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.)

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Electric bicycles - please do not ban them

I knew this would be coming... because electric bicycles are too good to be true: look like motorbikes but treated as bicycles which do not require road tax, rules to comply nor licence to ride. I was contemplating buying one instead of having a car, to get around town.

So this news about the Transport Ministry recommending a ban on electric bicycles did not come as a surprise to me, just a tad disappointed. As I get older, I get more pleasure out of outwitting the government when it comes to saving road tax (shelving my BMW 728i saves me Rm1600 per year) than when using it. If we cannot change the rules, we can still boycott can't we?

I wish the cabinet ministers would not ban the electric bicycles per se, but introduce some rules to overcome any of the points mentioned against it:

"could result in a higher risk of injury or death" (can we have the statistics to back this please?)

"Electric bicycles do not meet the performance specifications of motorcycles." (why the need to meet the performance of a different type of bikes?)

"While Kong acknowledged that electric bicycles were good for the environment, he stressed that the higher risk of death and injury from collision did not warrant their usage." (the same reason again, statistics please)

"If you want to talk about being environmentally-friendly, using a normal bicycle is still the best" (you will grow old too, but I know you don't need to use such cheap vehicles because you are rich, but will you consider those who cannot pedal because of knee problems?)

"an electric bicycle could not be classified as an electric motorcycle" (who ask you to classify it as electric motorcycle?)

"Anyone can use it as there are no restrictions on who can use a bicycle"
"There is no need to register an electric bicycle or obtain a driving licence, road tax, insurance or registration number"
"Any young child will be able to use the electric bicycle without a crash helmet and that means a much higher risk of accidents"
(well, if you are so worked up, introduce some restrictions then, but please make them reasonable, ok?)

According to road safety studies, bicycles that move at more than 20km per hour pose a much higher risk of injury to pedestrians, especially when both share the same lane, (ban them from highways and certain roads then, but please not a total ban).

Source:

No comments: