Older, but not wiser
JJ RayPublished: Aug 30, 2007 11:28 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
It is said that wisdom comes with experience. But this is not happening in the case of Malaysia, which after 50 years of independence, has yet to display maturity and wisdom in handling home affairs.
While much money and time is being invested in making sure the coming 50th independence celebrations are mind blowing, much less effort has been made in ensuring the nation has 'come of age', philosophically speaking.
It is apparent that the interest is only in the 'numbers', of celebrating Malaysia's golden jubilee birthday. Whatever happened to looking back and learning from mistakes?
It is said that wisdom comes with experience. But this is not happening in the case of Malaysia, which after 50 years of independence, has yet to display maturity and wisdom in handling home affairs.
While much money and time is being invested in making sure the coming 50th independence celebrations are mind blowing, much less effort has been made in ensuring the nation has 'come of age', philosophically speaking.
It is apparent that the interest is only in the 'numbers', of celebrating Malaysia's golden jubilee birthday. Whatever happened to looking back and learning from mistakes?
What is saddening is that more than the average person it is the politicians who are excited about the 50th Merdeka celebrations. For the members of Parliament they have reason to rejoice since the government had allocated a sum of RM30,000 for them to spend in their respective constituencies and create the Merdeka 'fever'. The truth however is that the naive rakyat have yet to receive free flags from their MPs or state assemblymen to pep up the celebration mood.
The fact that Malaysia has enjoyed sovereignty for 50 years means that the country would have progressed to an extent and that the quality of life of its people improved by leaps and bounds.
The fact, a very sad one, is that Malaysia albeit turning 50 has yet to display a matured mentality of a nation where the needs and welfare of all its people are taken care of, irrespective
of race and gender.
No doubt Malaysia should count its blessings as it is no where near the threat of famine or drought. But then the country has its own set of problems, a big number which can be solved if only there is a serious commitment from the government to ensure the people enjoy a decent standard of living.
Racial harmony
The most critical of all issues is that which involves inter-racial harmony. What used to be a nation of unity among the different races has today become a country known for its racial disharmony. The manipulation of the national religion and the issue of Islamic state resulted in the non-Muslims feeling ostracized, losing their sense of belonging in a country which was long
regarded as home.
It is certainly a paradox that while it was the unity and cooperation of the three different races which made the country's independence from the British possible, it is today the lack of unity among the various races which is tearing Malaysia apart.
The saying that 'home is where the heart is' has been taken for granted by some, forgetting that a 'home' is only peaceful when every member plays their role in keeping peace. Likewise, a country can only be at rest when each and every citizen makes an effort to sustain peace and harmony.
Watching how race-based issues have incited unrest among the people is heartbreaking. The scenario that Malaysia is now being touted as home of the Malays and that the conversion of Bahasa Melayu to Bahasa Malaysia is a sacrifice of the Malays for unity-sake do not go down well for a nation which has thrived on inter-racial harmony.
There is a saying what will become of Malaysia in the next 20 or 30 years. The worry that Malaysia will finally end up as an 'Islamic' state troubles the non-Muslims. Hence the thought of 'leaving for greener pastures'.
In a spate of 50 years, no doubt Malaysia has come a long way, materialistically-speaking. We have the towering Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower in our midst. There is also the stretching-the-budget Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The country can also boast of its first budget airline Air Asia which unfortunately failed to live up to its 'Now Everyone Can Fly'
tagline as seen from the airline company's inability to service disabled passengers.
Beyond these, there is very little to shout about. Corruption has become a way of life for the people, the ineffectiveness of the judicial system and the various government propaganda taking place has not made Malaysia an envious country to live in.
No dedicated effort has been made in ensuring that human rights of the people is respected. The much politicised Human Rights Commission of Malaysia or Suhakam is a reflection of just how little autonomy the average person has over their life.
There is always the constant threat of the Internal Security Act and the Official Secrets Act, making the search for truth by the ordinary person an insurmountable endeavour at most times.
End segregation
Then there is the ever growing threat of the rising HIV/Aids cases in Malaysia. From the time the disease was first detected in the country in 1986 until last year, 76,389 people have been infected with HIV while 9,155 have died of Aids. Each year an average of 17 people test positive for HIV.
Yet, with the many pending deaths coming from Aids staring at the government's face, no effort is being made to tackle the situation. The pleas from women's groups and other non-governmental organisations to the government to waste no time in implementing a sexuality education programme in schools has fallen on deaf ears.
It has taken 10 long years since talk on teaching sexuality subject in schools began. In this instance, Malaysia must remember that it is not going to pay to follow the 'slow and steady wins the race' adage.
Time and again youngsters have hinted that they are ignorant about issues concerning sex including that of safe sex and pregnancy. And what does the government do? It preaches abstinence. Youngsters need information and they must be educated to make informed a.k.a. right choices. The government must stop hiding behind veils of denial and move quickly to stop more lives being lost to lack of information and the inability to make the right choices.
The real challenge for the government, whichever that will be after the coming 12th general election is to work at making Malaysia a home for one and all. There must be no discrimination based on one's race, profession or gender. Everyone has the right to live without fear or favour in this country without racial sentiments being manipulated time and again for the sake of chaos.
Be it the transsexuals or transvestites, the marginalised community must not be given the 'third class' treatment. There must bo no segregation of people based on their race. Schools must not indulge in polarisation of students based on ethnicity and never must schools be a place where any particular religion is preached.
So, for the sake of unity and harmony, spare no effort in making Malaysia a home that each and every member will take pride to live in and strive to protect under any circumstances.
While much money and time is being invested in making sure the coming 50th independence celebrations are mind blowing, much less effort has been made in ensuring the nation has 'come of age', philosophically speaking.
It is apparent that the interest is only in the 'numbers', of celebrating Malaysia's golden jubilee birthday. Whatever happened to looking back and learning from mistakes?
What is saddening is that more than the average person it is the politicians who are excited about the 50th Merdeka celebrations. For the members of Parliament they have reason to rejoice since the government had allocated a sum of RM30,000 for them to spend in their respective constituencies and create the Merdeka 'fever'. The truth however is that the naive rakyat have yet to receive free flags from their MPs or state assemblymen to pep up the celebration mood. The fact that Malaysia has enjoyed sovereignty for 50 years means that the country would have progressed to an extent and that the quality of life of its people improved by leaps and bounds.
The fact, a very sad one, is that Malaysia albeit turning 50 has yet to display a matured mentality of a nation where the needs and welfare of all its people are taken care of, irrespective
of race and gender.
No doubt Malaysia should count its blessings as it is no where near the threat of famine or drought. But then the country has its own set of problems, a big number which can be solved if only there is a serious commitment from the government to ensure the people enjoy a decent standard of living.
Racial harmony
The most critical of all issues is that which involves inter-racial harmony. What used to be a nation of unity among the different races has today become a country known for its racial disharmony. The manipulation of the national religion and the issue of Islamic state resulted in the non-Muslims feeling ostracized, losing their sense of belonging in a country which was long
regarded as home.
It is certainly a paradox that while it was the unity and cooperation of the three different races which made the country's independence from the British possible, it is today the lack of unity among the various races which is tearing Malaysia apart.
The saying that 'home is where the heart is' has been taken for granted by some, forgetting that a 'home' is only peaceful when every member plays their role in keeping peace. Likewise, a country can only be at rest when each and every citizen makes an effort to sustain peace and harmony.
Watching how race-based issues have incited unrest among the people is heartbreaking. The scenario that Malaysia is now being touted as home of the Malays and that the conversion of Bahasa Melayu to Bahasa Malaysia is a sacrifice of the Malays for unity-sake do not go down well for a nation which has thrived on inter-racial harmony.
There is a saying what will become of Malaysia in the next 20 or 30 years. The worry that Malaysia will finally end up as an 'Islamic' state troubles the non-Muslims. Hence the thought of 'leaving for greener pastures'.
In a spate of 50 years, no doubt Malaysia has come a long way, materialistically-speaking. We have the towering Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Tower in our midst. There is also the stretching-the-budget Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The country can also boast of its first budget airline Air Asia which unfortunately failed to live up to its 'Now Everyone Can Fly'
tagline as seen from the airline company's inability to service disabled passengers.
Beyond these, there is very little to shout about. Corruption has become a way of life for the people, the ineffectiveness of the judicial system and the various government propaganda taking place has not made Malaysia an envious country to live in.
No dedicated effort has been made in ensuring that human rights of the people is respected. The much politicised Human Rights Commission of Malaysia or Suhakam is a reflection of just how little autonomy the average person has over their life.
There is always the constant threat of the Internal Security Act and the Official Secrets Act, making the search for truth by the ordinary person an insurmountable endeavour at most times.
End segregation
Then there is the ever growing threat of the rising HIV/Aids cases in Malaysia. From the time the disease was first detected in the country in 1986 until last year, 76,389 people have been infected with HIV while 9,155 have died of Aids. Each year an average of 17 people test positive for HIV.
Yet, with the many pending deaths coming from Aids staring at the government's face, no effort is being made to tackle the situation. The pleas from women's groups and other non-governmental organisations to the government to waste no time in implementing a sexuality education programme in schools has fallen on deaf ears.
It has taken 10 long years since talk on teaching sexuality subject in schools began. In this instance, Malaysia must remember that it is not going to pay to follow the 'slow and steady wins the race' adage.
Time and again youngsters have hinted that they are ignorant about issues concerning sex including that of safe sex and pregnancy. And what does the government do? It preaches abstinence. Youngsters need information and they must be educated to make informed a.k.a. right choices. The government must stop hiding behind veils of denial and move quickly to stop more lives being lost to lack of information and the inability to make the right choices.
The real challenge for the government, whichever that will be after the coming 12th general election is to work at making Malaysia a home for one and all. There must be no discrimination based on one's race, profession or gender. Everyone has the right to live without fear or favour in this country without racial sentiments being manipulated time and again for the sake of chaos.
Be it the transsexuals or transvestites, the marginalised community must not be given the 'third class' treatment. There must bo no segregation of people based on their race. Schools must not indulge in polarisation of students based on ethnicity and never must schools be a place where any particular religion is preached.
So, for the sake of unity and harmony, spare no effort in making Malaysia a home that each and every member will take pride to live in and strive to protect under any circumstances.
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