This is YOUR country

After many years of having to fight our way back into this place every time we leave the country, we decided to begin a new fight with the Malaysian Immigration Authorities and apply for Permanent Residence.

I've lived in Malaysia for 18 years - 11 in East Malaysia, 7 in West Malaysia. Apparently, living in East Malaysia counts for about, oh...zero years, and you need a minimum of six years of residence here before you can apply in your seventh year. Oh, and you need to either have a job here or be married to a Malaysian. So after many many years, we finally qualify.

I spent pretty much all of yesterday running around trying getting the application together, making sure that all of the required documents were there with their photocopies, and all the passport photographs. I really hate how the ease of the application depends on the every whim of a power-crazed official. Anyhow, this morning, my mum and I braved the rush hour traffic and headed into town to submit all of the paper work.

Official: Your children's application will be rejected.
Mum: But why?
Official: After you receive rejection letter, you write and appeal to the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Mum: But why will it get rejected?
Official: Not you, you isteri, tak reject. Only children will reject.
Mum: So after we appeal, then what happens?
Official: Then they will tell us to approve lah.
Mum: But why all the extra paperwork?
Official: They tell us to approve.
Mum: So when will the approval come?
Official: Sangat lama. Waiting list very long.
Mum: When will the rejection letter come?
Official: Guarantee within one month.

So basically Mum will get approved because she's Dad's wife, but us kids don't get approved because we're his children, and the official couldn't even tell us why. Either way, it'll be a long wait. I know that Aunty Eva's been waiting for six years.

And then, on the way home, the traffic report said, "There is a crawl in front of the Kelana Jaya LRT station due to an accident earlier today. It appears that the onlookers also created another accident in the opposite lane, and although both accidents have been cleared off the road, I don't know why, but there is still a crawl, and in both directions."

This is Malaysia, ladies and gentlemen.