Deliver Us From All Evil

The beautiful location of a kampong must have been influenced by the early inhabitants who corporately decided to live in that particular location. There must have been some consensus gathering from amongst the group as to their choice of the location of their kampung. The actual democratic act of suggesting and agreeing must have been put into use. They, no doubt, then built their dwelling houses there for they were one of people’s basic needs. They must have made use of the abundant round timbers available, while they enlarged the clearings for the kampong. For all their kampong activities the gotong royong teamwork spirit must have been employed. The sense of landscaping to beautify their kampung was inert even amongst the early men. In thus enlarging the clearings for their kampong, they must have left some beautiful big trees standing as landmarks. The social development of mankind must have then evolved naturally.

Many people nowadays have slowly departed from their inborn ideal values despite of the expressed rather than implied good teachings of religions. Given the chance to make decisions they tend to forget to put into use even the inner goodness of their hearts. Kampung-politics, as how they think they can crudely interpret them, are employed to govern the processes of their actions. Here is a near-hypothetical scenario whereby a decision had to be made, and made now, by supposedly enlightened nowadays men.

‘A’ is a relatively young man. He is not very rich but he has started a young family. His family is happy. He is a government employee, going to work in the morning and coming back in the evening. He has a small car. He has a place to stay. The wife is a relative to many living around them.

‘B’ is a relatively old woman, a widow. She stays in her hut-like dwelling house. She tries to maintain a shifting subsistence crop farm as a way of life. The bamboo floor of her dwelling hut had been recently organise-repaired by the kampong youths. She seemed mentally challenged, otherwise a very peaceful person. She is a relative to some living around her. Her house is right beside the main road and in view of all passers-by. Whatever is done to landscape and beautify the visitors-frequented places nearby, such effort will always be nullified by the presence of that symbolic dilapidating dwelling hut, ‘B’’s dwelling house.

B's house

The decision to be made now is, “If there were free houses to be built by an institution for the deserving members of the population, who should be the first to get it? Is it ‘A’ or ‘B’? The decision should portray a big holistic picture depicting the donor institution as caring and people oriented.

Coming back to reality! There seemed to be a very strong indication, contrary to my personal view, that ‘A’ was selected to get a house, not ‘B’. When I asked as to why that was so, then a vague and non-committal reaction I received was that ‘A’ voted for a victorious Pengerusi in an election.

Where could this excerpt be found … “..the person who does not do the good he knows he should do is guilty of sin”?