Handcuffed in Chow Kit

The plight of illegal Indonesian traders in the Chow Kit are of Kuala Lumpur was recently highlighted in the press. City Hall officers were sent to clear the area of such traders as their business was affecting local legal traders too much. Those officers were only performing their duty. It was only a piece of new to me … till I passed by Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in a mini-bus.


A small crowd had gathered by a section of the pavement. I turned my head to look for the object of curiosity. There, standing with eyes lowered and left wrist handcuffed to a City Hall officer, was a frightened looking Indonesian man. He and others were probably waiting for the City Hall van to take them away. His goods were neatly packed by his side. Suddenly, instead of viewing him as a criminal who had flouted the laws of this country (by entering illegally or trading without a license), I felt a deep compassion for him. Here was a man who, at least, was hardworking enough to do what he did in order to earn a living. I wondered what could have been in his mind then: a hungry and eventually disappointed family waiting for his money? No money to pay the fines? What would jail be like? What else could I do except to push this scene to the back of my mind and carry on with my journey…Who would be his middle-man before the judge? Who would plead his case or help him pay the fine?


“For the Lord’s sake, accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by Him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right … Fear God. Honour the emperor.”             












1 Peter 2:13-17


“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.”












Exodus 23:9


For Meditation and Prayer


Proverbs 19:17


Romans 13:1-7


 


 


 

 

There are 57 records that matched your search criteria

Date Title
01-Aug-2001 Will They Ever Understand
01-Mar-2003 Why Relinquish, Lord?
01-Jan-2004 Why Cancer?
01-Nov-2003 What's The Use of Higher Education
01-Feb-2001 Were You Like My Son, Lord?
01-Feb-2003 Wearing Church Masks
01-Jan-2003 We Can’t Have Everything
01-Oct-2002 Understood in the Common Object of Faith
01-Dec-2002 Two Minutes Only, My Lord!
01-Apr-2004 Trapped by Unknown Voices
01-Jul-2001 Torn Between God and Husband
01-Jun-2003 The Prayer of a Drug Addict
01-May-2002 The Need To Be Needed
01-Dec-2003 Submission To Domination
01-Jul-2003 Sentul - A Tourist Attraction?
01-Jul-2005 Scatter Us, We Pray
01-Aug-2004 Practicality, Not Theology
01-Mar-2005 Poor and Afraid
01-Oct-2000 Parent-Teenager Seminars
01-May-2004 Of Maids and Agencies