Prostitution, Rape, Stealing and Other Crimes

Many crimes would have been prevented if children were properly educated before they became adults and part of our society. We are to blamed. Parents especially have a big role to play in this, failing which, teachers should be trained to teach such moral subjects in schools.

Instead subjects like sex eduction are taboos - parents and teachers go red in the face, get tongue tied when their children or students ask about the birds and the bees.

The impression that we get is that it is something dirty and not to be spoken of. Why is this so when God created sex as a wonderful thing for love and reproduction?

A 12 year old girl noticed bloodstains on her panties when she was in the school toilet. It had also stained the back of her school uniform. She was so embarrassed but did not know what is happening and what to do. She rushed home and fashioned a sort of napkin to staunch the flow. Her mum came to know about this and only then did the mother inform the daughter about menstrual periods that girls get when they come into womanhood.

Many teenagers are terribly curious about sex. Without proper education they try all sorts of way to satisfy their curiosity about sex through pornographic materials, through the internet and in pirated CD and DVD shops, pornographic movies are bundled into black plastic bags and sold over the counter to anyone who ask for them.

Not surprising also, most clients of pornography are top police officers who got theirs free for not raiding that particular shop or for informing the dealer of an imminent raid.

Where prostitution is concerned, would any respectable girl or woman in her right mind offer her body for sell? Exposing herself to humilation, diseases and injuries in the process? If there was no demand, there would be no supply. People think of prostitutes as dirt, but have they considered why that "prostitute" was in that trade in the first place?

Men think of sex all the time, and when they cannot get it by normal means, they try other means :

Sandra (not her real name), was trying to obtain finances to start her business. She did not have collateral so banks are out. Someone introduced her to some influential people who deals in venture capital. The Datuk arranged a dinner with a group of his colleagues at a service apartment. After dinner, the Datuk told her that the amount needed was peanuts and she would a a cheque for it if she agreed to sleep with him...

Molly (not her real name), was working from home. One evening she called her architect to her home to discuss the plans for her new office. He came nursing a bad cold. In kindness, Molly offered him a tot of brandy to help his condition. Molly also poured herself some. They discuss the plans and then Molly had to answer the call of nature. When she came out, they finalized their discussion and finished their drinks... not knowing that her drink was spiked. That was the last thing Molly knew. When she came to the next morning, she found herself naked and raped ...

Tina (not her real name), wanted to migrate to Japan. She gave notice to her landlord saying that she also wanted to dispose of her apartment furnitures. Her landlord brought over his friend who had shown interest to take over the lease of the apartment and wanted to buy some furnitures as well. A viewing was arranged. In the apartment over drinks, the landlord, his friend and another acquaintance drugged Tina's drink and raped her one by one. Though Tina was conscious throughout, she could not put up much resistance as she was unable to move and because one of them had a gun with him...

Many times, it is difficult to find jobs, especially for poor, illiterate people. What can they do? Surely they know that it is wrong to commit stealing and other crimes. I do not believe that they do this because it is the easy and lazy way out. But if for some of them, their families are starving and there are not many who would help, would this not drive them to do something that they know is wrong?

Criminal minds also originate from abuse in early childhood. Who is then to blame?

WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SOCIETY? We should get to the root of the problems, do something about them and not just point fingers at the wrong parties.

Just think how much money our government would save if there was no necessity to imprision anyone if everyone were to do their part to educate true morals and values to the young early in life.

Vicki Mah, Social Worker

Children of Bukit Malut, Langkawi

Young children of Bukit Malut, Langkawi, roam the village all day, some as young as 3 years, barely clothed, many shoeless on dirt paths strewn with garbage. Many are left alone, unsupervised as their parents tried to find work during the day to feed their families.

Many of the school going children study at Sekolah Bayas - a primary school which is quite a distance from the village. In some classes, the children are quashed like sardines. For quite a number of them, it takes them some 2 hours just to get to school.

Reason? The village vans that transport themn to and fro have to wait for enough passengers before the vans can move.

Though the van fare is not much, it can be quite a sum barely affordable when many parents earn only RM6 a day processing ikan bilis at nearby ikan bilis factories, also especially when there are more than 3 school going children in a family.

Would these children have a better future than their parents? Would the local Langkawi community eventually accept them?

Vicki Mah, Social Worker

Boats from Generous Hearts

In 2005, POHD - the Penang Office for Human Development - a ministry of a Penang Church, went to the rescue of 8 fishermen families, whose boats and fishing equipment were destroyed in the 26th December 2004 Tsunami in Langkawi, Malaysia and whose homes were destroyed in a fire that broke out a month later.

The 2 men team, comprising Vincent Lim and Joachim were brought to Taman Nilam, where the fishermen were temporarily staying and interviewed several families. Both men went back to Penang and worked throughout the night.

In 2 short days, they managed to raise RM30,000 for the purchase of 8 boats and fishing equipments. Eight families were selected to receive the boats and fishing equipments.

The 1st photo shows Vincent Lim with the receipents of the boats after a kenduri in one of their house.

The 2nd photo shows Zakaria Mohd in his new boat.

The 3rd photo shows 3 of the fishermen with a bountiful catch of kingsize prawns from a day's catch in their new boats.

The 4th photo shows the size of the prawns caught.

The 5th photo shows 4 of the new boats and their receipents.

Thank you POHD and thank you Malaysians for your generosity in rebuilding these fishermen's lives!

Vicki Mah, Social Worker

RM6 A Day

It is a real back breaking job for just RM6 a day or maybe a little bit more depending on how much work is accomplished in that day.

The boats of the ikan bilis factories next to Bukit Malut brings in the catch. Ikan bilis are sorted by size and graded. Mostly the womenfolk of Bukit Malut are offered the job of peeling the ikan bilis (taking off the head and insides).

Next time anyone of you comes to Langkawi and buy ikan bilis - think of the people who prepared them for you.

Vicki Mah, Social Worker

The Handicapped and the Sick at Bukit Malut, Langkawi

The 1st photo shows 2 of Aishah's daughters, one of the fire victims of Bukit Malut. All 4 of her daughters were born with any eye disorder that makes them squint in the daylight and this is painful sometimes. According to Aishah, all her daughters are normal at night.

I brought them to the specialist clinic at the Langkawi General Hospital where an eye specialist attended to them. He recommended that they wear protective sun glasses in the daytime while he runs other tests on their eye conditions. Dont' they look cute with their sun glasses in the 3rd photo?

The 4th photo shows Yusof Jamaludin and his sister. Yusuf is going totally blind and can only see vaguely through one eye while his sister's condition is slightly better.

I brought them to see the eye specialist and a cataract operation was arranged for Yusuf's sister. However the operation did not do much for Yusuf's sister, but she said that her condition was slightly better after the operation. Unfortunately for Yusuf, he was too far gone and nothing could be done.

The 5th photo shows Ismail, 17 years old, who was born handicapped. He cannot walk nor talk, but he is a very cheerful and intelligent young man. His father recently died of old age and Yusuf is left on his own while his 59 years old mother goes to work for RM6 a day processing ikan bilis at a nearby ikan bilis factory whenever there is work to do. During hard times, her neighbours chip in to help. But even their neighours have their own problems too, therefore I help whenever I can.

Vicki Mah, Social Worker