Another round of applause please for the Selangor administration. According to the state government policy, Shah Alam is not going to have any cinemas at all. Since no explanation is provided for this sudden move, one can only assume that the movie theater is not a suitable public entertainment venue for the masses anymore. Maybe several city council officers witnessed some hanky-panky happening among young couples during a particular movie screening and was thus morally obliged to prompt this matter up to their superiors that such 'vice' must be stopped.

Do the Selangor authorities really think they can control their citizen's every move and behavior? Think about it, most citizens in Selangor are quite well off. Families in this prosperous state seem to own at least 2 cars. Driving up, let's say, to Mid Valley is not really a problem for them. But hey, wouldn't that then contribute to the weekend jam along the Federal Highway, already terrible as it is now?

Urban planning requires proper distribution of modern facilities so as not to create congested activity areas with over-crowded population. This latest 'no cinema policy' definitely does not take this perspective into consideration.

By the way, what about the Government's drive to eradicate pirated VCDs? Wouldn't this policy also encourage a comeback from the stalwarts of this illegal industry. Since demand is always present, removing one source of supply will only guarantee another source of supply to fulfill the void.

Sure, movies, being one of the most powerful forms of media today, do have its positives and negatives. But if we remove this media from our lives, we risk of alienating ourselves from the global influences of today, usually depicted so well by the movies on an emotional level. We need to expose ourselves to the good and bad of things where we can contemplate or debate openly on the issues portrayed in the movies. Irrational supression of public needs will only create an unpopular backlash.

Why stop at Shah Alam then? Why not implement this exact same policy to the rest of the state. Are not all citizens treated equal. Why should the residents of Shah Alam be more 'virtuous' than residents staying in other Selangor constituencies such as Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Damansara, Gombak, etc? Or is this move for Shah Alam the beginning of an overall 'sinister' roadmap already laid-out in secret? Next, no more GSC at Mid Valley? Next, no more TGV at Bandar Utama?

You do wonder what else they (the Selangor state authorities) would come up with, don't you?