When will the lesson on road safety be "driven" home?

Another carnage of a tour bus happened all over again on Monday, 20 December 2010, just as we are about to wrap up 2010, this time with 28 fatalities, involving 26 Thai tourists and two Malaysians (the bus driver and a tourist guide)... the highest number ever recorded in Malaysian history. A high-decked tour bus en route to Kuala Lumpur from Cameron Highlands lost control and went over the road divider and crashed, upside down into a large drain at the opposite direction of the dual carriageway, along KM 15 Cameron Highlands - Simpang Pulai road.

Everyone, from the public to the relevant government agencies have started a merry-go-round of the blaming game all over again. Although the well-meaning Minister of Transport has proposed relevant steps to be implemented to curb more serious and fatal road accidents from happening in the future, as long as strict enforcement of traffic regulations are not being observed, the situation happening on Malaysian roads will never improve.

Malaysian drivers generally do not have consideration of other road users' safety. Many a times I have found myself in a situation where my own life is at stake when driving. As I am a conscientious driver and always abide by the traffic regulations, other road users would often put me in a situation where I am forced to behave more aggresively for the benefit of my own safety.

Often when I do this other road users would think I am behaving like road bully. The reality is that I'm not; I am very much concerned about my own safety and that of the other road users. I have been practising defensive driving for as long as I could remember and by doing so, this has actually improved my driving skills and judgement of other road users.

I think it is time that the relevant government agencies should come down REALLY hard on errant road users. Top on the list would be NO discounts to be given to late payment of traffic summons; an extremely heavy penalty should come attached to this summons instead. Next, it is high time to increase either police patrols or patrols by officers from Road Transport Department to force all road users to behave. Last but not least, road safety lessons should be incorporated in the education system as well as consideration of increasing the age limit for people who want obtain a driver's licence, especially for cars and motorcycles.

It is high time for Malaysians to come to a stark realisation that obtaining a driver's licence actually comes with a high level of responsibility and accountability for the value of other road users' lives, especially for bus drivers. Doing the REAL 'walk-the-talk' now will get relevant road safety measures in place and rolling for a start, and every Malaysian has his/her role to play, from the relevant government agencies to the normal man on the street.

Christmas... it's the time of giving and sharing

It is the time of the year again...the Christmas holiday season. The Christmas holiday season also marks the time of the year where most people will pledge to share the tidings they have received throughout the passing year. However, Christmas has become very commercialised over the recent years, thus, most people who are celebrating it would tend to get lost in relating themselves to the real meaning of Christmas, and I am no exception to this. 

Christmas actually symbolises the birth of Jesus Christ more than two thousand years ago. T'was the night when the Three Wise Men followed the Star of the Holy Spirit that led them to a manger in the city of Bethlehem where they witnessed and rejoiced in the birth of Jesus, who would later become the Saviour of mankind.

Thus, the Christmas holiday season is an excellent time for celebrating the meaning of the birth of Jesus Christ as well and giving and sharing with the less fortunate and also with family and friends. It should also be a time of togetherness with family and friends and self-reflection so that one can be a better person in this life and the one after.

May you have a meaningful and blessed Christmas, and a wonderful New Year 2011. 

E-book or real book, what's your pick?

I have been reading for as far as I can remember. I love books to the extent a book could be seen as permanently stuck to my nose most of the time. I do not have particular preference to a specific genré, I would read anything that catches my attention, it can even be advertisements or food and product labels.
However, the advent of the e-reader technology saw a possible changing trend in the preference for books to e-reader, especially people from the younger generation.

I am so used to carrying a book with me at all times when Í am out of the house, so I actually enjoy the experience of holding a book in my hands and smelling the musty odour of an old book or if in the case of a new book, the crispness of its pages and the process of "breaking-in" it. Nothing beats the real thing, in my honest opinion if I have to choose between a real book or an e-reader.

An e-reader seemed to be the in-thing to own these days, especially since the launch of i-Pad not too long ago. However, I'm not too hyped up to own an e-reader. Yup, I did go through a period of uncertainty of deciding if I want to own one. I am thankful that I finally decided to stick to owning real printed books because I personally feel that using an e-reader just doesn't provide the experience of reading from a real book.

I will only own an e-reader when the many books I want to read are no longer available in printed format or when new books are no longer printed. The only good thing I can think of about owning an e-reader is that you are able to own hundreds or even thousands of books without facing the issue of lack shelving space. The functions of an e-reader is still somewhat limited, unless it can evolved into a multi-functional device, I don't think I will ever own an e-reader.

However, other people who love reading might disagree with me. Maybe they are able to better utilise an e-reader compared to me. Having said this, I tried taking an informal vote on Facebook from some of my friends who love reading. Interestingly for those who responded to this voting, all of them are partial to a real book rather than an e-reader, even for one friend who owns an e-reader application on her i-Phone.