I WAS in London recently and while I was there, it was a two-week experience of looking at those living in the United Kingdom take the trains to and from work, as well as tourists using the public transport network that they have had for the past 157 years.

Of course, to compare the networks of the Underground – known also as The Tube – to the Greater Klang Valley is quite a stretch, when you compare the links and the ability to commute.

But how about comparing the commuters of both rail services?

The people of the Greater Klang Valley do not appreciate nor care for the amenities provided when compared to the Londoners – you don’t spot graffiti in an Underground station, nor do you have to somehow shove people aside in order to board a train, as you do in KL during rush hour.

While there may not be a proper queue, there is at least courtesy in letting people get off before rushing in.

Similarly, attitudes are different in public accessible washrooms even – everyone maintains it clean for the next person, while KL, let’s just say we aren’t the most caring society if the next person needs a clean stall and a flushed toilet.

Thus, is anyone really surprised that one of the first headlines on the completion of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang MRT line was the vandalism at all the stations?

I see it as an issue of lacking civic consciousness for sure, but why is there such a shortage of a sharing mentality in the Malaysian mind-set?

First off, I believe it is because the people riding the MRT and using public amenities are people who did not directly pay for it.

I believe that many Malaysians do not have such an understanding of or value what their tax ringgit has bought them, from public toilets to the MRT Line 1.

In terms of direct taxes paid and collected in 2017, estimates are that a quarter of the government tax collection comes from individuals (RM28.16 billion) with more than half coming from companies (RM63.19 billion).

This is paid for by Malaysians earning more than RM5,000 a month, as well as entrepreneurs and business owners.

Meanwhile, in terms of indirect collections, the goods and services tax (GST) makes close to 70% (38.5 billion), while excise duties make a fifth (11.8 billion). This, of course, is paid by everyone.

So, who exactly takes the trains, the people who pay direct taxes, or those who pay indirect taxes? I believe it is mostly the latter.

Has anyone plotted the income levels of those using public transport and the amount of taxes they supposedly pay directly? Not that I can find.

You see, I believe that indirect taxes mean the public does not feel the pressure to respect public amenities which are paid out of the pockets in the form of taxes by those earning RM5,000 and above. I hypothesised these are not the vandals who abused the MRT or even the public amenities available.

In fact, I would think these are the people who are angered by the damage done.

So, does the income gap affect civic consciousness? I believe so.

The second factor, and I can’t say this enough, is the current state of our youths. It seems our youths have evolved towards a level of no parental guidance at all. On August 14, 249 kids aged between 10 and 17 were detained at KLCC with pocket knives, knuckle dusters and drugs.

Similarly, you had two college students and a secondary school dropout being detained for the flare up at Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed’s “Nothing to Hide” event for the price of RM50 a head.

Personally, I believe they were short-changed, considering the minimum wage is now RM55 a day.

But back to the topic of youth; where were the parents of these so-called youths? Or is this “needing to give kids their freedom” justification by parents, as we saw in Johor when eight died and another eight injured in February earlier this year, a widespread trend?

If nobody believes in common ownership of public works, or even teach their kids to do so, we will never inculcate civic consciousness in Malaysian society. And quite honestly, we would have deserved the scorn and ridicule of the world in letting ourselves degrade to the current level.

Perhaps we were all too busy in the rat race of earning a living, that we forgot to pay attention to having time enough to slowly think about the future generations and their attitudes. – August 18, 2017.

* Hafidz loves to ruffle feathers and believes in the EA Games tag line of challenging everything. Most times, he represents the Devil’s Advocate on multiple issues.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.