My heart goes out to the family that so needlessly perished on the Renggam-Simpang Renggam road in broad daylight days ago.
But my anger stems from it being called an accident when it really isn’t. It was a disaster made and manifested in the “Sendirian Berhad” mindset of “Me, Myself, and I” above all else.
The “Sendirian Berhad” mindset, identified as such by a wise friend years ago, is alien to the spirit of civic consciousness or to mindfulness. Or to nation-building.
It’s a mindset anchored on a selfishness that is unlimited even in the face of religious and moral strictures, all proudly proclaimed.
Consciously or unconsciously, millions regard the Sendirian Berhad mindset as part of the natural order of things, while others regard the lack of it as a serious human failing.
And this obnoxious mindset is not the product of the “selfish gene” of Richard Dawkins or of “natural selection” as expounded by Charles Darwin.
It’s more ancient still, centred in the belief that you and you alone are responsible for your material success or failure.
Call it individual material salvation. Everyone and everything else is a mere tool to achieve this success. After that, the pleasures of the world beckon, including souped-up luxury cars.
So uncivilised! Yet we see them in the various stages and places that mark our lives - politics, school, university, the workplace.
Then there are the public places and the shared spaces - beaches, recreation parks, restrooms, libraries, carparks, malls, airports, restaurants, and yes, our roads and highways too.
When individualism turns destructive
Being incorruptible is beyond these “Sendirian Berhad” types, and so is keeping campsites and restrooms clean for the next or concurrent user.
Peace and quiet are drowned in loud talk, cars are double-parked, and mall lanes are blocked by carts, while a row of seats in airport lounges is turned into sleeping places.
Counter services are hogged, ignoring the long queue. They are the last to move aside for the ambulance, and they will block the entrance to your house, still chatting on the phone.
In a crisis, they are the first to hoard and the last to share. But these are the petty Sendirian Berhad people.
The more dangerous and destructive ones are the thousands of politicians, officials, and enforcement personnel who care little for the country, turning themselves into unscrupulous Sendirian Berhads - politicians who incite, counter-setting immigration officers, customs officers who have turned the country into an e-waste dump, and Road Transport Department officers who routinely look the other way for a quick bribe.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, speaking of the accident, said: “A driving licence is not a licence to drive recklessly and cause tragedy to common people.”
Please advise the same to the owners of run-down buses and over-laden sand lorries, Mr Minister. And crack the whip on the Sendirian Berhad enforcement personnel whose lifestyle and wealth are both unholy and uncivil.
And also explain to us why undocumented workers and schoolchildren drive cars and motorcycles without a licence with impunity.
And come clean, why did a thousand luxury cars ply our roads for years, having neither the requisite insurance nor road tax? Were the excise duties paid in full, or was it another case of the “Sendirian Berhad” mindset that is the bane and blight of this nation?
For comparison, Japan recorded 2,547 road traffic deaths in 2025 despite having a population of 123 million, while ours varied between 13,000 and 25,000 depending on the source. The World Health Organization, Asian Transport Observatory, and government agencies all differ.
And we are not even counting serious injuries that have confined people to a wheelchair or bed for life.
Needless to say, road design, signage, weather, and enforcement all play a part in road safety. But our “horror accidents” like this latest one are in a league of their own, akin to a hell-bent extremist mowing down pedestrians with a speeding car, truck, or bus.
Think about this: isn’t an extremist someone with a “Sendirian Berhad” mindset?
A culture of self-interest
“Sendirian Berhad” was first used in company registration to describe a private limited company, but in Indonesia, the equivalent term is “Perusahaan Terbatas”.
And yes, both berhad and terbatas translate to “limited” as to the liabilities of the owner of the enterprise, allowing it to take ever larger risks while creating wealth. Nothing sinister here.
But the word perusahaan more accurately reflects that a business activity is being carried out by the entity, while sendirian, from the root word sendiri, translates in everyday language to alone, oneself, or solitary.
From there to becoming selfish is only a short step away. Clearly, sendirian is now part of our DNA.
This sendirian DNA has made us a nation of largely, to coin a new term, “Sendirian Berhad”-ers. That is, the hearts and minds of a good many of us care only for “Me, Myself, and I”, which by itself is a pretty complete description of utter and ingrained selfishness. What a shame!
The Japanese call the sense of belonging to a nation kokutai. It translates to national polity, or national essence, or body politic. Literally, it means “the structure of the nation”.
It is the foundation of their famed civic consciousness. Even mindfulness. They truly feel the country belongs to all Japanese people.
We, on the other hand, are still debating, still fighting, still disagreeing on who belongs and who doesn’t, while still buried neck deep in racial and religious polarisation, discrimination, and segregation, not to mention blatant and endemic corruption.
Why should anyone be surprised that “Sendirian Berhad” has raced recklessly ahead of kokutai?
The killing will reduce when more Malaysians truly believe we owe each other our lives and our living. - Mkini
MURALE PILLAI is a former GLC employee. He runs a logistics company.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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