Wishing Malaysia safe and harmonious

AT the start of the New Year, let every Malaysian resolve to make Malaysia a safer place to live in – safe not only from terrorism, crime and violence, but also from tragedies on the roads, in residential and public areas or at workplaces.

In the days ahead, it is essential for all Malaysians to take heed that civilisation could be destroyed if we do not make peace with our environment.

The fact that landslides and road cave-ins are a frequent occurrence points to our failure to make the culture of maintenance and safety a way of life.

When buildings or structures collapse, or the environment is harmed, or accidents and fatalities occur at workplaces, we are responsible. We cannot simply blame nature or work tools. We have to realise that any action resulting in the degradation and destruction of our environment will have disastrous consequences. Similarly, if we do not efficiently manage occupational safety and health, accidents can occur at workplaces.

The fact that fatal accidents continue to occur on our roads and highways involving public trans- port vehicles and other vehicles clearly points to the need for more to be done to improve road engineering and safety, as well as the attitude and behaviour of those at the wheel.

Over the years, the Government has spent billions on development but what is regrettable is the lack of maintenance.

This has to be rectified and every effort must be made to inculcate the culture of maintenance and safety. Those who are placed to take charge must never shirk their responsibility.

More funding should be allocated for maintenance works to be carried out by the relevant government departments, agencies and local authorities, with dedicated staff to discharge their responsibilities.

On the political front, it is vital for Malaysia to continue to exist as a democratic, united and harmonious nation despite the existence of divergent political ideologies and views.

Malaysians of all races wish to see the Government taking further steps to address the impact of the global economic downturn, maintain unity, peace and harmony, social justice and uphold the rights of all Malaysians as guaranteed under the Federal Constitution. There must be a balance between economic and IT development, and social and moral development.

We need to address more aggressively the issues of racial integration, unity and nation-building, besides having to deal with crime, drug addiction and a host of social ills confronting our nation.

The plan to re-establish the Socio-Economic Research Institute (SERI) under the Prime Minister’s Office and upgrade the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (KITA-UKM) are timely as they will help contribute towards improving ethnic relations by finding solutions to address socio-economic issues.

A responsible government must always take into consideration the challenges the people are facing, especially the ever-increasing cost of living, and find ways to ease their burden.

Various measures introduced, including income tax reduction, will definitely help the people deal with the increasing cost of living.

However, other issues affecting the people, particularly the increase in food prices, must be addressed. But it will not succeed if the authorities focus only on taking action against traders.

Price hike involves all parties in the supply chain – from producers and suppliers to wholesalers and retailers.

The Government should provide more health benefits for our senior citizens as more retirees are expected to live on their own when our country moves towards becoming a developed and high-income nation.

We must also focus on a new social agenda to deal with the multifarious challenges this year.

We have to tackle juvenile and cyber crimes, illegal gambling, acts of violence, worsening drug problem involving youths and teenagers, as well as those suffering from mental health problems.

Crime occurrence has become a major problem and there must be a New Year’s resolution to bolster ongoing efforts to fight crime, particularly drug-related crime, with the involvement of the entire Malaysian community. TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE Kuala Lumpur