This Is Funny Lah!

The local newspapers are often full of laughable news. Today is no exception.

The Star Oct 1 2012

I will just pick three news items from The Star newspaper, just so as not to tickle the funny bones of readers more than is necessary.

1. Pm Najib Ridicules The Opposition

Pm Najib claims that the opposition's plan to restructure subsidies and abolish toll when they come to power would spell the end of Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian Stock Exchange) by claiming that

Most of the concessionaires are public-listed companies and Pakatan's plan will lead to the collapse of Bursa

Ah ha, as far as most Malaysian are concerned, the toll concessionaires are just Barisan crony companies that have been allowed to suck the blood out of Malaysians and it is about time that their one-sided concessions be terminated.

Most of the toll companies have since recouped their capital many times over and yet they are allowed to continue to increase toll rates and/or have their concession period extended!

If abolishing toll collection would lead to the collapse of Bursa Malaysia, so be it. Why should the interest of the few take precedence over the rakyat's interest?

Besides, is Najib saying that Bursa Malaysia consists only of the toll concession companies?

2. The government plans a massive increase in the number of police next year!

This is absolutely funny, because the authorities have been telling Malaysians all along that the crime rate has been steadily falling and that there is nothing to worry about.

If this is so, don't you think that we should instead reduce the number of police personnel, especially since we can ill afford increasing operating costs when our economy isn't going anywhere and especially when our national debt is getting into dangerous territory?

Besides, we already have a 110,000 strong police force for a population of some 28 million, giving us a ratio of one policemen to every 257 people, which is a relatively high ratio compared to that of many other countries!

3. Free City Bus Service

The newspaper reports that KL city folks are making full use of the newly introduced free city bus service, but the accompanying pictures they used tell a different story, no?