THE story of an elderly couple in Taman Puteri whose terrace house was splashed with red paint is rather disturbing.
They had previously found various damaged items in their compound. However, they brushed it off as nothing more than mischievous acts until they saw the red paint when they returned home from a relative’s place recently.
I don’t know the couple personally, so I shouldn’t take sides. However, I know that no neighbour should go through what they experienced.
The couple apologised if they had offended anyone and said they were willing to talk the matter through with the person responsible.
They were willing to give the person involved some time before lodging a police report.
It is possible that it was carried out by outsiders, and not the neighbours.
We are lucky to have had good neighbours in the residential schemes that we have lived in, including Simpang Renggam and our current house in Taman Sungai Sarang Buaya in Batu Pahat.
I occasionally take a break from work in Kuala Lumpur and go back to see my parents.
So far, I have not heard a single complaint about our neighbours from my parents. Everyone disposes of his rubbish properly and parks his cars responsibly. Nobody makes too much noise at night.
During Hari Raya Aidilfitri, when some of us were still asleep, some of our neighbours would bring food to our house. It is a tradition for most Malays to exchange food, not only during Hari Raya, but also before breakfast during Ramadan and other occasion.
The same can’t be said about our family, though. Whenever we go back during our leave or Hari Raya, there will be at least one car parked near our neighbour’s front gate, as our parents have one car each and they are parked in the house compound.
Sometimes, we watch television and laugh loudly until the wee hours.
Most of my siblings are not staying with our parents. Some have found work elsewhere, while the others are studying at local universities.
So, whenever we get the chance to gather at our parents’ house, it will be like a festivity of sorts, especially during the Hari Raya period and breaks that coincide with long school holidays.
I would totally understand if any of the neighbours held a grudge against us. Fortunately, we are blessed with understanding neighbours.
We try as much as possible not to be an annoyance, especially when we return from a movie outing or shopping trip at night.
I feel that neighbours should be able to discuss it if they are not happy about something. It is important to settle the dispute before things get worse.
We don’t want to have problems with others, especially people we see every day. Give-and-take is the best description of our way of doing things all these years.
This is because, in the case of an emergency at home, our neighbours are the only people we can depend on.
When my father accidentally crashed his car into the living room, our neighbours were the first to extend help. Luckily no one was hurt in the incident.
I guess, the elderly couple also feel this way. They want to settle their problem amicably. If only the other party feels the same way.