Everyone has his own tall tale to tell!
My heart bleeds to see the unmanned security post at the entrance to our taman (housing estate). Prior to this, for the past one year, after a spate of break-ins and petty thefts, the Residents' Association decided, with my wife's brain child, to convert the taman into a guarded community. After the proper paper work, red tape, vetting of applications and an extraordinary general meeting, one particular company was unanimously chosen over the others as they promised 24-hours surveillance on motorbike with Malaysian guards. The monthly fees was capped at a reasonable amount of RM45 monthly per household.
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| Changing of guards@Buckingham Palace |
Miraculously, crime was non existent and our model was emulated by other adjacent housing estates!
I suppose something good does not last forever. Everything was going on fine till a group of members within the committee members decided that services offered by them was not up to mark. The splinter group managed to convince the others to try out another security company. There was, however, a nagging suspicion that the new company could just be somebody's (the renegade faction's) somebody's relative's company. They promised Nepali guards and better service. They were given three months' grace period to prove their mantle.
The residents later realised that they were short-changed when the security guards turned out to be Bangladeshis and Pakistanis and were not conversant in Malay or English. Well, we have many Malaysians amongst us in the same boat as well but that does not count as they are bonafide citizens of Malaysia. You ridicule them and Michael Chong will be in the Star newspaper holding the citizen’s complaint letter and all readers will be in cahoots with his (citizen’s) predicament! That is another story altogether!
They did not do any surveillance rounds as they had no transport. Any Tom, Dick and Harry could just drive or walk through with a friendly wave of hand at the guards! So did the old newspaper man, the recycle man, the ice-cream man, various vendors and the mattress selling man with his irritating honk and loud speaker!
The residents decided that that was it. They stopped paying their monthly dues and that brought it to this. The taman is once again bare open to jaywalkers or roving ill-intended devils with mischief on their minds.
We are hoping for the good offices of the Residents' Association to reinstate law, order and security in the neighbourhood.
I suppose something good does not last forever. Everything was going on fine till a group of members within the committee members decided that services offered by them was not up to mark. The splinter group managed to convince the others to try out another security company. There was, however, a nagging suspicion that the new company could just be somebody's (the renegade faction's) somebody's relative's company. They promised Nepali guards and better service. They were given three months' grace period to prove their mantle.
The residents later realised that they were short-changed when the security guards turned out to be Bangladeshis and Pakistanis and were not conversant in Malay or English. Well, we have many Malaysians amongst us in the same boat as well but that does not count as they are bonafide citizens of Malaysia. You ridicule them and Michael Chong will be in the Star newspaper holding the citizen’s complaint letter and all readers will be in cahoots with his (citizen’s) predicament! That is another story altogether!
They did not do any surveillance rounds as they had no transport. Any Tom, Dick and Harry could just drive or walk through with a friendly wave of hand at the guards! So did the old newspaper man, the recycle man, the ice-cream man, various vendors and the mattress selling man with his irritating honk and loud speaker!
The residents decided that that was it. They stopped paying their monthly dues and that brought it to this. The taman is once again bare open to jaywalkers or roving ill-intended devils with mischief on their minds.
We are hoping for the good offices of the Residents' Association to reinstate law, order and security in the neighbourhood.
This is the problem again and again with man. Something good will be going on just fine. Someone will create a problem with ulterior motives and suggests alternatives which will not work out and things would be worse than it was initially and everyone will be left high and dry.
Let us just hope this is a transition period like changing of guard and everything will be back to status quo as before!
P.S. On the world stage, we all remember a someone who was adamant on the existence of weapons of mass destruction which places the world at a very precarious position. Day in and day out, this mantra was recited over all major news channels to justify war against terror. The march into a sovereign nation was a walk in the park with no evidence of WMD and the world is even more chaotic now!
Let us just hope this is a transition period like changing of guard and everything will be back to status quo as before!
P.S. On the world stage, we all remember a someone who was adamant on the existence of weapons of mass destruction which places the world at a very precarious position. Day in and day out, this mantra was recited over all major news channels to justify war against terror. The march into a sovereign nation was a walk in the park with no evidence of WMD and the world is even more chaotic now!
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