Vandalism
is the behavior attributed
originally to the Vandals by the Romans, in respect of culture:
ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable.
The term also include criminal damage such as graffiti and defacement
directed towards any properties without permission of the owner. This
problem has become a major problem in all countries in the world.
Teenagers are mostly involved in this problem and it is growing
concern to all people,especially to the government.
Every
year, the government has to bear higher losses due to this vandalism
behavior. Government had to spend a lot of money to renew all the
facilities that cannot be used anymore due
to this irresponsible behavior. Moreover,
the public is no exception from this problem. They usually will have a
problem every time when they want to use the facility either for
usual uses or emergency needs.
As a result, this
situation is very troubling them and this vandalism behavior is
getting worse from day to day.
There
are several examples of the of vandalism behavior such as graffiti
painting on the wall, damaging the public phone, scribbling signboard
direction, damaging public toilets and more. Based on the example
above, there are several reasons that lead to this problem. One of
the reasons for this is the influence of the bad peer. Peer influence
is important in the formation of personality, it depends on their
friends if they bring a good influence or not. In this situation,
it's usually teenagers are easily influenced by things that are not
good. Those involved in these symptoms tend to be teenagers that have
family problems or some not good in studies. They will spend a lot of
time hanging out with friends who like them and they began to think
of doing something bad in public.
Besides
that, the parents also become the major cause of this vandalism.
Parents are the closest example to the children, because all the
parents behavior are seen by their children and being followed by
them. For example, some parents littering freely from the car and not
obey to the legal speed limit on the road and of course this action
is observed by their children. In addition, this vandalism can also
occur when parents do not pay attention to the development of their
children as too focused on their careers. Other than that, lack of
parental control cause their children to feel free to do anything
they want without worrying about their parents. Parents also do not
provide enough religion education to their children cause their
children easily influenced by vandalism behavior and negative
lifestyles.
Next,
the influence of the mass media also contributed to the symptoms of
this vandalism because mass media is important in the delivery of
current information. Some films have screened negative elements and
also display vandalism behavior. Many films containing such elements
usually come from Western countries that practice free lifestyle and
is not suitable practice in this country. In addition, teenagers are
often easily influenced by negative scenes in the film and started
doing the same thing that usually lead to vandalism behavior.
To
overcome the problem of vandalism, there are several steps that we
can take to solve this problem. First of all, these steps should be
start by parents because parents are the most close to the children.
Parents should provide enough religious education and at the same
time apply good moral values within their children since childhood.
Parents should also explain and give guidance to their children about
the importance of protecting public property and use it well.
As a result , these children will be avoided from vandalism behavior
and it will decreases the vandalism behavior in our country. In
addition, parents should spend more time with their families and
always be with them to prevent their children feel bored and feel
empty in their daily life.
The
authorities also have an important role in overcoming this problem by
running the enforcement and implementation of the law. Based on the
Local Government Act 9 Vandalism By-Laws 1991, anyone who committed
on act of vandalism will be fined RM 2,000 or to imprisonment for one
year if proved guilty. The implementation of the new law setting the
vandalism offenders need to do their community service work within
the stipulated time. This action thus giving a lesson to the offender
vandalism and be an example to the community to not perform this
behavior anymore.
In addition,
members of the community should also be concerned and aware of things
happening around them. The local community should work together to
overcome the symptoms of this vandalism by reporting to the
authorities if seen vandalism activities occurs in their area.
In addition,
members of the community should also be concerned and aware of things
happening around them. Not only depend on the local community, the
school also plays a role in overcoming this problem. The school can
hold a talk on the importance of taking care public property and the
school should start by asking all students, teachers and school staff
protect and safeguard school property. In addition, the school also
must explain and teach their students about the responsibility they
take care of public property and prevent themselves from doing the
vandalism activities that cause loss to all.
Finally
the mass media is responsible for publishing the information and
entertainment to people in the country. They also have an important
role in creating awareness in the community about the adverse effects
of acts of vandalism. The mass media also play a role in assisting
the Government and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in terms of
public awareness campaigns so that they understand the importance of
taking care of public property and with the commitment of all parties
to the campaign run smoothly and achieve its objectives. With the
cooperation of all parties, it is possible the symptoms of this
vandalism behavior will decrease over time if the efforts is carried
out.