Before I took to blogging, which was quite late, anyway, about 12 years ago, I used to write to NST's "Letters", and quite a few of them got published. Unfortunately I didn't keep the newspapers and those letters are lost. I stopped writing to NST once I started my blog. However, recently I found a few cuttings from among the loose papers in my old, stuffed and disorganized filing system. Here I'll start posting them as part of my penned thoughts that I may want to recollect. You might say I've published before I blogged he he.
This one was published by NST on 8 December, 2003.
"We need more traffic policemen to watch road users."
"The objective of any exercise to reduce accidents because of bad driving should be to take the bad drivers off the roads.
Driving licences should only be given to those who are 21 and above.
Have a compulsory half-day class on road safety for heavy vehicle drivers.
The traffic police should be doubled in size to pull traffic offenders off the roads and put some fear in would-be offenders.
Convene Special Traffic Courts six days a week to quickly deal with traffic offenders.
A life ban on drivers convicted of causing fatalities should be made mandatory, on top of other punitive penalties."
On 10 March 2004 was published:
"System needed to prevent rail mishaps."
"I wonder how the recent KTM Commuter train accident happened. What was the tailing driver thinking, or was he thinking at all ?
This is certainly not the busiest line in the world, and it was still daylight. There must be some kind of system installed to prevent such mishaps.
While on KTM, why can't something be done to the flood-prone lines in Kajang ? It's ridiculous to think that a downpour can stop our trains in this area. I notice that the problem is the flooding of the big drains parallel to the tracks. Why can't KTM enlarge these, or divert the water ?"
NST on 29 March 2004 published:
"Younger voters less reserved about making demands."
"The most heartening feature of the elections must be the high turnout, indicating that the population is interested in the type of government it wants. The new Government shouldn't lose sight of this fact - it must be sensitive to the aspirations of the people.
The second observation is the significant number of younger voters who participated. Therein lies the future depth and strength of the voice of the people: they are better educated and informed; and are more articulate and less reserved about making their demands known.
The racial mix of candidates should impress the political parties of the need to appeal across the ethnic barrier. MIC certainly cannot win a single seat without the support of the Malays and Chinese. The urban Chinese are still very much influenced by Chinese issues and Chinese candidates. But in the long run they have to accept that to have any long-lasting impact on national government, they must compromise on issues close to the hearts of their Indian and Malay countrymen. In turn, the obvious change in the so-called Malay belt means only moderation can stand the test of time.
My observation in my locality this time was that the role of the individual candidate was not very important. A few obviously unpopular candidates still won handily, thanks to the political party that backed them. People realise that the candidate alone cannot make things happen. Rather, it is the party that is put in power that can embark on programs for the benefit of the population.
The results also showed that the people are realistic. They want a strong government that can deliver. We will wait and see whether this is made good. At the same time, however, they have also voted in what they obviously consider a credible Opposition, indicating that they are sending a signal to the Government that it had better be on its toes."
On 14 April 2004 they published:
"Get on with the job and fulfil promises quickly."
"Now that the polls are over, the Government should get on with the job and fulfil as quickly as possible all the promises made. No election is perfect. Even the self-proclaimed protector of democracy, the United States, didn't have one the last time they chose a President.
Now, we hear all kinds of increasingly ludicrous pronouncements from the political parties. One says it will only recognize the election results where it won. Another is intent on dragging the EC to disgrace. The largest political party is gearing up for party elections, which are usually bloodier than the general elections.
There are bigger issues. Crime is on the rise. Town and country are still susceptible to fire, floods, diseases and neglect.
But this is not to paint a picture of despair for Malaysia. This is about doing something relevant."
On 16 April 2004 was published:
"Address shortcomings in implementation of NS."
"The concept of national service is good and the intentions noble. However, the implementation suffers the Malaysian malaise.
Malaysian leaders often come up with great and well thought-out ideas, but fall short in the implementation or enforcement.
We have to realise that NS is a totally different animal. The mess during the initial registration and transportation was avoidable.
Then we really must look at the trainers - who are these people ? Are they qualified ? The syllabus may be fine, but what about the interpretation of the syllabus at the various camps ?
Proper psychology is imperative in dealing with high-spirited youth. Hooliganism is not an NS problem. It's international.
It's ironic that these fights are reported in NS camps when it's esprit de corps, tolerence, understanding and patriotism that are supposed to be the values the trainees learn.
The ministry concerned must address these shortcomings urgently."
The next one was published on 20 April 2004.
"SPMC fiasco avoidable if PSD, State had talked."
"Were it not for the grave implications, the case of two Presidents for the Seberang Prai Municipal Council would be a comedy of errors. As it is, the episode has led to some hearty laughs at my golf club.
First of all, do our elected leaders, both old and new, understand the principles of federalism ? The Federal Constitution clearly gives certain powers to the State, and others to the Federal Government.
If the legal staff in Penang and PSD had bothered to check, perhaps we would not have seen this problem.
The SPMC fiasco wouldn't have happened if the PSD and the State Government had simply communicated directly with each other, and not assumed anything.
This reminds me of an estate manager I used to know, who was often at odds with his contractors. He would simply end their arguments by shouting "sapa besar, lu ka saya?""
Published on 29 April 2004 was:
"Truants should not be treated as criminals."
"Let's not over-react in dealing with school truants. We had truancy in my days, and will continue to have it in my grandchildren's days.
Many of us played truant but still managed to get our university degrees, and went on to have children with university degrees. Truancy is not a crime.
Even not attending school at all is still not yet a crime. If truancy is wrong, using the police is also wrong, and two wrongs don't make a right.
The police have more urgent matters to deal with than going on moral patrols. We often do bad things in the name of good intentions.
This is sad because a lot of misery may be avoided. Truancy is not fatal, so let's not treat it like it is.
The best people to deal with it are parents. Have we forgotten our own experiences ?
We are now trying to enhance the family as an institution with the National Integrity Plan.
Passing the responsibility of disciplining our children to the police would hardly help. The police, under the present conditions, are in no position to handle our schoolchildren.
Are you willing to traumatise your children with poor handling by untrained people over an issue that is your parental duty to resolve?
Can you imagine the permanent psychological scar on your children if they are summarily shoved by a group of uniformed personnel and hauled to the police station where real criminals are taken ?
Children are the parents' responsibility, and until they commit a crime, no one has the right to infringe on their legal freedom.
The Government that we put into power must ask for our opinion before it embarks on something that is important to us parents - the right to bring up our children the way we want.
This is supposed to be a caring government that has just been returned to power.
So let's be caring and not use the big stick at the slightest excuse. For starters, let's recognise truancy for what it is - a phase in an adolescent's life.
If the phenomenon is so rampant as to be epidemic, then it's a sympton of something gone wrong with the whole school environment."
On 10 May 2004 was published:
"Bush should take blame for torture."
"Bit by bit, the story of what's taken place inside Iraq since the invasion is coming out in graphic pictures that are, as they say, worth a thousand words.
The torture and murder of Iraqi prisoners-of-war by US and British soldiers is not supposed to happen. They are supposed to teach the Iraqis decency, morality and democracy. They are supposed to be civilised people wearing the uniforms of the US and British forces.
Their acts have no place among civilised human beings. In fact, the blame should not end with US Brig-Gen Janice Karpinski, but must go all the way up to the Commander-in-chief, US President George W. Bush. Saddam Hussein was supposed to be the evil one. Well, he's in good company."
And on 10 September 2004 was published the following:
"Closing TNB service centre bad move."
"We are glad that TNB is making a whole load of money every year, give and take a few ringgit not collected here and there from a few very visible and very large accounts. What the company needs to show is that it also has a heart and thought for the convenience of the small-town consumers whose few ringgits also add to the TNB pile.
I'm talking about the closure of the one-woman-clerk TNB service centre at Jalan Pulasan, Bandar Baru Ampangan, Seremban, this month.
The whole idea of this township built several years ago was to distribute the services for the Seremban town folk and ease the congestion inthe heart of the old town.
Now TNB has decided to save the cost of that one clerk and force consumers in this area to join the crowds at the TNB offices near the forever-jammed railway station and main market areas.
Why can't TNB for once think of the plight of its customers instead of its bottomline ?"
These are a few of the earlier ones found intact.
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