It was terrifying to read of the sudden tragic death of Dr.Liew Boon Hong. It is indeed a great loss not just to his family but the nation as well.
It was even more terrifying to read of the findings of the New Straits Times investigation that many developers and contractors have a cavalier attitude towards safety. They hardly take any safety measures to prevent fatal accidents like this.
It is frightening to think there more of these death traps around the city waiting to strike us at anytime. It is a matter of when and who would be the next victim of such a tragedy. For every one Dr.Liew there are so many others, especially workers at these construction sites, who are critically or fatally injured daily and these incidents are settled without much publicity.
The main cause of these accidents is the “tidak apa” and selfish attitude of the workers, contractors,
developers and the enforcement authorities.Regretably this “tidak apa” attitude is now fast becoming a national policy. Sadly the families of these victims are made to accept these so called accidents as acts of fate which are beyond our control.
There appears to be general trend today where basic standards and quality are compromised for quick monetary gains. The loopholes in the laws are cleverly exploited for reaping maximum profits. To these perpetrators human lives do not carry much value and any loss can be compensated monetarily. Furthermore “Mr.Fate “ too comes in to lend a helping hand.
The government should enforce the laws more effectively without fear or favor. The only criteria for the government in enforcing the laws should be the safety and welfare of the rakyat to whom their ultimate responsibility should lie. The national “tidak apa” policy must be curbed immediately if the nation is to progress on.
Dr.Chris Anthony
