The stately Putrajaya with its heavenly gardens, the awe-inspiring gleaming Twin Towers piercing the skyline, the sleek LRTs, the hi-tech KL Sentral, the futuristic KLIA, the complex and extra-modern highways snaking through the Klang Valley are all potent signs of a city which has metamorphosed from a rustic setting into a modern metropolis.

Doubtless, KL is a city in a hurry.

Billions could have easily been splashed on the Klang Valley for this purpose. But behind this impressive facade many have fallen by the wayside, or simply dislocated, because they do not have the soico-economic stamina to catch up with the speed of development. They become, ironically, the victims of the development which is supposed to empower them.

These are the people, among others, who by choice or otherwise, become snatch thieves in order to support themselves. Some become beggars, prostitutes, con-men etc.

In the last two-and-a-half decades, development has been heavily centred in our cities, especially KL. The hinterlands are almost totally left out. Agriculture, once the hallmark of our economy, was out of fashion until the 1997 financial crisis hit us.

The government should spend more money on the rural areas. Build more roads, hospitals, schools and universities there. We need at least 30 more universities.

So let's open up idle lands and develop with the people.