HAS GOD GIVEN UP ON MALAYSIA?

Of course, I could be wrong. It could only be 250,000 Malaysians who died on Malaysian roads since Merdeka and not 300,000-350,000 as I have estimated. Nevertheless, whatever the real figure may be, it is still too high. And it is all because of corruption and inconsiderate Malaysian drivers.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

There is a song from the album of the same name titled God has gone on holiday and initially I thought I would title this article ‘Has God gone on holiday?’. However, knowing how many of you Muslims and Christians would be sensitive about such a title and will think that I am whacking your religion, I decided to change the title to the above instead.

Anyway, this article is in response to the news yesterday that the Terengganu State Government organised special prayers (solat hajat) regarding the 75 deaths on the new highway. In January this year, Terengganu opened its new highway, Lebuhraya Pantai Timur 2 (LPT2), and thus far 75 people have died on that highway, which is considered an extremely high number of deaths — hence the reason for the special prayers or solat hajat.

Loosely translated, hajat means need or wish. Based on the context of how the word hajat is used it can also mean intention or objective. Basically, solat hajat is the prayers you perform to call upon God or Allah for help in solving a problem, crisis or dilemma. Normally, people facing difficulties and whom needs God’s help to overcome this difficulty would ask for help by performing solat hajat.

While I am not trying to belittle or make fun of the faith of Muslims who perform solat hajat as a means to seek God’s help in overcoming a problem, is this really the way to go? I mean, if just praying is good enough, then PAS should organise solat hajat all over the country simultaneously and ask for God’s help to defeat Barisan Nasional in the next general election. Surely then PAS would be the next federal government with Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang as Malaysia’s new Prime Minister.

The sad reality is that, as the Christians would say, God helps those who help themselves. If you perform solat hajat and then jump off the Kuala Lumpur Twin Towers I am sure God is not going to arrange a soft landing for you. You are going to break every bone in your body the instant you hit the ground. If you do nothing but just leave it to God to solve all your problems your problems are not going to go away, never mind how strong your faith may be.

On a per capita basis, the mortality rate for traffic accidents in Malaysia is ten times what it is in the UK. Is this because 70 million Brits perform solat hajat every week? Or it is because in the UK you will never be given a driving licence unless you deserve one and also because the traffic laws are very strictly enforced (hence they are very strictly observed)?

No doubt there are some inconsiderate and rude people on the UK roads as well, most times young punks and/or non-whites. We even have cases of road-rage from time to time. Overall, however, most UK drivers are very considerate and do not put their lives and the lives of other road users at risk. In short, all these people are very civil while in Malaysia the road users are downright uncivilised.

We also have cameras everywhere. The UK is said to be the most wired country in the world. Nothing happens in the UK without big brother watching. My neighbour lost two cars last week and within 24 hours they arrested the thieves and recovered the cars, all because of the cameras.

So we never stop in a no-stopping zone because we will be caught on camera and the camera will send that information to a computer, which will then generate a summons that will be posted to our house. There is no human interaction. Everything is digitised and computerised. You cannot bribe a camera and computer to evade the fine.

In Malaysia, you go to the driving school not to learn how to drive but to learn how to pass your driving test. The driving school will then offer you two choices of fees. The normal fee just to learn how to pass your test and the more expensive fee that carries a guarantee you will pass your test. Many if not most choose the more expensive alternative that comes with a guarantee.

Guess why the second alternative, which comes with a guarantee, is more expensive. I once had a neighbour who passed her driving test but needed my wife’s help to reverse her car out of the driveway. She could not drive even if her life depended on it and yet she passed her driving test.

In short, corruption kills. And since January this year 75 people have lost their lives on that new highway in Terengganu. By New Year’s Eve 6,000-7,000 people would have lost their lives on the road all over Malaysia. That comes to about 20 people every day. And every year for the last many decades this trend has never changed. I do not see why it should change in the next few decades.

Can I safely assume that since Merdeka an estimated 300,000-350,000 people have died on Malaysian roads? I bet not a single of the 222 Members of Parliament even know the real figure. And they do not know not because the figures are not available — they are. They do not know because they do not care and are not concerned about the 300,000-350,000 Malaysians who died needlessly on Malaysian roads.

Of course, I could be wrong. It could only be 250,000 Malaysians who died on Malaysian roads since Merdeka and not 300,000-350,000 as I have estimated. Nevertheless, whatever the real figure may be, it is still too high. And it is all because of corruption and inconsiderate Malaysian drivers.

Malaysia is the 17th most dangerous country in the world in terms of road fatalities. The world average is 18 deaths per 100,000 people. In Malaysia it is 30 deaths per 100,000 people. The good news, though, is that you are six times more likely to die from a heart attack than in a traffic accident, so count your blessings.

Now tell me, how many of you reading this has not paid (or knows someone who has paid) for his or her driving licence? How many of you reading this has not paid (or knows someone who has paid) a bribe to escape a fine for a traffic offense? How many of you reading this has not jumped the queue, beaten a red light, ‘squeezed in’, ‘cut’ someone off, etc., ever in your life? How many of you reading this realise that by the time you finish reading this, another person or another few people will be lying dead on the road?