The Candid Storyteller: Forgive me, Mother Earth.

Merlyn Swan wrote an article and agreed to let me publish in under my column StoryAsia - Freddie and Fannie as Pointers to the Truth. In the article, Merlyn Swan refers to a disaster we are facing – the world economy – and another we may face – the environment. She also quotes from the 4th Principle of the Sanatana Dharma: So do not take anything extra - all that you accumulate is theft.

When I read her piece, I was reminded of Anthony Robbins who wrote about American companies who had given out loans ‘willy nilly’. You can read a full write up on this on page 67 of his book, Awaken the Giant Within. In the same book, Robbins also writes:

… On a national scale, most of the challenges that we’re currently experiencing are the result of not thinking of the potential consequences of the decisions we’ve made. Our crises … are all the result of short-term thinking. This is the Niagara Syndrome at its most potent. While you’re raging along the river, focusing on the next rock you might hit, you don’t-or can’t-see far enough ahead of you to avoid the falls.

As a society, we’re so focused on instantaneous gratification that our short-term solutions often become long-term problems. Our kids have trouble paying attention in school long enough to think, memorize, and learn partly because they’ve become addicted to instantaneous gratification from constant exposure to things like video games, TV commercials and MTV. As a nation, we have the highest number of overweight children in history because of our unrelenting pursuit of the quick fix: fast food, instant pudding and microwave brownies.

In business, too, this kind of short-term focus can be deadly. The whole controversy surrounding the Exxon Valdez disaster could have been averted by making one small decision that would have prevented oil spills in the event of collision. But the oil company chose not to, looking at the immediate rather than long-range impact on its bottom line. Following the crash and resultant spill, Exxon is responsible for paying a whopping $1.1 billion as some compensation for the devastating economic damage it has caused, not to mention the immeasurable ecological destruction to Alaska and surrounding areas.

Deciding to commit yourself to long-term results, rather than short-term fixes, is as important as any decision you’ll make in your lifetime. Failing to do this can cause not only massive financial or societal pain, but sometimes even the ultimate personal pain.

This book was published years ago, in the last century, in fact. And, yet, I feel that his words are even more important now than ever. Especially since I read what Merlyn Swan has to say about environment: The second is impending and is being relegated to the back burner while this is being dealt with. None the less the signs are already in place and one such is the meltdown of parts of the Arctic ice belt This second will be even more disastrous than the economic one as it concerns the environment in which we live.

Both these pieces only served to invoke a feeling of fear in me. Especially in light of what happened last week. You see, when I first moved to the city, I chose to live in a place that many considered unsavoury. Still, I loved my place for I was facing the little ‘green’ left in the city. Here’s a picture I took of the place seven years ago.

This is what it looks like now:

Last week, I received a pamphlet from the developers for this project. They set out their plan which basically says that in less than two years, I will not have this view. Instead, I will probably be looking inside someone else’s flat. I’m not worried about this loss of a ‘view’. What I am concerned about is this: there are going to be seven towers (24 stories each) of flats. That means that on average, there are going to be some 1,344 flats (with an average of 8 flats per floor). And this is not including the office suites which will be built once this project is done. Just imagine, in this space of no more that 30,000 square feet, there will be, added to what we already have, close to 2,500 new cars on the road. Imagine the pollution.

Nowhere in the pamphlet has there been a suggestion that there will be a park for children to play. Nowhere is there a smidgen about whether or not materials used in this project are environmentally friendly; forget any idea of a recycling centre. Nothing annoyed me more than being asked what kind of shopping centre I wanted – Jusco, Carrefour or Tesco? Especially since the first two are already in a huge Mega Mall just one kilometre away!

Priced beyond the average Malaysian’s range, what is even sadder is that, like most developments in Malaysia, the people who will be buying these flats are foreigners! The average Malaysian will probably be relegated to living quarters in the fringes of the city while these places are given to people who have never made us feel welcome in their country but happily rob us of what we have. A friend of mine told me that many times, rich foreigners, who visit the country once every year for a week or so, buy these flats. The greedy developers keen only to make a sale, jump on this chance and don’t care about the local people.

I suppose, I could understand the need for this development if the place where I live is over-crowded and there is a real need for some new housing. The reality is that most of the flats in my place, though all bought up, remain unoccupied! Why build more? Why take use up the little green space left? But, how can I possibly fight with corporate Malaysia? How do you ask them, “How will you deal with the pollution? What measures have you taken to protect the environment? What recycling projects have you put in place?” How do you explain to a greedy person that he’s stealing from Mother Earth?

Perhaps, I will take comfort from Merlyn Swan’s words in the abovementioned article. She says, “It is for us as individuals to understand exactly what living in the moment entails and recognise that whatever one wishes to … every action has a reaction that needs to be reckoned with …” It would be an impossible dream to think that just by writing this piece, the developers will re-think their project; that they will not rely on the vast financial fortunes they are sure to be rewarded with in the short-term; that they will consider the long-term environmental issues before proceeding any further. Still, I have taken this action to write this piece in this moment; in this small way, I hope that Mother Earth will know that I do not approve of this theft of Her resources and that I have done something; that She will forgive, at the very least, me!

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Note: You may not copy the photos in this post. If you would like to use them, please contact me first.