Ops Sikap or Ops Salam

During each festive season the public is reminded of 'Ops Sikap' launched by the authorities namely the PDRM, Road Transport and Road Safety Department to bring down the number of fatalities due to accidents on Malaysian highways and roads.

Many quarters had questioned the effectiveness of such operations and it seemed somewhat like an exercise in futility. Nevertheless the Police insisted that such an operation is necessary to reduce road fatalities.Just a few days before its launch for the Chinese New Year 2010,a senior Police Officer died in an accident near Bukit Tagar, Rawang on the southbound lane of the North-South highway. After the launch a whole family perished near Senawang, Seremban. These senseless loss of precious lives reflect the seriousness of the situation and it means a lot more have to be done to make our highways safer for road users.

When the Malaysian Highway Authority was first created before the privatisation of the North-South Highway, a special Police unit was attached to the quasi-government body to patrol the whole stretch of the North-South Highway, but it was disbanded when PLUS took over the management of the operations from toll-collections to maintenance and construction.

It would be a good idea to reintroduce the special unit of Police Highway Patrol again to ensure that no violations such as indiscriminate parking of heavy vehicles on emergency lanes does not happen, as in the two tragic accidents mentioned here were caused by Trailer lorries left parked on the emergency lanes.

I think the name 'Ops Sikap' should be changed to 'Ops Salam' to reflect the objective is to ensure safety of road users and the term 'Salam' is also to denote 'Peace'. The senseless loss of lives on our roads must be tackled in a holistic angle and let peace prevail on our Nation's Highways.

Renewing Old Ties

Last Saturday evening of 30 January 2010 I was in Seremban. The timing had to do with fetching my father for his follow-up appointment with the urologist at Ampang Puteri Hospital slated for Monday 01 February and using the opportunity to attend a wedding invitation at the Dewan Majlis Perbandaran Seremban for the reception of Riduan's daughter.

I went to Masjid Negeri for the solat maghrib first and then drove to the venue of the function which was just nearby. At the Mosque I met someone whom I realised later was going to the same function and he happened to be the husband of a distant relative and she was also my classmate in KGV Seremban.

I was one of the early guests to arrive and I did not see any familiar faces apart from the host. Since Nasimah did not come with me for the function, I had to wait for some familiar faces before sitting down at one of the tables. Then I saw Zakiah, my cousin, with her husband Wan Nasir. Zakiah was the one who phoned me earlier informing me that she was forwarding Riduan's invitation card. So there we were standing near the aisle leading to the dais greeting the guests whom we knew. Of course some of the relatives could not recall my name and I had to remind them. Such was the outcome of such an event where we renew the old ties.

The whole evening went like trying to place who's who, especially those whom I had not met for more than two decades or more. Thank You Riduan @ Mohd. Faksi.