Yesterday, when I collected my letters from my post office box (PO Box) at the Dayabumi Complex in Kuala Lumpur, I was shocked to find that an envelope containing printed matter sent to me from Johor Baru had been torn open and its flap left unsealed (the cheek!)

Apparently, a Pos Malaysia official, tormented by the thought that the somewhat distended envelope might contain a lovely souvenir diary, decided to carry out an official inspection of its contents. How disappointed he must been. Serves him right.

It only carried routine, uninteresting printed material. Sadly, this is not the first time that I have encountered such gross display of irresponsibility from the postal people. You can bet that upon reading this complaint, an official from the Damage Control Department of Pos Malaysia will in the familiar bureaucratese state that management and staff of Pos Malaysia exercise utmost care in handling customers' mail and that pilfering never occurs in its offices and depots.

This would echo the routine explanation which MAS uses to disarm travellers who complain of losing expensive souvenirs from their luggage at the KLIA. Here it may be apropos to mention that wallets seized by police from suspects and innocent citizens for inspection are often returned to the owners emptied of their pecuniary items, as has been reported in the press from time to time.

But I think that the problem is deeper than mere pilfering. In the past 30 years or so, the common decencies upon which a civilised society is built are slowly disappearing from our nation and in their place we are getting avarice and 'kiasu-ism'. Our educationists and sociologists have much work to do.