Merry Christmas... and what a happy Christmas we shall have with the thought of increased toll rates looming over us. Jeebers. The price hike is ridiculous. RM1.60 for the LDP? Again, many of us question the concession agreements between our government and highway operators. What are the terms of those agreements? Why must it be so secretive? Don't we, the public, deserve to know what's going on? And will the increase in toll rates actually improve traffic jams? Especially the LDP at the Sunway area? I've been stuck approaching the toll gate from Puchong to Sunway so many times it's not funny anymore. Now, we're being conned to paying extra to sit stewing in our rage in traffic jams. Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous. If there is a guarantee that traffic flow will improve then I'm sure we rational Malaysians will gladly pay the extra. Now, we're just being ripped off... again. And can the government STOP comparing to other countries?!?! It just irks me when they always say "our rates are still lower than our neighbouring countries". Yes, rates may be higher but they're offset with lower car prices, more efficient public transport etc. So stop comparing and start giving us transparent justifications instead of spouting of pre-written speeches with the same glib.

And then, some people are also saying that unemployed graduates should stop relying on the government for jobs. Er... can't speak for all Malaysians, but I for one definitely didn't rely on getting a cushy government job. First of all, we ALL know that only certain people get selected to become civil servants. Second of all, employment doesn't mean working for the government. What the government needs to do is to ensure there is enough investments in the country to establish companies and business where people can look for jobs. And the problem of unemployed graduates is not about not being able to find work. The work is there, if you're qualified. But are our local graduates qualified? I would think not. The level of English is non-existent and in the working world, it's extremely important. I won't comment on the quality of education because as we all know, the Malaysian education system is all about memorizing and just regurgitating facts from the textbook back onto the exam paper. Anyway, I'm a local graduate but because of the poor quality of graduates our local universities are churning out, it gives people like me a hard time. When employers see a local graduate's CV, they won't even bother calling them up for an interview. I even had my current boss comment on my English because I was a local graduate and he didn't expect my proficiency of English to be this good. How not to feel insulted? We have so many 'universities' and 'colleges' and 'university colleges' (whatever that is) that having a degree is not enough anymore. It's like any Tom, Dick and Harry can have a degree. And it really gives people who ARE really qualified a hard time because employers just won't know how to filter. Yes, tertiary education is a must for everyone, but it doesn't mean that we can start handing them out like flyers. And unemployed graduates complain about the government not doing enough for you. Take a look at yourself in the mirror and question yourself if you're qualified for a job not only in an MNC but ANY company when you can't speak decent English. We talk about going global but so many of our young Malaysians today can hardly string together a sentence in English.

Yes, I know proficiency in English takes time and we all should really start working towards making English important. Schools being taught in BM is good because for some, that's the only place where they actually speak BM but the standard of the English taught really should be higher. And university subjects should be taught in English. Because translating English terms into BM is just plain difficult because in the outside working world, English is used. Imagine teaching the Black Scholes model in BM. Or stochastic probability. Or what about financial theories?

Sigh...news like these make me just want to move.