Work Site Safety - Malaysia's Poor Record

It is quite sad that many people still die in industrial accidents and often the human factor is the weakest link.

In many cases there is a lot of pressure to complete the tasks and often short cut are taken. Safety rules are ignored and precautions are are not fully followed.
Many workers too don't bother to learn where are the dangers in their work-place.

There is also the tendency to cover up blatant disregard for safety rules as prominent companies may be involved and penalties are minimal in relation to the damage done.

For this fatal accident, I would also check the following:

1.Was the proper procedure followed to erect the tower?
2.Was the cable connections done according to the recommended procedure.
3.Were the workers working with safe practices?
4.Were the proper tools and equipment supplied?
5.Were the workers under adequate supervision?
6.What were the weather conditions like?
7.Was the replacement tower in good condition?

APOLOGIES .... How Should a Leader Apologise?

There have been reports that some people are not too happy with the "ifs" and "buts" in the Education Minister's apology.

So this is a little essay on what should included in a good apology:

1. There should be an admisssion that one has done a wrong or made a mistake.
2. Should not contain any "ifs", "buts" and "therefores".
3. Should be some action to make reparation to the wronged party/parties.

Some I suggest that all political figures who sincerely believed they have done something wrong and need to apologise, this kind of apology will go down well with the majority of common folks.

"I am really sorry that my action offended many Malaysian. I did not realise that this act would have been interpreted in such a manner and I apologise to all those who were intimidated or offended in any way.

It was never my intention to cause such hurt.
Therefore I am resigning from public office with immediate effect but I will remain as a MP to serve my constituents.
When the people decide that I should seek such office again in the future, I will be more ready and matured to serve you."

What do you think?

The EC and Deceased Voters - Why Can't They Adopt this Simple Proposal?

We have spent billions of Ringgit in ICT with Super Corriders etc and it is therefore surprising that the EC wants the families of the deceased to advise of the dead person's identity so that the electoral rolls can be cleaned up.

So what happens when the deceased is the last surviving member of his particular family? More phantom voters?

To me this is quite a simple administrative process.
The department that issues the death certificate should be authorised to advise the EC. If this is done on a weekly or monthly basis, it should cost not more than RM0.30 per name.

No deed to publicise your weakness like this, Mr EC Chairman-Who-Should-be-Retired.

That Keris Apology .... A Little Late but Learn From Past Mistakes

It must be difficult for the Minister to openly apologise but it is necessary if he wants to become a future leader of Malaysia.

All Malaysians value the rich heritage in our nation - we are truly blessed with a multi-cultural and multi-religious mix and the common sense of most Malaysians has enabled the majority to live in peace and generally get on quite well.

Of course we will always have a small minority of every race that will resort to extreme measures to attract attention in order to gain some political mileage.

The minister should have known that not too long ago, another prominent person spoke about "bathing his keris in blood" but unfortunately no definite action was taken to curb such an incendiary remark.

I reckon that particular remark caused more damage to race relations than the marches organised by the HINDRAF group that resulted in 5 of their leaders being detained under the ISA.

So a leader can get away with a call for a blood-bath but marginalised citizens get arrested for simply asking the government to look into their plight?
No wonder the BN is still wandering in the political wilderness.

If So-Called Mature Leaders Behave Like This, How Can We Expect Youths to Learn Nation-Building During NS?

The hooha about the ex-Gerakan leader helping out the Penang authorities by heading two important positions is a sorry example of poor bahaviour by our so-called political leaders.

It is not as if he is heading some terrorist group as those organisations will attract investors, create jobs and therefore increase the taxes that will flow to the federal government.

At first, the more pleasant side of the PM was reflected when he hoped "it could be a new beginning" for BN and PR but soon it was replaced by the more strident "against BN policy"; as if it was working with the enemy.

Now if the federal leaders cannot work in harmony with the state authorities that have been legally elected, what kind of example are we showing to the youths?

We throw them together for 3 months with a program that costs more than RM600m each year, get a few killed in the process and then hope they will learn racial tolerance, nation-building etc.

GOSH! From the way our leaders behave, this is really good monies down the drain. Did I hear someone mention, "NO....into someone's pockets!"

SHOCK Prices when Leaders Try to Talk Up Shares

I remember this casewell and it was after the ASJ was launched in 1992.
The MB of Johor was quoted in the press that the unit would go up to a few ringgit; thereby influencing many to buy especially those who do not understand the concept of unit trusts.

Today the unit is around RM0.50 about half of the launch price. It looks as if this fund manager is a really poor one and unit holders should at least try and recover their costs.

Of course if they had just kept their monies in the bank over 15 years, they could have at least doubled their money. No wonder people are upset at being taken in by influential sweet-talking salemen.

With such high losses, there are calls for the ACA to probe the unit trust company.

People in high positions should not make such statements especially about price matters unless they want to give a guarantee.

The ISA and Recalcitrant Leaders......

I think most Malaysians are not against the ISA so long as it does not affect them.
But under the ISA, if you do something that displeases the Home Minister like organise a peaceful march, you can get put away for 2 years and no one can question the detention order in court.

It seems rather draconion that we have given such authority to a mere mortal - no court hearing, no testing of evidence and no judge to decide the merits of the case.
I hope the new government we will be getting within 5 years will put this matter right.

Public security is one thing but settling private peeves is another.