Stop! Thief!

Crooks these days are getting braver. All they need is lots of guts and a knife. And they get away with blue murder.

My sister, Penny, fell victim to a robber today. She had just arrived at my mum’s house and entered the gate. Though there wasn’t anybody in sight when she alighted from the car, this Indian guy seemed to spring up from nowhere. He must have been lying in wait somewhere. My niece who had just got down from the car screamed. Penny turned around but it was too late for her to close the gate. She stepped back and cowered. He came towards her with a knife. She screamed and threw her bag at him. He grabbed his loot and jumped on a red motorbike waiting for him outside.

My aunty who lived across the road heard the commotion. She rushed out and saw the perpetrators making their getaway. The motorbike didn’t have a license plate.

Penny had thought of throwing her bag into the neighbour’s compound but she knew that was a great risk to take. The robber could’ve just stuck the knife into her for thwarting him. She berated herself for fastening her handbag. If she had left it unclasped as she usually does, the contents would’ve fallen out when she tossed the bag. (I leave my bag unzipped for this purpose too, but when in crowded areas such as the mall, I zip it up.)

After canceling her credit cards and ATM card, she was going to hit the streets to look for her bag. She harbours the hope that the thieves would toss her bag at the road side or longkang after pocketing the cash and the phone. All her contact numbers are in her mobile and she has other important documents in her bag too. I doubt whether she would recover the bag. It’s like looking for a needle in the haystack. Hopefully some kind soul who finds the bag will return it to my sister. If that happens, it may take a while as her IC address is in Johor. (When a pickpocket stole my purse while I was in Penang several years back, my IC was mailed back to me by a good Samaritan. But by then I had already replaced it.)

Please be alert of your surroundings. And write your contact numbers in a telephone book somewhere. Remember Wendy Wong’s case? Someone stole her phone and she offered a reward for the return of the SIM card. I don’t know if she ever got it back.

I am very angry with these low life. What they steal is not just cash and valuables. They’ve stolen our peace, safety and innocence. We dare not tell the time to strangers in case they turn out to be crooks. We can’t go out for a jog without worrying about our safety. We dare not let our kids out into the streets in case they are apprehended by sex maniacs.

To the newly elected government, please make our streets safe again. Put more cops out on patrol. They will make a difference. We’ve had enough of scumbags who want to make an easy living with snatching people’s bags and striking fear in our hearts.

Of incentives and rumours

Meaningful incentive

IPOH: The state government should consider other ways of rewarding the people rather than waiving summonses and compound notices, a local council watchdog said.

On Monday, Mohammad Nizar announced the “one-time arrangement” to thank people for supporting the DAP-PKR-PAS coalition and to help reduce their burden.

The Star, 20 Mar 2008

Penangnites too received a similar reward. I don’t agree with this sort of incentive. It is sending the wrong message to people and rewarding them for bad behaviour.

A more meaningful incentive would be to provide a discount on assessment rates. More people can benefit from it, not just the law breakers.  The Selangor MB’s offer of free water for up to 20 cubic metre is laudable but if he could give us cheaper electricity rates, that would be even better.

Do you have any suggestions?

On rumour-mongering

There has been many rumours circulating via the internet and sms-ses telling people to stay home as certain unhappy quarters are going to organize a protest to ask the PM to resign. In the message, no date, time or venue was mentioned even though it was specified that these demonstrations will be held at toll booths.

Our Sunday School had planned a trip to the zoo today which is a public holiday (Prophet Muhammad’s birthday). We were asked to consider canceling the trip for safety reasons. After thinking it over, the Sunday School coordinator decided to go ahead with it. I agree with his decision and am glad that we didn’t cancel the outing. Sometimes, we tend to err on the side of caution, just in case something happens.

I am sure rumours of this sort are started by people who want to incite unrest among the rakyat. Let’s be wise and discerning in sorting out the chaff from the wheat.

Here’s the gang all safe and sound to the zoo and back.

Grassroots snippets

At home

My neighbour asked me this morning, “Did you go and listen to the ceramah?”

Err…. no. I usually stay away from large crowds.

“How was it?” I asked.

“Very ho liao,” she said. (Ho liao is Hokkien for excellent/delicious.)

“You’ll get to hear what you don’t read in the papers,” I said.

“Yeah. I’ve been to three already. The speakers are very good. On Wednesday, Lim Kit Siang came to Hing Hwa school but we went round for an hour and still couldn’t find parking. Too bad we had to miss his talk.”

“I get my info from the internet,” I told her. “There’s a lot of rumblings.”

My neighbour told me who she’s going to vote without me asking her.

At mum’s

“Do you know where to vote?” I asked.

“We’ve got our papers telling us where to vote,” mum said.

Then she told me that she’s been to three events where free food was offered, courtesy of “Timbang” (weighing scale). But my aunt who was her chauffeur couldn’t bring her to yesterday’s event where KFC was offered.

“Wasted,” she sighed.

“Was any ang pow given?” I asked. My neighbour had told me of feasts where food and money was offered.

“Yes, during Chinese New Year. $100. At the morning market, people were saying, vote for Timbang.”

Mum told me who she’s going to vote for.

Sis dropped by with her kids. She’s going back with her whole family to JB to vote. She had just shifted to Klang this year but she’s registered in JB.

I put forth the question : do people eat BN’s food and vote for the opposition?

“Lots of people do that,” Sis said. “They (the election folks) know who you will vote for, and will transfer you to an area where that vote will count.”

I think she’s talking of gerrymandering.

Gerrymander: To gerrymander is to divide a voting area in such a way as to give one political party the advantage in as many districts as possible, or weaken the voting strength of an ethnic or racial group. Due to this division, the voting area could end up odd-shaped and unnatural, geographically and administratively.

The Star, 29 Feb 208 (Mind our English)

Consider this. I used to live in Taman Eng Ann, Klang. Mum is in Taman Berkeley, just next door. These two residential areas are predominantly Chinese. Eng Ann residents vote for Sg. Pinang/Kapar but Berkeley for Kota Anggerik/Shah Alam.

In the car

“Who are you going to vote?” no. 2 asked.

“It’s a secret,” I said.

“Cheh, what secret.  My friend was asked who her parents are going to vote for and she answered, ‘Of course DAP!’ as if all Chinese will vote for DAP.”

“That’s right.  The Chinese vote for MCA too.”

“Aiyah, I know who you’re going to vote.”  She told me which party she thought I would vote for.  I kept quiet.  She had guessed wrong.

To the polls we go. Let’s make our vote count.