A storm is brewing..

The protests are back. This time, it's even more violent. Newspaper reports have indicated that protestors are burning government vehicles and vandalizing petrol stations.

Same scenario in Malaysia. Harga minyak naik, lash it out at petrol stations / oil companies. And for what? When you vandalize the stations, the companies will have no choice but to close down the stations. And this means that there will be no fuel. And when there's no fuel, how? Like it or not, oil is a source of energy. Until we find a better alternative, we still need oil and gas for a lot of things..

Hmmmmmm....

Well anyway, reports have indicated that people in Madani and Omdurman (just outside Khartoum) have come out to the streets to protest.

In all honesty, I don't blame them. Price of fuel has almost doubled. A friend of mine was lamenting the other night that to fill up his Corolla, he used to pay around SDG110. Now, he would have to pay SDG190 just to fill up.

My thoughts go to the 'raksha' owners. I have been told that it used to cost SDG30 per day (for fuel) to travel around Khartoum to take passengers. Now it would have cost almost SDG60. Add that to the 'raksha' rental (which he has to pay to the owner) which is about SDG50-SDG60 per day. That means, cost of driving the raksha itself is about SDG120. He would have to make more than SDG120 per day just to make ends meet.

Raksha ride, anyone?

And reflecting back, Malaysians don't realize how lucky we are kan? We go to the streets for 'cleaner' election.. for fight against corruption.. but really, which country can say that they are free from corruption?

In (almost) every country, there will cries of favoritism and call for a 'cleaner' election.

Sigh.

I hope Malaysians don't lose sight of the basic rights. It's silly to fight over Chin Peng's ashes or to argue over the usage of Allah (ahh.. I have my opinions on that, but that is for a different day). What we should fight for, is better healthcare.. better education system etc.

People in developed countries (such as UK, France, Germany etc) go to the streets to let the Government know that they demand for better healthcare services... that they want their Government to spend more on them, rather than use the funds to fight in other countries.

Peaceful demonstration when I was in London last October

See the difference?

People in developed countries march peacefully. They demand for better quality life. I saw people on wheelchairs fighting for better services for the disabled. I saw kidney foundations requesting for lower medical fees. I saw peace lovers telling the Government to stop sending their men (soldiers) to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Compare that to protests in Khartoum... pictures I got since yesterday..

Don't let us come to this, Malaysians. Destroying of properties will not solve anything. In fact, it will only make things worse. Buses are not cheap. You burn one bus, you deny thousands the ability to travel.

Learn from other countries. Egyptians thought Mobarak was a dictator and they toppled him last year. But really, Egypt isn't much better now, compared to when Mobarak was in power.

If you have an opinion and want to be heard, do it rationally.

I pray for the safety of the people of Sudan. I pray for the safety of my fellow Malaysians in Sudan. I pray for a peaceful country on this blessed land called Sudan. Oh, and I also pray for a peaceful Malaysia, my wonderful homeland that I can come home to, without fear..

Peace and love.

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