Last weekend, I went for a talk by Kaptan Bala Supramaniam. For those who have not heard of him, he is a safety activist, holding positions amongst others, President for Road Safety Marshal Club and Chairman for Malaysian Volunteer Fire & Rescue Assoc. Long titles can be hollow, but wait till you hear his creditials and experiences in saving lives - he is truly a hero yet he denies that.
Honestly, I have not met Kaptan Bala before this. I have not even heard of him, but I have been encouraged to go for his talk, because he is a joker (by making the topics interesting, but NOT making fun of the topics) despite the gruesome things that he see almost daily, and the high profile, sensitive criminal cases that he is involved in. He doesn't joke about safety, though. And I salute him many times over for his contributions to society, his sacrifices and efforts to safe lives and create awareness amongst the public, especially ladies.
What have I learnt? Alot! The 2 hour talk extended to 4 hours, because of the many topics to cover, the case studies, experiences, tips that he shared and many questions from the floor. He touched on prevention on home burglary, snatch thief, women's general safety (taking money from ATM, carpark), how to do if you have been marked or targetted, what to do when car or dwelling caught fire, kidnapping cases, rape, suicidal cases and phedophile cases. Some advice sounded like common sense, but we can all be so careless.
He shared pictures and videos, mostly never seen on the media before, and my, I tell you, they are not for the faint hearted, and even until last night, I thought of some of the unfortunate stories and gruesome pictures that he shared.
Survival is a dying art. He kept reminded us that.
I urge you all, if you ever have a chance to hear Kaptan Bala talk, please go for it. There are many sessions, but go for the general topic, and if possible, go for the talk specially for women's safety. I cannot share much here on open space, but I assure you more than a 100% that his talk was very enlightening and very moving. Hearing one story, I was holding back my tears, not because I am a emotional person, but the realisation that all these is happening in our very backyard, how fragile life is, and how real all these cases are.
Don't take safety for granted. Stay safe, stay informed, and stay alert.
2 comments:
Nowadays our country is really not safe.. sigh.. the talk must be very informative..good that you have the chance to hear that...
hubs went for his talk too and came back w good reviews. hubs insisted we hv safety kit in the car now.
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