Compassion not yet on the radar

Kuala Lumpur is modernizing – fast. The new Petronas Twin Towers symbolize the rise of Malaysia and its goal to achieve international recognition as a city on par with other Asian Greats – Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo.

My fear is that Kuala Lumpurians may sacrifice their human side on the altar of unstoppable development along the way.

A surreal scene as we walked in the city: a pedestrian was hit by a bus as he crossed the road. The accident did not surprise me. Since our arrival in Kuala Lumpur, I noticed that drivers consider pedestrians a nuisance at best.

What was incredible in this accident is that the man lay on the road, unconscious or dead. Onlookers just stared for a moment and did not do anything. Then the bus driver came out of his bus, dragged the man on the side of the road, re-embarked on his bus and continued on his journey. The man was left there, motionless on the sidewalk.

Can you freaking believe it?

The unconscious man was a curiosity but nobody helped him or checked for his vitals. At some point, a man dragged the unconscious man further because he was – how dare he! – blocking the sidewalk. Again, there was no need to carry the man – it was faster to pull him by his shirt.

At last the man attempted to check the vitals - by gently kicking the injured man on the shoulder: the unconscious man woke up, visibly hurt and unable to get up on his feet. Nobody helped him to get back on his feet.

This was shocking. Are big cities all the same? Would the same situation happen in New York, London, or Tokyo?

I want to believe that the answer to this question is “no”.