Daily Lessons from Life 21 September 2009

"13 injured in Indonesia Eid stampede
The governor of Jakarta was handing out cash and food to the poor. -Mon, Sep 21, 2009 AFP

JAKARTA (AFP) - More than a dozen people were injured in a stampede in Indonesia's capital Monday as the city's governor handed out cash and food to the poor to mark the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, an official said.

Two people were hospitalised after being crushed in the rush as Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo handed out the parcels at city hall, local government official Muhayat told AFP.


"The two people were trampled on but not seriously injured and have been taken to the local government hospital," he said, adding that another 11 people had lost consciousness and were treated at the scene.

Thousands of mostly women and children lined up for the distribution of staple foods and 40,000 rupiah (four dollars) in cash to mark the holiday, which falls at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The cash handout is roughly equivalent to the minimum daily wage for a worker in Jakarta.

Around 90 percent of Indonesia's 234 million people are Muslim, making it the world's largest Muslim-majority country."

Selamat Hari Raya Puasa to all Muslim in the world.

Lessons for me are:

1. there are still many poor people out there. They will fight for a dollar or two. They are hungry. If they are given the chance, they will overwhelm any government who cannot afford or create enough income generating opportunities to them. This is scary given that Indonesia has a large population of 234m!! Many of them are young people without jobs!!;

2. when you want to do charitable deed, you have to plan to anticipate stampede can happen, and focus on HOW to prevent it from ever happening!! It will be value add if the investigation of such occurrences yield some preventive measures that will be taken to heart and help other avoid making the same mistakes!;

3. it is not an easy task to keep a society largely urbane on even keel. It is easier if the country has potential in urbane and rural sectors like in Indonesia. Some people can live off the land as long as there is no over-urbanization. Singapore has no such luxury. This is the most critical challenge for a tiny red dot like Singapore.

May the injured suffered no big damage. May all Muslim have a peaceful and prosperous Hari Raya Puasa festival.