Dear editor...

Dear editor,
           In our daily lives, we encounter the many facets of society in the multi-cultural world we live in. However, I am not speaking about the cultural divide between Malaysia's many diverse races. Instead, I am talking about the 'unique' Malaysian culture that we have inculcated here. While the government prefers to promote tourism by conveniently highlighting good Malaysian habits such as friendliness, we have to acknowledge the social problems and some of the horrible attributes portrayed by Malaysians. One of the daily problems that I encounter is road bullying. The road rage displayed by some of our Malaysian drivers is simply shocking, to say the least. For example, I have seen drivers getting out of their cars during a red light merely to scold another driver whom has swerve into their lane. While I understand the frustration when somebody else cuts into your lane without forewarning just to beat the traffic light, there is no need to overreact by getting out of your car to confront or provoke the other driver. In the end, you hold up the line behind you and add to the already congested traffic. In another instance, there are drivers who are rude and inconsiderate. Just the other day, there was an old woman who was driving at approximately 20km/h in a housing area. The woman that was behind her was so impatient that she tailgated the poor old lady, then proceeded to flash her, overtake her and show her a rude gesture in the process. Is consideration a foreign word in these drivers' vocabulary?
                While I; as a non-smoker, respect other people's choice in whether they smoke or not, I expect smokers to do the same for me as well. Even though the signs evidently show that it is a non-smoking area, some Malaysians choose to ignore the sign and blatantly smoke in front of other people. I find it disturbing as there are senior citizens, pregnant women and young children around. What smokers think about their health is none of my business but they should at least have a modicum of concern and consideration for their fellow Malaysians. If they smoke in the confines of their own home or in smoking areas, I have no issue that. It is when they smoke in areas where it is not allowed that annoys me. As if their actions were not inconsiderate enough, there are a section of them that either purposely or accidentally blow smoke straight into your face. This is particularly disgusting as I absolutely detest the smell of smoke and I always start to choke when I unknowingly inhale some of the smoke. Studies have shown that the percentage of passive smokers who die of lung cancer are significantly higher than active smokers who die of the same disease. One incident that beckons is when I saw a young man that was smoking in a bus stop. Other than he and I, there was also a mother with her toddler son. The mother then politely asked the young man if he would stop smoking as her son suffers from asthma. Instead of stubbing out his cigarette or even leaving to smoke somewhere else, he went up to the young boy and blew a billow of smoke right into his face. Before we could reprimand or scold him, he ran off. This is the type of horrendous attitude that I've seen in some of our Malaysians.
                 I understand that as humans, we are not meant to be perfect. Rather, we make mistakes at every turn of our lives. What I am asking for in all Malaysians is not to be the perfect citizen but strife to attain some basic level of courtesy and humanity.
                                                                                                              Sincerely,
                                                                                                              a frustrated citizen