A Doctor in the House

Our former fourth prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has just launched his autobiography titled ‘A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’.

Being the longest serving Prime Minister of Malaysia, he definitely have gone through a lot during his tenure as the premier of the country and therefore his memoirs covers many facets of his personal and professional experience.

He however did not complete his memoirs in chronology format but rather in chapters where he decide what events during his tenure that he wishes to delve into and shares with the public.

As expected his memoirs attracted praise from those who admire him and criticisms from his detractors.

Tun M, as he is fondly referred to, is undoubtedly the most enigmatic Prime Minister that country have ever had. He seemed not to care about the praise towards him and not disheartened by the criticisms against him.

In that sense he is an interesting person.

Many who despise him argue that he is an authoritarian leader and that he has curtailed a lot of freedom in the country during his tenure.

Those who praise him on the other hand argue that he have singlehandedly transform the country to one of the most vibrant economy in the Asia region.

As he mentioned in his memoirs in the end it is safe to conclude that history and the future generations would probably the best judge to appraise his successes and failure.

In any situation a leader have to lead with many uncertainties and make decisions that may on hindsight be the wrong one but a leader does not have the advantage of hindsight but act he must.

Malaysia some say have regressed during his tenure but it would be unfair to close one eye and not acknowledge the successes that the country have benefited during his tenure.

A nation like Malaysia is dynamic in terms of growth and as it grows it needs to be defined constantly against the internal and external forces that keeps evolving and ever changing.

In that sense a leader for a country like Malaysia would have to be courageous, bold and patriotic to always strive to propel the nation to the next level.

Tun M have done this and good or bad his leadership should be a lesson to be learned by all of us especially the future generations. 

Security Guards

During last few months, my family was very annoyed with the security services provided at the condominium area that we are staying.

Everyday when we passed by the gate, they will first check the car sticker issued by the Joined Management Body (JMB) of the condominium. If we have a valid car sticker, they will open the gate for us with a smile. However, those without a sticker will not be allowed to enter.

Any resident who owns more than one car, they will have to park their car outside the condominium area.

This got me thinking – is the sticker method a good security measure?

Firstly, the security guards seemed to blindly allow access into the condo area just because a car has the sticker, but the security issue is the people inside the car not the car. How could they tell who is inside the car if the focus is on the sticker. There could be a bunch of dangerous people in the car but still they can gain access inside the compound just because their vehicle has a sticker.

I think it makes more sense and more secured to emphasize that the guards are aware and have a good feel of the occupants of all vehicle entering the compound. For example, if a person is a regular visitor, the guards should be able to recognize and make the assessment if the person is safe to be allowed access into the compound.

I have seen when a pregnant lady is denied access just because her car does not have a car sticker and she had to walk from a distance outside to go to her unit. Does that justify security in action? In fact, it is actually moronic to think that the security guards cannot exercise common sense in carrying out their duty.

I can’t imagine if a real dangerous emergency were to occur? How would this kind of guards react? One would think that they would probably make it worse rather than make it safer.

In our desire to have security most times we fail to recognize what is security in the first place.

In my area residents without a sticker is denied access to the parking lots, thus they have to park their car alongside the road leading to the entrance to the condo area. As such, the entrance roads become narrower and difficult even for 2 small cars to pass each other.

Imagine if there is a fire? How will the fire engine have access to the units in danger? How many lives will be at risk? In the name of security the parking by the roadside is allowed while there are empty parking lots available inside. It is very risky and yet they view it as a security measure.

In conclusion, all these point to the lack in common sense from the resident and management of the condominium. It also illustrates the state of enforcement in our residency areas.

Instead of keeping ourself secure and safe we tend to make it more dangerous and riskier for all.