BB1M.

Prologue: No shit, it's March...and looking at my elated juniors/peers who got their MA degree earlier than me, I can't help but to feel dismayed about my own underachievement. Anyway congratulation, y'all.

Remember in the previous post that I mentioned about Baucer Buku 1Malaysia (BB1M), a blatant bribe to entice the burgeoning first time student voters ahead of the inevitable 13th General Election the government's approach to ease the burden the students purchasing academic reference books as well as encouraging the habit of reading among the youth of Malaysia?

Considering the government felt the necessity to include an excerpt from the Prime Minister cum Minister of Finance's 2013 Budget Speech highlighting about "increasing the amount of Book Voucher from RM200 to RM250" complete with the sheepish grin of both PM and Minister of Higher Education, it's not too far of a stretch to smell a last ditch attempt to attract first time student voters, trying to guilt us in subservient or in their parlance, "gratitude" or "bersyukur" or "mengenang budi". Hell, it's already clearly labelled on the pamphlet "Pemberian Kerajaan Persekutuan" or Handout (if literally translated)/Gift (just to be nice to them) from the Federal Government.

Well the vouchers is all gone now, all RM250 worth of them after one rather dizzying trip to Queensbay with Tate (my younger bro) and his pals going back and forth between two bookstores available which inconveniently situated at the opposite end of the mall. Dizzying because both bookstores are packed to the brim with jostling shoppers clutching their package of government handout scouting for books while trying their best to make their number add up to RM250. The situation over Border especially was ridiculous due to their faulty air-conditioning system which requires the usage of standing industrial cooking fans not to mention they have downsized their operation drastically by moving one lot inward from their original corner lot with window which means no more reading area, no more Starbuck with a view, bookshelves are arrange closer hence smaller walkway and last but not least, Japanese manga section reduced by 2/3 (FUCK).

Coming back to me, I did try to ensure the book vouchers this time will be used for actual academic and research purposes by scouring academic bookstores around USM (Co-op and Penerbit USM) as well as spending decent amount of time checking various sections in those larger general bookstores that I mentioned in the previous paragraph but being in such a niche academic field that doesn't really have a definitive textbook as well as bookstores generally don't stock them anyway, it's hard to actually use it for its actual purpose. I actually pondered whether I should actually make a trip down under to KL just to check out specialty academic publishers as well as even larger bookstores and you know, I bet it's about the same for everybody else and there will be a voucher or two at least that they have no idea how to spent at the end.  

So after spending hours going from shelf to shelf to see if any title catches my eyes as well as seeing Tate securing his own purchase, I let my whim get the better of me when my eye came to the humour and local interest (Penangiana?) section...

So I bought three coffee table humour books namely 100 Places You Will Never Visit (coinciding with my interest for exotic, obscure locations), Is That Mic Off? (coinciding with my interest of the world of politics especially if bullshit laden) as well as Just my Typo (coinciding with my interest of language and the fun we human have with it), all three of them from the Great Britannia. While their original prices (14.99, 12.99 and 12.99 quid) might actually be dirt cheap by UK's living standard, it's a different story altogether when they are imported to their cash-strapped former vestigial part of its global empire with weak spending power by jacking up the price to RM81.50, RM62.90 and RM66.90. As for that RM4.50 stationary set, it's there just to push up the total purchase to just go over RM250 but good thing I do need a new mechanical pencil as my old one has fallen into pieces for a long time now.

If there's any purchase that I feel worth every ringgit of its RM35 pricetag is this one: Penang Trams, Trolleybuses and Railways: Municipal Transport History 1880s-1963, compiled with love by two tram fans Ric Francis and Colin Ganley. Being a public transport fan with special interest to tram and light rail, I've always look at book with great interest ever since I spotted it years ago but I never brought myself to buy it. Perhaps the book voucher does has its worth in generating interest for reading among youth.

Besides these four books, there are a couple of other books that was in the running but have to let go because the price just doesn't add up properly and both books are actually of serious work even if only related to matter of interest than academic field: a book about the most censored global news stories of the decade, a barely-passes-as-book accounting the insight of former Chairman of Election Commission entitled Electoral Reforms: Facts and Fallacies ahead of the upcoming 13th General Election and last but not least, a book from Hong Kong chronicling 80 years of history of Hong Kong's rail transport (aptly graced with the RM80 price tag as well) which is located in a separate Chinese language section handled by The Commercial Press (商务印书馆) with their own cash register making it essential another bookstore of their own. Perhaps next time when I got to make my own stable income.

So I made my RM252+ purchase (not without slight hiccup of double charging my stationary set. Luckily I checked my receipt. Tsk.) and as a reward of splashing all my RM250 worth of cash vouchers, I was given these things.

An AA battery pack from RadioShack (apparently they're operating as an adjunct at the relaunched Border), a complimentary B-Card which is a reward point card (which I am still wondering how does it work. The website says my pin will only come after two or three weeks. That's crap) that I can use in any business owned by Berjaya Group from F&Bs to hotel to even Tropicana Medical Center. Inside the envelope is a discount voucher booklet for all Berjaya Group owned businesses such as Starbucks and Chatime and Kenny Roger Roasters and other brands that doesn't operate in Penang (grr). So anyone wanna have lunch with me? I have vouchers!

Epilogue: Where's my motivation and strength when I in dire need of one.