The Guessing Game

Now that the Malaysian general election is purported to be around the corner, lots of articles are published in the media. The various newspapers cover the campaigns for the political parties that form the current government. The internet via blogs and videos give prominence to those in the opposition.

Views and bashings proliferate in both print and electronic news. To those not really in the know, we can only guess at what the truth is. There is so much information and misinformation that it is not easy to separate the two.

The date of the general election is still under wraps and the list of candidates that will be standing is also not finalized. There have been reports of impending resignations from political parties, horse trading and the like.

What the ordinary citizen wishes for is good governance and wise leadership that will guide our country into a future that is not fraught with uncertainties. The majority is looking for a government led by leaders of integrity, honesty and accountability. May God give us the wisdom to vote wisely for the future of our children is at stake.

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Violence Against Women

The past few days have seen a rash of violent incidents targeting women, women who have been victims of snatch thefts and armed robbery in car parks, open as well as in shopping malls. There were also instances of two women, torched out of jealousy and they succumbed to their horrific burns.

This violence has instilled fear in women and many prefer not to venture out of their homes on their own.

Why are the perpetrators doing this? Some people have said that unemployment and being under the influence of drugs are the main reasons. These are no excuses for the crimes being committed.

Being unemployed does not give one the right to deliberately inflict injury and rob. It is more the case of being lazy and taking the easy way out instead of buckling down to an honest day’s work which can be tough if one is working under the sun as a labourer. It is much easier to ride a bike, slash the defenceless women and snatch their handbags, without any conscience. Such criminals get away with their crime for it has been difficult to apprehend them. Those who are caught, are prosecuted before a court of law but more often than not, the penalty is too light to deter other would-be hit and run robbers.

There doesn’t seem to be any place that is safe, where a woman can walk without fear, without having to look over her shoulder, without tensing each time there is a motor bike approaching. Having a companion is no guarantee of safety either as has been reported in the media.

This malaise of the times needs to be addressed immediately not only by the men in blue, but also by the law makers who need to amend the existing laws so that harsher custodial penalties including whipping be the norm for such crimes. A minimum of ten years behind bars and ten strokes of the cane should be mandatory for snatch thefts and if the victim died as a result of the crime, then the perpetrator should be handed the death penalty. I think this is more than fair.

The community at large should also play their part to apprehend the culprits instead of being apathetic or ignoring the crime because of self-preservation and the attitude of non-involvement. Remember, it could happen to your loved one any time.

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Then and Now

Two days ago I received an email that sent me back to the period when the computer didn’t exist, no mobile phones, no tablets, no smart phones.  This email detailed what most of us ( baby boomers ) did, how we entertained ourselves, the way we mixed freely with our friends of different races and cultural  backgrounds, how we shared our food and played together out in the open, whether it be marbles, kite flying and kite fighting, spinning tops, and yes, spinning the little wooden disc nailed to the ice cream vendor’s  container which had small nails and figures written on it.  For 5 cents, you could spin it once and see where it stopped. If it stopped at 2, then you get two ice-cream potong ( ice cream lollipop ) one of which you then give to your friend.

I recall how we would cluster eagerly round the ice-cream seller to see which of us would be lucky enough to get two sticks of ice-cream.  Boys and girls played games together, enjoying the company.  It was safe to play outdoors.  We never feared for our safety and our parents didn’t have to be paranoid like the parents of today.  We didn’t have to barricade our windows and doors with steel bars and it was either catching the public bus or walking to school.  The thought of being kidnapped never surfaced.  We were safe walking along the streets and footpaths.

We could  visit freely our neighbours’ homes, during the festive season.  There were no concerns such as whether our friends’ food or mothers’ cooking was halal or not.  We respected our friends’ beliefs and practices and we enjoyed the food laid out for us.

Today, things have become so different that we would prefer to meet outside the home lest we offend the sensitivities of others where preparation of food is concerned. We hesitate to invite colleagues of other races to our homes for a meal. This is to save them the embarrassment of having to decline as well as our embarrassment at being turned down.  I wonder when and how this came about. To me, this is a sad thing.  Our children are missing out on what we used to enjoy in the past.  Freedom from fear, from prejudice and most of all, simple, clean fun and a great camaraderie among friends and neighbours.

The loss of all these --- is this the price of “progress” ?

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