Little Things Mean A Lot

Its great to be back. That is after 2 weeks in the sweltering summer of Europe. This time around, me and the better half, traversed through London, Amsterdam, Madrid and finally Copenhagan. We did the usual tourist routine of shopping and sightseeing plus renewing ties with a dear sister and her hubby in London.

And, as always after such trips overseas, we returned with good impressions of the places visited and of the people we encountered or had to deal with.

What illuminates the good impressions are the little things - the acts and gestures of various individuals. Much more than all the physical manifestations usually associated with a developed country.

The civil servants, like the immigration officer in one of the world's busiest airport, depite having to clear thousands of passengers, can still find it in himself to smile and wish every passenger a pleasant stay or his counterpart, the lady airport security officer who was so appologetic for having subjected my wife's knapsack to a thorough check.

Then there was the customer service lady who promised to call us back in 10 minutes but did so in less, complete with directions and mode of transport available, all in response to our call to her supermarket chain to find out the nearest outlet to where we were staying. Also, the sales personel at a large departmental store who accomodated our request for a return and re-purchase of some goods with nary a complain. And the corner grocer who boomed heartily "Good Morning" when you stepped into his store, as if he had known you all his life. It was enough to make our day.

The average man in the street was no different. The construction worker who "took time off" to lead us to his car, retrived an old map and showed us the way to our destination with just a "Can you tell where .....is?" request. Or the man in the crowded hall who sacrificed his place in a queue to chase after me to return the ticket I had carelessly dropped.

Yes, the acts and gestures are little things but collectively they mean a lot. They show us what a first world society is like - civil, well mannered and caring.

So, on this Merdeka Day, I hope Malaysia, in its quest to be a fully developed nation, do not forget these little things which are just as big in showing we have arrived as a Twin Tower.

Royal Professor Ungku Aziz has this to say when interviewed by Utusan Mingguan (Here and Here) -

Bagaimana pula dari segi nilai-nilai dalam Wawasan 2020 yang harus dicapai seperti masyarakat yang matang, penyayang, bersatu padu dan hormat-menghormati?

(What about the values as stated in Vision 2020 that should be achieved like a society that is matured, caring, united and respectful of one another?)

UNGKU AZIZ: Kalau itu yang saudara maksudkan, kita belum dapat mencapainya lagi. Kita boleh kenal nilai-nilai itu.

(If this is what you meant, we have not achieve it yet. We can recognised these values)

Kalau kita berjalan ke mana-mana, kita masih boleh tengok orang membuang sampah merata-rata. Orang tiada rasa sayang kepada masyarakat, binatang dan alam sekeliling mereka.

(Everywhere we go, we can see people littering. They do no seemed to care about their society, animals and environment)

Masyarakat kita tidak ada masa untuk hal-hal ini kerana mereka sayangkan wang dan kekayaan.

(Our society does not care about these things for they are pre-occupied with money and success)