THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS:
NOT REALLY THINGS IN ORDER, NOR SIMPLY BY ORDER
By
Dato’ Ir Dr A. Bakar Jaafar
The ultimate crises of all, beyond the current crises of food and energy, would be the deterioration of air quality and the scarcity of water for all its beneficial uses, directly and indirectly. Should there be no supply of air within two (2) minutes, every form of life on the surface of this planet Earth would cease to exist. No human being, without having access to a drop of fresh drinking water, would live beyond 14 days; and perhaps, 30 days without food. But humankind would continue to exist without having to depend on a drop of fossil fuel!
One particular upside of the present energy crisis, due to the escalation and speculation of fossil-fuel price by future traders and global capitalists, is the expected decline in the consumption of the very polluting energy source, and thus, an improvement in the quality of air in the world’s cities and towns that are otherwise congested with heavy vehicular traffic. Another upside would be an expected improvement in the provision of multimodal transport for the public in the following order of connectivity: from the first available option of pedestrian walking path, that is accessible too by bicycles, (or by boat through canals, waterways, streams and rivers), by bus, by trams, by Light Rapid Transit (LRT), by Mass Rapid Transit, by rail, (or across by ferries and other watercraft) and to coastal waterways, and last by road and highways.
The past and present urban development have been dictated more by road and highway network for private vehicles than by the hierarchal need of personal mobility and accessibility to multimodal transportation network and system. The net proceeds from the road tax, highway tolls, and petrol excise and taxes could also have been utilized and invested in the development of the highly demanded system of multimodal transport for the people, general goods, and essential services.
Greater emphasis ought to be given to the development of transport by water more than by land. As guided by the Archimedes Principle, it would require much less energy to transport goods and services by water than by land, as the weight of the load of goods and their carrier is supported by the equivalent volume of water displaced by the submerged part of the carrier; the only little energy required is to overcome very small water resistance for the carrier with its laden goods to move forwards. Whereas on land, much more energy would be wasted first in order to overcome the Newtons’s friction in proportion to the total weight of the vehicle and its load. Thus, the natural order of things is to make full use of the country’s waterways and river-system. These natural resources ought to be treated as the nation’s front yards, and not as backyards.
Also in the natural order of things is to appreciate the beneficial uses of water in the following order of hierarchy as an invaluable source of fresh drinking water, for fisheries, agriculture-irrigation, hydropower, transportation and navigation, sports, recreation, nature conservancy, and last but not the least for its carrying capacity in the assimilation of all types waste from all forms of contamination and waterborne diseases. Alas, it might be safe to drink fully treated and recyclable water, but it might not be wise; the question of safety is determined by one’s best knowledge. But one has no knowledge of the unknown. It is claimed that there are at least 13 million viruses have yet to be identified. Thus, Nature knows best. Only Allah, the Almighty, knows all the Creations!
Another ongoing threat to such a precious resource is the depletion of nature reserve, especially in areas which have already been designated as “water catchments”. The value of water and its richness are beyond “dollars and cents”. Once disturbed, it shall not recover to its pristine existence. Certainly, flora or fauna eventually will die; it is part and parcel of the total ecological cycle. If it were to be removed from the area just prior to its death, the local ecosystem would be deprived of the much needed minerals and nutrients, from the dead, for its sustainability. In other words, either “life” or “death” has its purpose and function. Thus, it is not the natural order of things to remove any part of natural forest ecosystem for whatever economic reason or treason!
Should by Order it would be disturbed, the river system would show its true colour: “reddish muddy look”. The silts it carries would be deposited at the bottom of the dam sites, and over time, the siltation would reduce not only the “hydraulic head” of the manmade waterbody but also the capacity of the catchment. Some suspended sediments would be released throughout the river system that cause further siltation and soil erosion downstream. Any intake of raw water for drinking water supply would have to be fully treated physically and chemically.
The sediments would also change the characteristics of the river water from its pristine form to “contaminated” one that can longer support some exotic flora and fauna.
In East Germany they once said: one could virtually process a film in the river, because it was full of chemicals. But about most rivers in Malaysia, one could still say that if a brunette were to jump into those rivers, she would surface up as a blonde! Most rivers in the tropics are muddy and reddish, largely due to soil erosion and uncontrolled earthworks!
Indeed soil erosion and river siltation from the earthworks could be easily prevented and controlled. But unfortunately, the existing Schedule of Works and the corresponding Schedule of Payment under the Building, Street, Drainage by Law have yet to be revised, after all these years, in the following Order: Payment should only be released, after the drainage, crusher-run road surfacing and turfing are in place, immediately after earthworks, prior to piling and putting up building structure. It is not in the natural order of things if these erosion control measures are taken at the end of construction, two years or more down the road.
It is also not in order, should buildings continue to be designed and constructed facing a road, and not a river or a waterbody, for transport and other amenities.
Simply by Order (Yang Menurut Perintah) should no longer be an excuse to put things in order. Otherwise, our beloved country, Malaysia, would have more lose; she has already lost, on that fateful day 23 May 2008, once her invaluable heritage: “Batu Putih” or “Pedra Branca”.
Ipoh, Perak
4 July 2008
NOT REALLY THINGS IN ORDER, NOR SIMPLY BY ORDER
By
Dato’ Ir Dr A. Bakar Jaafar
The ultimate crises of all, beyond the current crises of food and energy, would be the deterioration of air quality and the scarcity of water for all its beneficial uses, directly and indirectly. Should there be no supply of air within two (2) minutes, every form of life on the surface of this planet Earth would cease to exist. No human being, without having access to a drop of fresh drinking water, would live beyond 14 days; and perhaps, 30 days without food. But humankind would continue to exist without having to depend on a drop of fossil fuel!
One particular upside of the present energy crisis, due to the escalation and speculation of fossil-fuel price by future traders and global capitalists, is the expected decline in the consumption of the very polluting energy source, and thus, an improvement in the quality of air in the world’s cities and towns that are otherwise congested with heavy vehicular traffic. Another upside would be an expected improvement in the provision of multimodal transport for the public in the following order of connectivity: from the first available option of pedestrian walking path, that is accessible too by bicycles, (or by boat through canals, waterways, streams and rivers), by bus, by trams, by Light Rapid Transit (LRT), by Mass Rapid Transit, by rail, (or across by ferries and other watercraft) and to coastal waterways, and last by road and highways.
The past and present urban development have been dictated more by road and highway network for private vehicles than by the hierarchal need of personal mobility and accessibility to multimodal transportation network and system. The net proceeds from the road tax, highway tolls, and petrol excise and taxes could also have been utilized and invested in the development of the highly demanded system of multimodal transport for the people, general goods, and essential services.
Greater emphasis ought to be given to the development of transport by water more than by land. As guided by the Archimedes Principle, it would require much less energy to transport goods and services by water than by land, as the weight of the load of goods and their carrier is supported by the equivalent volume of water displaced by the submerged part of the carrier; the only little energy required is to overcome very small water resistance for the carrier with its laden goods to move forwards. Whereas on land, much more energy would be wasted first in order to overcome the Newtons’s friction in proportion to the total weight of the vehicle and its load. Thus, the natural order of things is to make full use of the country’s waterways and river-system. These natural resources ought to be treated as the nation’s front yards, and not as backyards.
Also in the natural order of things is to appreciate the beneficial uses of water in the following order of hierarchy as an invaluable source of fresh drinking water, for fisheries, agriculture-irrigation, hydropower, transportation and navigation, sports, recreation, nature conservancy, and last but not the least for its carrying capacity in the assimilation of all types waste from all forms of contamination and waterborne diseases. Alas, it might be safe to drink fully treated and recyclable water, but it might not be wise; the question of safety is determined by one’s best knowledge. But one has no knowledge of the unknown. It is claimed that there are at least 13 million viruses have yet to be identified. Thus, Nature knows best. Only Allah, the Almighty, knows all the Creations!
Another ongoing threat to such a precious resource is the depletion of nature reserve, especially in areas which have already been designated as “water catchments”. The value of water and its richness are beyond “dollars and cents”. Once disturbed, it shall not recover to its pristine existence. Certainly, flora or fauna eventually will die; it is part and parcel of the total ecological cycle. If it were to be removed from the area just prior to its death, the local ecosystem would be deprived of the much needed minerals and nutrients, from the dead, for its sustainability. In other words, either “life” or “death” has its purpose and function. Thus, it is not the natural order of things to remove any part of natural forest ecosystem for whatever economic reason or treason!
Should by Order it would be disturbed, the river system would show its true colour: “reddish muddy look”. The silts it carries would be deposited at the bottom of the dam sites, and over time, the siltation would reduce not only the “hydraulic head” of the manmade waterbody but also the capacity of the catchment. Some suspended sediments would be released throughout the river system that cause further siltation and soil erosion downstream. Any intake of raw water for drinking water supply would have to be fully treated physically and chemically.
The sediments would also change the characteristics of the river water from its pristine form to “contaminated” one that can longer support some exotic flora and fauna.
In East Germany they once said: one could virtually process a film in the river, because it was full of chemicals. But about most rivers in Malaysia, one could still say that if a brunette were to jump into those rivers, she would surface up as a blonde! Most rivers in the tropics are muddy and reddish, largely due to soil erosion and uncontrolled earthworks!
Indeed soil erosion and river siltation from the earthworks could be easily prevented and controlled. But unfortunately, the existing Schedule of Works and the corresponding Schedule of Payment under the Building, Street, Drainage by Law have yet to be revised, after all these years, in the following Order: Payment should only be released, after the drainage, crusher-run road surfacing and turfing are in place, immediately after earthworks, prior to piling and putting up building structure. It is not in the natural order of things if these erosion control measures are taken at the end of construction, two years or more down the road.
It is also not in order, should buildings continue to be designed and constructed facing a road, and not a river or a waterbody, for transport and other amenities.
Simply by Order (Yang Menurut Perintah) should no longer be an excuse to put things in order. Otherwise, our beloved country, Malaysia, would have more lose; she has already lost, on that fateful day 23 May 2008, once her invaluable heritage: “Batu Putih” or “Pedra Branca”.
Ipoh, Perak
4 July 2008
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