How should we judge a government?

In Malaysia, if you don't watch television or read newspapers, you are uninformed; but if you do, you are misinformed!

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing." - Malcolm X

Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience - Mark Twain

Why we should be against censorship in a court of law: Publicity is the very soul of justice … it keeps the judge himself, while trying, under trial. - Jeremy Bentham

"Our government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no
responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

Government fed by the people

Government fed by the people

Career options

Career options
I suggest government... because nobody has ever been caught.

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?

Corruption so prevalent it affects English language?
Corruption is so prevalent it affects English language?

When there's too much dirt...

When there's too much dirt...
We need better tools... to cover up mega corruptions.

Prevent bullying now!

Prevent bullying now!
If you're not going to speak up, how is the world supposed to know you exist? “Orang boleh pandai setinggi langit, tapi selama ia tidak menulis, ia akan hilang di dalam masyarakat dan dari sejarah.” - Ananta Prameodya Toer (Your intellect may soar to the sky but if you do not write, you will be lost from society and to history.)

Friday, September 25, 2009

Consequence of our security problems...

When my daughters are thousands of miles overseas, I have relative peace of mind but when they are in Kuala Lumpur, I worry over their security. This was confirmed by Cheng who had a discussion with one of her aunts in KL. Here's the purported conversation:

Aunt: Malaysia is now so well developed that the gaps between our country and those developed western countries are now much narrower. I like the weather here and I can get almost anything I want too. I can travel overseas if and when I feel like it.

Cheng: I would agree with that but to me, the problem of lack of security would be one of the main reasons against my coming back to this country. I do not want to be put in a situation where I cannot go out as I please, without the need to have the presence of a male to provide some sort of security. Why must we girls be dependent on boys or men with such a simple act as going out of the house? My personal experience was as a victim of a snatch theft which injured my neck, just walking between my aunt's house and Bangsar Shopping Complex, plus two unsuccessful snatch attempts elsewhere. Your sister was a recent victim of a 'break car window and grab handbag' robbery when she stopped her car at a road junction. I think you are just being lucky.

My comments: The case of the father jogging with his daughter (ahead of her by a few minutes only) which resulted in her murder, showed the false sense of security of having a male presence.

BSC must be notorious now, when we consider the fact that Canny Ong was abducted from its car park and murdered somewhere else (despite having her mother and others in the same complex), and the recent case of a restaurant patron being assaulted and his partner's handbag snatched in the presence of other patrons showed the lawlessness of the situation and helplessness of the people here.

A few years ago, my other daughter had her handphone fished out of her room in Section 14 because of having the room windows open (no air-conditioning) which was reported to the police and followed by another 4 or 5 cases at the same house within two years (not reported because of no confidence in police action or prevention). Someone recently commented that since more people are walking from Millenium Square to Asia Jaya LRT station (behind the houses), there are less cases of snatch thefts because of the absence of motorcyclists! Good point to note.

In Perak, my son used to come back from a night out with his friends until early next morning. He is getting used to being stopped by police who might be more interested in finding fault with 'no road tax or no driving licence' than enhancing security. Sometimes, we wonder if they are friends or foes. During the puasa month, there was an increased presence of police and JPJ personnel in setting up road blocks and everyone knew why. For the first time, near the entrance to Meru Valley Golf Resort, I saw almost 30 young policemen with their new uniforms. We joked privately of the usual excuse of 'mana cukup? Ada lima orang (not enough, we have five of us) when it comes to private settlement, so with 30 persons, it requires a lot more to be enough for even just a cup of tea each! A palm oil fruit harvesting contractor was driving an empty lorry, yet when stopped, the JPJ staff got the cheek to say, 'nak minum kopi sahaja'! And it was something like Rm80 for being there at the wrong time! Blatant extortion. Can you blame the people for not respecting the law enforcement officers?

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