Somebody's watching me* - Rockwell

Ha, Lai Mun Onn - mengapa hanya sekarang baru pohon untuk MyKad? (Translation: Why are only applying for your MyKad now?)

The lady over the counter asked the above question in a mock-reprimanding tone! I just went "hee...." and flashed a sheepish grin back at her.

For the record, she was very nice and frenly - a pleasant surprise!!!!

Anyways, i couldn't tell her that the reason i have been resisting is a form of silent protest over the MyKad (for non-Malaysians, the MyKad is the Malaysian Identity Card).

I'm just not comfortable having all my personal details stored in a tiny chip on a card - especially when the MyKad can be used for so many purposes. Perhaps i just dun have faith in the government's security system - and i fret that any hacker can just wipe out my entire existence or change my personal records wif the tap of a key on a keyboard. Furthermore, the conspiracy-theorists in me feels that the MyKad is just a tool to enable the government to track all our movements and lifestyle.

Eg., take a look at how effective Tesco's Clubcards have been in the UK - just by tracking all our purchases, they know wat products to sell at which branch and even send each individual customers coupons for products which they use and for products which they think the customers may buy!

Soon, they'll have a database on each citizen - where they travel to, do they drive, how much they spend, what do they spend on, etc. Somebody will be watching over me...!

I've been watching too many movies, have i? Perhaps i have too active an imagination?

Maybe... but the lady over the counter knew i just came back from studying overseas! And she even commented that i used to be fat!!! When i asked how she knew, she allowed me a peek on her flat-screen monitor and there was a photo of me when i was 12 years old!!!!! Even i meself dun have a copy of that photo anymore!!!!!!

But the days of my resistence has come to an end. It is futile, i guess - so i just succumb to peer-pressure - and also to the fear that they'll increase the fine for late application (all applications made from the year 2006 onwards is considered late and subject to a fine of RM10 - less than 2 quid!). *sigh* i sold out my convictions over fear of monetary loss *hangs head in shame*

Oh well... anyways, just to end off with some interesting things i found out about the name, "MyKad":-

• The "My" refers to our country, Malaysia - it is the country code top-level domain for Malaysia - used for local internet addresses.
  
• It also stands for the literal meaning in English, the first person possesive pronoun, signifying personal ownership.
• The word "Kad" is the BM transliteration of the English word, "Card".
  
• It is also an acronym for "Kad Akuan Diri" (meaning "Personal Identification Card").
  
• It can also be an acronym for "Kad Aplikasi Digital" (meaning "Digital Appliation Card").
  

(Source: Wikipedia and MalaysiaCentral.com)

Bet you din know what MyKad stood for before this, rite?

*Rockwell's first single, it is a popular paranoia song which features guest vocals by Michael and Jermaine Jackson.