Ask not what your country can do for you – Lim Sue Goan

 As Malaysia celebrates its 57th year of independence, Malaysians are urged to strike for a future where its people are equal and ideas are worth trying. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, August 31, 2014.

Each year, the Merdeka celebrations are bound to lift the moods of the nation. More so this year with so many untoward incidents taking place.

The two air crashes involving the national flag carrier have only given an added hue of melancholy to the country while intricate ethnic and religious issues continue to plague.

On top of that, there are also stubborn problems with our economy. It remains a major test for the government how to slash national debts and budgetary deficits and how to sail past the GST impact smoothly come next April.

Due to poor grip of the right direction, the government's policies have been hardly sustainable. In the meantime, conflicts emerging from within the opposition camp, crippling its "checks and balances" functionality.

Celebrating the country's independence against the backdrop of such a dismal atmosphere could be disheartening. Where is the country headed to and who will stand up and put things right?

Malaysians will only prosper if their country is on the right track.

Among the constituents of a nation are its territory, citizens, government and sovereignty. While deliberating the country's future, many tend to push the responsibility to the government, overlooking their own obligations towards the nation.

Indeed, the government has been picked by the people and it therefore is duty-bound to do its job properly, including managing the treasury well. In addition to reducing debts and deficits, the government must also act on institutional corruption and punish corrupt public servants in a bid to safeguard the country's resources.

The government must also preserve the cordial ethnic and religious relationships in the country and act fairly and justly.

Clean governance, improved administrative efficiency and providing a safe, clean and care-free environment for the citizens are all part and parcel of the government's responsibility.

That said, the common folks must also do their own parts well, cooperating and supporting the government to achieve our national goals.

The government is an organization made up of politicians holding ministerial positions as well as 1.4 million strong civil servants. Strictly speaking, both the ministers and public servants are all citizens of the country with the only exception that they are also playing the roles as managers and administrators at the same time.

If the people themselves are not self-demanding, then they won't have too much to demand of their government.

If the government does not perform, that is because of the quality of our own people. For example, if politicians are selfish and lackadaisical, the same attitude will be brought into the administration resulting in subdued work ethic. In short, what happens to the country now is very much a problem of our own people.

We can see that garbage is nonchalantly strewn in our streets and alleys, not because the government is not doing its job but because we drop the litter faster than the cleaners can pick up. If we are not bothered about our living environment, there is not much the local authorities can do no matter how much resource is utilised.

Many university graduates refuse to service their PTPTN loans resulting in billions of ringgit of bad debts. I wonder whether these people will take a look into themselves before they start to hammer the government.

When the workers are enjoying increased wages, do they have improved productivity to match? Does anyone ever wonder why this country relies so heavily upon foreign workers?

Will the employees of GLCs, in particular MAS, lay down their own interests and support the restructuring program?

NGOs have a fondness to raise sensitive issues to advance their narrow-minded agendas. What is social responsibility to them?

Many also are inclined to default on traffic offense tickets, income taxes or offer bribes to enforcement personnel. We cannot expect much change from the government if the bulk of Malaysians only think about themselves.

Sure enough the politicians cannot be spared for what has befallen the country. They care only their own interests; they manipulate politics, inciting public sentiments and putting all their energy on infightings.

While we point the accusing fingers at the government and politicians, perhaps we should also reflect on our own weaknesses. What has caused the government to be so inefficient and what has made our political leaders arrogant and self-centred?

We can only change this country if we first change ourselves. – mysinchew.com