Not another rant about the Malaysian government?

This is not my first complaint. Just had one not too long ago. You can read it here.

Went to Duta’s immigration office to make Liam’s passport today. We reached there just before 1pm and found the passport office was dark, as in literally all the lights had been switched off.

According to a personnel who was there, the office was closed between 1pm-2pm.

I was annoyed because there’s no notice on changes with operation hours on website or anywhere.

If you know Bahasa Malaysia, it says operation hours during fasting month is 8.30am – 5.30pm. Sounds fair. No mention of 1pm-2pm rest time though.

As you can see, normal operation hours is 7.30am – 5.30pm. No mention of afternoon breaks too, except for the Friday which is for prayers.

So who sanctioned that afternoon break!?

I guess I am lucky that I have flexible hours so I can suck it and deal with it. But really, with such bloated civil service, how hard is it to keep operations going by having staggered breaks??

Half of the staff work while half of the staff take a break. After one hour, the one who rested start work and the one who worked could rest for an hour. Like this also difficult meh!? Simple logic no? But no no no no no, everyone rests and the rest of Malaysians get their toll, petrol, time and work leaves wasted for no reason.

This sort of inefficiency really gives me the angrys!!!

What about normal tax paying working people that have to go all the way to the government office during lunch break only to find that the shutters are down because they have decided to “rest” for an hour. Pay tax for this kind of shitty service?

With other companies, if I don’t like their service I can boycott the brand, stop buying their products or service. But hello, I can’t boycott getting a passport?

Anyway, I went to have lunch at the nearby Publika and went back at 2.30pm. It was pleasant, paid up etc and got a slip to come back to collect the passport after an hour. So, instead of waiting we went off to Publika (5 minutes away) to get some groceries, got back to the goverment office at 4.58pm and guess what??

Lights all turned off again! *&^*&^$%%$&^%$&^%$&^*&^(*&)*&$&^

What is this!? 5.30pm closing time right? Why not yet 5pm already closed??

Not a single soul in sight. Don’t know if sleeping behind the counters or gone home already. Who knows? Mind you I am not in some sleeping town type of branch, I am in Duta branch! Next to one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Malaysia.

These people really have no pride in their jobs. All they want is more rest, more rest and more rehat.

Don’t make it so easy for people to insult you can or not? Be professional! Have pride in your jobs!

Like I always say, I feel most sorry about being a Malaysian whenever I go to the government office. The chaos, the slightly run down amenities, the awful charts and farce of inspiring slogan after slogan, the attitude. Everything is just a hint, a taste of the state of our nation.

My current favourite way to keep mosquitoes away.

Keeping Liam from getting bitten by mosquitoes is one of my main struggles as a new parent. News of rising dengue cases are really scary. In fact my own brother was admitted for dengue a couple of months ago :( So glad he’s recovered.

It doesn’t help matter that I do take Liam along for my dog walking sessions daily in a nearby park where mossies thrive!

It’s a weekly occurrence that he gets bitten at least a few times and it pains me to see the bumps on his skin :(

Thing is, while I could use powerful mosquito repellant on myself, I can’t do so for Liam as he’s just a baby with delicate skin. Lets not even begin on the risks of his skin developing allergies.

There are plenty of products out there in the market for babies and kids but my favourite currently is from the trusted brand name, Tiger Balm.

Coming in packs of 10s, each patch is individually packed to ensure its efficacy.

I love that the patches have only natural active ingredients and no scary chemicals such as DEET.

It’s very easy to use. Just open the packet, take the patch out and peel off the back layer and stick it on clothes, prams/strollers or baby carriers. It’s sufficiently sticky and works best on fabric material.

No worries about it leaving sticky residue, not on my stuff anyway.

I use the patches on our walks, sticking one to Liam’s baby carrier. I swear it keeps both of us from mossie bites. There’s no need for skin contact, a huge plus.

I also stick the patches on Liam’s clothes when he’s playing in his play yard, which is located in the corner of the living room, a favourite hangout place for nasty mosquitoes.

And of course, Liam has been mossie bites free since I started using the patches.

That to me, is the biggest reason why I love Tiger Balm’s Mosquito Repellent Patch.