There is a sense of sheer frustration when dealing with visitors to hospitals. Sometimes I tend to think that their utter disregard for basic rules is a reflection of the ills in society today.

For example, there is poor adherence to visiting hours and the number of allowed visitors permitted into the ward. Despite clear signages informing the public of the stipulated hours for visiting, they come in droves at times outside those hours. They start packing hallways sometimes causing uneasy congestion and creating a noise not dissimilar to that from the markets. Some can be seen "picnicking" along the hallways. It will then be laboriously difficult to rid them from the ward as they crowd around respective beds.

Smoking along stairwells is another popular defiant activity. Many can be seen smoking in these areaa, only to feebishly conceal the cigarettes as I walk by.

Bringing children to hospitals is also a favourite among hospital visitors. Not only do they allow them to enter the wards but also to roam unsupervised. These children often will then make deafening screeches shattering the tranquil of the ward. The inaction of the parents involved is even more startling.

I would ask why. Just as we visit our friends at their homes, we attempt to conform to the norms practised at these particular homes and put on our best behaviour. Hospitals should be no different. Hospital rules are there for a reason and should be adhered to. Our society should learn to respect rules be it in hospitals or elsewhere. Until and unless they do that, I fear that Malaysia will not achieve a developed nation status that is so desires. These are hidden qualities of a truly developed nation. Materialistic wealth and property is only a facade of development and progress. Ultimately, a nation is only as good as its people.