Malaysian standards please!

I am worried about Malaysians. Seriously. We eat too much and apparently we waste a lot of food, yet yesterday, the police found the body an Indonesian maid who was allegedly starved to death by her employers. It is certainly a difficult life for migrant workers in Malaysia- overworked and poor, they are also mentally, physically and socially tortured.
As I sit here in front of my (albeit old) laptop with a mug of hot drink beside me, I wonder how different life would have been if I was born in different circumstances. Would I be the one sweeping the corridors of my apartment building? Would I have worked for the family next door as a live-in maid? I really don't know. I complain about my life a lot, but then when I think about it, I have a lot. I have Kylie waiting in the car park for me whenever I need to drive somewhere. I have Bobo sitting on my desk whenever I feel the urge to blog or spend some 'quality' time on Facebook. I have my parents to turn to whenever I need money, and my cousins and friends when I need help for whatever reason. I lead a relatively comfortable life as compared to that Indonesian maid next door, or that cleaner in my apartment building.
Employers who can afford to hire foreign employees, I presume, lead a comfortable life. Why, then, would such a person harm a fellow human being? I don't know about the rest of you, but those migrant workers, in my opinion, have contributed in many ways to this country. Buildings don't magically built themselves, do they? Houses do not clean themselves, and fresh produce do not miraculously appear in the supermarkets without anyone planting, watering and transporting them there.
Some people say that life in the worker's own country is much more difficult, and that here in Malaysia, those workers lead a more comfortable life, hence there is no need treat them as well as we treat our fellow Malaysians. I am not asking for the government to provide free healthcare to all of them, or that we should have a minimum wage requirement for foreign workers in this country. All I am asking for, really, is that we treat them with the respect and dignity that they deserve- that any human being deserve, for that matter. Show them that Malaysians are caring and hospitable people, just like how the Ministry of Tourism portray us in those 'Malaysia, truly Asia' advertisements. The Malaysians I know would not ill-treat me if I work for them; they are polite people who will show me respect, and I, in turn, would do the same. I hope this Malaysian standard is applied to all in our country.
I am sure that some would protest and call me stupid for saying something like this. Some will tell me that they have no choice- the employee is too stupid to understand instructions, too lazy or cause them too much trouble. Or that they increase the crime rate in this country. If you ask me, it is better for me to wind-up my business or quit my job than to ill-treat another human being. Alternatively, you could always pay (much) more and hire a person better equipped to do the job (as they always say, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys). Easy for me to say since I am not in the situation, I know; but then again I am used to being called an idiot. Feel free to do so if you think I am one.

deep fried orange mars bars

Recently me and my partner-in-crime discovered the joys of eating....ahem..... deep fried orange mars bars. Willingly, almost every week, we indulge in those unhealthy, chocolaty things that are not only bad news for your throat, but bad for your health in general; since it is a terrible indulgence frowned upon by the people around us, we do it only away from prying (familiar and known) eyes. I am not at all addicted, but I do enjoy a few bars every week, and it is an effective (???!!!) way to de-stress. However, since the impending doom of the coming exams is looming upon us, we gorged on those sinful things in public at the risk of being seen by people known to us. Unfortunately, that actually happened one day, and I was embarrassed despite my usual devil-may-care and what-the-hell attitude. Guess I do care about what people think, which is news, to me at least. Mind you, that is just deep fried orange mars bars, not some sex tape that might kill off my political career.
So what is the moral of the story? If you think that certain behaviors are unacceptable and shameful, never do it even if no one else is looking or will find out later. If you are too ashamed to have your conduct being made known public, then don't do it at all. So I won't. Also, my bad habit will cost me my health, as I found out after my usual treadmill session the other day- I felt so tired I went straight to bed after my shower. The next morning, I threw my secret stash of mars bars away, vowing to break all ties with the delicious but dangerous candy bar but I will need to find a new way to de-stress. They say that smiling can help lower your stress levels and can trick your body into changing your mood for the better. So if you see me smiling for no good reason, I am not insane, just trying to de-stress- and yes, do try to smile back!