A Foreign Entity

Festive season often see the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur deserted by the locals. Many will take the opportunity to leave for their hometowns. When a colleague of mine went over there during the recent Hari Raya break, he was astounded to find the major shopping malls crowded with Indonesians, Bangladeshis and Nepalese. The foreign workers had taken the opportunity of the festive season to visit the capital instead. I felt like I am in a foreign country, my colleague had said. And it couldn’t be more true. Eating at Madam Kwan in Pavillion at Bukit Bintang, a plate of chicken rice had cost him RM 15 and a little piece of bread from The Loaf had cost him RM3.80; cheap, perhaps for foreign standard but extremely expensive for local standard. Back home, he just have to fork out the most RM 3.00 and RM0.60 for asimilar items. You may not like it but there is always a foreign entity everywhere!