Promoting a more civic-minded M’sia

ONE afternoon, I reprimanded my daughter, who is a fresh graduate and has been driving for about three years. After missing the ‘Stop-Look-Go’ sign on the road, she did not have the courtesy to make a gesture of apology to the other drivers.

As I was seated next to her, I took the opportunity to talk to her about how badly we Malaysians usually behave on the road and that roads are the best places to test our patience and upbringing.

A few unsightly scenes that are not uncommon in Malaysia also sprung to my mind -- the nauseating and sorry state of our public toilets and playgrounds; our apathetic waste management behaviour; our cigarette-smoking citizens who think that everything from a drinking cup to dining plate is their ashtray; and those overzealous advertisers of properties, adult toys, loans or plumbing services who make use of every public utility pole or wall space to put forth their illicit and unsolicited advertisements.

How many of us put our food waste into the recycling bin after eating at a fast-food joint or hawker centre? How many of us stand on the left side of the elevator, allowing others who are in a hurry to walk past us first?

How often do we wash the colourful waste bins provided to every home by the local authorities? How many of us offer our seat to an elderly person or pregnant lady in a bus, LRT or MRT?

How many men would care to lift the toilet seat before urinating in a toilet? Why do we double park when we can park in a shopping complex, especially in a busy commercial area? How many of us return an item to its original place after we are done with it? How many of us will ensure that the shopping trolley is returned to the shopping cart receptacle after use?

The list can go on and on since we Malaysians are notorious in the common courtesy department. Instead of adding to the list of our many wrongdoings, my column today will raise questions on why and where we went wrong.

As a young nation that enjoys an almost 95 percent literacy rate, we are taught several subjects in school. Civics education, sadly, is diluted by other subjects deemed more critical to the nation such as mathematics and science.

Parents these days are busy earning money, not realising they are losing their lifelong assets -their children. Children today are growing up with either an iPhone or iPad in their hand from as early as age one or two. If the mother finds it difficult to feed her little one, she switches on the electronic device to keep the child visually engaged.

Gradually, this panacea becomes a ritual, which eventually becomes a lifestyle. The electronic devices are now reducing the hours spent between a child and his or her parents. There is a void in communication and the cultivation of the right values.

By contrast, parents before the mobile phone era were spending more time monitoring, tutoring and teaching their children and consistently preaching the right values to them. There is a marked difference in the mannerisms of the children who were brought up in the 70s and 80s and now. Where did we go wrong?

Civics education must be brought back as a subject to inculcate universal moral values into our future leaders. The students must be taught religiously on the importance of civic-mindedness.

Civics must also be made an exam subject that is not confined to multiplechoice questions. We want the students to ponder and write. We want to challenge the intellect of our future leaders with appropriate case studies and enable them to think as a level-headed Malaysian.

More civic-minded themed murals must be encouraged during art classes to promote civic-mindedness among students. These murals must be featured in public areas and strategic spots in the city, where we can portray an inclusive, beaming Malaysia through an organised visual display.

More posters, pictures and murals must also be placed on buses, trains and even Grab taxis to instil the importance of civic-mindedness among Malaysians.

You can see product promotions everywhere but do we see murals promoting civic-mindedness anywhere in our country?

A national cleanliness campaign for school toilets can also be organised nationwide, where we award schools with the cleanest toilets with cash and rewards.

This will inspire schools, teachers, students and headmasters to take the “clean toilet campaign” seriously. Not many schools pay attention to their toilets and this is why the Ministry of Education and schools must work with ParentTeacher Associations to ensure that every toilet is kept in pristine condition.