Caning me Softly...
Written on 5/28/2004 12:26:00 pm by sikapitan
A big hu-ha has erupted over the demonstration on caning by prison officials at schools.You see, the government, in their never-ending quest to correct our youths decided to send burly prison officers to schools and demonstrate just what a real 'rotan' really means.I assure you, this is no smack in the butt matter as the prison officers went all the way, whipping the stuffed 'mannequin' as real-life as possible.
The idea was that this would instill fear among students. Apparently, this would discourage them from pursuing crime as an occupation:).The only problem is they don't have any conclusive scientific evidence that such method works. This is the problem with us Malaysians, we do things without thinking it through (for example, National Service-does it really make us better?).First of all,do these students know what type of crimes that allows caning as a punishment? If not, most would think that caning is only for murder and this wouldn't help the cause one bit. Secondly, do these demo really instill fear amongst students? Trust me, the bad people in this world already know that caning is painful.Most criminals commit crimes out of passion and necessity. Would knowing the consequences affect them? The ministry should carefully study the psychology of crime before pursuing this demos. Furthermore, showing corporal punishment to students would only reinforce the impression that you can hurt someone as a punishment for their actions.Students would identify caning as a legitimate means of punishment. What is the psychological impact of such views? Would they then apply physical punishment more liberally when they grow up? Would they think it's right for people to be whipped? Would they apply it to their children? These are issues that needs consideration before we continue with such demos.
However, on the positive side, such demos doesn't cost much and easily implemented at schools. There was an exhibition by prison officials in UiTM and it was quite impressive. I know i wouldn't want to get into prison, that's for sure, but i'm a good guy. Studies have shown that most criminals believe that they wouldn't get caught. So would the knowledge that prison sucks (which is known to EVERYONE-nobody can say that it's a Club Med)affect their decision to commit crimes? Go figure.
Au revoir.
Posts
