Country Breaking Down

Yes I think so. There is going to be a "sum of the parts" situation in this country sometime. The breakdown is happening slowly all around us, a little bit here, a little bit there. One day however, all these little breakdowns are going to add up - the sum of the parts - and then the whole country is going to blow up. Quite unfortunately, this breakdown is going to affect some people more than others (like the poor, or some races).

1. The recent news about the nurses is a clear example. The nurses from the private nursing colleges are unemployable. So the government says they may absorb them. This will certainly affect service quality at Government hospitals. (Which has its own set of problems already). This is a breakdown in the system.

The better option is to tighten up nurses training at all nurses training centres - private as well as public. But this wont happen. Why? Because in Malaysia things are not that simple and straightforward. It is always more complicated. There are always vested interests, people with connections who want to make money at the expense of you and me. That is why the system is breaking down.

2. In Japan, a Minister with even one "inexplicable" cow in her house will not just resign but she may commit suicide, ritual harakiri, because of the shame and embarrasment. Over here it is different - it is 'complicated'. The Minister proudly says that "untuk tenangkan jiwa" she and her spouse travelled separately to the Holy Land not once, twice or three times but five trips in total.

Wow! Orang lain nak pergi sekali pun kena kira banyak kali.

Surely that would have involved at least five First Class tickets (I dont think the Minister travelled Economy). Plus assistants, PAs, hangers on etc, what was the Bill? Say another RM100,000 for "soul searching" trips to the Holy Land? This is another breakdown in the system.

3. This morning I joined some really senior veteran journalists for their weekly Sunday breakfast at an unearthly 7:30 am.

The conversation also turned to the deteriorating roads and the worsening trash situation in Kuala Lumpur. It is getting from bad to worse. There are potholes everywhere. It is as if the Government does not care anymore.

Someone (if I mention who, you will all be terkejut - he is not in the picture) said that the Federal Government does have a Budget for road maintenance inside Kuala Lumpur. Strangely for the past few years this Federal funding has just stopped. The money has been diverted elsewhere - still spent inside Kuala Lumpur but for river cleaning and such. So the roads are becoming like Four Wheel Drive tracks at some parts of Kuala Lumpur. These deteriorating road conditions are a visible manifestation of a breakdown in the system.

4. Then here is some more news about the declining education system :

• address declining interest in Science and Maths, says Muhyiddin
• 'The decline in interest among students for Science and Mathematics in schools is being addressed..' said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
• .. there was a 37% drop in students taking up Science and Mathematics, and a 29% decline for pure science subjects.

This will have serious repercussions in the poverty levels in our country in another 10 years or 20 years. Students who do not study Science and Mathematics will (or should) fall behind others who do study Science and Mathematics. They will have less job opportunities and will become a bigger burden on their families and on the country. Our country too will attract less investments from overseas if our work force does not like Science and Mathematics. We will become poor.

I am positive there is a racial element to this as well. What are the races that are shying away from Maths and Science? Surely they will fall behind those races that embrace Science. Then we will scratch our heads and ask 'Pasal apa jurang perbezaan antara kaum masih wujud lagi - tanpa habis?' One of the biggest reasons is because we have switched away from the PPSMI. This will cost our country tremendously. Percayalah - kita akan jadi papa kedana sebab kita menolak PPSMI dan kita tidak tahu Sains. Abandoning the PPSMI will make us poor. This is another breakdown in the system.

5.  Here is another example of yet another breakdown in the system.

Virus outbreak in state under control, says Liow

The rotavirus, which also causes vomiting, fever and dehydration, had caused two infant deaths and some 2,200 acute gastroenteritis (AGE) cases in the Batang Padang and Hilir Perak districts.

..a high density of cases reported in areas close to the water plant that supplies both districts. . “Initial investigations show that the water was polluted by the virus.

Two infants, aged two and 10 months old, died on Jan 31 from severe dehydration.

AGE cases in the Batang Padang and Hilir Perak districts have risen to 2,544

In a related matter, the Perak Water Board has increased the amount of chlorine at its water treatment plant in Bukit Temoh, Tapah..

This is another breakdown in the system. The water treatment plant is producing dirty water which has now caused the deaths of two infants and made another 2,544 children very sick. Only now the Perak Water Board has increased the amount of chlorine in its water treatment plants.

Why only now? The first water treatment plants were set up by the Orang Putih more than one hundred years ago. In any water treatment, they always use alums and (maybe) put chlorine in the water to remove organic material, kill bacteria and other germs. So what happened? The technicians at the water treatment plants suddenly did not like Mathematics and Science? Or they cannot read the instruction manuals (which are most likely still in English). Or it is simply the "saya peduli apa" attitude.

6. The fracas at the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet is also another manifestation of the system breaking down. The restaurant had run out of chicken. The customers got testy after the KFC guy had said "lu mahu apa lagi' (or words to that effect). Words were exchanged and the KFC guy let fly. It is the same 'saya peduli apa' attitude again. The country is breaking down.

We need strong leadership folks. We need to scrutinise the details and pay attention to doing the right things in this country. There is no time to foya foya, fly off to the Holy Land, lose billions to the Arabs or get fleeced by just about everyone. A revolution is nigh. Just exactly when or how it is going to happen is the big mystery. Complicating the matter are the liwatters, the bearded monkeys and the racists who are chomping at the leash - waiting to let loose their own destruction upon the land. May Allah save this country.