No Vision?

Forgive me if I sound cynical or critical of my own race. But I can't help feeling burdened by the apathy of some of my people, yes some, not all. But this some, and the other some(s) do add up. And the sum of all the some(s) is negative.

Do read the following article, the ones in red is just me "thinking aloud".

1 in 6 Malay adults living with bad vision
(Study finds over 50% simply short-sighted which is easily treated)
by Salma Khalik, The Straits Times Health Correspondent

One in six Malay adults here is living with bad vision, even though many of the problems faced are easily correctable. Easily correctable so what's the problem...?

The findings from a two-year study have startled the doctors who conducted it. Associate Professor Wong Tien Yin said: "The situation here is comparable to rural Sumatra and not what would be expected in a developed country." Rural Sumatra??? That explains it all, isn't it? From the problem of lack of education to lack of eyesight, the Malay Singaporean mentality is that of rural Sumatra?!!! Really???

The opthalmologist with both the National University of Singapore and the Singapore National Eye Centre said more than half of them were simply short-sighted, a situation easily corrected with spectacles. Yes, short-sighted in all sense of the word.

A third had cataract, a layer clouding the eye lens, which can be surgically removed. The rest had more severe problems like glaucoma or pressure on the eyeball, and diabetic retinopathy which is a leading cause of blindness.

But what shocked Prof Wong was, when told that they would see better with spectacles, many said there were unlikely to follow up as they could not afford to pay for them. He said: "Some of them are very short-sighted." Puns intended, I supposed. They are short-sighted and they are short-sighted. Double whammy!!!

Prof Wong who headed the two-year $500,000 eye study on Malays here, said women were twice badly off as men. And among people 70 years and older, one in two is struggling with poor eyesight.

He did not have hard data to support it, but felt that "more men may have corrected eyesight because they go out to work. More women stay at home and feel they don't need to see so well."
Why? Why do Malay women have to feel that they don't need to see so well? Many household chores need you to see well!

It could also be ignorance on their part, he said, as well as financial constraints. Ignorance and financial constraits, again and again. These two traits seem to fit in well with the Malays, I mean some of the Malays. Kenapa agaknya?

Prof Wong said the team - which included members from the medical faculty, hospitals and the Muslim Religious Council, with help also from eye doctors from Australian and American universities - decided to study eye diseases in Malays because such data "is completely absent."

He is following this up with a three-year study of Indians here, starting this month. Later, the Chinese here will also be studied.

Comparing the Malay results with similar studies done in Beijing and Sydney, Malay Singaporeans are twice as likely to do nothing about their poor eyesight. No money, don't do lah. Got money, don't care.

The study of 3200 Malays aged 40 - 80 years old also found that out of five people, one had diabetes, three had high blood pressure and two had smoked with one still on cigarettes today.
hmmm...

The study findings were presented yesterday morning at an Asian eye meeting that has attracted more than 800 delegates from 33 countries. The four-day meeting at Suntec is hosted by the Singapore Eye Research Institute. The whole world is going to know the visionless state of the Malays.

When told of the findings, Madam Halimah Yacob, head of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, was "very disturbed." Yes, be disturbed. Be very disturbed. I'm disturbed too.

This will affect their quality of life. We must find out why. If it's ignorance, we must find some way of reaching out to them," she told The Straits Times. Yes, precisely. All the ignorance in eyesight or other equally important things lead to poor quality of life.

If it is cost, she said her constituency in Jurong GRC gave out 200 pairs of free spectacles last year and also in 2005 - following free eye checks. The same could be done for these people. Kalau free, mesti semua nak punya. Is it our Melayu semua nak free ke? Takkan, semua gamen nak bagi free dari free preschool education to free spectacles. Are the Malays too reliant on handouts? Or mungkin memang gaji kita ni the lowest tak kalau nak dibandingkan dengan rakan-rakan kerja yang melakukan kerja yang sama tapi mungkin dalam aliran yang lain...ish jangan cakap kuat-kuat.

She plans to get the Malay community to work with the doctors to help this group see better. Puns intended. See better and see better. Yes, please! Wake up lah Melayu and look at the bigger picture.

Prof Wong responded immediately to say that he was pleased that she is taking up the cause and would be happy to work with her.