Rules are meant to be broken...

Technorati tags: Malaysia, Society, Mentality, Observations, Silliness

We Malaysian's are an interesting bunch, it must be said.

The following news story should really be filed in the "Why the f*ck bother" category. From the New Straits Times (Tuesday, September 12; emphasis by myAsylum).

'Purdah' not a hindrance to NS trainee
PEKAN: Wearing the purdah has not stopped Farzanah Abdul Halim from taking part in all activities in the National Service (NS) programme.

The 18-year-old trainee also does not get any special treatment at the Semarak NS camp in Tanjung Gosong, near here.
(see here for the full story)

No special treatment? Except for being exempt from the standard uniform requirements, maybe? At the very least, the purdah should conform to the camouflage color-scheme, right? And honestly, the girl truly looks goofy with a beret on top of her purdah.

Walski would think that some of the physical activities required during the training would actually be hazardous with this kind of garb - the article mentions the flying fox, among others. God forbid, she should get entangled in the harness or cables, and risk strangulation - unless, of course, special care were to be taken - which would again mean special treatment.

It's this kind of "special case" rule-flaunting "so we don't piss certain people off" mentality that has landed our nation in the kind of confusing mess we have today. Rules are rules, and they should apply to all - uniforms included. Which is why uniforms are, well, uniform.

If you really want to enforce rules, you'll inadvertently piss certain people off sometimes. This is a given. Otherwise, why the f*ck bother?