Do not complain, make the wrong thing right

I REFER to the letter by Liong Kam Chong “Important to practise good work ethics” (NST, Nov 16). Work ethics and civic consciousness go together like horse and carriage. While the former is based on the value of integrity, hardwork, diligence, punctuality and responsibility, the latter has long been seen as an important part of what it means to be human — kindness, concern, empathy, caring and helpful.

The writer observed the incident where a postman didn’t put the large envelope properly in the mailbox of the addressee, and the envelope fell into the drain. He didn’t alight from his motorcycle to retrieve the letter or call the house owner, but rode away unconcerned.

This was gross negligence on the part of the postman, who should have ensured that the letter was duly delivered to the addressee by retrieving it and putting it back into the mailbox. It’s a matter of civic consciousness to deliver the letter, which could be important to the addressee.

Prophet Muhammad stressed civic consciousness. One day, as he was coming out of a mosque after prayers, he saw a man swearing and chasing out another person, who had unintentionally urinated at the entrance.

He admonished the angry man and told him to wash the entrance instead of raising his voice.

There is a lesson to be learnt here — instead of complaining or scolding others of wrongdoing, make the wrong thing right.