JUNE 23 — Being greeted by a dry tap was not my kind of idea to start the weekend.
There I was with a mouthful of toothpaste staring in disbelief with no water flowing from the tap.
Oh no, don’t tell me water rationing is back, I shrugged as I reached for the water dipper.
I stepped out of the bathroom and reached for my phone only to see a notice from Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) that several areas in the Federal Territory were facing unscheduled water disruption.
The water cut affecting 17,500 accounts was due to high water demand and low supply which had caused a decline in water levels from pools which received water from Sungai Selangor.
While the Sungai Selangor water treatment plant is able to distribute 472.6 million litres of water a day, the demand as at June 19 stood at 473 million litres.
I was subsequently informed the disruption in my area was due to a pump trip but I later discovered many other areas were also facing unscheduled water cuts.
A quick check on Syabas’ Facebook page revealed 33,336 homes also faced water cuts due to a decline of water levels at pools which were receiving treated water from the Semenyih dam.
Again I shrugged in disbelief as the Selangor government had only days earlier announced there would not be any water rationing in the state and we were informed we had enough reserves to last five months.
If you ask me, unscheduled water cuts due to high demand and low supply sounds like water rationing.
The scorching heat which we are experiencing now is not helping either. I showered five times on Saturday, no thanks to the horrible heat.
Some say we don’t use Celcius to measure temperature in Malaysia. We use panas, panas gila and panas gila babi.
And it sure looks like it’s not going to be cheap to stay cool.
The humidity coupled with the haze is not only forcing us to stay indoors but it is also burning a hole in our pockets. Medical bills, higher water and electricity bills, buying more fans and air-conditioners to spending more on ice-cold beverages to cool down.
While experts have offered tips on how to be kind to the environment while we attempt to get accustomed to this unbearable heat, I guess some things are easier said than done.
To charge or not to charge?
The discovery of a 15-year-old boy in a flat in Nilai who was covered with filth and faeces on Saturday morning sent shockwaves among Malaysians.
The boy, who is said to be suffering from cerebral palsy, was reportedly neglected for over a year.
His mother, who has since been arrested, claimed she was unable to find a nanny for him and she left him a store room while she was out at work. The boy was discovered by chance by immigration officers who were out to nab illegal immigrants.
The authorities should not hesitate to take action against those responsible if it is clear the boy had been neglected.
Malaysia had ratified the Convention of the Rights of the Child which states that every child is to be protected from all forms of physical and mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse. This had later led to the introduction of the Child Act 2001.
While the government had also developed a national policy and an action plan to protect children against abuse, neglect and exploitation, the reality is such cases are still happening.
What’s even more shocking is no parent, despite the thousands of child neglect cases being reported, had ever been prosecuted for neglect.
While 4,377 child neglect cases were reported between 2011 and 2013, the Attorney-General’s office had not prosecuted a single parent or guardian due to supposed “lack of evidence to prove if the parents’ negligence was intentional.”
Even Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim had said people tend to sympathise with parents who have lost their child.
Some feel the parents have gone through enough misery in cases where these children died after jumping down from a balcony or window or even after being left unattended in a car for hours.
Rohani was quoted as saying: “We want to implement the Child Act but whenever I open my mouth and quote it, people will criticise me for being unsympathetic.”
But where does the buck stop? How long more will we wait before a clear message is sent out to such parents?
The laws are clear and are meant to be enforced. The AG’s office should be stern and must not allow parents in clear-cut negligence cases to escape liability.
Enforce the law as it is high time for a precedent to be set.
*Pearl is roving news editor of Malay Mail. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @pearllee22.
**This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
