Thursday 19 July 2007

Six Down And Counting?

Just got back from a four day course in Ipoh. It was quite interesting but that is not what I want to write about. Oh no, what I would like to blog about is something more interesting. It is about another Malaysian malady: they don't fix thing until there is death. If there is a road cutting into the path of a railway track, they won't put up a gate until of course a bus got stuck on the rails and a train smashes into it killing more than 10 people. Of course it would be said that the driver was a drunk or even a junkie, or that the company has very bad maintenance record or that the bus was bought in 1968.

Well talking about 1968, that was the year, we bought some helicopters. It was brand new then. I was only 12 then, but I am 51 now and those choppers or the remaining ones that is are already 39 now. Considering the hours the choppers were used, both as a military transport crafts and also for politicians to use like those choppers belong to their grandfathers, some of them should be gracing some military museums while the others scrapped. Oh no, not in Bolehland. Anyway we have only lost some lives before, not enough to warrant replacement, anyway, I don't think an adequate enough commission has been agreed upon to justify purchasing of new transport choppers and the fact that a certain commission expert is currently HELD up in a very life threatening CASE so the purchase can wait.

When I saw on TV just now about how the remaining 3 bodies were plucked onto a hovering BOMBA helicopter I was moved to tears thinking of the lost to their families and loved ones. It is not only their loved ones and families who lost, the country too lost. The country lost 6 valuable lives. Lives that could have been spared had the people up there been more sensitive to the needs of their personnel. We don't need refurbished used expensive submarines but we sure do need new safe transport crafts for our air-force people. The amount of money spent in training these people vanished with their deaths. The experience they had vanished with the last blink in the radar.

Today's papers reported that the cabinet had agreed to replace the aging machines with new ones. Yeah, tell that to the orphaned children of the deceased, tell that to the grieving parents, spouses and kins. After this I am sure they will feast us with shows of generosity by the arm forces and the government both federal and state. Associations would come forward to adopt the children of the deceased; cheques would be flashed for all to see that there still people who care; the circus would come to town with people clamouring to show that they care with the press playing their part in suppressing any negative news.

In the meantime these old horses would still be used putting at risk the lives of those who step foot on them. This time we should see how many of our dignitaries would dare step onto one while out campaigning in the coming elections. I got this feeling that come this election our air-force helicopter pilots would not be working as hard as the last election coz somehow the demand would strangely drop. Private choppers would be doing a roaring business though.

I wonder when would we be setting our priorities right. I wonder when would all these shit stop.

14 comments:

tokasid said...

Salam che'gu:

Patutlah banyak hari che'gu hilang, ropanya pi kursus.Anyway its good to have you back.

All this statements and actions of our politicians are re-runs of old BN movies everytime a tragedy occured. Naik meluat dengar janji manis depa.

Mr. Right said...

Duit semua disalurkan ke tempat lain.

Anonymous said...

its high time they get rid of these nuris. i dread thinking if it would happen again during this 3 years of phasing out period. Nauzubillah.

i say stop all the funds thats supposed to be channeled to FAM and get new choppers instead. right immediately. this is valuable lives we're dealing with. lives of our real deal front liners and not the cowards on football fields.

Monster Mom said...

i experienced it.... few years ago.. when my cousin ejected and it took them two days... to find him!
Cari pakai torch light! mana nak jumpak! all those hype about the gadgets... tipu ja tu...
Tak sabaq nak tunggu hubby quit....
I wanna migrate....

Unknown said...

test

Unknown said...

kata tak nak....Wrote few times...cannot post in...so test first.
The sickening government need a sixth copter to kill the passengers to wake them up.No wonder Samy Vellu feel so comfortable as the most unproductive minister that talk cock when bad things happen under his ministry for past 24 years!!
Actually...the Malay ministers are worst than him....so if teachers and leaders are full of shit....what else... small fry ministers and worst...hero worship citizens of Malaysia....mostly become borak and cakap manyak type of people....with no productivity results...makan gaji buta all the time.
Next election is the best time to see how our voters react to all these.

Hi&Lo said...

Che'gu,

What makes you exceptional is your ability to see the human side of the news. It involves real lives having to pick up the pieces. Politicians and their hangers-on would then hitch the bandwagon for a few minutes of fame which you describe as a circus.

Apandi Reviews said...

Errr, when they can clarify on who gets which part of the contract for the new choppers...

You see, us (Malaysian public) is expendable, unlike them (ruling minority), so, yes you're right, six against 22 million does not even scratch the statistics. Wait till we agree whose proxy gets what percentage, then we replace the thing...

Asil said...

Apandi, your comment is funny. But it's true. When money is the center of everything - lives mean nothing. I've always hope for separate lane for motorcyclists and pedestrians. Like Cikgu said, it's going to be circus to them. This is different ballgame, vote means nothing.

Unknown said...

Doc,
Yang saya marah ialah depa tau yang bila depa terus guna peasawat tu depa put those people in real danger of losing their lives and they don't give a damn. Memang la depa askar tapi askar is to be killed by the enemy not their own people or are we our own enemies?

mr. right.
ya into big pockets of theirs

Kerp,
Dari dulu lagi depa dah tau NURI ni dah outmoded and tak dak spare parts dah tapi hanya se;epas tragedy ni baru dengaq kata depa setuju nak replace and in the mean time?

Monster mom,
Itu pun nasib baik ada torchlight, silap haribulan depa pakai lilin. I wonder berapa harga satu torchlight if bought by the arm forces

Unknown said...

Monty,
The only live that is valuable to them is theirs and their familiy's.
I truly hope that in the next election we could make them at least realise that all is not well.

Unknown said...

hi & lo,
I am sure we all value lives. Even our enemies should be treated with difnity what more our own?

Unknown said...

apandi,
Sometimes I truly feel that is why they are delaying this whole thing. Its how much they could make out of it that matters.

asil,
I have seen it too many times, when this kind of tragedy strikes there are people out to reap political mileage. Its sickening.

IBU said...

In today's news, the spare parts supplied for police vehicles were suspected to be fake! Banyak ringgit involved.

If we put the above newspaper clipping and the one on nuri crash last week side by side - hmmmm.....

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