Civic Minded

Everybody talks about civic minded today. www.Dictionary.com defines civic minded as a concerned with the well-being of the community itself. It is also defined as the willingness of an individual to actively take on the role of being a citizen (Bowes, Chalmers and Flanagan1996).

The BIG question is, are we really live in a community which surrounding by a highly civic minded people? NO we're NOT. Civic minded comprises both attitude n behavioural acts we play in every day of our lives. It doesnt develop naturally as it needs to be taught or practice in the community we live in. In Malaysia for instance, we're still in the early stage of having a high level of civic mindedness.

As a Malaysian myself, I have to admit sometimes I'm indeed selfish. Maybe I just list down some of the things Malaysian do to prove our civic mindedness is still at the bottom level. Here are few examples:

• Happily park at at the disable Parking Bay
• Rushing n kickin' each other to get in the bus
• Ignoring pregnant lady queuing @ the payment counter
• No sense of respect to the older people
• No proper toilet ethics
• No effort to offer a seat to a pregnant lady / disable / older people in a sardine-packed bus/ commuter
• Cut queue, be it on the road or when paying parking ticket :)

Well, those r few examples I can think of. Of course there r a lot more. Developing a civic minded individual starts at home and as early as toddler time. So parents, let set our mind n be a role model to our young generation. Together we build a better Malaysian. Little that we know, our small effort today may lead to a happier world!

p/s: Hail to the GUY in front of the Automated Ticket Machine who practices his rights as a tax payer.