I have many reasons why I decided not to practice one of those was grappling with ethical questions, which I have asked judges, practitioners, and my tutors. What do we do when a client we know is guilty, yet we need to defend them as if they are not? At the same time too, we know they are not guilty but we as prosecutors need to prove that they are and on both counts we became successful.
This was the situation with the "basikal lajak" case. It's unfortunate and it's a tragedy when children lose their lives, but I have always maintained that she shouldn't have been found guilty. She drove on a street in the wee hours of the morning which is notorious with these riders all about. I have been avoiding them whenever I drove on that poorly lit road when I stayed in JB.
My question always maintains what were children doing at that time and where were the parents? Instead of the driver, the parents should instead be charged for reckless endangerment for allowing the children to be on the streets on the wee hours of the morning; not checking the over modified bicycles; getting the bicycles in the first place without imposing strict riding etiquette and allowing children of that age being on the streets without adequate adult supervision.
Parents and authorities shouldn't be sweeping this under the carpet. I see this spectacle everywhere in Malaysia. They are there in KL and Klang Valley, I noticed them in Kota Bharu where parents adopt a lackadaisical attitude until disaster happens. Disaster keeps on happening and no one seems to be learning anything. And classic modern parents, they will blame everyone else except themselves. Since they no longer allow school or parents to discipline their children, thigs have become much worse. Because of how parents are these days, having the skin thickness of an onion skin where it comes to their children, they will take offence at anything and everything until their children dies or maimed or injured. Only then they would live a life of a thousand regrets, contemplating a million ifs.
For me, I pray and hope that I have not done any wrong to my children. I am not perfect, but I hope I have not ignored them or covered them with cotton wool. There are things they need to learn and experience for themselves, without taking unnecessary risks.
I do not profess I know, or I will ever know what the family or the driver is going through. The trauma and the horror are something that cannot be described into words. It is very easy to place blame but, in the end, every one of us including the community and the citizens need to look deep within ourselves for allowing this tragedy to occur. We need to see how we are protecting our children, the cyclists, the pedestrians, our road users. We need to see whether our roads, our streets are adequately lighted up. We need to look deep within, what has been done to-date on how to avoid this from ever happening again there and elsewhere.
State and federal leaders need to see whether they have provided ample space for leisure and play for our children. Do we have enough places for children to expend their energy. What does our conscience say?
![Joie de vivre [zhwaduh-vee-vruh]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_216,h_216,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_auto/98d927_9bd54ac5248843daac7bd16909b74bda~mv2.png)
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