TwoSen

THE Consumers Association of Penang is pleased to note that the authorities have shed light and taken action on a road-safety issue of pressing importance, namely, the use of Xenon headlamps on vehicles.

These high-intensity-discharge headlamps have long been a source of concern, for their powerful glare not merely annoys other road users but also poses a danger.

Drivers of vehicles in front or oncoming vehicles may be temporarily blinded by the light, and accidents may occur as a result. However, due to either unclear rules or lax enforcement, these lights have remained a common glaring sight on the road.

This might soon be a thing of the past, with the coming into force of new regulations to address this road hazard.

According to the Road Transport Department, in its correspondence with CAP, the installation and use of these headlamps are now governed by the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Rules 2007, which took effect from Nov 19 last year.

Under the new rules, vehicle headlamps have to conform to international standards set under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Now that adequate rules are in place, proper enforcement is imperative. The RTD must spare no quarter in bringing offenders to book, given that this involves a matter of road safety. Members of the public should also be encouraged to lodge complaints with the RTD if they come across any cases.

Indeed, all vehicle modifications, not just Xenon headlamps, should be appropriately regulated. At present, many motor workshops carry out modifications and installation of accessories to vehicles regardless of whether they are legally allowed.

We propose that consent from the RTD be made a prerequisite for all modification works. In addition, only RTD-approved and licensed workshops should be authorised to carry out modifications.

With the right regulations and stringent enforcement, our roads can be made safer, free from potentially dangerous modified vehicles — and from that notorious blinding glare.

S.M. MOHAMED IDRIS for Consumers Association of Penang

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

THE last I heard, fireworks were banned, and I’m quite sure they still are. So, can someone from any law enforcement agency please tell me why fireworks or firecrackers seem so elusive on their radar, or even to their ears?

Whenever a festival or celebration comes around, the ear-shattering sounds of the firecrackers can be heard for miles. Then we also have the types that not only make you deaf but also leave a smoke and light trail that can be seen for miles.

Which brings me to ask these questions: am I the only one who can see and hear these firecrackers? And am I the only one who find them a nuisance?

I think not.

I am writing this letter at 12.30am because I was woken up by what I thought were gunshots, only to find out that my neighbours decided to finish the remainder of their supply that night.

I doubt if I can go back to sleep as there are alarms ringing and the din from firecrackers doesn’t seem to end. I wonder where they got their lorry-load from.

D.M., Ipoh

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

RECENTLY, I went to the KLCC area with a friend to attend a meeting but we lost our way. While we were near the Ascot Hotel, about 6.30pm, a motorcyclist whizzed past me and the pillion rider grabbed my handbag.

Another friend, whom I had earlier telephoned for directions, found us in a daze after the snatch theft. He then took us in his car to look for the nearest police station.

It took an hour in the heavy traffic to get to the Jalan Tun Razak police station. There, I was told to go to the Dang Wangi police station to make a report. I was aghast. I had a lost my money, purse, car and house keys, documents and handphone. How was I to go on to another place?

Furthermore, I was told to go to the police headquarters (IPD) in Jalan Stadium for an interview with an investigating officer.

I refused and told the clerk that I wanted to make a report there (Jalan Tun Razak) but she kept repeating “this is our procedure and I can’t do anything. You can make a report here but you must go to Dang Wangi and IPD”.

I insisted that I could not go anywhere else, and she finally typed out my report. I also managed to speak to the investigating officer over the phone.

Why can’t the police make it easy for theft victims to lodge a report by allowing them to use any police station as a “one-stop centre”?

As I had lost many personal documents such as my driving licence, MyKad, credit cards and automated teller machine cards, I had to go from one place to another to apply for replacement cards the next day.

Despite the police report, I still had to pay fines at various departments and agencies.

In the course of all these, I met many other victims of snatch thieves, mostly women. All had the same story to tell. They were told to go from one police station to another to lodge reports and be interviewed by the investigating officer. These procedures do not seem helpful to the very people who are in need of help.

G. VIMALAH NAIR, Petaling Jaya

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

THE past few days, we have read about the grouses raised by readers on the attitude of Malaysian drivers, especially during the recent Lunar New Year holidays.

I was one of the thousands of drivers making our way back to our hometowns for the festive season and, unfortunately, I was also one of those who were caught in the crawl back to Kuala Lumpur from Penang last Sunday.

It took me 81/2 hours to reach Kuala Lumpur.

The traffic was almost at a standstill as it was moving at below 15kph, especially at the 80kph stretch towards the Jelapang toll after the Menora Tunnel.

What was most shocking was that cars, lorries and express buses were speeding on the emergency lane without a care for other road users.

At one point, a car which had overheated had to be parked on the grass verge, tilting towards the drain.

It was simply because these selfish drivers were zooming by in the emergency lane.

The driver, his wife, elderly mother and a child were waiting cautiously in the drain, trying to stay as far away as possible from the road.

Do these selfish speed fiends not realise that everyone on that road was trying to get to their destinations as well?

Where was the enforcement?

If a law-abiding citizen were to have taken pictures of the culprits, he would have filled a few photo albums.

H.B. YEOH, Shah Alam

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

I AM writing to beg the people responsible out there to do something about the content of local television shows.

We are being bombarded by a daily barrage of senseless as well as unrealistic local programmes such as Saka, Susuk, Nek Nak and many more that feature and promote issues such as belief in the supernatural and black magic.

Then, there are shows such as Jelatang and Spa Q that seem to celebrate casual sex, extramarital affairs, incest and what have you.

We also have programmes that do not do much to teach viewers about the realities of life.

The newly-aired Sindarela, for instance, shows a tomboy who is so far sunk in the depths of poverty that she cannot even feed herself, yet she studies in a college, owns a video camera and a funky laptop.

Is this realistic?

W.S. ADIBAH, Shah Alam

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

I HAD dinner at Suria KLCC with my wife and children, aged 11 and 8, recently. We then decided to watch a movie, and picked The Eye as it was listed as “U”.

Imagine my shock when the movie started and the screen showed it was “18PL”. We left immediately, along with another family.

I went back to the sales counter and asked for an explanation. The sales assistant shrugged it off as a computer error.

Cinemas should be held accountable for such slip-ups. Patrons should be given a refund or at least an apology if the management has made a mistake.

P.H., Ipoh

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

HERE’S a puzzle for RapidKL to solve. Three buses on the U40 route (KL-Kajang) move along in a tight row. These three buses are supposed to arrived at 15 to 20-minute intervals but they come all at once.

The first bus is packed like a tin of sardines, the second has a few passengers and the third is virtually empty. Once these three buses have sped by, commuters have to wait another 40 minutes before the next bus comes along.

Because of this lackadaisical service, many of us are reporting late for work and appointments. Can RapidKL teach its drivers to stick to the schedule?

V. MANIWIL, Cheras

Source: NST – February 18, 2008

WHAT used to be one of the greatest pleasures for Penangites was the drive over the bridge to the island.

The breathtaking panoramic views of the hills of Penang, the city of George Town and the colours of the sea and land were simply inspiring.

When the authorities started to install viewing screens at the central divider, many letters of protest were sent to the press.

The authorities explained that this was to prevent motorists slowing down to look at accidents on the other side of the road!

This seems very much a “throwing the baby out with the bath water” approach. Surely better management of the traffic with officers or traffic police directing cars to move along would be more efficient and cost effective?

This extremely expensive installation seems to have gone beyond its original purpose. The public would like to know why the screens are being installed on the outer sides of the bridge?

We would also like to see improved traffic management on the bridge. Clearly this is deficient as seen in repeated episodes of horrific jams following accidents and during festive holidays.

L.L.Lim,

Penang.

Source: The Star – February 17, 2008

I REFER to the letter “Empower Teachers to Discipline Students,” (The Star, Feb 14).

Firstly, the writer seems to be labouring under the delusion that schools here are wretched hives of scum and villainy (to shamelessly plagiarise a famous phrase). This is clearly evidenced by his analogy of the police force being made to “maintain law and order without firearms.”

I would really love to know how a boisterous student could be likened to a rapist, murderer, snatch thief, or even a common pickpocket. I must confess, the first image that leapt to my mind when I read that passage was of adults hiding in trenches and launching hand grenades upon the reviled enemy: children.

I mean why don’t we round up all school kids, the kind filled with natural exuberance and joy, and lock them up in camps?

The writer mentions “respect and fear.” Let me just say that those two things should never go hand-in-hand. Respect cannot be given or commanded via fear, it must be earned.

I am not saying that we shouldn’t punish misbehaving kids and that all students are just full of youthful high spirits. Yes, there are troublemakers and yes they must be dealt with, but certainly not by caning.

Violence begets violence, and with caning, just what kind of values are we trying to instil in the younger generation? Likewise, who is he to say that all teachers are misunderstood and harassed, burdened and martyred?

Sure, some are, but unless you’ve taken a nationwide census, do not propagate what is mere speculation and attempt to pass it off as fact. The writer also refers to “strict British-style schooling.” I attended a school with a British curriculum and was never even so much as roughly poked.

The writer claims that at such a school, he learnt to grow up and be civilised.

Let me introduce him to what civilised people refer to as child abuse – “physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment or neglect of children by parents, guardians, or others responsible for a child’s welfare.”

Corporal punishment easily encompasses physical maltreatment.

It may get the kids to listen at that moment, but studies have shown that corporal punishment of children only increases short-term compliance.

The writer seems to have the notion that the only alternative to caning is using “soft approaches, quiet voices, and gentle persuasion.” It’s like saying that the only cure for obesity is bulimia.

Nowhere in any code of conduct does it say that teachers can’t yell, set extra homework or lines – these punishments will not only leave a more lasting lesson, but also aid students intellectually.

Parents must juggle jobs and looking after their kids, as well as many more burdens.

Is it too much to ask that education with which their hard-earned pennies are invested upon be delivered with dignity, respect and love?

Teachers are among the most blessed of professionals – you can hardly call it a job, as it is more of a calling.

Several studies have shown that the more children are spanked, the more angry they become as adults and the more likely they are to spank their own children.

Caning and hitting are closely related with higher rates of physical aggression, substance abuse and an increased risk of crime/violence in adolescents.

TARSHINI S. SUKUMARAN,

Sg Buloh.

Source: The Star – February 17, 2008

THE Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) is pleased to note that the authorities have shed light and taken action on a road safety issue of pressing importance, namely, the use of Xenon headlamps on vehicles.

These high-intensity-discharge headlamps have long been a source of concern for their powerful glare that not merely annoys other road users but also poses a very real danger.

Drivers of vehicles in front or oncoming vehicles may be temporarily blinded by the dazzle, and accidents may occur as a result. However, due to either unclear rules or lax enforcement, these lights remain a common, glaring sight on the road.

Hopefully, this will be a thing of the past, with the coming into force of new regulations to address this road hazard. According to the Road Transport Department (JPJ) in its correspondence with CAP, the installation and use of these headlamps are now governed by the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Amendment) Rules 2007, which took effect from Nov 19, 2007.

Under the new rules, vehicle headlamps have to conform to international standards set under the aegis of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Now that adequate rules are in place, proper enforcement is imperative.

The JPJ must spare no quarter in bringing offenders to book, given that this involves a matter of road safety.

The public should also be encouraged to lodge complaints with the JPJ if they come across any dubious cases.

Indeed, all vehicle modifications, not just Xenon headlamps, should be appropriately regulated. At present, many motor workshops carry out modifications and installation of accessories to vehicles regardless of whether they are legally allowed.

CAP proposes that consent from the JPJ be made a prerequisite for all such modification works. In addition, only JPJ-approved and licensed workshops should be authorised to carry out modifications.

SM MOHAMED IDRIS,

President,

Consumers Association of Penang.

Source: The Star – February 17, 2008