‘Endless Possibilities’ is open-ended

It can mean 'Endless Possibilities for success' but on the other hand it can also mean 'Endless Possibilities for errors'.

COMMENT

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s new campaign to re-brand Malaysia has “Endless Possibilities” as its new slogan may seem a good but on second thought it is not really so because it is open-ended.

It can mean “Endless Possibilities for success” but on the other hand it can also mean “Endless Possibilities for errors”. An open-ended slogan can be used for both positive and negative.

Therefore it is better to use a slogan whereby the mission is stated in a definite form, for example, “Empower me to speak the truth”. But if it is just “Empower me” then the devil’s advocate will say “Empower me to do evil”.

So you can see the dangers of an open-ended slogan. The goal and the mission should thus be stated clearly and firmly.

As for the slogan of “Endless Possibilities”, what about “Endless Possibilities of being hit with a stray bullet while out dining alfresco late at night”? You get the drift.

Anyway the slogan can always be fine-tuned and that is for the PM’s expert advisers to crack their heads. Otherwise, the public will mock the slogan in a sarcastic manner to refer to various issues, for instance the issues of injustice.

However, the logo design is good – the colours are interesting and distinctive. It is easily recognisable and a good palette of colours has been chosen – a job well done for the logo.

But the current concern during these worrying times (endless worries?) are the high road fatalities, creeping inflation, high crime rate and the recent announcement by the government that starting early next year they will be bringing in 1.3 million foreign workers from Bangladesh as reported in a local English daily on Aug 23. Another local daily put the figure as 1.4 million.

Whether it is 1.4 million or 1.3 million, it is still a very large number and will not only provide endless possibilities for the foreign workers but also endless worries for the rakyat as the large influx of foreign workers can easily contribute to social ills.

Is the government really sure that all these Bangladeshi nationals will be gainfully employed? Does the projection of the nation’s economy warrant such a massive number of foreign workers?

What happens then if there is a global economic slowdown? Will our government send home these workers so that they do not become jobless here?

Having a large number of foreign workers is certainly not conducive to the social well-being of our citizens.

Was a study done?

Most of these foreign workers are low-skilled or unskilled and should be phased out gradually as the nation gears towards industrialisation.

Moreover they also deprive our own low-skilled or unskilled Malaysians of jobs. Some of these foreign workers also tend to get into fights with foreign workers of other nationalities.

One has to note that Malaysia is the only country in the world where legal foreign workers make up more than 10% of the population.

If you take into consideration the number of illegal foreign workers, the percentage will of course be much higher.

PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has urged the government to guarantee that these foreign workers from Bangladesh who will be given special identification cards to identify their job sectors will not be able to obtain our Malaysian blue MyKad to enable them to be a registered voter.

His PAS colleague, Shah Alam MP, Khalid Samad opined that “these foreign workers will provide endless possibilities for BN and zero possibilities for Pakatan Rakyat”.

Has the government made a thorough study before going ahead with this unwise move of importing these foreign workers?

The government must think clearly before implementation. Below are two instances where solutions were needed to be implemented to arrest damage.

In March 2011 there was the issue of the Alkitab being impounded in Port Klang and Kuching before the 10th Sarawak State Election only for it to be released and distributed with certain conditions attached after Najib in April 2011 issued a 10-point solution to the Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM).

We commend Najib for being able to come up quickly with an amicable and win-win solution for all Malaysians. In this respect, he is the Prime Minister for all Malaysians and the Prime Minister for 1Malaysia.

Then there is the issue of the AES (Automated Enforcement System) which is managed by two private-limited companies.

The government has announced that it is now mulling over whether to take over the management of the AES from these two said companies.

The BN government has a knack of doing things first before fine-tuning it properly. This shows a lack of thought before implementation which will then cause unhappiness among the rakyat.

The nation’s leaders seem to govern like amateurs. And that too after we were told to stick to BN due to BN’s vast experience in governing and not to change horses mid-stream. The BN horse, however, seems to be displaying a lot of lethargy now. Why is this so?

Cold trial

The issue of justice is also another current hot issue. Now that corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and chief inspector Azilah Hadri have been acquitted of the murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, the case has to be re-opened in order for the real culprits to be nabbed.

No matter that the trial has gone cold. Justice must still be served. Another matter is that of Chee Gaik Yap aged 25 who was raped and murdered in Sungei Petani, Kedah, seven years ago in January 2006. The suspect was acquitted in June this year and this case too must be re-opened.

These two cases show that the investigation officer did a sloppy job and justice was denied to the victims. These recent events certainly do not portray Malaysia in a good light.

What is the nation coming to? We the people and the leaders must take stock of where we are right now and where we are heading.

With Aug 31 just around the corner, let us pray for our leaders to put the nation back on the right track once again.

Based on this premise, we must voice out if the government steps out of line and commend them when they do something right. Wishing all Malaysians a happy and meaningful 56th Merdeka anniversary.

Selena Tay is a DAP member and a FMT columnist.