you can buy a house?' and so on and so forth. Blah, blah, blah.

So people think I'm crazy, or having a mid-life crisis at best. Still, in spite of the remuneration or rather lack of, I find myself, for the first time in a very long time, looking forward to a career that has the potential to really mean something. Perhaps I'm being naive, perhaps overly optimistic, perhaps the 'save the world' machinery doesnt really work after all... or perhaps it does, and perhaps I will, in time, find an opportunity to do something that matters...

Here's to new beginnings...