Enforcement is the key

Dear Editor,

WE READ with a great sense of appreciation the letter published in your daily on September 2, 2010 by Mark Grieves. Two countries Brunei and Singapore with a lot of similarity and a lot of affection for each other, are in many ways quite apart. But they do have a lot to learn from each other.

Grieves did not mince words and actually vented his feelings as if he was a Bruneian. This is a queer phenomenon foreigners feeling that there was much opportunity for the nationals of Brunei to do something for the greatest of our public good environment in Brunei but is not being done.

This is not untoward or even undesirable sane thinking people anywhere would talk sense and try to help. Much more, when it involves environment which much of the humanity has been abusing elsewhere and there is need that it be protected wherever possible, whenever possible, in whichever manner possible for one eminent reason it is a public good for the entire humanity.

The concern such as expressed by Grieves could also spring from another factor, that is of the feeling of regret from the inability of many other countries to do the right thing.

On this planet, there are poorer nations where people are constrained to encroach on the nature's bounty for subsistence and hence devouring the valuable assets at astonishing speed. No amount of legislation could stop that simply because a hungry man is an angry man.

Brunei is much luckier in that it can afford to be a little more circumspect, at the expense of some personal convenience, and do the right thing as there is still time.

I support all that are said by Grieves very eloquently in his letter. May I just add a bit more.

Laws are necessary in human societies around which the society gets organised. Laws are there to be respected and, yes, enforced. It seems there is a long way Brunei can go in making arrangements so laws are also enforced.

A ready list would include areas like open burning, traffic behaviour, littering and so on. Singapore showed the world that small is beautiful because small is diligent and sincere.

A concerned friend of Brunei