Wife dead, unborn twins dead...what would you do if you are the husband??
Reading yesterday's news filled me with disgust as I contemplated how cruel and uncaring the general public in my country could be when it comes to accident victims.
Yesterday, it was reported that a soldier lost his wife and unborn twin boys when they met in an accident. The motorcyle they were on was struck by a car, and the irresponsible and probably shaken senior citizen driver who was 73 years old, quickly fled the scene, only to turn himself in later. The man pleaded for passers-by for help, but to his anguish, none came forward to his aid until 20 minutes later. By then, it was too late... the damage was done and a man's hopes to start a family with his loving partner was dealt a cruel end.
What would you do if you were the husband? How would you feel if your wife and kids, unborn kids mind you, could have been saved if it weren't for ugly and uncaring public citizens turn a blind eye on your plight. What were going through the people's mind when that accident unfolded before them?? Did they not feel any anguish, pity or shock or ashamed when they saw how hurt the woman is or how the soldier, in tears, pleaded for the public to take them to the hospital? How thick-skin can they be? How could they live with the knowledge that they have caused, even if its indirectly, the death of an innocent woman and her unborn offsprings? It hurts me to read about stories like this that is still happening in my country in the 21st century?
Are we becoming an uncaring lot? Despite the bad experiences we may have had, couldn't we see for ourselves that there are people who genuinely needed help? I couldn't believe the listeners' responses to Red104.9's morning radio show... "I stopped to help, only to have other motorists beat me up, thinking that I caused the accident," said a doctor, who later declared that he would not stop to help because it was such a hassle. How dare he said that?? As a doctor, are you not bound by professional ethics of your job to help a person in need wherever you may be? Of course, some accident victims are to blame themselves as they took advantage of their situation - a woman helped a motorist who knocked into her car and paid the repair bills on the bike, only to be slapped with a lawsuit by the man who claimed that the woman had knocked him down and taken RM2,000 from him! God, how our morals have deteriorated!
To Mohamad Azmi Sulaiman, I mourn and deeply regret your loss and I want to assure you that not all Malaysians behave in such an uncaring way! I am sure there are many more of us Malaysians who are above such deplorable acts and I wish I was there to help you in your time of need. I hope that this serves as a wake up call to every fibre of society to get their act together and stamp this uncaring attitude out of our system!
How ironic that the newspaper The Star held an opinion poll recently to find out what is considered the rudest behaviour in Malaysia. The verdict? Inconsiderate and rude driving habits...habits which often lead to accidents, accidents such as the one caused by the impatient senior citizen who killed Azmi's wife and his unborn sons. How even more ironic is the fact that the Malaysian government is launching a campaign to instil courtesy and good values! This latest show of public apathy to another human being's suffering had to be the icing on the cake! I urge the government to not stall anymore time and get to work immediately on this campaign! Do we all want to see our Malaysian image and values to rot further? I think not!
- A very unhappy Philip
posted by Philip_G at 6:46 pm
|
0 comments
