The art of finger-pointing

"We didn't abandon passengers"

"We will wait for advice from the A-G, we can expect stern action from the Government."

"It's my fault; I screwed up; I accept full responsibility for the tragedy..."

The first quote was that of Wan Fakrorozi Wan Naman, the captain of the Seagull Express 2 which caught fire and sank (The Star).

The second quote was that of Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy on the same tragedy (The Star).

The third quote is no where to be found in any of the newspapers — it is one that I have conjured up for this post. It is something that we long to hear whenever a tragedy like that of the Seagull Express 2 occurs — but will never get to hear. It is simply not in our nature to admit responsibility.

Whenever there is such a tragedy, the first thing we do is to think of who to blame. We start blaming the captain; Oh! maybe it's the Marine Department Ship Inspectors! Then again perhaps it's the crews who're not trained for the emergency. There can be many candidates that can qualify to be the scapegoats. Just remember that we ourselves can't be the culprits.

You see, we are a nation that has mastered the fine art of finger-pointing in situations such as this. When was the last time that you saw or heard someone with the courage to admit that he or she was responsible for something that has gone awfully wrong? Maybe someday if we can somehow learn to shoulder responsibilities, then there is hope that we can begin to behave responsibly in whatever we do...