ARE we under siege, I was asked by a businessman over the weekend. Not an external siege but rather, an internal one. I would have ignored the question but it was asked with all seriousness and he went on to cite examples reflecting his query.
First, he mentioned the gruesome murder od Nurin Jazimin. And this was preceeded by several other killings of young persons in the recent past. The fact that so many of them are missing and not found triggers fresh fears among parents and society at large.
Second, violent crime appear to be on the rise. Killings appear to be more rampant, he said, arguing that one needs only to go through the newspapers to check that out. The recklessness of road-users too have contributed to many deaths on our roads and highways.
You must have known friends and relatives whose houses and offices have been burgled. A friend had his new house burgled and there wasn't much the Police could do to help! He's decided to get a couple guard dogs instead.
Third, food prices have been increasing steadily. In fact, in some cases, food items are not available. Maybe it's just the festive season but there's going to be a number of festivals between now and early next. Does this mean consumers are going to be deprived of these items for that long period?
Some trade unionists are talking about boycotting some items. This is not the first time they've been talking about this but in the past they were nothing but empty threats.
Fourth, jobs are hard to come by, this chap complained. He asked where are the new jobs being created? And what's wrong in choosing jobs, he said. I told him that jobs are available but our boys and girls are choosy.
Fifth, we now have marching lawyers demanding freedom for the judiciary! This was unheard of before, the businesman said. Not wanting to be an alarmist, he said that the recent march appeared to have sparked renewed interest among members of the legal profession about the state of the judiciary.
I for one would urge restraint on all parties. But the authorities must handle this very carefully. Engaging the thinking public by show of force would not work. Pakistan's Musharaf is sweating when lawyers march and things almost got out of hand.
The monks are marching in Myanmar and nobody knows how this is going to turn out. If the ordinary people in Myanmar were to join the monks, more blood could spill...
Nearer to home, the Batu Burok incident is still fresh in our mind, thanks to the repeated footage on national television. I wonder what impact the violent confrontation has on the local population. And elsewhere too for that matter...
So, you tell me - Are we under siege?
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3 comments:
Datuk,
Kita terpenjara di negara sendiri! Anak-anak kita tidak lagi bebas berlari dan bermain. Kalau dulu saya puas ke bukit dan lembah, yang jauhnya berkilometer dari rumah, bermain lumpur dan mencari serangga bersama abang2 dan kawan2, anak saya sendiri terpaksa ditemani walau untuk ke taman bersebelahan rumah. Malah untuk bermain di depan rumah pun saya perlu pastikan ada orang dewasa yang menemaninya. Apakah mereka kelak akan membesar sebagai seorang yang sentiasa dalam ketakutan? Kebimbangan? Ketidakyakinan?
Kita terpenjara di negara sendiri. Kita rakyat biasa hanya mampu bersuara sedangkan orang yang berkuasa memekakkan telinga. Kita menjadi anjing yang menyalak bukit; bukit tidak runtuh, anjing semakin hilang suaranya.
Dalam suasana negara sekarang, tidak perlu kita sibuk dan ghairah berdemonstrasi tentang pergolakan di Myanmar. Ada baiknya kita jaga rakyat dan negara kita sambil cermin diri sendiri.
Oh, Malaysiaku tanah air ku...
Sir,
What I am certain of is that I am under siege!
Transportation cost have risen (but not my pay in the private sector)
food cost have definately risen, and so has milk! (it used to 17.50, and now its 24 ringgit). We only eat out once a week (on Saturdays when we give the chef of the house a day off)
A meal for 4 adults and three kids will hit RM100 at least! Hawker food will probably cost around RM50 for all of us, drinks inclusive.
Toll? Another 10% hike, I hear.
And what is our administrators doing about it? They send one guy to space to carry out experiment...
They want to buy fancy gadgets running into billions for our police force...they are going to spend billions to purchase new helicopters...they are spending billions to build new corridors.
They 4.5 billion to bail out their own misdeed in PKFZ. How can anyone justify the purchase of land at RM10-11 when it was valued at RM24, only to sell it for RM25?
All I know is that for the past three years, I have seen the rise and rise of cost, and am not seing any delivery of promises made by the Gov. They promised not to raise the price of petrol and toll (for 2007) and that promise will be forgotten next year......
sheesh.....maybe I should bury my head in the sand...or just go to sleep!
I read a photographer eye account view of the Burmese demo recently by Jinggo. Malaysian nak excercise right to assembly tak boleh tapi Burmese boleh.
Baca Jinggo posting http://minaq-jinggo.fotopages.com.
Kebanyakkan yang berarak adalah pekerja kilang elektronik kepunyaan Amerika dan seolah2 tunjuk perasaan diberi sokongan.
Memang rasa simpati dengan rakyat2 Burma, tetapi terfikir adakah urusan kita sudah ditentukan oleh kuasa2 luar?
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