By : DAVE AVRAN
COMA.....Madam
Khoo Bok Eng slipped into coma after being hit with a crash helmet, and was
later kicked out of a private hospital after her son ran out of funds after
paying bills amounting to RM26,000.
WHEN WE think about trust,
we naturally think first of all about personal relationships. That’s too
narrow. Trust is much broader, and much more important. Nothing in society
works without trust. It’s the foundation of communities, commerce, democracy,
everything.
Consequently in today’s
hyper-connected society, understanding the mechanisms oftrust is of utmost
importance. Issues of trust and security are critical to solving problems as
diverse as crime issues and our current moribund political system.
It would be easy to assume
that a social problem only affects the people whom it directly touches, but
this is not the case in actual fact.
There is no doubt that there
is widespread public concern about the high level of crime in this country
today. Although the statistics fluctuate year on year, the picture is clear:
over the past two generations crime has increased enormously. A great deal of
crime goes unrecorded, and much of the crime that is reported to the police is
not adjudicated upon by our criminal courts.
The result is that there is
a substantial cost to the community and many people go about in fear of being
the victims of crime. People ask, quite reasonably, how this has come about. In
an age of great technological advances, when so many people enjoy a prosperous
lifestyle far beyond that of their parents and grandparents, why is it that so
much crime and anti-social behavior are ruining it all?
There is a widespread
feeling of helplessness that nothing can be done about the situation and that,
if one is the victim of crime, it is a misfortune like falling ill. We are left
with the feeling that nothing works.
A large amount of time and
money is spent in dealing with the results of criminal and anti-social
behavior, and even more is spent to deflect and deter young people from
starting a life of crime, to catch those who do commit a crime and to deal with
them appropriately.
The task can be summed up by
three Ps: parenting, policing and punishment. (Many would add a fourth: piety.
Selfishness is the forerunner of every criminal act.) So while there is no
doubt that crime can divide society, it can also unite society in a surprising
twist of fate.
One of MARAH’s (Malaysians
Against Rape, Assault & snatch) most active supporter and the founder of the
volunteer Community Policing organisation posted in our facebook group page
about a woman who got hurt during wayside robbery in Kepong on Sept 1, 2012.
Prayer for Madam Khoo
Madam Khoo Bok Eng slipped
into coma after being hit with a crash helmet. She was discharged from two
government hospitals as her injuries needed expert attention, and she was later
kicked out of a private hospital after her son ran out of funds after paying
bills amounting to RM26,000.
She is currently warded in
room Sunway Medical Centre, with escalating medical bills amounting to almost
60k. Her only son, aged 30, had exhausted his savings and EPF and desperately
asked the MARAH member to help his mother.
The MARAH member, Kuan Chee
Heng, duly called me and explained the situation, and despite my stand on MARAH
staying away from collecting money from the public, this poor lady’s situation
moved me.
I decided to allow MARAH
members to contribute to Madam Khoo’s medical bill fundfor two reasons: I had
verified the authenticity of the case with Kuan, and that this lady truly
deserved assistance. I imposed a condition that any and all monies collected
would go only through Kuan.
Donations are entirely on a
voluntary basis and I am glad to report that many MARAH members have given
generously to aid Madam Khoo. Many others have pledged to pray for her speedy
recovery as well. This is a very good example of Malaysians uniting to help a
fellow Malaysian in need without regard for color, religion or creed.
If you are moved to help
this poor lady after reading this article, please do surf to the MARAH facebook
page to see how you can help her. You are also most welcome to visit her if you
wish as her current location is also listed.
Finally I would like to ask
a small favour of you – please do say a prayer for Madam Khoo’s recovery from
her horribly traumatic experience of being robbed and assaulted. Thank you.
(NOTE
: Dave Avran is the founder of MARAH (Malaysians Against Rape, Assault &
snatcH)
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