Gripevine

When you say the word 'sweatshop' what usually comes to mind is some obscure factory in either China or the Indian subcontinent where poorly paid overworked workers toil away under inhumane working conditions. These oppressed lot would usually be poor rural folk who don't have many other options available to them in making a living, hence their willingness to put up with such poor working conditions and a meager amount of money. Such sweatshops however do not only exist in countries where the percentage of those who live below the poverty line is high. After much observation, I have come to the conclusion that there is much of the 'sweatshop syndrome' that exist in Malaysia's white-collar sector. ( I am sure harsh conditions do exist in the blue-collar sector too, but for the purpose of this posting, I shall stick with the white-collar sector only). Is the term 'sweatshop' to harsh? I don't think so. Beneath the veneer of air-conditioned office...

Dishonest, rude and criminal Malaysian taxi drivers now have a new god. Said god being no another than Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz. Yup that bright spark of the BN government actually came out in support of a fare hike for cab drivers. Under the new ruling, starting fares for taxis would increase from RM2 to RM3 for the first kilometre. And what made the bitter pill even harder to swallow was his moronic statement that those who take cabs are actually financially sound! now how would he know that? did he hire a research firm to conduct an in-depth study on the income levels of those who commute by cabs, before the new ruling was put in place?? Obviously not I reckon! which explains why he's been a minister without a ministry of his own for so.....long.....hmmm. Why we take cabs I say this on behalf of all other frequent cab commuters out there. Although we would love to all together avoid having to contend with rude cabbies, we have no choice b...

As someone who depends on public transportation to get around, I have taken my fair share of cabs. And let me tell you that getting into a cab in this country and particularly in KL as this is where most of my experiences have occurred, is sort of a gamble because you literally don't know what you're getting into. Ok let me elaborate, after a decade of hopping in and out of cabs, I have narrowed the 9 different types of cab drivers one might encounter when taking a cab. To be fair to the nice cabbies who are out there to make an honest living, I shall start of with the positive stereotypes first. 1. 'The nice uncle' Usually Malay or Chinese who are very fatherly (sometimes they speak of their kids, but since they are nice I don't quite mind the chatter). Even if they are not familiar with the place you want to go to, they will make a genuine effort to find it without loosing their temper and being rude or charging extra fair. As you get off they say 'thank ...