I was in South Korea last week. My first visit to the country was in 2005. That time I had the whole family with me (a party of 2 adults and 4 primary school children). So, you can imagine how “busy” I was, with the children towing. I had little time to observe the little things that make that country different. Besides, it was winter. So, we were whisking hastily in and out of the tour bus and places we were visiting. Korean winter was harsh.
This time, though, I was with a group of friends on a business trip. We had our Korean hosts with us all week long. With them, we managed to get to places where normal tourists would normally skip. I’ll talk about one place that had a lasting impression on us.
This was a Korean fish market, located near what seemed to be an offloading jetty for the daily catch. The name of the place is not important at this point in time. But what impressed us was how clean the entire market was. The floor was wet, not with run-off water from the fish trays. Rather, it looked like the entire floor has just been cleaned. Going by the complete absence of smell one can associate with the typical pasar borong in Malaysia, I can only venture that the fish traders there cleaned their respective floor area quite regularly.
Looking at what was on sale, I could only envy the Koreans. Ninety-five percent of the “wares” was live sea produce. You could see all kinds of marine bounty - flatfish, squid, different kinds of crab, prawns, lobsters – you name it; all still alive in their respective tanks. Running water passes through each tank. I touched the water in one tank and realized that it was below room temperature. They keep it cold to simulate the water temperature in the fishes’ real habitat, I guess. That way, they can stay alive longer. We were told by our Korean host that they actually use water pumped from the nearby sea.
One of my colleagues couldn’t resist the temptation of seeing the live crabs. So, we picked our choice – one live Korean King Crab, the size of a typical notebook PC. We asked the old lady at the stall to boil it and in less than 20 minutes, the recently alive King Crab was our lunch. Some chili sauce was served on the side. I noticed, though, that none of us was touching the sauce. The crab meat was ever so sweet!
What has this little experience got to do with the topic of this post?
First, I wonder if such an ambience as the Korean fish market is ever possible at the pasar borongs and pasar tanis in Malaysia. Here, your nose is continuously fighting for fresh air the moment you step within 100 meters of your favorite Sunday market. How could the Koreans maintain such high level of cleanliness, to the extent that there was no smell at all? Where do we go wrong?
1) I believe in Korea, parties responsible for designing, constructing, and managing the fish market knew exactly what they want to achieve from “Day One”. So, facilities like sea water pumping system, water cooling facility, drainage, etc. were designed in to cater for their intended objectives. I can’t say for sure if this is the case in Malaysia. Do our authorities conduct proper planning before they construct our facilities?
2) The Korean traders manning their fish stalls were disciplined enough to follow whatever regulations imposed on them. Come to think of it, were there really regulations to impose? I didn’t see any enforcement officers making their rounds. I’m more inclined to believe that these people were self-regulated. They had in mind the well-being of the greater community rather than individual self-gratification. How could the Koreans achieve this? We are talking about old Korean “aunties” and “uncles” manning the fish stalls.
On the first point, it came to my mind the various reports of working field trips made by government agencies in Malaysia, both federal and local – the so-called “lawatan sambil belajar”. I’m sure Korea has been on their map. Where did these people go? What did they see? Did they ever learn anything? What good things have they brought back and implemented in Malaysia? Or were they busy accompanying their wives shopping? Since such trips involve public fund, I think these public servants should fully account for how they spend it.
On point # 2, I think the only way to achieve what the Koreans demonstrated at the fish market is through education, be it formal or otherwise. Somehow I believe children there are taught at very early age to give priority on the well-being of the society, ahead of one’s own self satisfaction. For sure, parents play a significant role in this case. But looking at the collective nature of this “good-for-the-society” behavior, I believe the education system play an equally important role since its impact is en-masse. Do our politicians / ministers / public servants in high office ever benchmark this with the Koreans? As far as civic-consciousness goes, do we keep tab of what is being taught in our primary and secondary schools, be it national-type school, Chinese school, or Indian school? What about public campaigns such as TV and print advertisements to keep reminding people of their “duty” to society?
Heck, in Malaysia I see people everyday throwing rubbish out of their vehicles. I have seen both adults and children do it. Malay, Chinese, Indian – we all have been guilty. To say only the uneducated do it, I have seen rubbish thrown from big luxury cars. I presume some of the owners could have gone through university education to be driving such cars. Then again, I may be wrong.
By last Sunday I was back in Malaysia. And what do I read in our local newspapers? Our politicians and leaders in government fighting for their political survival by throwing mud at each other. And they do this by abusing public institutions such as the police, the Attorney-General’s office, and the Anti-Corruption Agency, all funded by public money. I wonder if I ever get to see the day when Malaysians start to demand these people to account for how they really spend public fund.
Under the current political scenario in Malaysia, I wonder still if and when our politicians, leaders, and public servants in high office have the time to give serious thoughts towards improving the country’s competitiveness and improving the people’s quality of life.
