Friday, February 01, 2008

- it never rains but pours -

Quote Nanyang Online:
双层巴士翻覆2死41伤 休闲车再撞击2尸首几断成两截
一辆今午从槟城高渊开往吉隆坡的双层巴士今午在雨中失控翻覆后,巴士尾部复被一辆本田休闲车撞上后,导致巴士及休闲车内的乘客2死,41人轻重伤惨剧。
丙名1男1女的死者都是巴士乘客,当时他们是坐在巴士上层,巴士翻覆后,尾部被一辆本田休闲车撞及,导致 他们惨死当场,尸首几乎断成两截。死者是20岁的李念宁(20岁)(译音)和22岁的莫哈末再纳尼,两人皆来自槟城... (26 Jan 2008) [
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Quote The Star Online:
Family mourns loss of beautiful, intelligent go-getter
Nian Ning, 21, a Public Service Department (PSD) scholar at the University of New South Wales in Australia who was on her way to visit friends in Kuala Lumpur, was among three passengers who perished when the driver lost control of the bus and slammed into a divider.
"We learnt that the driver had 13 summonses against him. Why had the company not screened him and realized that he was not competent to drive that bus?"
"I wonder why the authorities still allowed such a monster to roam our streets?" asked Nian Ning's distraught father Lee Hock Chuan, 50, a company human resources director.
He also expressed disappointment over the bus company's reaction to the tragedy.
"They know who the victims are and yet, I have yet to receive a single call from them. There is not a single representative from the company here today to pay respects to my eldest daughter," he said... (28 Jan 2008) [
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Cops: No warrant of arrest for ‘fatal crash’ bus driver
The driver of the bus that was involved in a crash which killed three passengers, including medical scholar Lee Nian Ning, near Slim River on Friday was never issued with a warrant of arrest for 13 traffic offences....
... The driver Ruslim Isa, 43, is being warded at Teluk Intan Hospital for a broken right leg.... (29 Jan 2008) [
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Quote Utusan Malaysia Online:
Penumpang nampak pemandu bas main SMS
Pemandu bas dua tingkat yang terbabas dan terbalik hingga tiga penumpangnya maut di Kilometer 384 Lebuh Raya Utara- Selatan dekat Behrang dikatakan bermain khidmat pesanan ringkas (SMS) ketika memandu.
Salah seorang mangsa yang ditemui di Hospital Slim River di sini memberitahu, mereka dapat melihat pemandu bas berkenaan asyik bermain SMS sedangkan pada masa itu bas dipandu laju ketika hujan lebat... (26 Jan 2008) [
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Quote Jolene, my former classmate, who wrote to the newspapers:
Simply afraid to take the bus
... Like Lee, I am 21 years old, and I too have the whole world in front of me. I take the bus to go home to visit my family and friends. This was exactly the reason Lee boarded the bus...
... In my two-and-a-half years of taking long distance buses, I have accepted that buses can break down, can be switched without warning, and even take nearly a day to reach its destination.
It’s not fair for us to constantly live in fear every time we get on a bus, not knowing if we’ll reach our destination alive...
... Because of this accident, my friends and I now have a phobia of taking the bus. I don’t want to live in fear. I have a future, too. (29 Jan 2008) [
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Quote Rachel, another person who wrote to the newspapers:
What happened to crackdown on buses?
... Indeed, you can say accidents happen, tragedy happens. But let's not just let it happen when it definitely could have been avoided. How could a bus driver with 13 summonses to his name still be allowed on the road?
What happened to the crackdown after all those people died in that other bus accident just last year?
Where’s the implementation of all those new policies and rules?
Am I supposed to say a prayer and hope for the best each time I board a bus? It is inevitable that I will make one of these Penang-KL trips again. I do not feel so safe now knowing that I may be putting my life in the hands of a bus driver with a string of offences... (31 Jan 2008) [
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*****

at first the news appeared on my fellow ASEAN friend's blog. a few days later, my bosom friend told me her friend's friend passed away in a bus accident. when i next logged into facebook, i was invited to join the "In Loving Memory of Lee Nian Ning: 1987 - 2008" group.

then i found out. she used to live in the same dormitory as siti and i. and she's a friend and junior of many of my friends. and also, the girlfriend of my primary & secondary school friend. it's a small world after all, but i never had the chance to talk to her. ever.

i used to travel frequently by bus between Bukit Timah <-> KL when i was in Singapore. like, 3~4 times a year. never tried Konsortium, though. one thing's for sure - i never liked long-distance travels. be it by car, bus or airplane. too much have i heard about friends and relatives encountering accidents.

my primary school junior, lost his limbs because of a car crash. rumors say his father left the family, and the mother tried to bring him back by visiting a voodoo witch. and it happened, on the North-South Highway. he could never walk or play freely again, so were his sisters who were injured badly, although they were not robbed of their lives. i don't know him in person, but it was a big topic to be talked about in school at that time.

too many bad memories back in Malaysia. will i ever return to serve my country? well, not in the near future, if things remain the way they are. yes i do realize i am a citizen of Malaysia, and i do not deny the fact that i still love my country. but so long as i fear it's safety, i will not stay there for long. my worries as of now - my sister and father, who live so far away. robbery, theft, kidnapping, rape.... i'm not saying that they don't happen in Japan (in fact they're everywhere), but with no financial ability and support of other family members, how can an aging parent take care of a teenager by himself?

change of topic. well not really.... yesterday, i received an e-mail from my choir senior: our choir conductor Mr. Ootani Kenji, was hit by a car.
31日午前8時ごろ、埼玉県富士見市水谷東の市道交差点で、同県志木市上宗岡、音楽家、大谷研二さん(51)の原付きバイクと軽乗用車が出合い頭に衝突。大谷さんが頭を強く打つ重傷を負った。東入間署は同日、自動車運転過失傷害の現行犯で、軽乗用車を運転していた同県越谷市七左町、会社員、古郡一幸容疑者(37)を逮捕した。同署によると、現場は信号機や標識のない交差点。同署が事故原因を調べている... (31 Jan 2008, Sankei Online) [
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a really, really bad start for 2008.

despite that Chinese New Year is just around the corner.

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