Alarming !

The house alarm would go off at anytime of day or night. When it does, it doesn't stop - till hours later when it is disarmed. Meanwhile, we suffer noise pollution of the highest order. When it happens during the day, you are deprived of any other sound you might be listening to - like the soothing strains of Kenny G or Mesuari's recital of the Surahs. It's difficult not to be irritated or annoyed. When it goes off at night, you might be abruptly awakened from a deep sleep. Which could be trauma for some people. The sound is so piercing that I won't be surprised if the elderly residents (which most are) had been shocked or startled at one time or another.

The house-owner lives in another state in pursuit of a political career. So, he leaves the house equipped to discourage burglary. Most (if not all) burglar alarms are designed to be so sensitive that the slightest movement would trigger it off. If only the house-owner is equally sensitive. They designed alarms to ward off intrusion from the two-legged kind, but forgot about the four-legged variety. Stray cats prowling for food are aplenty here, and might well have been the culprit setting off the alarm on many occasions. So I think.

An alarm that goes on for a long time is bound to attract attention, including from unwanted sources. Defeats the purpose then, doesn't it? Now anyone contemplating an unwelcome entry would be well-prepared to tackle the alarm knowing there is one. Still, it has been this way for the last 3 years and shows no sign of being resolved. Have the neighbours complained? Not openly, no. They grouse about it at the surau, though. Then they sleep on it - till it goes off again.