issue resolved.

My mom and I carpool almost everyday. We have this healthy practice of listening to the news on the way to work since we both (unlike my dad) don’t buy newspapers daily and I only read them online if I’m not too busy.

the melamine scare.

Earlier, some time from late September up until late October, the news was so full of melamine, I felt intoxicated by it although I did not excessively consume it. “Today, this and that product of this and that company was seized by the authorities for testing.” And then, everyone becomes scared of eating this and that product of this and that company. The following week, a new report is released confirming the product does not contain excessive melamine. People are already scared as hell. Damage is done.

And then, that news fades just as fast as it fades in. Just. Like. That.

Do you hear anyone talking about melamine anymore? I don’t. But I know that the issue is far from resolved. We still are facing some problems with items, I’m sure. And for all you know, it’s not just melamine that’s been excessively stashed into our food. And people are buying as usual now. No more news, no more melamine.Issue resolved.

graft, public transport and abductions.
Then, for a long time, the news was rasuah, rasuah, rasuah. Like that’s anything new at all.
And also bus accidents and the need for more efficient public transport, an issue which has been around since 20 odd years ago apparently. But no accident, no news, and no more need for efficient public transport. And what happened to the Nurin alert, again? No more major abductions means ... Issue resolved?

the sliding of lands.
And then, along came the Bukit Antarabangsa Tragedy (condolences to those who had to leave their homes and lost loved ones). With this tragedy came massive media coverage, not only on Bukit Antarabangsa but also the surrounding and other hillside developments.

Engineers are afraid of being sued because local councils are absolved from all liability. The public is making noise because the law is unfair and parents (like my dad) are asking why my department is not doing anything about this. I cannot do anything about it. And neither can my department.

This issue has been going on since forever as well, ever since the Highland Towers and Hillview tragedies and for a very significant amount of time, the news was about all that. But up until the Bukit Antarabangsa tragedy, I think people stopped downloading the Highland Towers judgment because, like I said, no more news means, issue resolved.

No one took heed when those from Medan Damansara voiced their fear of the ongoing hillside development just above their homes. People had to wait for tragedy to strike to actually look at the matter seriously.

Trust me, the news now contains less and less coverage on Bukit Antarabangsa. The last one was about the denial of the existence of a casino in one of the houses which came down with the landslide. People are starting to speculate that the main reason the landslide happened is because bala menimpa tempat-tempat yang banyak maksiat.

It may not be wrong entirely, but soon, you will see that there will no longer be coverage about the liability of local councils or their negligence in passing all the development plans.

fuel prices.
The one and only constant thing to part our lips now would be... fuel prices. Trust me. You can switch the radio on every single morning at 7 a.m. and Hajah Sharifah will tell you the prices per barrel of Light Sweet and Brand North Sea.

Fuel prices are extremely important. Other things forgotten. After all, the average human being can only remember certain things for only so long.

And journalists, I don’t blame you. Of course, you have a living to make and only sensational will sell.

I just hope that Bukit Antarabangsa will not be like other things, lost, forgotten and deemed resolved. When all is actually not.