STICK TO THE RULE OF LAW

I refer to the letter, "There is just no escape from the red tape," by Dr. A Soorian (NST OCT>21)
It is regrettable that the writer failed to understand the simple Rule of Law by bringing up this trivial matter, which states that all applications for Death Certificate should be submitted within the first seven days of the date of death. There must be reasons for this. To say that the mourning parties are preoccupied with prayers etc. is I think a lame excuse.
If police report and the Burial Certificate could be obtained on the same day, I see no reason why someone could not spend a couple of hours just to collect the Death Certificate on any day within the week of death
Penalty for late application of certificates or late payment of bills are common We all have to pay penalty for late payment of our parking tickets, summons ,Cukai tanah, cukai taksiran and credit card bills etc. and if our electricity ,water supply,or telephone , Astro, and internet lines are cut off for late payment, we have to pay reconnecting fees, which can cost us from RM 20 to RM 100 ringgit. So what is RM 25 ringgit for a late application of Death Certificate compared to RM 35 to 50 ringgit to get a cough syrup and panadol from a local clinic.
It should be realised that Rule of Laws cannot be made to suit everyones taste. To suggest that the time frame to be extended to at least a month is a waste of time. Some Malaysians are in the habit of waiting till the last moment to do anything withen the frame work of the Rule of Law

NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR
PETALING JAYA

WAYS TO FIGHT JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

NEWSPAPER reports of the continuing rise in juvenile delinquency, especially in schools is cause for concern. In the 1960s and 1970s most juvenile delinquents were school dropouts, but this trend has changed as more schoolchildren, are now turning to crime . There is certainly an urgent need to recognise the problem and take positive steps to arrest this unhealthy trend
Offences committed by students these days include assaulting their teachers and fellow students,bullying, theft, housebreaking,robbery,extortion,dadah abuse,sexual crimes, smoking, drinking,truancy, vandalism and illegal racing. Smoking among students of both sexes is also reported to be on the rise, in spite of the no smoking campaign launched by the Government.
It has now been established that most juvenile delinquents are schoolchildren, especially those who come from broken homes in the slum areas and also from urban areas., and as such I strongly believe that in the prevention of juvenile delinquency , the home and the schooling aspect should never be neglected , but then there are more than 40,000 single mothers who are living below poverty line, and with so many children to take care,they are often neglected , and something must be done about this.

I think the weakest link lies in the absence of a policy on crime prevention in schools to evaluate the impact of home environment ,truancy ,indiscipline ,dadah abuse, smoking, drinking etc on child behaviour and in particular its relation to juvenile delinquency.
I hope the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation ,and others instead of just prescribing antidotes play an active role not only in preventing crime, but also to determine ways in which the public, parent-teacher associations,the mass media, Government departments, non Governmental Organizations , can contribute to the reduction of crimes especially in schools.
Public response has been encouraging as seen by the number of people writing to this column, giving their ideas and suggestions, and I feel that MCPF should take the initiative to gather all the ideas ,informations,and suggestions and call upon all the relevant authorities to have a seminar and come out with a solution that could be implemented in our schools system.There should be a referendum on the issue.
The following suggestions could be of help:

.School social work should be introduced to help students modify their attitudes towards
schooling and their teachers and to enhance adjustment to the school enviro0nment.

. Build up their sense of belonging and loyalty to the school through sports academic excellence, and co curricular activities.

Better communication between parents students and teachers through the PTAs to discuss and solve problems

The mass media should promote the appreciation of the intrinsic value of education. It is very important for parent and the community to realise the importance of education as a positive step towards the prevention of crime and delinquency

Students should be guided on the useful occupation of their leisure hours. More playing fi elds should be developed ,instead of golf course and cyber cafes

Students should be compelled to be members of disciplined uniform groups. They could help discipline teachers enforce discipline. School discipline teachers should be members of the police volunteer reserve with powers to arrest and detain, and they should be in police uniform while teaching in schools. Its objective is to induce in students the respect for law and order, regard for property, love for their parents, teachers, fellow students and elders, and a sense of pride in themselves and to foster in them the awareness of their abilities.
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They should also be encouraged to take up vocational training, hobbies,or socializing ,like biking, hiking picnic canoeing and other organized activities.

Religious groups, clubs like the Lion and Rotary Club , PTAs, NGOs and private sectors companies should take an active part in organizing various activities for students so that they would not be left on their own

Re introduce the post of Probation officers,besides handling probation reports, they should also be responsible for handling schoolchildren who play truant and to report the matter to the schools and their parents as it is done in the United Kingdom..They should work closely with the police in all matters regarding juvenile delinquency.

There is no easy way to fight juvenile delinquency . I realise also that it is not an easy task to implement all suggestions put forward by everyone as there are a lot of obstacles to be overcome such as funds.

However we must realize that it is better to spend on preventive measures rather than see our schools turned into ganglands, which will not benefit future generations.


NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR
PETALING JAYA

USE TOLL FREE ROADS

It was reported in a
local T.V , news at 8 pm on 19th April,2009, that it would cost the
Federal Government, RM 5 billions to buy over the North/South Highway,
concessionaire Agreement, in order to solve the issue of toll
increase, to benefit the people and the government.
I presume this does
not include the cost of daily repairs, road resurfacing , repairs to
bridges, and land slide areas. Maintaining hillsides which are prone
to landslides, rest areas, drainage, lighting, grass cutting,painting
of road signs, security etc. All these and the payment of salaries to
staff and workers would amount to a billion more or less per year..
Dato Salleh
Majid,who was interviewed by the TV, said that the Rm 5 billions,
could be better spent on the development projects which would be more
beneficial to all Malaysians. He added that with the exception of the
people from the business community, and transport operators, not all
Malaysians travel on the highways daily.He suggested that a discount
be given to frequent travelers.
I feel that PLUS
should continue giving discounts to motorists who travel after 12
midnight, A 50% discount should be given to those who travel from
Kuala Lumpur to Penang or Alor Setar and vise versa and from Kuala
Lumpur to Johore Baru and vice versa.
Motorists who want
to travel toll free should make use of the old Federal Roads which are
now wider and well maintained. In order to ease the traffic flow the
Government should where possible increase the two lane roads into
four lane roads If these roads are wider better and well maintained
then people would be encouraged , to travel on the old roads rather
than pay tolls through their noses to travel on the highways.

PLUS on the other
hand should not only be thinking of increasing toll rates for their
revenues,which could burden the people. I observed that there are a
lot of road reserved lands on both sides of the highway stretching
from Johore Baru to Bukit Kayu Hitam. These could be better used to
plant rows of tamarind trees or "asam Jawa". trees as they did along
the highways in some part of India and Thailand.We are now importing
millions of ringgit worth of asam jawa from these countries.Teak trees
or mango trees could also be planted.As it is we are importing tons
of of the lemak manis manggo from Thailand which are being sold at Rm4
a kilo.



NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR
PETALING JAYA

NEED TO ENFORCE THE LAW

I refer to your Cross
Talk, "Living in fear of Mat Rempit Gang," by Prof. Rozmi Ismail, Head
of Psychology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. (NST May 9).
I am sure many would
have read, the professor's report on them, and the fear that they have
created for the people.The phenomenon will be here to stay if nothing
drastic is done soonest, especially by the Government. Amend the law,
enact new Act. or do whatever is necessary
We have been talking
about this serious issue for more than a decade. In those days they
were only "pelumba haram", earning a few bucks from punters , but
today the groups have increased to an alarming numbers, making it
more difficult for the police to combat the trend, which is worrying
and frightening the people. They have turned into aggressive mobsters
,gangsters,rapists, gang robbers, and snatch thieves. Unfortunately
,the professor did not mention whether they are also hook on drugs as
drug pushers or addicts .
More than a year ago,
I suggested in my letter to this column (NST April 29) that Mat Rempit
be classified as Juvenile delinquents, as most of them are below 18
years of age, and they should be committed to Henry Gurney Schools,
for three years or till the age of 21. The suggestion turned into deaf
ears, and today the phenomenon is getting from bad to worse.. It
appears that the public is not given any protection at all.
Tan Sri Lim Lam
Thye,from the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation, recently ,agreed
with me
when he wrote to letters ,(NST May 6)" Classify them as Juvenile
Delinquents," and suggested that they be sent to reform schools like
the Henry Gurney schools, where they will receive counselling and
skill training .
Since we already have
the necessary laws and facilities to commit them ,I feel that it would
be a waste of time and public fund to set up more rehabilitation
centres especially for the Mat Rempit, as suggested by the Inspector
General of Police, in your report,"rehabilitate illegal racers (Nst.
May 8). All the police and the JPJ need to do is to enforce the law
strictly. Commit the below 18 to Henry Gurney Schools and the above
18 to Prisons, for various offences under existing laws.



NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR
Petaling Jaya.