These problems that shouldn’t have been problems have now become big problems, while the real problems pertaining to the country’s development and the people’s well-being are conveniently shunned.

It has been reported that a Kota Bharu fashion store’s lady owner was fined for wearing shorts inside her own shop, and as the incident took place in the Kelantan state capital, many feel that it sounds reasonable enough.

The businesswoman was fined for violating By-Law 34(2)(b) of the municipal council’s Business and Industrial Trade By-Laws, which states that non-Muslim business owners must ensure that they and their non-Muslim employees wear decent clothes, while Muslim employees must wear attire covering the aurat.

When the municipal council’s enforcement officers turned up for a spot check, the lady shop owner was then wearing a T-shirt that covered her shorts, probably because her T-shirt was too long or the shorts were just too short. Hence, she was summoned for “indecent attire.”

Actually for this kind of minor case, a verbal warning should be enough and there is no need for a compound ticket.

The Kelantan Chinese Assembly Hall has pleaded to the state government for leniency. However, it stated that even though everyone has the freedom to wear whatever he or she desires, we should still learn to respect one another as well as the different cultures and customs of the state.

Well, perhaps the lady shop owner’s T-shirt is one or two inches too long, but that does not mean she does not respect the local culture and custom!

The state elections are just around the corner and it is up to individual voters to to cast their ballots for any candidates of their choice.

That said, if we vote for a party whose “culture and custom” is a whole world apart from our customary practices, life ahead could get a little tough and demanding, because we may be accused of not respecting other people’s culture and custom without we realizing it sometimes.

In more recent years, our enforcers, various government institutions, even hospitals, have been pretty harsh on how members of the public should be dressed, some outright rejecting sleeveless shirts, while others demanding collared shirts and knee-covering or even ankle-covering attire.

As a consequence, putting on long-sleeve shirts, long skirts or long pants is the safest if one is to visit a government office or seek medical attention at a public hospital, because this is perceived to be “respectful to other people’s culture and custom”!

We were just wondering whether respect from the bottom of the heart is any less meaningful than superficial display of so-called “respect.”

Malaysia is not a very big country, with two nations and 11 states, but such a scenario also gives the country a variety of administrative systems.

In Sabah or Sarawak, you can look forward to normal and care-free life without anyone telling you how to respect other people.

Take the UEC exam for instance, Sarawak Premier Abang Jo felt long time ago that the federal government should follow the footsteps of the state to recognize the UEC certificate.

He said Sarawak and many eminent universities around the world had recognized the UEC and he couldn’t understand why the federal government had failed to do likewise.

So, is it because political ideology shall prevail over the country’s development?

Under the manipulation of religion and race, the 11 states on the peninsula have been split into different administrative systems. By right the people in different states should live in relative harmony, but in reality they have been rudely torn apart in resemblance to the plot in Lao She’s 1943 novel “A problem that shouldn’t have been.”

The novel is about a mediocre farm manager who nevertheless is good at cajoling and deceiving people, and is an expert in flattery, too. Under his management, the workers become lazy and unproductive and screw up an otherwise nice farm.

Are we not experiencing the same thing over here today? How much has the opposition done to the country’s economic development, boosting the agricultural output, controlling the spiraling inflation, keeping the ringgit steady, encouraging students to pursue their studies, grooming our talented young people, and closing the urban-rural divide?

A senile politician keeps brainwashing the people that their wealth is being looted by the Chinese people without inspiring them to think of ways to improve their own lives.

These people also keep pressuring the government to allow them to withdraw from their EPF accounts, ban alcohol and gambling, and make a big fuss about how short someone’s attire is.

These problems that shouldn’t have been problems have now become big problems, while the real problems pertaining to the country’s development and the people’s well-being are conveniently shunned.

It is time for Malaysia’s politicians to wake up from their fantasies. Our Asean neighbors are now galloping ahead of us in many ways and we simply cannot afford to sweat over such trivial things any more.

Our business now is to improve the rakyat’s living and speed up the country’s economic development. Nothing else!