Ah Longs, Mat Rempit and smoking

Of Ah Longs, Mat Rempits and smoking
• Opinion
• HEADLINES
2009-06-04 11:41
•

AS I WRITE this the police are going after Ah Longs high on the wanted list for involement in kidnapping and assautls cases. We all have heard of the violence on people who could not settle their debts with Ah Longs. The police action is commendable. But there's so much they can do. The problem goes beyond all that. It's massive.
Looking at reports, folks who take loans from Ah Longs are "poor" and "low wage earners". We have read in the papers of pettty traders, hawkers , trisha riders who take loans fom Ah Longs under "frigthening terms and conditions."
Most of the time they can't keep up with the payment. And unable to pay back. They ended up being victims of Ah Longs which we are all familiar with by now. Of course there are compulsive gamblers who take loans to "feed" their "habit". Let's not be judgmental but they too become victims of Ah Longs.
But let's talk about the "poor honest" folks who needed money to "rollover' their char kway teow stall, for example. Or cash for some urgent family matters. They can't meet the criteria set by banks and financial instituitions. So they cannot get the loans. Desepate they turn to Ah Longs. Simply put as long as there are folks looking for "quick easy" loans, there will be Ah Longs. Hence banks and government agencies should step in. We understand banks operate in accordance to rules and regulations and are not welfare organisations. Still solutions must be found lest the sufferings of many more folks. And solution can be found if banks and government agencies look hard enough.
From Ah Longs let's move on to Mat Rempits.Yes the youngsters on motocycles making a nuisance of themselves and causing misery to others. The media been told or advised, (depends on how you look at it) , not to "glorify" these terrors on wheels. How ? By not refering to them as Mat Rempits. Instead we were told to call them "samseng jalanan" or road thugs. Fine. But calling them by any other name won't see them disappear from our roads. Once again it goes beyond all that. Like Ah Longs, the Rempit problem is massive. To be fair the authorities are doing all kind of things to eradicate the problem. So far no luck. But the fight must continue.
And finally smoking. Cigarettes, of course. The government plans to expand non smoking zones to cover hotel lobbies and air conditioned work places. And will continue to expand non-smoking zones until, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, "smokers realise there is no more place to smoke." Well and good. And the penalty for offenders are all in place.
Still we get people smoking in "no smoking" areas, freely and happily.
I've seen even teachers acting as coaches for their schools' sports team smoke in front of their students on the school fields. And we all know schools are non-smoking zone. Apart from being bad example to students, the smoking teachers cum coaches are passing smoke and fumes to their charges who are told by the teachers themselves to stay fit and healthy as they are involved in sports, representing their schools. And the irony of it all is the smoking goes on without action taken on the offendeing teachers.
All of us have seen for oursevles how the anti smoking rules are blatantly flouted in non-smoking zones. Even the security people who are supposed to see nobody puffs in non-smoking zones, smoke themselves.
But hey, I' m not on a crusade here. Some of my closest friends smoke. I too used to smoke . Smokers are not a bunch of inconsiderates. I've written about this before. They know what smoking do to their health. They know about the penalty for smoking in non-smoking zones. They know what they are passing on to their loved ones. But they smoke anyway anywhere. Because they can't stop. They have this ‘urge' to smoke. So I say let them. But provide them or rather give them the space to smoke.
Set up smoking rooms in public areas. In the rooms they can smoke amongst other smokers.This is not giving up the fight against smoking.This to me is to prevent smokers puffing in the faces of non-smokers. Quit smoking campaigns have not been successful. Let smokers decide when or whether they want to quit smoking, themselves.
And the fight is to prevent the "birth" of new smokers. They are getting younger by the day. (By MOHSIN ABDULLAH/MySinchew)
(MOHSIN ABDULLAH is Editor-in-Chief, News and Current Affairs, ntv7 & 8TV)
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/25448