Remembering the past

Despite the ongoing protests against the actions of the authorities, there seem to be an ongoing systematic and planned demolition of heritage buildings in the country. The most recent of these was the Bok House in
Kuala Lumpur and now the former

Uplands
School in
Penang.

 

It simply goes to show the lack of respect for the wishes of the rakyat by the local authorities who blatantly bulldoze their decision without due consideration for the peoples opinion.

 

The Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry which pledges to protect and maintain all heritage sites and buildings appears to be either dumb founded or offering excuses every time a historical site or building is destroyed.

 

Our national heritage is something we should all be proud of but unfortunately our authorities are bent on destroying them one by one. If this trend were to continue soon all historical events and contributions of past generations to our success will be totally erased. Our future generations will never get to know and appreciate the greatness of past leaders and citizens who sacrifice so much to bring our nation to where we are today.

 

Most of our social ills are due to our ignorance of the sacrifices of earlier generations. If only children appreciate the sacrifices of their parents, many of them will be better people. Similarly if only the younger generation appreciate the contributions of their predecessors then many of the ills in the society will not surface.

 

Why are our authorities bent on demolishing our historical sites and buildings?

Penang Heritage Trust vice-president Tunku Ismail Mohammad Jewa rightly explained,

 

“All these decisions have been made in the name of the almighty ringgit, in blatant favour of a small but obviously powerful sector of society. It is being done despite public disapproval and protests.”  

Dr.Chris Anthony

Morality is not just about dressing

 Moral wardens should get focus right

The Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) has announced that it would no longer tolerate indecent dressing by women, both Muslim and non-Muslim. It is planning to impose a fine of RM500 on women found to sport such dressing which it describes as sexy.

This has brought opposing responses from several women’s organisations like the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) Wanita MCA, Women’s Development Collective and the All-Women’s Action Society (Awam).

Any move to educate people to dress decently should be welcomed. In fact, not only Islam but all religions preach morality and decent dressing is an important aspect of such a code.

It has to be emphasised that morality is just not about dressing alone. Morality involves a wholesome behaviour that embraces all the virtuous human values.

Civic-mindedness, respect for elders, upholding the laws of the country, being courteous and caring for the underprivileged are all important aspects of good morality.

So are honesty and integrity in all our actions. A decently attired individual need not necessarily be a morally righteous person.

The authorities should work to arrest the deteriorating standard of morality in society instead of being obsessed with what women wear.

Will enforcing a rigid dress code curb the sex-related social ills in our society such as illicit sex, adultery, abortion, incest and rape? It is very sad that even those who are supposed to be role models for our children appear to be leading immoral lives themselves.

What we need is not a strict dress code for our women but a proper education to inculcate good values in our people, especially the young.

In fact, the majority of our women are mature enough and have the appropriate sense of dressing and do not need legislation to enforce what they wear, as that is a basic individual right.

I am sure like all other town councils, MPKB has other pressing issues to handle. Instead of being a “moral police”, it should give priority to these other pressing issues and find ways to improve the livelihood of the residents of Kota Baru, concentrate on cleaning the drains and parks, collecting rubbish and providing other amenities it is entrusted with.

Dr Chris Anthony