My Longkang

17-year-old Mohd Ikhtiruddin Izat Khalid was riding pillion with close friend Mohd Firdaus Roslan, also 17, when the motorcycle they were on crashed into a stationary lorry at Jalan Telok Kechai, Alor Star. The time recorded was 12.45am yesterday. Mohd Firdaus died instantly.

They were on their way back after having supper at a tomyam stall in Kuala Kedah. They had just completed their SPM examination on Thursday.

Mohd Ikhtiruddin was still alive after the accident. Efforts to stop passing cars to send the injured boy to the hospital proved futile. Nobody stopped.

An ambulance arrived at the scene about an hour later. Another young life in the prime of youth snuffed out.

The two friends were buried at the Akar Peluru Muslim cemetery in Jalan Pegawai here yesterday morning.

Would you have stopped? Would it have mattered? Yes, it could have made a whole world of difference to Mohd Ikhtiruddin, his family, friends and all his loved ones.

Worse : were you one of those who bypassed the accident scene , struggled with your conscience and decided to move on?

In Georgetown it was reported that a fisherman found Khoo Thain Foo’s body floating near Pulau Jerejak at about 6.20 pm on Thursday. Khoo, a forty nine year old bachelor from Balik Pulau had parked his motorcycle in the middle section of the bridge before jumping into the sea.

His motorcycle with a pair of slippers was found at about 4pm.

Have you noticed how everybody is afraid of the helmet being stolen and how a motorcycle in Penang is always locked? People are also always particular about their footwear.

Thain Foo took off his slippers before jumping. He didn’t care about his motorcycle. He knew he did not need it where he was going. He had let go. Sad..poignant.

In the end..just a short paragraph in the local daily. The family did not want to talk to the press. Sad…very sad.

08 Dec 2006

15-year-old Irween Fairuz Zainuddin’s had always wanted to have straight teeth since she was nine years old. Her mother said, “Her teeth was slightly crooked after an accident when she was a child and she was always begging for braces. This year I decided after she had completed her Penilaian Menengah Rendah exam that I would send her and fixed the dental appointment.”

However as fate dictated it, the appointment was never kept. She was to have braces fixed on her teeth but she was killed together with her father when the motorcycle they were on rammed into a stalled factory bus on the New Pantai Expressway.

Both were killed in the accident which occurred in a downpour at 2.30pm.

Police recorded a statement from the factory bus driver who claimed the engine stalled, forcing him to stop in the middle of the expressway.

Just another statistic to the country. Two deaths. But…the deaths were unnecessary. The bus was not supposed to break down. The bus was not supposed to stall and stop in the middle of the highway. Was everything possible done to alert road-users of the stalled bus? I was not there but this is not an isolated incident. Transport companies must ensure their buses are in roadworthy condition before they set off on a journey. The safety of the public is at stake here!