'India's 9/11': One week since senseless attack in Mumbai

This was a very interesting letter somebody wrote to the Straits Times on the 6th December, 2008. The letter is reproduced as-is, with comments from me in bold letters:

IT HAS been more than a week since the terrorists launched a senseless and audacious attack in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, last Wednesday.

Err... OK.

The targets of attack included two luxury hotels and other sites. Such an unexpected attack stunned the whole world and has been described as 'India's 9/11'.The terrorists killed almost 200 people and injured about 300 in the shooting spree. It was a horrifying scene.

I think we all read this in the news already. Thanks for letting us know nonetheless.

Among the hostages who were killed was a Singaporean, a 28-year-old lawyer named Lo Hwei Yen. She had been on a short business trip to Mumbai where she checked into one of the two hotels, the Oberoi Trident. She was expected to return home on Thursday, but unfortunately, she was taken hostage when the terrorists seized control of the hotel. She was shot dead by the gunmen who killed without no mercy at all.

We ALREADY know this, thanks.

Ms Lo, a lawyer with a promising future, was killed in her prime. No appropriate words can describe the sadness of her family and friends when they heard of her sudden and tragic death. So far, she is the first Singaporean to die in a terrorist attack while overseas. The planned and coordinated terrorist attack was carried out by 10 gunmen who wanted to kill more than 5,000 people. However, their attempt was foiled by Indian commandos who were called in to deal with them.The three days of rampage finally came to an end when nine gunmen were killed and one was captured alive.

You simply refuse to listen and go on and on about what we already know, don't you?

The blatant onslaught of terrorism that took place in Mumbai last week drives home a message which every Singaporean must bear in mind, wherever he is. It is that there is a need to be constantly vigilant because the terrorist attack that took place in Mumbai could also take place in Singapore.

OK. There is really no use in the people being vigilant if the people with the necessary power to uphold law and justice don't help out. Remember, Mas Selamat is "supposedly" still out there somewhere.

Since the increase in terrorism is now a fact of life, it is beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is no guarantee of safety anywhere in the world until the threat of terrorism is completely eradicated. Like other countries throughout the world, Singapore is vulnerable to any form of terrorist attack. As a matter of fact, every Singaporean must not let his guard down or the terrorists will be on a killing spree that will ruin Singapore. Hence, it is indeed wise to exercise caution. As the saying goes, 'discretion is a better part of valour'.

You're starting to sound like a priest at his sermon. We all know this already, like I mentioned above.

I was infuriated by the attack that claimed the life of Ms Lo, for which the terrorists are to be held responsible. How absurd and heretic to be under the delusion that mass murder enables a terrorist to enter paradise.

So what did you do? You penned up this letter... OK. And then? What did you do? You sounded so wise above, "discretion is a better part of valour...". I thought you should also know that "Actions speak louder than words". How ironic!

On the other hand, I must also express my sadness about the death of Ms Lo. As a Singaporean who loves peace and cherishes the harmonious relationship among people throughout the world, despite different nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and and religious faiths, I deplore indiscriminate ending of human lives. If everyone were to behave like the terrorists, the whole world would be a tinderbox. The consequences would be disastrous, with the whole world mired in endless bloodshed and violence that could eventually wipe out the entire human race.

You really don't need to hypothesize "if everyone were to behave like the terrorists", because that will NEVER come true. See below explanation:

1) Terrorists don't terrorize each other.
2) Terrorists only terrorize the innocent.
3) The innocent do not behave like terrorists.

Makes sense?

Bobby Yeo

Thank you for your letter Bobby, it was sincerely a good read. Then again, if we remove all the content that we all already know, what would be left of your letter would only be your name.

If you wrote only your name to the papers, and it was 5 years ago, I would bet my pants your letter with those two words would NEVER be published.

Today, it seems like regurgitating news written by reporters all over the world, deems you a placeholder in the column. You've won the day. Congratulations.