Casualties of BN cruelty: Did you know a RAPE occurs every 15 mins...

If social ills today within Malaysian society have started to grow rapidly it will be quite right to lay the blame on the authorities and the police as custodians of law and order for neglecting the welfare of the state.

Every sphere of social ill in this country has started to witness a marked increase though this fact is often downplayed by the authorities or distorted by the use of statistics.

If any party is to be blamed, it should be the BN government for not looking into the concerns and worries of the people and instead opting for a lop-sided development of the nation which has caused those less capable to be susceptible and become victims in the push for economic growth.

Since the economic booms under the malevolent leadership of former premier Mahathir Mohammad, many Malaysians have succumbed to being victims of the UMNO-BN dictator who 'flogged' the backs of Malaysians to try and fulfill his flights of fantasy for the country.

A rape occurs every 15 minutes in Malaysia

For example, while the police confess that incidences of rape cases are on the rise, the contention by the All Women’s Action Society Malaysia is that it is not only on the rise but that “a rape occurs every 15 minutes in Malaysia.”

Raping is just the tip of the iceberg in the list of crime and social ills, and since Malaysia has a population of 28 million people at the last census, it can ill afford to allow these problems to go unchecked.

If left unchecked, Malaysia faces the bleak prospect of being a nation made up of more and more down-and-out people very soon.

But the media, NGOs and concerned individuals have from time to time been spearheading moves and directing the attention of the BN government, but to no avail so far, in wanting to see the authorities arrest the growing trend in social ills.

Growth of social ills

Ever since the boh sia and lepak episode was highlighted in the 90s, more social ills have started to creep into Malaysian society. We are now witnessing, in line with our bid to be a high income, developed nation by 2020, probably a high spike in the number of deviant persons with deviant behavior.

The vulnerable and the weak, or “soft targets” as psychologists term them, are the most abused and victims of much pain, anguish and suffering in this country which have not been attended or paid heed to by a blind and deaf BN government bent on wealth creation and the satisfaction of personal, private greed and consumption.

Even newborn babies are victims of the authorities whom seem to “encourage” the dumping of unwanted babies by stating openly that there are plans on the drawing board to operate more baby hatches as they seem to be gaining in popularity.

Is this the best solution? Other individuals and organisations are describing this measure as merely offering “symptomatic relief” and not tackling the root of the problem.

3 million are mentally disturbed

Further, if you were just to wander around the major towns and cities of the country, you will find a significant number of mentally and emotionally ill people.

This is because unofficial estimates by mental health experts put the number of mentally ill at around 10 per cent of the population which translates to close to 3 million Malaysians in need of some form of psychiatric or psychological care and counsel.

More down-and-out Malaysians

Added to this are the growing numbers of the beggar population that have become a menace to society.

Not only local beggars, but nowadays we have expatriate beggars from China, the Philippines and Myanmar vying for a share of Malaysians’ generosity not just in urban areas but also in the rural areas of the peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak.

While efforts to clampdown on these beggars are laudable, it is perhaps better to seek lasting measures rather than have to see them return to the streets to beg once they have been taken off the streets and sent for rehabilitation.

This issue needs to be addressed so as to discourage other weak-willed individuals who are indirectly victims of the BN leaders’ push for lop-sided development from resorting to this option to earn a living.

Aside from rehabilitating beggars, the measures by the authorities to turn around the lives of drug addicts have so far shown a very dismal performance.

This is simply the reason why drug abuse is still Public Enemy No.1 and has been so for the last three or four decades. Efforts to eradicate and eliminate this destructive behavior especially among youths needs to undergo a major revamp in line with the current situation.

The growing list of victims

Time and space does not permit in this forum to jot down the full list of woes that afflict Malaysian society today.

But there is the plight of single mothers and orphans, the Mat Rempits and Mat Sikals, the destitute and homeless, those disabled by the high rate of road accidents in the country, the unemployed and the hardcore poor are among the long list of Malaysians suffering from the ill-effects of BN’s lop-sided development.

This is why most of us have some form of awareness that Malaysia is now a land where the down-and-out are growing rapidly every year as we head towards the status of a fully developed nation by 2020.

While anyone will welcome the push to become an advanced and developed country, let us ensure the price we pay is fair and worth it.

Otherwise much of the benefits and gains of development may be lost in the form of having to nurse the sick and infirm and to put up with people that are a threat or a public nuisance.

The right thing to do will be to strive for a society that is whole and are able to integrate with one another and be able to meet the challenges of the future with confidence and assurance.

Only such a “prepared society” will prevail and triumph over adversity and challenges, difficulties, problems and crises in the coming future.

But as Malaysia stands today, the disarray that has begun to foment under the BN government is enough to assure right-thinking individuals that the future might not augur well for even more Malaysians as the list of casualties across society continues to grow.

Malaysia Chronicle