Despite locking the steering wheel and activating the
anti-theft alarm, Khoo found his car stolen from a designated car park about
100 metres from where the function was held.

He was invited to the launch by PJ Utara MP Chew Mei Fun
whose house was burgled last year.

Khoo lodged a report at the Damansara Utama police
station three hours later.

Interestingly, snatch theft victim Cheryl Chow Bor Ling,
who was paralysed after the incident eight years ago, recalled that the snatch
theft occurred in front of the Damansara Utama police station.

Her father, Chow See Jeok, claimed that there had been
many such cases in the area.

Recently, I was told of an attempted snatch theft in
front of the Mont Kiara police beat base. The quick-thinking woman squatted the
moment she felt the bag strap being pulled.

The beat base was unmanned at the time and the victim
left the affluent area without reporting the case. The snatch thieves, who fled
on their motorcycle, were believed to be foreigners.

The point is this: the criminals are getting braver these
days and seem more ready to challenge the police.

Several top officers of the SEA
Park police station in Petaling
Jaya were transferred recently after Bukit Aman was informed that two illegal
Internet gaming outlets were operating 100 metres from the station. All these
cases give the force a bad image.

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Bakri Omar must be
congratulated for sending a strong message to his men: change your mindset or
face the litany of public complaints against the force.

He said if the police ignored the call to change, society
would continue to complain about inefficiency and graft in the force.

"We are responsible for marketing our image. We must live
up to society's expectations of us,'' he said at the Senior Police Officers
College in Cheras on Friday.

An honest approach in tackling crime and the continuous
revamp of the force is necessary for the police to be effective.

No senior policemen should be placed in a particular
district for too long. The government must also support the request by the
police for more constables.

Modern anti-crime equipment such as closed-circuit
television is needed in the absence of policemen on the beat.

CCTV has been effectively introduced in many cities such
as London and Hong Kong,
with the police beat base acting as the control point.

Police vans equipped with monitoring facilities could be
used in busy areas, particularly near banks, tourist spots and shopping
complexes.

My greatest concern is that a week from now, when the
media has lost interest in the snatch theft issue, the authorities may lose
their zeal too.

There is plenty of hot air now with the usual statements
from politicians, social activists and non-government organisations, who seem
more interested in seeing their names in print than looking into the welfare of
Malaysians.

Worse, there are suggestions from minor bureaucrats that
the media should not highlight this issue because tourists would stay away from
Malaysia. In
short, they are asking the media to cover up these criminal acts.

The authorities should not wait for another victim to die
before they respond to public anger; the situation has reached boiling point
with 43 reported cases a day.

And it was public anger that made bystanders assault a
snatch thief in Klang (the man later died in hospital).

The public must not be allowed to take the law into its
own hands. Such mob mentality is a reflection, to some degree, of the lack of
confidence in the police force.

As Bakri correctly said, the image of the force is
important. Malaysians have passed remarks, rightly or wrongly, about cops
stopping motorists for bribes when they should be going after criminals.

Fighting crime, however, is not the job of the police
alone. They are already hard-pressed with the shortage of detectives.

Bakri deserves all our support to fight crime because we
know he is a no-nonsense and clean policeman.

They would also be given a tour of the hospitals and
exposed to the onerous working hours and conditions of medical officers.

Dr Shafie said he had discussed the idea of an admission
test with several ministry officials recently and would call for a meeting with
medical faculty deans. The proposal for MSAT, he added, would be presented to
the Cabinet soon for a decision.

I am sure Dr Shafie's intentions are good – the idea is
to ensure that the applicants with the right character, intention and aptitude
are accepted.

Whether we like it or not, the fact is that not everyone
can become a doctor despite being a top scorer. However, Dr Shafie ought to
speak to more doctors, lecturers, students and fellow Barisan Nasional
component party leaders before going ahead with his proposal.

For a start, it is nothing new. My alma mater, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia,
introduced this admission procedure decades ago but it died a natural death
after a few years.

In many foreign universities, such admission tests have
also been introduced but the practicality of such an exercise has been severely
questioned. In the case of UKM, some lecturers who sat on the interviewing
board found that it was unfair to decide on the future of the applicants in a
30-minute interview.

No matter how many questions an applicant can be asked,
the crux of the discussion was on why the applicant wished to be a doctor.

The outcome from these interviews revealed that some
popular answers were given – namely they had scored the best academic results
and their ambition was to be a doctor. Having secured the best grades in the
STPM, these applicants felt they should be given the chance of studying
medicine, or at least dentistry.

Most felt that studying medicine was prestigious and
would provide them with a good future. Certainly no one would dispute that
reasoning.

Parental pressure was also a factor, while helping
society was the last priority. No one should be surprised with these answers.

Do not expect our doctors to be paid poorly in the name
of helping society and upholding the Hippocratic Oath of the Greek medical
philosopher. While there may be many doctors who have dedicated their lives to
help the poor, future doctors see a bright and financially sound future ahead
of them.

Based on experience, medical college lecturers have found
that, in reality, applicants do not know for sure why they chose medicine. It
is only after their second or third year that most medical students have a
strong inkling of the course they have chosen.

Lecturers also said there was nothing to stop applicants
from preparing themselves and telling the interviewers what they want to hear
during such admission tests.

Dr Shafie said the ministry also wanted to know what kind
of lifestyle they would lead as doctors. If politicians themselves cannot be
trusted to give an honest answer from such a question, I doubt Dr Shafie could
expect an honest answer from college applicants.

The ministry and the Cabinet should carefully study the
feasibility of the proposed MSAT because it may lead to controversy.

There are already calls to review the entry system – one
for matriculation students and another for STPM students. Malaysians do not
want the MSAT to be another source of discontentment if bright students
suddenly find themselves rejected on grounds that they failed the new round of
subjective examinations, where human interference comes into play.

Our bright students are undoubtedly aware of the less
glamorous aspect of studying medicine, but they must not be discouraged from
taking up the challenge.

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But the fact is that such abuse has occurred, not only in
Malaysia but
also in countries where foreigners from poor countries have to put up with
indignity and even vicious assault.

In Malaysia,
statistics show that there were 66 cases of maid abuse in 2001, 39 in 2002, 40
in 2003, and 13 reported cases from this January until March.

While the figures could be considered relatively low, no
one should tolerate any form of maid abuse.

In some West Asian countries, Filipino maids have been
raped and murdered. In some instances, the assaults involved employers with
powerful connections and they escaped prosecution.

The odds are stacked heavily against these maids who are
forced to leave their homes to work as domestic help. Coming from poor
families, they are alien to the demands of modern living and often find
themselves pressured.

Most of us expect our maids to instantly adapt to our
lifestyle, forgetting that many of them come from remote places where there is
no vacuum cleaner or oven.

We can take a few lessons from Singapore,
where the authorities and people have more experience in dealing with foreign
workers.

According to Singapore's
Straits Times, primary school teacher Heng Kwee Huang was jailed 10 months and
fined RM6,000 after she slapped, punched and scalded her Indonesian maid with
hot water in 1999.

A psychiatrist who testified in court said Heng suffered
from severe depression. She underwent fertility treatments, had to grapple with
her demanding job, did not sleep or eat well, had attempted suicide twice and
her marriage was on the rocks.

The judge agreed that Heng faced tremendous pressures but
these were "not good excuses" for abusing her maid.

Adult bullies aside, pampered children were also found to
be abusers in an essay-writing survey of 2,000 children in 40 schools in the
republic. Loneliness at home was highlighted as the main cause for kids abusing
their maids.

With their parents at work, many children seek the
attention of their maids by making unreasonable demands.

Child psychiatrist Dr Brian Yeo Kah Loke was quoted in a
news report as saying that "today's child may be in a more powerful position
and the child often knows this. Some even abuse their power."

The Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre expert said some kids
were "condescending" and "when the maids did not entertain them, the children
deemed them as lazy and bad".

Recently, the biggest story in Singapore
was the case of an opposition MP who had sex with his young Indonesian maid
when his pregnant wife was away. He apologised after the news broke out this
year but the pictures of them in compromising positions are still in
cyberspace.

Similarly in Malaysia,
the line between an employer and master is sometimes blurred. Living in a
foreign environment, they are vulnerable to abuses because their choices are
limited.

They have plenty to lose if they have to return home
without any earnings. If they develop a reputation for being a lousy maid, they
risk being sent home.

Abusers of maids, to put in bluntly, are sick people.
They need psychiatric help because they feel that their action is righteous and
justified – which explains their continuous rage at those who fail to carry out
their instructions correctly.

Some may even consider such actions to be a class
struggle, where the abusers perceive themselves to be the masters who own the
maids.

Although there are laws in Malaysia
to protect maids, the Government should consider imposing non-monetary support
for domestic help, such as rest hours, meals and minimum standard of
accommodation.

Instead of sleeping in the kitchen or the hall, maids
should be given a room and a cupboard, for example. These could be quantifiable
benefits agreed upon by employer and maid.

This is better than the suggestion by Deputy Human
Resources Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakar who proposed house-to-house checks
to prevent maid abuse.

We can enhance our laws to prevent abuses but ultimately
it's our attitude as employers that will be of paramount importance. It's a
question of how fellow human beings should treat each other and vice-versa.

Some of us, I am sure, have also heard stories of their
maids taking advantage of them.

But I know of many Malaysians who spoke of friendships
forged with maids and how many of them continue to keep in touch by mail after
their contracts have ended.

In one case, the employer named his newborn child after
his maid because of the genuine joy and love of the husband and wife for their
Indonesian maid.

In yet another case, a husband and wife took their
Filipino maid on holiday every year, travelling business class with them. After
they migrated to New Zealand,
they went to great lengths to get the maid to join them in their new home.

To the couple, she is more than a maid – she is a family
member.

What is exasperating for the long line of law-abiding
motorists is that so many others simply jump the queue and create a second lane
to turn right. This is not only dangerous but causes further delay in traffic
movement for those who follow the traffic rules.

To add insult to injury, on more than one occasion, I
have seen traffic policemen on their motorcycles simply ride past all this
without so much as a warning, let alone a traffic ticket, being given to the
errant motorists.

The only "safe" conclusion to be drawn from this is that
it is all right to break traffic rules; not only does it get you to your
destination faster, it also makes law-abiding citizens look foolish.

It is time these errant motorists are taken to task
before too many decent citizens start to think the law actually sanctions, or
is blind to, such behaviour.

LAW-ABIDING-FOR-NOW
Ipoh, Perak.

The buses are run by 10 companies, including a
quasi-public company, and the result is that Curitiba's
buses carry 50 times the number of passengers compared to 20 years ago but the
people only spend about 10% of their yearly income on transport.

Curitiba has
caught the attention of many city planners because it gives public transport
the highest priority, not just in the number of buses but also in its traffic
dispersal system.

Dr Khir has very good reasons to visit this city because
a major factor why Selangor has such a large number of unwanted low-cost houses
is the location of these housing schemes.

Despite a three-day low-cost housing expo last week,
there was little interest among house-seekers. Dr Khir has adopted a more
cautious approach following a barrage of criticism against him for suggesting
that low-cost houses be sold to the rich.

The proposal created headlines. It was not just
politically incorrect but could lead to the poor being squeezed out of owning
property. There is nothing to stop a factory owner or a college owner from
buying up available units for their workers or students.

Dr Khir has asked for a report on why there were not many
takers. The reasons are obvious – the houses were built outside prime
commercial areas and, naturally, places of work.

I know of an office assistant who has rented out his
low-cost house, obtained through the support of his colleagues, because it is
just too far from his work place. He has continued to stay in a squatter area.

Then there is a clerk who complained that he applied for
a low-cost house from the state government but was turned down. He submitted
appeals to his MP and also sought the help of his colleagues.

He insisted that he must given a flat in his former
squatter area, which is making way for a mixed residential area of medium and
low-cost houses.

Eventually, it was revealed that he was not telling the
truth. His brother, whom he is staying with, was given a low-cost flat as
compensation.

He is still talking of injustices from the government to
his listeners. His friends also found out that he had turned down offers for
low-cost houses in Bangi (he works in Petaling Jaya).

There have been reports of house-buyers who manage to get
their choice of low-cost houses under the quotas allocated to politicians.
Naturally, politicians would reward their supporters as a form of patronage.

These successful applicants, in all fairness, are not
rich people but mainly low-income earners but they are said to have an
advantage over others because they are grassroots supporters.

While various proposals have been made to make low-cost
houses more appealing to the public, the authorities need to seriously improve
our public transport system.

In Tokyo, Singapore
and London, the public live outside
the cities, travelling to work by train, sometimes for over two hours. However,
the trains and buses are efficient, and the feeder system is good, unlike those
in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Penang.

Low-cost houses, whether we like it or not, cannot be
built in prime areas because the land would be too expensive. It is just not
feasible to build a flat for RM45,000 in Petaling Jaya.

Those who have spent RM800,000 to RM1.2mil on a high-end
property also do not want a low-cost housing scheme near their homes, even if
the cross-subsidy system is used.

But the question of distance would be resolved if a
decent public transport system is in place. Last week, Transport Minister Datuk
Chan Kong Choy said Malaysia
had the lowest number of public transport users in Asia.

In an interview with a Chinese newspaper, he said that
only 16% of the people used public transport in Kuala
Lumpur compared with 60% in Seoul,
56% in Singapore
and 30% in Bangkok.

Chan said that bad service was among the reasons cited for
commuters shying away from public transport.

He said the Government was looking into ways to improve
the public transport system in the Klang
Valley.

Looking at the situation objectively, the public
transport system has improved in recent years.

However, there is a need to divert traffic from the city
centres to allow better movement of buses. More bus terminals, with good bus
connections, should be set up on the periphery to ensure frequent access to
residential areas.

Having the best network of commuter trains or light rail
trains without an efficient feeder system would serve no purpose.

We have the most impressive buildings in Putrajaya but if
a tourist were to ask me to suggest a cheap and efficient way to travel to the
administrative town, I would be dumbfounded. In fact, public transport is a
major complaint among residents there.

But no one should be faulted if they think that Thaksin
does not have an answer to what's happening in the provinces of Haadyai, Yala,
Pattani and Narathiwat, which are close to the border with Malaysia.

These are towns that are familiar to many Malaysians,
especially those living in Penang, Perlis, Kedah or
Kelantan, who would have driven through these areas on trips into Thailand.

Having relatives in Haadyai, the second largest Thai
city, security issues in these areas have always been of interest to me. With
great appreciation and admiration for the Thai culture, I had the opportunity
to learn the Thai language, its history and politics while studying at
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

My interaction with the people of south Thailand
continues until today with the editors of The Nation, the largest English
newspaper in Thailand, who are also mostly from southern Thailand.

The paper's most vocal critic against Thaksin's handling
of the south must be deputy group chief editor Kavi Chongkittavorn, who grew up
in Haadyai but did his secondary education in Penang.

With a better grasp of the sentiments in the south, these
journalists have long warned Thaksin, a northerner, of the simmering
frustrations in these border towns by writing extensively on the frustrations
there, but the Thai leadership ignored them.

In January, Thaksin deployed three senior ministers to
deal with the time-bomb in southern Thailand
after an army depot was raided by 30 gunmen of at least 100 weapons, mostly
M-16 automatics. In the incident, three Buddhist monks and two students were
killed by unknown assailants.

Thai Defence Minister Thammarak Isarangkura was then
quoted as saying that ''now that the bandits have gone berserk, our men must
become crazed too to fight them''.

Instead of adopting a strategy to win the hearts and
minds of the people in the south, Thaksin decided on a law-and-order approach. Some
schools were reportedly ordered closed while 21 schools were set ablaze as the
army decided on more firepower.

On Jan 5, Thaksin declared martial law in Narathiwat,
Yala and Pattani but, two days later, gunmen armed with grenades and assault
weapons attacked a police station near Betong in Yala.

On March 27, bombs hidden in motorcycles exploded outside
a bar in Golok and wounded 30 people, including Malaysians.

This sledgehammer treatment has raised serious concerns
because in the absence of clear objectives, the tough talk from the Thai
authorities would only serve to alienate the people of southern Thailand.

The killing of the rebels at the mosque is likely to
harden the attitude of the people towards the government. A much better way
would have been to flush out these rebels instead of resorting to such harsh
action. The army could have also sought the help of local Muslim leaders to
pacify them first.

The army chief responsible for the shoot order has been
recalled by the authorities but it would take some time for the tension to
subside.

Talk to the locals and they will tell you of their fears,
frustrations and resentment – not just against the army and radicals but the
lack of security in the south.

Travellers to southern Thailand
often prefer to use the transport service of Thai drivers because they fear the
robberies and kidnappings that often occur along the highways. Seasoned
travellers would tell you that no one is sure whether the men in uniform are
the good guys or the bad guys.

The people in south Thailand
are worried that these radicals would graduate to become separatists by
exploiting the current political climate.

The majority of the people in southern Thailand,
irrespective of whether they are Buddhists or Muslims, are peace-loving people.
Many have openly expressed their fear that the radical elements may polarise
the communities if the government fails to deal effectively with the problems
there.

More importantly, the Thai government must issue a White
Paper to give details of the 100-over bandits/radicals killed as the group
appeared organised. The authorities in Thailand
would need to provide as much information to its neighbours on the background
of this shadowy group.

As Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi correctly
pointed out, our concern is the spillover effect of the incident, especially
the possibility of people crossing the border to seek refuge.

The incident has had a negative impact on Thailand.
It would also send a wrong message to the global community that the region is
unsafe.

Thaksin needs to handle the situation in the south wisely
and quickly. He can no longer say mai pen rai (no need to worry).

I told Najib about the frank views expressed by the panellists and what could be done to improve the NS programme.

Najib said the Cabinet had discussed the matter at its weekly meeting and concurred that the programme was advantageous despite the glitches and untoward incidents at some camps.

Last week, Najib assured the public that measures would be taken to address any shortcomings and that problems must be acknowledged and addressed.

It is good to hear Najib, who is the minister in charge of the NS, saying that he was prepared to resolve the problems. He should not, in any circumstances, be defensive against criticisms from the public and media.

Parents have the right to expect that their children would be safe when attending the NS programme.

While there seems to be a few operational problems with NS, the media should give the programme a chance to work. The fact is that the programme was hurriedly implemented, and ran into trouble on the very first day when logistics problems arose.

The press should not be barred from reporting incidents at camps. Besides, it is impossible to stop the flow of news in this age of the mobile telephone and Internet.

Suppression of news on incidents involving the NS would be counter-productive and could brew rumours. Once that happens, minor incidents may become exaggerated.

It is therefore necessary for the NS council to set up a media or public relations unit to respond to public queries.

The media should offer constructive criticism by identifying flaws in the programme and offering solutions to rectify these weaknesses. When the NS programme comes up for review in June, the media should be ready with its list of proposals.

In our panel discussion, everyone concurred that the programme was too big to handle. Even Lee and Loh agreed it should be scaled down because of insufficient qualified trainers.

The NS council should seriously consider having a smaller number of trainees for next year's programme. Trainers and facilitators could be trained at the same time to ensure there are adequate hands.

These trainers should include graduate trainees and youth leaders with experience in uniformed units such as Scouts, Girl Guides and the Red Crescent.

Youth leaders should be recruited into the NS instead of signing up government servants who are not committed to making the NS work.

There is also a need to review the role of facilitators (university students) who help man the NS programme in institutes of higher learning. From my university days, I dare say many are not qualified to run the NS programme.

These campus leaders may have leadership qualities but they lack the maturity and ability to handle crisis situations. Some of them even assume that ragging is acceptable.

No one should be surprised that NS problems crop up in the second month when trainees enter the campuses, where the weaknesses are glaring. The security guards are unable to provide adequate control. Changes in the rules and environment affect trainees, who at times cannot differentiate between trainers and facilitators.

The NS council must impose a code of conduct on facilitators to impress upon the participants that there is no favouritism.

The Defence Ministry must give priority to providing staff and financial allocation to the newly created NS Training Department. I am told that facilities are required at the NS Council secretariat and the department.

Unless there is strong backing, directives from the top to the camps and campuses would be lost. For example, I am told that the NS council repeatedly stressed the importance of food sensitivity but the caterers have not taken these orders seriously.

Unfortunately, the blame falls on the council and government. The camp directors and commandants must focus their attention on the implementation level. Any programme if poorly implemented would not succeed.

Officials, regardless of their positions, should carry out their duties effectively – especially when young people are involved. Once the young lose their respect for the trainers, the programme will never work.

Currently, there are three broad categories of participants – school leavers, young working people including school dropouts, and young adults – at the camps. They come from different education, economic and social backgrounds.

While interaction is necessary to prepare our children for real life, the NS council may want a relook at the modules used.

A dropout who has been working for some years is unlikely to accept some of the lessons. Likewise, a married youth would find it even harder to be in the programme.

All three groups have different needs and it would be advisable to consider having separate programmes to ensure that all trainees benefit from NS.

The NS council may also want to listen carefully to the views of youth development trainers, besides the bureaucrats, on how problematic trainees should be handled. It should also draw up guidelines on ethics and a code of conduct for trainers and trainees, including the kind of punishment to be meted out, instead of leaving it to the discretion of the trainers.

Malaysians have plenty to say about how NS can be improved and we believe that Najib would want to hear all suggestions.

It may not be the best idea but a start has to be made. In the case of the NS, the pioneer batch is about to complete the compulsory three-month programme and the second batch has begun.Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has said that the government was aware of the problems faced by the participants since it was launched, promising the government would look into the problems.

While Abdullah did not go into specific details, the Cabinet has certainly discussed many times the success and failures of the programme on numerous occasions.

Last week, the NS council chairman Datuk Dr Ahmad Fawzi Mohd said the concept and approach of the NS would be reviewed to ensure it achieved its goals, adding that a post-mortem would be held in June following the completion of training for the first batch of trainees. He urged all parties, including parents, the media and non-governmental organisations, to cooperate and come up with suggestions to help the council resolve its weaknesses.

Dr Ahmad's constructive approach is certainly commendable because the fact is that there are problems with the way the NS has been implemented. There have been allegations and reports of fights, theft, extortion, bullying and even sexual harassment.

There is little point in being defensive and getting angry with those who highlight these incidents to the authorities and the newspapers. The authorities can brush aside these problems and pretend they did not take place. What is more important is how best the authorities can prevent such unfortunate incidents from taking place as it has given the NS programme a bad image at the expense of the positive work.

If we wish to make the NS effective, we must be honest in dealing with these problems. Editors at newspaper offices have become counsellors to parents and trainees who complained of problems at these camps.

Many comments sent via e-mail, including some unhappy ones, have been forwarded by the media to those involved in the NS to ensure that these problems are properly addressed.

We agree that glitches and even oversights must be expected in a programme of such magnitude and disciplinary problems can be expected as the participants come from all backgrounds, including those with tough social origins.

Parents would surely prefer their children to interact with peers from the same background but that would deny them the experience of dealing with people from other, diverse economic upbringing.

It is a practical way to work with people from different races, religions and cultures, but we also do not want our young to experience bitter problems at these camps. Every effort must be made to ensure these camps emphasise multi-culturalism, from the way these trainees are taught at classes to the food that is served at the canteens. For example, the camp directors must ensure that there is a good alternative for Hindus who do not eat beef.

>From my discussions with members of the NS council, I learnt that the problems began during the second month of training when the participants were transferred to the institutes of higher learning. Unlike the camps during the first month, where security is better organised, the arrangement is more lax on the campuses.

It will also be reassuring if military personnel can be posted to the campuses to ensure that security is maintained. The police should also run random checks on the backgrounds of the participants to ensure that those with criminal records are made known to the facilitators.

The problem, I am told, are school dropouts and delinquents with records of being bullies in schools. These culprits have brought their bad habits to these camps.

Then, there are even cases of participants who are married but have enrolled at these camps as required under the law. Surely, they must be out of place even if they have behaved well.

The NS council should seriously consider inviting participants, parents, trainers, the media and experts in the various fields to give their assessment when the review begins. Other aspects should even include the logistics and transport arrangements.

The council may also want to consider drawing up a training programme for the trainers themselves to ensure that they are effective in dealing with trainees, although most would already have experience in youth activities.

There have been suggestions that the NS camps be run on a small scale to allow the trainers to have better control over the trainees. It is certainly something for the authorities to ponder.

The programme has certainly not been well-planned from the beginning and even badly implemented, as much as we refuse to admit it. There was no pilot project to determine its feasibility and to identify the possible weaknesses but the powers that be were only too eager to go ahead with it.

But there is a chance to put it right if we are ready to admit the mistakes and move along, perhaps on a smaller scale and shorter duration with better supervision.

It is good that Dr Ahmad, who has experience in reserve army training, has adopted an open attitude as constructive criticism about the NS should not be regarded as a loss of face or being politically motivated. Neither should the media be blamed for reporting incidents that take place in camps.

The majority of Malaysians support the NS programme but there have been genuine concerns about the way it has been managed. An honest review would certainly help to make the programme more effective.

Religious sensitivity is likely to be a factor because
the Censorship Board's guidelines ban the screening of movies with scenes or
images depicting prophets. Then there are the obvious violent scenes in the
movie, which is unlikely to get past the scissors of the censors.

In Singapore,
only those above 18 years old are allowed to watch the movie. In France,
the movie has been banned because of the government's strong secular stance and
concern that it would lead to anti-Semitic feelings.

Malaysians, who have become used to the archaic decisions
of the Censorship Board, are no longer bothered by the workings of the board.

Sometimes, movies are so mutilated after censorship that
they might as well be banned. For instance, kissing scenes snipped off when
there is no sexual passion by the characters.

In short, many Malaysians have given up on the Censorship
Board. After all, even local movies have been given the thumbs down for
questionable reasons.

With its multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-cultural
setting, Malaysia
is more guarded and cautious. None of us would want to be seen to be creating
offence – it's understandable, even commendable.

But sometimes, we tend to over-react. We underestimate
the maturity and openness of Malaysians, regardless of their religion.
Something perceived to be offensive to politicians and bureaucrats may be
acceptable to the public.

Many Malaysians must have watched The Passion by now
because pirated copies of the movie hit the streets a month ago for as little
as RM8.

This is one reason so many of us have always said that Malaysia
is the best place to live in. There is a lot of tolerance and alternatives. The
authorities may have clamped down on a certain movie but you get to watch it in
the comfort of your home.

But, hey, we are Malaysians, so we will not admit it.

In the case of The Passion, the copy I saw was quite
clear except for one scene when a moviegoer at an undisclosed cinema in an
undisclosed country decided to leave his seat – probably for a quick visit to
the restroom – and spoilt the cameraman's otherwise professional job.

The movie, for many, is an education of faith. For the
past few days, Christians including myself have attended church services in the
run-up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Easter is a religious event bigger than Christmas and is
regarded as the basis of the faith – that Jesus Christ rose from the dead on
the third day after his crucifixion on Good Friday.

For Christians, the movie has great significance in its
timing. Many would want to see whether the movie has accurately portrayed the
Bible and which particular scene is the result of director Mel Gibson's poetic
licence.

But as we celebrate Easter today, Christians here must
remember that we have been blessed. We are able to celebrate this festive
season openly when we read of pilgrims flocking to the Church
of Nativity in Bethlehem,
the birthplace of Jesus, in the hope of receiving the much-coveted Israeli
permit to allow them to travel to Jerusalem.

Israel
has imposed a shutdown on the Palestinian territories following the killing of
Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

In communist countries, Christianity is still banned
while some West Asian countries disallow the Bible from being brought in.

Even as we express some of our frustrations, Christians
must also acknowledge the liberties we enjoy in this wonderful country of ours.

Within the Cabinet and government, we find Christians
being appointed. Heading the list is Minister in the Prime Minister's Department
Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, an active Christian leader.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has
certainly made his mark as a great Malaysian leader. Some of us must remember
his decision to lift the ban on the Iban-language Bible. Last Christmas, he
created history when he sent greeting cards to church leaders nationwide.

This is the kind of moderate and fair-minded leader the
country needs. Without saying much, he has sent a message to Malaysians
reinforcing his commitment to minorities that their rights are guaranteed under
our Federal Constitution.

The lower-level bureaucrats and politicians must learn to
appreciate the support of the minorities. There have been cases where churches
have met with obstacles when they sought to build in residential areas.

Some of these obstacles are the result of
over-zealousness and the racist attitude of bureaucrats at implementation
level. They are certainly not the policies of the government leadership.

Whether we agree or not with the contents of The Passion,
there is no denying that morality, moderation and justice are universal values.

We must hold on to these passionately.