Kuala Dipang Kampar Tragedy

It saddens me to read the incident on the collapse of a hanging bridge in Kuala Dipang that caused the drowning of 1 and the missing of 2 young school children. The missing 2 were from Mambang Diawan Tamil school, the village that I come from. The place of the incident is only a short distance up north from my home town Kampar near to the Malim Nawar junction. Kuala Dipang is famous for durian and also its crystal clear river. Used to be a place where we collected sands and small stones for aquariums and also a source of fresh water when the drinking of mineral water from nature became popular as a health tonic.

It was supposed to be a well intented "One Malaysia" education camp for selected children from school of different streams and ethnic groups. And it turned out to be a tragedy for the town and the country! Parents of the victims are heart broken. The public is angry and wandering why a brand new hanging bridge just built about a month ago could just collapse so easily! I had just returned from a China trip of Dujiangyan in Sichuan province, there are a few hanging bridges that swing and sway by the multitude of Chinese tourists that visited the place and yet they could withstand the load without any problem. Why this could happen in country like Malaysia, which is supposed to be a more well developed country?

I am glad to see Tan Sri Muhyiddeen, our deputy PM had quickly moved in and inspected the site to show his concern. His concern will definitely touch the hearts of many Malaysians. From this small incident, and also how he had dealt with the Sultan of Johore state in the past, he is destined to be one of the PMs of Malaysia for sure. There were incidents of disaster happened all over the world when a country leader did not react in time and caused great outcry from the public. If we could remember, that happened to President Bush and President Ma Ying Jiu of Taiwan, it was such a strong contrast when compared with how Premier Wen Jia Bao of China had done and handled the Sichuan earthquake. All leaders must put well beings of "rakyat" or citizens and not their self interest as their top priority, in that way they will get support in return.

I pray that God has mercy on the families of those victims, let your spirit move and console them and heal the pains in their hearts. Also bless our leaders so that they could have the wisdom to govern this country well!