Heavy rain, flash floods and A-bomb sounding thunderstorms are a common weather condition in South East Asia. The equatorial climate of high humidity contributes to this torrid conditions to occur on almost a daily basis within the region. In Malaysia, the weather contributes to the types of attitude you would wear that day. If its hot and sunny, you feel grumpy because of the sticky heat, when its pouring and windy, you feel grumpy because of the sticky rain. Humidity is a real bitch.
Rain affects everything in KL: The traffic, Astro, work efficiency, your brain, and the internet.
All these factors are correlated, firstly, because it feels like the sky is a waterfall. You are restricted in the get goings that you were planning to go on with your day, and relegated to be stuck at home (not being able to watch TV ), at work, or horribly in the car. Rain, does present a psychological effect too, instantly having a sedative effect on an individual, and instinctively motivates them to find a place to crawl up in the fetal position and nap. However, since capitalism forces us to earn a monthly income we are unfortunately stuck in the office, university, or relevant workplace.
What makes reality worst, with the majority of us relying on the internet with our work needs, the internet chooses to slow down and not to even function at times. Ayman Dhamiri Zakaria, 21, entrepreneur, becomes extremely frustrated when it rains in Kuala Lumpur,
“Its deplorable!” He said.
“We know infrastructure is shit, but the internet packages that are offered by the providers are shit too! Not to mention their shit customer service!”
After two weeks of constant emailing to the internet service providers Streamyx, P1 wimax, and Maxis broadband. Customer service at Maxis Broadband finally responded to the barrage of emails that was being sent, simply asking: “Why is internet so slow when it rains?” Their response being:
Dear Ahmad Ariff
Thank you for your concern,
We are currently investigating the matter, we are unable to give you a definitive answer. However, we believe the weather conditions affect some telephone cables and may decrease bandwidth capacity
Kind Regards,
Maxis Broadband Customer Support
Looking past their “responsive” and “reliable” customer service, their conclusive reasoning seems to suggest that infrastructure seems to be at fault. What it means is that we Malaysians have to be patient till our shoddy telephone infrastructure gets refurbished.
So be patient, watch the rain shower down frustration within the Klang Valley, whilst you look grim faced being stuck in an endless sprawl of a traffic jam, or being brain dead at home or work, suffering from the lack of television, and dial-up speed internet.
I hate you Rain
Shrieking Monkeys 