Have you improved anything today?

Many friends have suggested me to get a car and drive. When I tell them about my fear for driving, they said I must be brave and overcome the fear. Having a car spells mobility and traveling to more places, achieving more, etc, which are in line with the way I'd like to live my life. Thanks for the concerns and advices, I do consider that option once in a while.

But by traveling on foot and by public transportation system, they allow me to experince the life of many more people in this country who share the same fate. It's only by walking in their shoes we can appreciate how life is for them in this country, be it Malaysian or non-Malaysian. Recently I was walking to Menara PKNS from Asia Jaya station, for Freedom Film Festival 2010. It occurred to me that there was lacking of pedestrian crossing especially around the traffic lights. It was so difficult to cross the road that if all the cars were to follow the signal obediently, it was impossible to cross the road at all! Menara PKNS wasn't that far from the station, and I was already at a set of traffic light. It was difficult to flag down a taxi in the middle of the road either. Thus, I was trapped in a concrete jungle by just standing helplessly in the middle of cross-road junction, with the traffic controlled by traffic lights. Thank God eventually I managed to cross the road and continued my journey. But it took me a while to stand under the sun and observe the pattern of the traffic lights for opportunity to cross the road.

This wouldn't have happened if I have a car, right?

But then again, isn't it better to give more convenience for pedestrians and continue to encourage them to use public transport than frustrating them and eventually pushing them each to be a driver?

One of the reasons a place has more traffic jams is the increase in number of car on the road. More cars ahead of you at the traffic light means you need to wait for more green lights before your turn. More cars means everyone has to drive slower to avoid accident. Longer queue and slower traffic spell congestion. Not to mention the amount of green house gases we increasingly produce through this method.

But if we were to improve our public transport system, it would encourage more people to use the public transport and hence less cars on the road. If the public transport system extents to more areas, anyone going to or traveling from that direction could be benefited by it. The main reason why people say driving own car is more convenient because the public transport system is not well developed! Not to say driving own car is evil. But if more people could commute together via public transport, that will reduce our carbon footprint significantly.

And when one eventually acquire his own car, he forgets how it is like for those who still travel with train and buses, and even on foot. They don't slow down as they drive on a puddle of water after rain, splashing the water onto pedestrians; they don't stop their car right when the light turns green for the pedestrian to cross but let the pedestrians wait longer than needed simply because the latter are not the ones "in power" with the metallic protective outfit - the yellow light before red light is a sufficient signal for them to slow down and come to a halt, so not being able to stop in time is a poor excuse; getting new train for KTM is not on top of their list when it comes to national budget; efficient public transport system (bus stop location, etc) in designing a city or even the funding to improve the existing public transport system barely cross their mind when it comes to utilising national funding. Many changes need to be done, but when one has become the comfortable middle class society and beyond, one forgets the unrepresented and powerless society whom they call brother. Or used to. One forgets how difficult life is for them.

This same idea is applicable to reflect how we are treating the OKU groups in our community. Have you ever wonder how to travel around if you're wheel-chair bound? Will you be frustrated of not having enough steep elevation in replacement of staircases? Will you notice which shopping malls provide special toilets for them? Is there any special school in your neighbourhood?

Do you hear the need to establish one?

What we need to do for OKU groups among us is not just monetary donation, but TO MAKE WAYS for them to live their life, be as independent and dignified as possible, as an equally important person in the society. Kurang Upaya is not Tak Berupaya. We could be more considerate and get to know their sufferings better, to appreciate them being strong survivals and provide appropriate support to them, as responsible and caring members in the community.

This is the kind of society I want to live in. Not one-solution-solve-all-problems method. It is troublesome to look into problems faced by all levels of society. But no one ever says running a country is easy, either. In fact, to see if a country is a good country, look at how they treat those marginalised or with lesser privileges. If you want to know the value of a person, look at the way they treat those who serve him.

Can you do something to make a difference?

Would you?