BENAR kerana BERANI

As can be seen from the image above, there has been recurrence where visitors recklessly parked their car in front of my house, obstructing my gateway partially when there is suffcicient and decent space to accomodate the length of a vehicle between houses. I don't understand why. Maybe, I didn't fork out enough moola to 'touch up' the exterior of my house, like coating the wall with a layer of Balinese sandstone wall tiles plus a majestic 3-metre high stainless steel gate. Or perhaps, it's my lousy bazi or fengshui of my house. Should I consult Joey Yap or simply place two stone lions on both side of the entrance?

Two weeks ago, couple of vehicles pulled up one evening and a Toyota Hilux parked in front of my house, with the rear of the pickup partially blocking. Knowing that my parents would be on their way back, I intend to ask the particular driver to move his truck out of the way.

"Sorry, whose vehicle is this?" I asked the crowd, not knowing who the owner is.

A woman in her mid-50s, wearing a shade and carrying a designer bag replied in a lofty tone, "It's ours, why?"

"Hmm, could you move your vehicle right up a little bit?"

"Why? Anything wrong?" Apparently, she wasn't aware that it's inappropriate to park like this.

"Er...It's blocking my way and we own two cars, the other car is returning." I said.

She raised her pitch, "It's just (blocking) a little bit. Is there a problem?"

Normally, my face would go red and I would start to give her a moral lesson in a thunderous voice. But I was extraordinarily calm that day, and I reasoned what I could have done.

"Lookit, I could sidle up and scratch your vehicle and you wouldn't have notice."

"Or, I can pretend that I am unware of your vehicle outside and simply hurl a flower pot over the wall and smash your windscreen, and then come out to apologize for the 'accident'." This is one trick my buddy taught me on facebook.

"Of course, the legal way is to call the police to give you a summon or tow your car away. And I don't have to risk offending you." My friend actually did this when a car parked in front of her house during the recent Lunar New Year.

"But, I chose to communicate with you instead. Despite only blocking my way a little, do you think it is RIGHT to park your vehicle like this?"

She was silent.

"Now, do you still think there is nothing wrong? This is not a problem?"

She remained wordless.

Her husband then tried to relief her from further embarassment, sort of asked her to back down. Shortly after, she and her husband hastily got into the truck and drove off, without apology.

Now, I am not trying to demonstrate how good I am in arguing. What I would like to point out is that people nowadays have utterly lost their manners. People are willing to commit mistakes and act recklessly, for the sake of their own. And to my chagrin, they don't feel accountable for their misdeeds, don't feel no guilt, and still have the cheek to retaliate when confronted.

There is a saying in Malay, "Berani kerana Benar, Takut kerana Salah", literally means that we are brave because we are right, we are afraid because we are wrong. These days, it becomes "Benar kerana Berani, Salah kerana Takut", meaning we are right because we are brave, we are wrong because we are afraid. Ironic.

I can't help but to think that this demoralization of Malaysian society is due mainly to the examples set by our leaders. Don't you think?