Sure You Want to Be the First Malaysian in Space?

Already the final candidates from Malaysia are undergoing stringent tests to determine who is going to be the first Malaysian astronaut.

Going into space is quite a serious matter and the window to enter or leave the earth’s gravitational is a narrow one with serious consequences if the calculations are not precise and reliable.

Me – I’m down to earth and worry about mundane things like being able to drive on well-surfaced roads. Unfortunately these are quite rare in Johor Bahru and a drive around town will subject your car to a vigorous test of steering and suspension. Maybe they have a deal with Proton to use JB City as a test site for the latest off-road vehicle?

The other thing that bothers me is that no manhole is created equal. You will observe that the older manholes are generally better almost flush with the road and the only indication you are driving over one is the sound of the tyres. However, there are two recent manholes built along Jalan Datuk Sulaiman, between the Tebrau Highway and Holiday Plaza that are really quite hazardous for motor-bikers.

These manholes are at least 6mm above the rest of the road. Maybe it is part of the space program and is supposed to simulate take-off when you hit them at 50kph?

Manholes have been built for more than 100 years but it appears that the contractor did not use any tape measure to set the proper height. Maybe there was even no engineering drawing used. It seems that no one from MPJB even bothered to tell the contractor, “Semua Tak Okay!”

The other news that is also worrying was the recent news that officers in Malacca did not know how to compute the latest assessment. Did they use the abacus or fingers and toes to arrive at such ludicrous figures? Even these numbers should have caught the attention of some supervisor or are we to suppose that nobody bothers to check any work and the public will just have to complain.

These calculations for the manholes and assessment are not part of rocket science but they reflect the “tiadapathy” attitude Malaysians have towards most things.

Now if you are the one selected to be the first Malaysian in space be prepared that it could be a one-way trip. Do pray very hard.

photo:http://wirelessdigest.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/astronaut.jpg