Nov 8, 2009

Monsoon Cup versus monsoon floods


The East Coast states have always been one of my favorite holiday destination due to not only its fabulous beaches and food but also the people. The humbleness of the people there can really makes one's holiday a memorable one.

The yearly monsoon season that is currently lashing at these states has brought much hardship to the people. It not only affects the livelihood of the people but has already claimed the life of a young girl inTrengganu.


Amidst all these turbulence and hardships, it is disturbing for me to read of the Monsoon Cup race which the rich are out to enjoy themselves. With the hundreds of millions to organize this yearly event which caters mainly to the foreigners, what actual benefits can the local people of Trengganu gain? Instead of clear sea water, we see muddy water at the race venue. As this race is shown internationally, there could be more damages to tourism rather than gaining. If these millions are truly spend on the development of the state, I believe the locals will have a much better standard of living and through good and efficient flood mitigation projects, the havoc caused by the frequent floods can be well managed and controlled.

But then, the success in organizing the Monsoon Cup is more important than the success in tackling the monsoon floods.

I spent my holiday in Trengganu with my family last year and have visited the marina for the Monsoon Cup. As I drove to the marina, the sight along the way was a pitiful one. Along the narrow kampung road, there are dilapidated houses and signs of poverty among the people. And yet, right here the government has the gist to build a few blocks of nice apartments for the participants.

As the saying goes, more projects mean more money to be made.
By whom and for whom is anyone's guess.

3 comments:

ktteokt said...

We may soon have a "Tsunami Cup" to compare it with the real tsunami!

Unknown said...

Dear Cancan, do you ever know that Malaysian politicians are always fond of doing extravagant practices of official events to expose Malaysian abilities to the world exorbitantly?
Such as the longest sausage and biggest pizza in the world etc, etc.........
Monsoon Cup is another one of the greatest world events organizes by Malaysian government.
All the famous salmagundis are the products of Malaysian government supported by Petronas oil money which is supposed to develop the upgrading of people fundamental needs. But it was all misused by government.
As the up stair commentator said a "Tsunami Cup" might soon be coming to compare the real one.
If people can see it as normal practices of government extravaganza mismanagement of oil money, it will be abnormal to believe that the poorer will accept it as normal.

Anonymous said...

The information here is great. I will invite my friends here.

Thanks