Our Responsibility To Adik Syafia Isn't Over Yet..

More than a week ago, I saw something worrying.

While waiting for my bus, I saw one Indonesian man standing in front of me, moving from side to side. A moment later, I noticed he started doing some silat movements. At that instance, I retreated to the back of the bench because I knew I had made eye contact with him, which he would translate into, "hey, I have an audience!" and if he decided to do something stupid, I would be his first victim. After some time, others also started to move away from him.

Poor Uncle Prakash, the station master of that bus stop, was busy filing up the conductor's trip card that he did not notice 'the storm brewing'. Suddenly, the Indonesian man ran towards Uncle Prakash and started punching and kicking him. Thank God, Uncle Prakash was quick to defend himself with the plastic chair he had near him and managed to stop that Indonesian man.

My Tok told me I scream and laugh the loudest amongst his grandchildren (whenever we watch horror and comedy movies) but that night, I didn't use that to alert Uncle Prakash. I only managed to give out a sob instead of a scream. Stupid Fi-sha!

What worried me much was the fact that no men came to help Uncle Prakash! Mind you, there were stronger, younger men than Uncle Prakash around but they all chickened out! They backed out like we women.

Thank God, Uncle Prakash was unhurt. He told me later that he thought that Indonesian man was playing around. What if that man had a knife? Oh dear!

When I related this horrific experience to my friend, he said the men, like women, tried to save themselves! And I think we, malaysians, have turned into "MYOB society"! We selfish lots that lost our conscience to self interest!

"Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future" ~ JFK

That's what happened to Adik Syafia Humairah that succumbed to her death after being sadistically abused by her mother's boyfriend! Her grandfather told the reporters he had seen cigarette burn marks on her body before but how could he do nothing about it? Her mother must have notice something but how could she trust her in the custody of that EVIL?

My Mak says that EVIL should be hanged to death and I say, "No, we should flog him to death!"

Though my anger is beyond words, I think we need to look at this tragic incidence - holistically. We are in this together. We had Adik Syafia Humairah's blood on our hands!

Marcus Aurelius says, "Poverty is the mother of crime". In this case, Adik Syafia Humairah's mother was too busy working to earn a meagre income to support her growing family that she had to stay a night at her colleague's house, perhaps because her workplace is far away and it would be unsafe and uneconomical for her to go back to her house often. The grandfather had to shut his mouth because her daughter or the EVIL must have told him, "Cakap pandai, bagi duit tak nak". He himself may not be self-sufficient, economically.

Adik Syafia Humairah lived in a society that is trapped in the race to earn some more money to pay the bills and lead a normal life. They are just too busy to exercise some conscience, let alone to see each other socially when the women may have to leave the house at nights or early hours working in the factories. The men, well, since we all know you guys chicken out too many a time nowadays, are just too tired to bother, too busy to ponder, too angry to care, too chauvinistic to tell the women it is their responsibility to raise the children when they get their wives to work and share the burden of supporting the family!

Let's see what wonderful this world would be if, if only: -

1. Once Adik Syafia Humairah's father was jailed, Jabatan Penjara Malaysia would get Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat to see this family, evaluating whether the mother is capable of supporting and taking care of the family.

2. If she is not, her children should be placed with reasonable welfare houses. Yes, children are best raised by mothers but when poverty stricken, the first victims would be these innocent children;

3. If she is capable of that, Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat should constantly visit her at home to know if she needs any assistance*.

Like in her case, they should facilitate her to get a divorce from her jailed husband. If it was made easier for her, instead of unproductive legal procedures, she had to resort befriend a man, apparently any man that would take her and too sad, that EVIL was the only man standing to protect her. They should bring in Puteri UMNO to guide her through this rough patch.

Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat should assist her to find a good childcare centre to place her children when she goes out to work.

Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat should help her find someone nearby, through the list of volunteers they have, to care for her children.

*Like my brother's case as I wrote earlier here, I hate it when we tend to equate assistance to moneys when it could be counselling, support and all!

"What is man's greatest bane? His brother man alone"~ Bias of Priene, Maxims

Unfortunately, we lost Adik Syafia Humairah just like that. If only we could hear her crying saying, "How could you allow this to happen to me?"

She is not just a statistics - she is precious life this world had to take away for us to learn that it is vital that we start looking out for each other, to see another child as ours, another woman under the light of our mother, our sister, our wife, another man like our father, our brother.

“Leadership is liberating people to do what is required of them in the most effective and humane way possible” ~ Max Depree

She is a dire reason for us, that we need to do more than just visiting her mother when Adik Syafia Humairah is gone, forever. We need to be on proactive mode. Reactive, which is the motto of our government of the day, is so lame and irresponsible.

We need to get the right people to run those departments that could extend their assistance to them, before they have to resort to Ah Longs and prostitution to feed a family on daily basis, before they have to suffer - physically and emotionally abused, before another precious life is lost and before this cycle of suffering continues to the next generation

I know we can't do that much to help these people but there is one sure-fire way to put a stop to all this. That is to register yourself as a voter and carry your overdue responsibility to Adik Syafia Humairah and many more innocents that we have lost. To vote is not about to thump your chest and say, "I support XY Political Party". A vote is a responsibility done towards promoting responsible and conscientious management of this Ibu Pertiwi and its people.

"In a child’s eyes, we are god. Maybe we should act like one by being compassionate, merciful, protecting, forgiving, providing, wise and loving. The one that sees things through his eyes. The one that listens to him. The one that gives chances for him to be what he wants to be. The one that accepts him for who he is today – dirty, sticky, noisy and mischievous.Indeed, children are precious, priceless and pure. Let them be" ~ Fi-sha

p.s. I love observing people and I see there are many parents out there who are not fit to parents in the first place. Nowadays, people rush to get married for legitimise sexual intercourse, without seeing whether one is fit - financially, mentally, spiritually and emotionally - to be a parent.

p.s.s. Looking at Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim's 'continuous observations of everything and anything his Ministry could put his hands into' lately, I wish, really really wish, he is our Minister that looks after Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat.