PUT THE BLAME ON.....

Does it need an Arab tourist to lament about our polluted beaches, the sour face taxi drivers or their offensive smell cabs? Looking at the situation in the past and present (may be future???), I would say that more often than not, the relevant authorities in Malaysia will react instantaneously to complains. Sad to say - after the quick reaction but without monitoring by any ministry or authority, we will be back to square one!

Take for example, smoking at public places. Do you think people care? My personal statistics show that when I eat at open restaurants (not fast food outlets), during more than 90% of the time I will encounter people who just smoke as though they can control the direction of their cigarettes smoke! Dear smokers, don't you know that secondary smokers face a higher risk than you???

Sometimes I blame it on the restaurant's owners for not being strict to their patrons. Once I told a restaurant owner to tell one of her customers not to smoke in the restaurant because the smell of the smoke was really disturbing me and my children. And all the owner did was to smile at me. Period! With the thousands of the 'TAK NAK' bill boards around the country, I think so much money, time and effort has gone to destruction.

I don't mind if smokers want to smoke. These are my tips for them:

• Smoke in your own house!
• Get into your car (alone), wind-up the wind screen and smoke as much as you want!
• Go into the deep jungle where there are no campers. Smoke there and don't come back to civilization.

Many years ago, I did not really mind smokers. I started to abhor them since I read that even though secondary smokers are not smoking, they are more likely to acquire diseases like heart failure and other sickness related to smoking. And also a car whose owner smoke habitually while driving will still have traces of nicotine that can pose a danger to others who are in that car even after many years later. So, please be careful the next time you buy a second hand car or get into some one's car!