boulevard-ijab (IJA & ME) - one half completing the other half....

Safety issues...

Safety Issue 1:
The day it became front page news, I was down with fever and recuperating (or should I say sleeping) was pretty much the main activitiy of the day. Although my wife's long extended maternity leaves were still not over yet at that time, she was too occupied with baby Ikhwan. So, we didn't buy any newspapers that day and neither did we watch the news on tv.

We both learned about the tragedy only the next day. The tragedy that tore our hearts out, after seeing the photo of the bus with the roof completely torn off. The bus that had plunged into a 5-metre ravine, killing 21 people (including the driver himself) after the driver had lost control of the machine.

The bus accident was reported to be the worst ever happened in the country (to me, cases with 20 deaths or 1 death are just as serious - precious lives are lost!). Apparently, this driver had 13 traffic-related fines and 2 arrest-warrants slapped against him, while the bus itself had 19 fines against it and was not 'fit' to be on the road in the first place. Not to bad-mouth the dead or anything, but I think for anyone with that many fines issued against them, we can imagine how badly those people drive.

Not long after the above accident happened, authorities launched their Ops Bersih, preventing (or arresting?) drivers with fines and warrants under their belts, and disallowing buses under poor conditions from operating.

I guess the Malay proverb that says 'sudah terhantuk, baru terngadah' exists for a reason, huh? I mean, knowing how most Malaysians are quick to jump/react/get angry when something untoward happens as a result of one's negligence but then we are also just as quick to cool off when it's no longer in the news. I wonder whether such Ops Bersih would be an ongoing one, or just this one?

I mean, drivers (buses and lorries alike) with bad traffic/criminal records of any kind shouldn't even be allowed to start the ignition or warm up the engine for someone else, let alone drive people/things around. They would probably consider their vehicles and other people as meaningless toys that could be tossed around and crushed as they pleased.

Safety Issue 2:
Speaking of toys, now how about this? A popular toy manufacturer, Fisher Price has issued a major recall of several lines of its popular toys, due to a risk of lead contamination in their products manufactured in China. This recall affects specific toys manufactured at a certain plant since May 1, 2007. The paint on these products could contain amounts of lead that are higher than normal. When ingested, lead can be toxic causing adverse health effects.

Gasp.... Imagine buying yourself a tin of lead paint and then put the tin right in front of your kids for them to smell and play with? Any parents with the right frame of mind would not even dream of doing that for sure.

Fisher Price and Mattel (Fisher Price is a division of Mattel) are cooperating fully with this recall, allowing consumers to check their websites for their recalled products (look for the links about product recalls), as well as telling them what to do if they discover they have the products.

According to Mattel, should the toy that we have bought be affected, we can send it back to them and they will send us a voucher for the retail value to allow us to purchase other Mattel or Fisher-Price products.

This is plain rude if you ask me. Obviously, the company doesn't want to be the losing end here and they still expect us to buy their other toys? Why can't they just reimburse us, full stop! Why should us, the consumers have to suffer? How can we know for certain the new toy that we buy using the voucher is not toxic and will not be recalled too in the future? I'm sure, taking another trip down to a toy store is the least thing that bother us parents. It's our children's health and well-being that we are more concerned about. Will they be willing to cover all medical costs that arise should our children get sick due to them sniffing, biting and playing with their toxic toys?

With the news on toxic toys is out, if you think now is safe to get your kids some new toys, think again... I wonder how come some of those affected products are still available in the shopping stores (like the one in the above photo). It's always possible there are those who are still not aware of the risk and end up buying the toys for their young loved ones.

I really don't have the answer to that question, at least not yet. But I intend to call up the Mattel Care Line in Malaysia soon. If you wish to do the same, get it here.

Meantime, if you are curious about which toys that (should) have been recalled off the shelves, you can view them here and here.

Conclusion:
In life, we are always exposed to risks, one way or another. While we cook or sleep at home, while we play, while walking to a grocery store, while driving etc etc. However, we can minimise or completely eliminate the risks by taking necessary steps like making sure all doors and windows are locked before we go to bed, doing some warm-ups before playing a sport etc etc and not to forget our do'a and tawakkal to Allah.

However, in some situations, with the exception of reciting our own do'a, we have to trust other people to take those other necessary steps. Like in the case of tavelling by express buses, we expect the companies who run them have made sure their buses are under optimum condition and the drivers are polite and have enough sleep before taking the wheels. We prefer to reach our destinations safe and sound and in one piece mind you.

Also, when we buy toys to help our children play, learn and grow, we expect the companies who make those toys have complied with all the safety standars available out there. The last thing we need is to be somewhat responsible for intoxicating our children.

Failure to ensure the safety of their clients will only make those companies look real bad and prove they are profit-oriented with no regard on the well-being of other people.

Labels: Life, My Families, Safety issues

posted by The Pisces Man @ 12:42 am