Letter to the Editor

Something I wrote but I don't think it is well written enough to be submitted to the papers, needs work but since I haven't got time to go through it and do the research required. I figured I'll just post it here as an indication of my feelings...

15 May 2008

It disheartens me to read some of the letters and sms comments in the last few days. What has our country come to when the people's first reaction to increased cost of living is not to start budgeting and learning to live with or work around changes in costs but rather to ask the government to step in and reduce one particular item's cost to them? (Increase in price of rice)

I was impressed by the well thought out argument in the Comments column on the same day (14 May 2008) as the sms mentioned above which reminded me about how grossly dependent on private cars we as a nation are. I am sure all the people who are complaining about a hike in rice price has not given a thought about selling one of their cars or reducing the use and switching on to public transport, the action of which would save them more than enough for that bag of rice they were complaining about.

Another matter is the scholars who have been writing in to highlight the fact that they have not received any scholarship despite achieving high scores. While I do sympathise with most of them, I wish to point out to Distraught Student from Kajang (No grants for student with 11A1s, 15 May 2008) that it is your own fault for missing the deadline and why is it that you think you have to be special and be considered even when you have missed the deadline.

If the PSD or any other scholarship giving foundation has to take the extra time out to sort out the applications of people like you, it would be grossly unfair to those who have bothered to make the submission on time who would lose out just because of you.

Rules are set for a reason, when one is aware of the deadline but yet did not do one's best to get it in on time, then one has no one else to blame but oneself. Do professors give you even that extra one second to drop your assignment into the box at University? No. Do companies tell you they will accept your application for a job even though you're late in submitting it? No. So grow up.