Jaya Supermarket Collapse: Malaysians still lacking

I remember Jaya Supermarket rather well, because it had a Dave's Deli. Probably the first one in the country.

And even after they shut the building down, I still kept seeing it outside the window while I was on the treadmill in Jaya33, which is across the street.

So when I heard that it had come down, and recorded a death toll of 7 members of a deconstruction crew, my first reaction was one of shock.

Really, just 7 guys?

It was amazing that the building didn't crush the homes right across the street when it collapsed!

And wasn't it just amazing that the government waited until the building collapsed and 4 people were found dead, and then suddenly decided to think to move everyone living nearby from the area?

We continually preach that Malaysia is truly Asia in our tourism catalogs.

What we failed to also mention was that our safety standards, law enforcement, transportation systems and even our emergency and evacuation teams are underfunded, poorly managed and like everything else in Malaysia, poorly maintained.

But of course, the government will want a report on what happened. However, without public pressure, it'll be another report that will never see the light of day, similarly like that of our space tourists' research, our spending on SUKOM, the plight of the Penans, etc.

Safety is an issue, but it is not the biggest one yet.

Think about it. Our safety standards are lacking due to the fact that we employ migrant workers in our construction crew. Why? Because they're cheap. Why? Because in comparison to locals, they are willing to exert themselves in physical labor. Why? Because they're desperate and resourceful.

In comparison to our graduates who whine when they can't find a job and make it into the news that the job market is bad, and yet would swear that they won't even consider attending the functions and courses provided by the government.

Why is our law enforcement corrupt? Because we pay our cops too little, thus leading them to move towards bribery. Also, their benefit packages are crappy as well.

Why can't we maintain proper roadworks, let alone proper street plumbing?

Why can't we move into mass transportation systems that work? And why on Earth did KTM buy Korean made carriages for the Komuter which don't meet their specifications?

To get even more micro, why can't Malaysian drivers ever use their signal lights when they overtake on the Federal, and yet can find the ability to use the horn and the high beam?

Malaysians themselves say that the government is driving the brains away from the nation with their current policies, but I don't think that's the crux of all issues in this nation either since brains can be imported.

I honestly think that Malaysians have blond moments and continuously prove that they lack common sense.

When it came to Bukit Antarabangsa, there was news that the people had reported minor landslides to the authorities, yet the authorities did nothing. What they failed to report, and what the news also didn't highlight, was the fact that this was all that the resident's did.

I mean, think about this logically with me folks.

You're living on a hill slope, and landslides start to expose boulders right above your house. Do you move out, or do you just bitch about it to the local authorities and hope they'll come by and cover it with canvas while they go through red tape?

Similarly with the case of Jaya Supermarket. You're hiring a cheap crew with no professional opinions to tear down a building. There's no research, no written plan, just go ahead and tear it down.

Don't mind the dust and debris would affect the health of those living across, the street, of course.

And then it collapses. And you have the government, mentioning that there was too much heavy equipment involved and the floors couldn't take it. But of course, they had to wait for 7 people to die to figure that one out.

Couldn't have foreseen overbearing weight bringing down a floor, now, could we? Not even if seemed funny on Americas Funniest Home Videos.