Kuala Lumpur is the third rudest city in the world according to a survey conducted by Readers Digest (of all people!), as reported by The Times of London.

Malaysians who have lived and worked in our nation's proud capital, and who have the good fortune of travelling extensively overseas, need no global survey to know that indeed rudeness - among many other negative things - is a way of life in KL.

At least I live my rather sedentary life as a reclusive pensioner atop Bukit Cheras, if you can call this sort of existence "living a life". I have nothing but sympathy for the millions of KL residents who have to eke out a living in this sun-baked, rain-flooded, chaotic, anarchical, choking, intimidating, hostile, and filthy city.

The moment you leave your residence early in the morning, and begin to move around in your car or some form of public transport, the shock of aggravation that hits you in the face is unimaginable.