A Positive Role Model

By PAKAC LUTEB

"Chase after truth like hell and you'll free yourself, even though you
never touch its coat-tails." — Clarence Darrow

Malaysians are fortunate to have people like RPK and others chasing the truth.

Politics often stinks like a pile of poo.

The thirst for power often brings out the worst in people.

In Malaysia the pile of poo is so deep it requires a submarine to
reach the bottom.

RPK recently described how corruption injures society at all levels.

On the point of costs, as RPK (and another blogger, i don't remember
the name, sorry) pointed out that salaries in Malaysia have increased
less than expenses, especially motorcars and houses, over the years;
thus making Malaysians poorer than they were 30 years ago.

Someone wrote the government helps the rakyat to own cars, by allow
for long loan periods.

That "help" is actually further exploitation, because of the interest
on the loan, the nett amount the car buyer pays becomes so much
higher.

By the time the loan is finished the car is so old and decrepit nobody
wants to buy it.

Far better if salaries were higher and car loan could be paid in 2 or 3 years.

A decent minimum wage would help the rakyat and the government too,
with more income there would be more income tax revenue.

Malaysians have noticed (and visiting Mat Salleh have noticed and told
me) of the lack of quality of buildings, roads, services of
electricians, plumbers, car mechanics, etc.

Corruption is certainly play a role in that.

Contracts awarded by bribes, not competency.

In buildings, concrete with too much sand and not enough cement,
crooked uneven stairs, lack of safety railings...

Crooked uneven roads, improperly made curves in roads, misleading
signs, misleading or improperly placed traffic lights, sometimes a
superabundance of traffic lights making the junction look like a
pesta...

Each traffic light is more commission in somebody's pocket....

Ever wonder why tradespeople are so incompetent?

A vocational school where the required hands-on project intended to
make students THINK and LEARN is available for a price...

Projects built but not maintained is another example.

The budget for building is much more than the budget for maintaining
and the corrupt are really wanting the short term large payment in
their pocket, not long term small payments...

Your car suffers from the uneven bumpy road. Your tyres, shock
absorbers and wheel alignment are all having problems long before they
should. Can you find a competent honest mechanic and a fair price for
spare parts? Unlikely. Your car maintenance costs are high.

You may decide to not maintain your car properly, contributing to road
accidents.

Same with commercial vehicles.

Even notice a bus repeatedly bounce and sway after a bump? The shock
absorbers are rosak. That is not merely uncomfortable for the
passengers, it can be deadly.

Shock absorbers (and wheel alignment) ensure the tyres remain in
proper contact with the road. That contact is needed for braking and
steering the vehicle.

How many express buses have ended up in ravines or crashed into
railings and the driver said they lost control? If the shock absorbers
are rosak surely the driver cannot control the vehicle during sudden
braking or abrupt steering!

Students (and Professors too, some of whom hold fake degrees, ugh!)
plagiarise in universities.

They copy the work of others rather than have to think about the subject.

They graduate half-baked, incompetent but in positions of
responsibility where they can harm society. Even the professions of
Engineering, Medicine and Law suffer from such half-baked incompetent
graduates.

Bribe. Plagiarise. Don't think, except maybe how to cheat to get
money. That is the sad state of affairs in Malaysia.

The lack of thinking is very common, thanks in part to an incompetent
education system driven by government officers who don't think.

Most Malaysians at some time in their life will receive an official
letter from some branch of government. Often that letter will close
with "Saya yang Menurut Perintah" (I Obey Orders).

That means thinking is officially disliked, just obey orders. But are
the order givers competent or know enough of the particulars of the
case?

Even a child can understand the problem resulting if a drain cover or
manhole cover is not raised when another layer of pavement is added to
repave a road.

The cover becomes below the level of the road. It's a hazard to
vehicles, vehicles swerve to avoid the holes or lose control or are
damaged in the hole. Accidents happen

But children are not repaving roads. It's half-baked "I Obey Orders"
unthinking people that repave roads.

Motorcyclists suffer a lot from the problem. Their bike may enter a
hole or swerve around it, then they are struck by a vehicle. Some
motorcyclists literally end up in pieces scattered along the road, due
to the high traffic speed and dense traffic.

If the road surface were lowered during repaving (remove old pavement,
then only put new pavement) or the covers raised during repaving lives
could be saved. Some countries recycle the pavement, remove it, mix
with bits of old tyres, then repave. Money and materials are saved.

But corrupt people would receive less money when there is recycling,
so Malaysia has to tackle corruption before recycling can really take
hold. Thus corruption is indirectly hurting the environment, in
addition to the direct hurts from illegal logging, the Bakun dam, open
burning, etc.

Isn't it obvious that the bars of drain covers should be at right
angle to the traffic direction, not parallel to it, to avoid catching
tyres of motorbikes and bicycles? So why are the bars parallel to the
traffic flow? Could it be that designers and installers of the covers
don't think?

How many of you have seen a road widened in BolehLand but a lamppost
remained in it's previous position, so now in the middle of a traffic
lane or the road shoulder lane? Obviously somebody, perhaps more than
one person, was not thinking.

Is corruption or money or greed and laziness the root of all evils?

Money is said to be the root of all evils. But money is merely a
system for exchange.

Without money we would have to barter trade. You may want to sell your
car but would you accept 10,000 chickens for it? You'd prefer
RM50,000, isn't it?

Corruption is thus the bigger problem. From where does corruption
come? Are we born corrupt?

We are not born corrupt, but we are born greedy and lazy. Any
creature, humans included, will chose the path of the least effort for
the most gain.

Humans can learn to substitute social rules and laws for instincts.
People must be taught those rules and laws from a young age so they
become habit. Those rules and laws can include what is considered fair
and just in business. Corruption will be reduced. Some people will
cheat, but not many. Look at other societies, such as Japan, for
examples of social rules.

Fortunately, people have an innate sense of fair play programmed into
their DNA. Psychologists have tested people, including small children
and also various social animals such as chimpanzees, monkeys and dogs.

That innate sense of fair play can be the foundation we build on to
achieve an ethical society.

Repeated teaching of social rules and laws can make fair play seem
preferable to cheating.

I try to teach my children about fair play, advising them when they or
others engage in unethical behaviours.

For example, if my child cheats in sports and "wins" i tell them that
they (my child) are not better than the other athlete, as their "win"
was not based on athletic prowess but on cunning.

I advise my child they can be better than the other athlete if they
try hard enough to compete, improve themselves, don't sabotage others.

I help my child to see that if they are honest in how they compete
they won't be merely a winner, they will be a winner who is also
better than they were before they made the effort to improve
themselves.

To recap the last point: People need to be taught to not always be
lazy, taught not to always take the easy path.

They have to be taught that achievement takes effort and that
achievement gives emotional satisfaction. Achievement can also bring a
higher salary and professional recognition.

The sense of fair play in our DNA must be allowed to express itself,
aided by social rules and laws.

I believe if we follow the above principles we can have a prosperous
and just society that makes our lives enjoyable and serves as a
positive role model for the rest of the world.