BAD HABITS DIE HARD

Picture this - the year 2020. The place: Kuala Lumpur. Imagine we are approaching KL. From afar, one can see the impressive skyline of KL - imposing skycrapers in shiny glass, chrome and steel, with bubble lifts bobbing up and down; the imposing KL Tower and KL City Center Twin Tower, one of the tallest in the world.

Sleek electric trains cruise noiselessly along elevated tracks, lending a futuristic look to the city. Along the roads ply an incredible number of expensive luxury cars.

But zoom in a little closer and you'll find that, really...., things haven't changed. Tinted mechanical glass windows of luxury cars glide down and hands ditch rubbish out of car windows.

Youngster clutching mobile phones to their ears yelling into their phones. Zoom into the toilets and aarrrrggghhh!... it still looks as we're back in 2002! The public toilets are filthy, with bits of sodden tissue paper all over the place.

Step into the streets and you almost get knocked down by irate drivers. The driving habits of Malaysian drivers have still not improved, worsened in the mad rush to make more money in the name of progress.

Drivers still hogging the yellow boxes and cutting the queues. The super-duper electric trains whiz in and out of stations, leaving the disable sadly behind in the 21st century.

This scenario is of course just hypothetical, for who can predict the future? Sometimes it seems the things that are difficult to achieve are achievable. 

While there does not seem to be any doubt that we can achieve progress, in terms of physical and economic development, the mental, intellectual, character and spiritual development of Malaysian must not be left behind.