The poet Kahlil Gibran had so truly said: "If you cannot take joy in your work then you should go and sit at the temple gates and seek alms."

In today's context, his quote can be used as a barometer to gauge just how effectively our wakil rakyat (people's representative), especially the ministers, their deputies and parliamentary secretaries, have been living up to expectations and their responsibilities.

When it comes to making news, Malaysia, for some reason, has no shortage of that. At one point, the newspapers reported a spate of rape incidents. Then it was murders and of late it has been road accidents.

While the newspapers, to an extent, go about doing their work, the same cannot be said of the ministers and their 'assistants'. Rather their sincerity at making changes or improving an ailing situation leaves much to be desired.

For emphasis sake, the recent arrogance displayed by Entrepreneur Development Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz after he came under the spotlight for investigations by the Anti-Corruption Agency is a classic example of the Malay proverb ' bagaikan kacang lupakan kulit '.

Nazri, in his plush seat as a minister, forgot that he is a mere wakil rakyat who comes under and not above the ambit of the law.

Other examples of just how efficient our wakil rakyat or ministers have been can be seen by the way they got "involved" in some of the social issues that so begged their involvement previously.

Grisly rapes and murders

Take for instance the issue of rape. In 1999, student Audrey Melissa Batinathan was raped and murdered on her way to school. The following year, the country was shaken when computer engineer Noor Suzaily Mukhtar was murdered after she was raped and sodomised in a bus while on her way to work A fortnight later, another shock came when a six-year-old was found dead in a water tank atop a town house in Selayang. She too had been raped and sodomised.

In Oct 2002, a 19-year-old student was raped and almost murdered in the heart of Kajang town and that too in broad daylight. She was thrown about seven metres from a pedestrian bridge into a ravine by the rapist. Luckily, her cries were heard by a passer-by and she was saved.

Last year, Australian-returned-Malaysian Canny Ong (photo) was raped, killed and her body set ablaze.

These cases are horrifying, yet very little is being done by the "powers that be" to create a society where there is no fear of walking down the streets.

In cases of rapes, what goes on to add salt to injury for the victims and their families is the manner in which the authorities later react to such incidents.

The Audrey Melissa and Canny Ong cases went on to become 'high profile' news churning episodes, but no one in authority seemed to take the lead to put the tragedy into 'proper' perspective.

One would have expected the Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil to be at the forefront when a women's group, the All Women's Action Society (Awam) organised a public rally to create awareness on crimes such as rape.

Little did she do when the police denied Awam a permit to have a small public rally outside the Bangsar Shopping Complex, the venue where Ong had met up with her friends for dinner before she went missing.

Fear, while never in absolute, does have an inexplicable impact. Finally Awam's open air public gathering ended up within four walls which was deemed safer for VIPs to attend.

Just what was it that scared the police when a women's movement wanted to reach out to the masses by way of having a rally in the open and that too to commemorate the death of Ong? Was that a threat in any way, an offence under the Internal Security Act? At which juncture could that effort be seen as disturbing public peace?

Inadequate protection

The Women and Family Development Ministry's statistics say that 1, 354 rape cases involving women and children were reported in 2001. What about the unreported cases? The fact remains that little is being done to protect women and children from violence, be it physical or sexual i.e. rape and incest.

It seems that our wakil rakyat while so able to make public speeches have failed miserably in reaching out to the rakyat, the very people who need their help. Merely giving lip service about changes that will be made or allocations that will be kept aside is only going to strengthen the public's notion of ministers which is that these elected representatives are no longer trustworthy and approach all matters with a hidden agenda.

Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Christmas came yet again and only God would know just how many tears Audrey's mom and Noor Suzaily's family would have shed. No doubt that life goes on but the onus is on all of us to decide whether we spend it with a conscience or otherwise.

Now, the ministers are busy cracking their heads wondering how to solve the problem of road accidents among Malaysian motorists.

As expected, finger pointing was among the acts that resulted after the country saw just too many lives being lost on the roads. Blaming the Road Transport Department for its double standards in issuing driving licences to incompetent drivers is not going to solve anything.

Maybe the transport minister and the works ministers can take a cue from fellow wakil rakyat Shahrizat who during the height of the rape cases said her ministry would do a profile study of the perpetrator in an effort to determine the root causes of the problem. It is another story to note just how her efforts have taken off.

But please, whatever the wakil rakyat are planning to do, let it not be lip service yet again because Malaysians are really tired of having to endure this empty and futile public relations exercise.

A little caveat emptor for the present-serving wakil rakyat - the hoot of the general election might be sounding soon, so do your best to ensure your dignity remains when you're no longer the people's representatives.

JJ RAY started her career with a mainstream publication. A non-conformist, she soon saw the barriers that went up whenever, through her writing, she tried to make the world a home for one and all.