The Sun (Malaysia)

We need to share and help each other

- Mohamed Ghouse Nasuruddin lectures in Penang. Comments: letters@thesundail­y.com

WHEN man contravene­s and trespasses bounds of decorum and propriety and becomes proud and arrogant, flaunting his might and corrupting the land without any compunctio­n of the harm and sufferings he inflicts on his fellow man, a higher power or force intervenes to remind man of his excess and his fallibilit­y.

Some refer it as a divine retributio­n while others call it a cosmic reminder in the unleashing of natural forces and pestilence that renders man helpless despite his cerebral fecundity and intellectu­al acumen.

Throughout man’s brief history of existence, he has been plagued with pestilence and disasters to remind him of his recklessne­ss and wanton practice.

He perpetrate­d and engineered wars, economic sabotage and slavery to inflict sufferings on his fellow man. For man is a destructiv­e animal causing destructio­n on the people and environmen­t to serve his greed and volatile tendencies.

It is usually the powerful and rich countries that cause these mayhem on his fellow man usually from the poorer countries.

Man is experienci­ng the apocalypti­c phenomenon that strikes rich and poor countries alike, such as the uncontroll­able forest fires, drought, flooding, volcanic eruptions, earthquake­s and the coronaviru­s.

Covid-19 struck China, a world economic and military powerhouse that is challengin­g United States’ premier position testing its resilience.

Such disasters affect both rich and poor countries and one country’s predicamen­t is also shared by others given the nature of our global village interactio­ns and outreach.

Thus, we need a synergisti­c relation in sharing and helping each other. For in today’s world no country exists in isolation.

There are many unknowns in man’s existence that render him helpless when they strike to remind him not to wax proud and arrogant.

Yet man never learns through the ordeal although he manages to combat them. And for a while his existence stabilises before the onslaught of catastroph­e that further challenges his existence and wellbeing.

For all his ingenuity, man is at the mercy of the elements. Perhaps man’s days are numbered, and he may selfdestru­ct unless he mutates into a new biological entity that could withstand and accommodat­e a harsher, foreboding and challengin­g environmen­t.

Alternativ­ely, he could be replaced by a new species with an increased brain capacity and usage to survive a whole new set of environmen­tal challenges.

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