Masalah Akhlak

For the past five years, everytime I balik Brunei, I have to melapor diri di MOE... That's part of the deal... And I've got nothing against that... 30 mins of my holiday... Tha's nothing... They want to know about my academic year, what my summer plans are... That's fine...

Dulu... I don't remember being in trouble with the keranis when I melapor diri.. I go to the department (which I think ALWAYS tukar tukar tempat, therefore I get lost in the ever so confusing building!), fill in a form, wait till they locate my file (sometimes, they can't find it), be all smiley and try my best not to be rude or even hint that I'm not impressed with the waiting...

The Wait... A lot of waiting to be done.. As mentioned, wait for them to locate the form which I have to fill in, wait for them to locate my file, then I also have to wait until an officer is ready to see me...

When you see the officer... He (I've never got a female officer before!) asks you the same questions the form asked... So.. Is there really a point to this 'meeting'? Then the MUST-ASK questions (which aren't included in the form) are "Ada kau claim apa apa tahun ani?" and "Semua okay di sana?"

An officer who is in a rush won't bother with anything else... And that would be your melapor session complete.. No more than 30 mins.

I've once got a really interesting officer, in the sense that he actually asks me questions relevant to me!!! He clearly spent that 5 mins (getting ready to see me, the 5 mins that I sit outside his office waiting) reading my file.. And then asking me questions about my extra curriculum activities in Dundee... That was good.. At least I thought there was a reason why I waited and it felt almost worth it seeing an officer.

Then, there was this one time when I made the meeting longer! (Yes, you'd think I wouldn't do such a thing!! But, I felt like I had to) When my officer asked me the 2nd MUST-ASK question, this time, instead of saying "ok, nada papa. Semuanya ok" like I normally do, I actually said "Erm, OK plang Cikgu, tapi, I don't think Medicine is for me"... Suddenly, you can see lights flashing!!! Warning lights, and the officer's face expression changed from bored to 'OMG!!! EMERGENCY!!' Now that I think about it, it was quite funny. But at that time, I was close to tears.. I really didn't want to carry on with medicine!

Anyway, back to my point... I've never got into trouble dulu.. But recently, it seems like I can never do anything right (according to the keranis!)... They've told me off a number of times...

1. for wearing smart clothes (I wore Baju Kemeja dan seluar smart - my clinical clothes)...
Their alasan - "ini adalah bangunan kerajaan, mesti ko pakai baju MIB" But instead of saying it nicely they say, in their sing-song accent... "Eh Petty, bisai jua baju mu. Inda ko be baju kurung kah?" Complete with jelingan mata and what not..

2. for forgetting my Brunei MOE number... Ok, so maybe this was my fault! I didn't bring my Student card, which is expired for God knows how many years now (The only reason being an officer told me not to bother with renewing it)... And I somehow forgot my Brunei number, and only remembered my UK number (why they have to have two separate numbers is beyond me.) and they say "Baik tah sudah ni kau ani. Kad mati inda payah di baharui. Ani, numbur lagi inda ingat. Numbur BSU mu atu inda kami beguna tu" Bah, jangan tah marah makcik!!!

3. For not bringing a pen!!! Can you believe that?! I wore my baju kurung, I remembered my Brunei Number.. but, I forgot a pen... I usually have a pen in my bag, but not this day... So to fill in the form, I need a pen... I said "Pinjam pen kita" and they say "Eh, pen pun inda ko membawa?" And I smile.. An attempt to be polite... After completing the form, I return the pen and say "trima kasih. Ani pen kita tadi" As I was walking away to wait for the officer to call me in, the kerani took the oppurtunity to AGAIN say "Lain kali jangan ko lupa bawa pen mu sendiri"... Sheesh man!! It's just a pen!!! What's with a pen? So KARIT!!! I never understand them!!!

However, just a couple days ago, I visited the MOE again. This time to hand in a letter on my cousin's behalf. She's busy at work. I went early in the morning at 8am. Dressed in my baju kurung, and I even wore a tudong that morning! And, I came prepared with a pen!!!

On reaching the floor and walking towards the department, I saw the USUAL PEMARAH and BELABIH kerani walking OUT (I can only assume she's going out to have breakfast)!!! She was jaling-ing me, and trying to see what I was holding in my hand... I ignored her and walked to the counter... I was surprised to see the kerani who greeted me. I've never seen her before, and she was nice! She didn't jeling, she didn't tagur anything! She just accepted the letter, and said "Bah.."

For the rest of the day, I was just AMAZED!!! Shocked that I wasn't told off after visiting MOE!!! You wouldn't really understand how stunned I was... In fact, I'm still quite surprised...

But, if it was the usual kerani who was to serve me that morning... I'd probably cry on my way home!!! For GOD knows what this time round.. Maybe for my cousin not handing in her letter herself! Masalah Akhlak.. That's what I call this kind of behaviour!