The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 05:08 PM PDT

JUNE 12 — There is a sexy superhero going around handing out money to the poor.

Unlike Robin Hood or the 1960s movie icon, the Black Rose (left, played by Connie Chan Po Chu), she does not steal from the rich; like most hardworking Hong Kongers, she uses her own hard-earned money to fund her nightly exploits in cage-house dwellings.

In an interview with the Sunday Morning Post (May 29), the woman described herself as a businesswoman in her 30s who earned hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.

Dressed in tights and a basque with long filmy sleeves, the blue-masked crusader who calls herself Bauhinia Heroine, has made it her mission to help the poor. Bauhinia is the flower that appears on the Hong Kong flag.

Bauhinia Heroine is particularly upset with the government's HKD6,000 (RM2,280) cash handout to HK permanent residents, which she says is unfair as the poor should receive more than the rich.

So by night, when her identity is less likely to be revealed, she roams the streets of some of the most destitute areas in this glitzy city.

The YouTube phenomenon has so far given away HKD8,000 in cash during two visits to Jordan and Sham Shui Po. The handouts were given in the form of HKD100 cash per person and rice, oil, cup noodles, burgers and biscuits.

The blood-sniffing paparazzi seem to be giving her leeway to retain the secrecy surrounding her identity. After all, Bauhinia Heroine did ask nicely to give her this allowance so she could carry on her work.

She has posted photographs of herself in costume on her Facebook page posing superhero-style, crouching on the ground with one leg stretched out ala Spider Man. In another image she holds out a fan of HKD100-dollar bills to the camera and in yet another she is giving cash and cup noodles to a resident.

While there are rumours flying around about who she may be with a fair number matching her ample cleavage to famous faces, Bauhinia Heroine wrote on her Facebook page that she was educated in England and the US, is from a well-known family and lives in the affluent Mid-Levels.

Is she doing it for the attention? Yes, says Bauhinia Heroine. She hopes that the media spotlight will encourage other well-to-do Hong Kongers who are fed up with the growing income disparity between the rich and the poor to join her.

The plan succeeded, to an extent. Bauhinia Heroine's generous escapades have captured the attention of the man behind 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy.

Filmmaker Steven Shiu is planning his next project, a superhero action movie featuring pseudo-model (a.k.a. "lang mo", wannabe models with shapely figures but lacking in height and training; popular for promotional work at book fairs) Chrissy Chau in the lead role. Filming is expected to begin late this year.

Bauhinia Heroine is not the only modern-day hero. Her Bangladeshi counterpart, Baidul Haq Nasir, 45, had been giving generously to orphanages and mosques for two decades when it was finally revealed that he was a burglar who had been stealing from the rich. Many in the city of Chittagong thought him to be an affluent businessman. Baidul was arrested on Wednesday.

It is still early days for the Bauhinia Heroine and her mission to ease poverty in Hong Kong. I would certainly love to hear from the folks who were graced by her presence and generosity.

Bauhinia Heroine is no stranger to the poor. She is said to be a regular volunteer who spends her time helping people. I think it is great that she has chosen a fun way (for readers and viewers) to highlight a growing problem in this city.

She chose mainly residents living in cage-houses, which are really larger versions of dog cages. One can only sit up or lie down in these cages which are sometimes stacked three-high. While HKD100 won't go a long way (rent is an estimated HKD1,500 a month), it has got to be a nice feeling to know that someone cares.

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Going Gaga for local ‘reality’

Posted: 11 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT

JUNE 12 — I was having lunch with my wife the other day (I'm not really married but I've started telling people I am because sometimes you can get a free beer out of it) and in the middle of the meal, she says something along the lines of "You should chew your food at least 20 times before you swallow. It's supposed to wake your brain up to the fact that you're eating" or something like that. I'm not sure, I wasn't listening.

This kinda annoyed me a little, mainly because I didn't understand why she had chosen to wait till our 649th meal together before enlightening me with this little pearl of wisdom, and also because I've never been very good at chewing. My food, I mean. I'm very good at chewing other stuff. Like, you know ... gum.

Relationships are crazy. I love it, it's like I have my very own live-in image consultant. Unfortunately, I'm getting a little tired of having to dress in tight yellow dresses with pink floral patterns.

Don't get me wrong, aside from all the chafing, they're very comfortable. Trust me, fellas, you should give cross-dressing a go. Your wife will divorce you and humiliate you in front of your kids but don't worry, just tell the judge that Lady Gaga told you to do it and you'll probably just get a slap on the wrist.

Speaking of Lady Gaga, wow, what a loon, and trust me when I say, I don't mean that as an insult. I think she's the best kind of crazy, but you gotta admit, she does push it a little too much sometimes.

What cracks me up most about her is that she represents everything that is insane about celebrity culture. If she wasn't famous, there's not a chance in hell that anyone would ever think of her as a fashion icon or a genius. Seriously, what would you do if your colleague turned up at a function wearing a suit made out of meat? I know what I would do – I'd buy the meat suit back and give it to my vegetarian cousin as a wedding gift. In. Sane. But who cares, right? Born this way, right?

I had a great idea while driving to work the other day. Actually, I have great ideas every day but I choose not to share them for fear that I might start making friends. But anyway, I was driving to work and in front of me, going at about 10km/hour was a Learner Driver. Despite the fact it was a three-lane road, and I could have easily overtaken her, I decided to remain in the same lane, behind her. Now, there was a very simple explanation for this. By staying in the same lane, I was able to continue screaming obscenities at her. Have you ever tried doing this? Liar.

So here's my great idea. We've got reality TV shows that revolve around pretty much every stupid thing that we idiots like to waste our time on but one thing we don't have is a TV show that revolves around driving schools. Imagine how funny that would be. A show like that would work on so many levels. It would work as a comedy because you would get to see just how stupid some of the drivers on our beloved Malaysian streets actually are, students and teachers included.

It would work as an educational tool because it would educate you on how much the bribe for a Malaysian driving licence has grown over the years. And finally, we can show that Malaysia truly boleh (!) by creating our very own homegrown retarded reality TV celebrities.

Imagine Malaysia's very own version of Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton learning to drive. How awesome would that episode be? Hell, I'd watch it. Admit it, you would too. Now, don't try and copy this idea, okay, I'm about two minutes away from copyrighting it under my wife's name.

Some of you may be of the opinion that I'm taking this all a little too far, and you know what, maybe you're right. But it doesn't make a difference because the world is already screwed. Even if my amazing idea never goes beyond this little article, it doesn't matter because you're all slaves to this crap already. Every day, after work, you go home and sit yourself down and watch people humiliate themselves for your own entertainment.

Hey, don't feel bad about it, I do it too. We all do. It's okay, really it is. It's socially acceptable to laugh at these people now. It's the new "thing", which is why I'm surprised Malaysia hasn't tried to copy it yet. I mean, we copy everything else, so why not jump on to the sleazy reality TV bandwagon? Forget the respectable stuff. We want sleaze, we want brainless, we want Malaysia's answer to White Trash. Come on, guys, make it happen. All you need to do is look out your car window. The person in car next to you might be the country's next big star. Yee Ha!!

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Kredit: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com

Ahad, 12 Jun 2011

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion

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