theSun | TUESDAY MAY 26 2009
speak up!
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letters@thesundaily.com
Hats off to an officer
and a gentleman
I AM a foreigner married to a
Malaysian. Sometime back my
wife and I visited the Penang
island immigration office to
renew my visa under a new
programme.
Although, I had studied the
checklist and prepared all the
required documents, there
were still a few clarifications
regarding the documents,
about which the officer at the
counter was not fully aware of,
so we decided to see his boss,
Abdul Rahman Harum.
To our pleasant surprise
he was approachable, kind,
courteous, friendly and fully
competent.
Abdul Rahman listened
to us keenly, understood the
points raised, and clarified our
confusion.
To our relief, he had
up-to-date knowledge of the
new programme, which had
recently been launched. This
showed his professional com-
petence. He immediately called
Traffic dispersal plan
not people friendly
I REFER to the new KL traffic
dispersal “master”plan. Its key
features include ramps, under-
passes, elevated interchanges
and one-way streets. Is this
going to help us turn Kuala
Lumpur into a livable city?
Federal Territories Minister
Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja
Zainal Abidin said the projects
were being carried out in ac-
cordance with the prime min-
ister’s wish to provide a better
standard of living for city folk
and in line with his concept
that the “people come first”.
It is clear that this plan
puts the car first, people last.
Instead of building up the
quality of life in the city, it
seems that the government
is focused on tearing it down
– with more construction,
more traffic, more noise and
more hassles.
Why is any of this neces-
sary? Because of traffic con-
the officer at the counter and
informed him of the matter.
He encouraged our feed-
back, apologised for any incon-
venience caused and attended
to our views with genuine
concern.
My wife and I would like
to extend our heartiest thanks
and gratitude to the immigra-
tion department for having
appointed such a refined and
cultured officer as head of its
office in Penang.
We need more such com-
petent and kindhearted officers
at high-ranking positions to
maintain the quality and the
image of the department.
We hope that this excep-
tional performance of a senior
officer will be encouraged to
inspire other officers.
We wish him all the success
in his professional career.
Naweed Ahmad
Sabrina Abdul Ghafur
Penang
gestion in KL? Because of bad
public transport?
Or because of this unreal-
istic idea that everyone from
the suburban areas can and
should be able to drive into
the centre of KL – all at the
same time – and not face any
congestion.
These plans are unrealistic.
Designing these plans and
launching them without real,
effective public consultation
is shameful. Contacting a few
residents associations and
telling them what you plan to
do is not consultation – and for
a plan this big, the whole city
should be involved.
I note that they have made
a tiny concession to public
transit though – one lane of
Jalan Tun Sambanthan will be
a bus lane.
Moaz Yusuf Ahmad
Subang Jaya
Confessions of an
express bus driver
I MUTTERED some un-
mentionables having missed
the bus from Kuala Besut to
Pasir Puteh on Sunday. The
next bus was a two-hour
wait, so I decided to splurge
on a taxi for the 20km trip.
Had I been early, the bus ride
would only have cost me
RM2.50, but the taxi would
set me back RM16.
But as luck would have it,
it was well worth the money.
Down2Earth
The taxi driver Pak Hassan in by Terence Fernandez
his beat-up Nissan Bluebird
was a wealth of information.
A bus driver along the Kuala Tereng-
ganu-Kuala Lumpur route for 10 years,
the 54-year-old resorted to driving a
cab recently, as he was done with the
rigours of long haul journeys.
“I became a pil kuda addict because
of my job,” he said as he wound down
the front passenger screen to let in the
breeze since air-conditioning can be a
foreign term in these parts.
Pak Hassan said a typical shift would
start at 9pm for the journey to Kuala
Lumpur. “Of course there is a co-driver
but how does one really get any rest on
a winding, bumpy road journey? So we
tidur ayam (interrupted sleep).”
He said in many cases, they do not
change drivers mid-way so as to allow
the co-driver some form of rest for the
return leg. However, in many cases,
the bus supervisors put paid to their
plans.
Upon arriving in Kuala Lumpur at
6am, the drivers are often split up, with
his co-driver asked to pilot the 9am to
Alor Star, Kota Baru or Penang.
Instead of getting any rest himself,
Pak Hassan said he would have to
prepare the bus for the return trip to
Kuala Terengganu.
“After performing subuh prayers
and a bit of breakfast, I then have to
wash the bus. No such thing as taking
it to a car wash as it takes time and
costs a lot.
“The management only allows
thorough washing once or twice a
month at the car wash,” he claims.
Pak Hassan said he then tries to
get a bit of shut-eye, either in the bus
or in the office but in most cases,
his rest is interrupted
by other colleagues who
want to chit-chat or his
supervisors who want to
discuss work.
“Before you know it,
it’s 9am and it’s time to go, plied the brakes to allow a herd of goats
so I pop a pill, say a little to cross.
doa and I’m back on the
road again,” he said, ex-
plaining why the toxicol-
ogy reports on bus drivers
in accident investigations
always prove positive for
substance abuse.
“The pill may have
been a lifesaver to some of us, but it has
also caused the doom of many,” Pak
Hassan said, explaining that “although
your eyes are awake, your brains are
asleep.”
Admitting he had several close
shaves himself, Pak Hassan illustrates
the effect of the pill. “You are like a
zombie. Your perception of space and
distance is blurred. The bend ahead
You are like a zombie. Your perception
of space and distance is blurred. The
bend ahead may be 20m away, but to you it panies continue to oper-
seems like it is only two metres, so you take ate
the bend at the wrong time and end up in
the ravine!”
may be 20m away, but to you it seems
like it is only two metres, so you take
the bend at the wrong time and end up
in the ravine!”
He also said most bus drivers speed
because “if you drive slow, you feel
sleepy faster.”
“When you drive fast, you are a little
more alert,” he said.
Pak Hassan said the bus companies
must be held responsible for all the ac-
cidents that have taken place, especially
the fatal ones. “To maximise profits
and minimise cost, they put the lives
of people – drivers and passengers in
danger.”
He said enforcement by the Road
Transport Department (RTD) is also
flawed due to the lack of systems to
trace a driver or a bus.
15
He claims that logbooks are doc-
tored where the names of drivers
are changed. “The law says we need
between 12 and 24 hours of rest before
the next trip but the supervisors will
see to it that the names are changed to
avoid detection. So although I am the
one driving back to Terengganu on the
same morning I had arrived, another
driver’s name would be jotted down in
my place.”
However, Pak Hassan offers a tip to
the RTD if it is really serious in taking
errant bus companies and drivers to
task.
“The more you drive, the more you
make in allowances, so all the RTD or
CVLB (Commercial Vehicle Licensing
Board) need to do to catch them is to
ask for the pay-roll.
“The evidence is in the numbers,”
he announced with a laugh as he ap-
He also blamed himself and other
drivers who placed their allowances
above the safety of passengers and
other road users. “But when times are
bad, you do whatever you can for that
little extra cash,” he said.
Finally, it was from prodding by his
wife that he decided to switch jobs. “She
was worried about my safety. There
were days when I used to drive up and
down for three days straight because
another driver was sick or decided not
to come to work.”
He said the pil khayal or pil kuda
was also taking a toll on his health
as he lost weight and suffered mood
swings which had taken a toll on his
marriage.
Pak Hassan, however,
paints a grim picture of
the future.
“As long as bus com-
with impunity without
regard for the law then
you are going to have
more fatal accidents.”
Perhaps the authorities
would heed the advice
of this insider and stop pussy footing
around if they are sincere in reducing
road deaths. It is time for the big rotan.
Instead of blackboxes which only
benefit the company that supplies them,
there is readily available data in which
the RTD can use to bring to book errant
companies and drivers.
The fact that ALL drivers involved
in fatal accidents have outstanding
speeding summonses tells a lot about
the apathy and lackadaisical attitude
of those who are paid by taxpayers to
keep our roads safe.
Terence will be taking the bus back to
KL tomorrow and hopes to arrive in one
piece. He is deputy editor (special reports
& investigations) and can be reached at
terence@thesundaily.com