Vandalism

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.