The shadow of the anti-Icerd rally has cast a spell on Malaysians and some of you wonder if Malaysia can achieve national integration with integrity.
Don’t look to your leaders, religious leaders or prominent people for answers. Have you tried looking at yourselves in the mirror?
The answer you have been searching for has been staring you in the face, for years. If we observe the following 10 basic rules, our lives will be filled with integrity and be more meaningful.
Rule No 1: Don't do things for money
Many of us had grandparents and parents who struggled to earn a living doing menial jobs as farmers or labourers. They advised us that education would lift us out of poverty. Daughters were encouraged to study especially hard to be financially independent.
Corruption is not confined to the giving and receiving of money. Minds and morals can also be corrupted.
Today, many people think that becoming a politician is an easy way to riches. Blame Umno-Baru/BN for the cancer in our society and our young. They taught us to devalue hard work and concentrate on profit and personal gain. PAS’ party leaders even devalue women in the name of religion.
Rule No 2: Cure your Periuk Nasi Syndrome
For decades, leaders broke the law but we kept quiet because we suffered from a condition known as PNS (Periuk Nasi Syndrome). The symptoms of PNS are fear of losing our jobs, a contract or our place in society.
We also developed the bad habit of only listening to people who are a "somebody" in society, like the Datuks, Tengkus, doctors or lawyers. We ignored the voices of the ordinary people like the housewife, the farmer or the homeless and yet their votes are courted every five years. Even the dead were roped in to vote for Umno-BN.
Our voices are important. If you want leaders and civil servants with integrity, you must do your bit. Ask questions. Demand high performance. Your silence allowed the nation to come close to the point of no return.
If you had cured your PNS years ago, three generations of suffering under unjust policies could have been avoided.
Rule No 3: Learn to communicate
Ever since Merdeka, the nationalists have tried to derail the speaking of English in Malaysia and today some people think that speaking English is unpatriotic.
Stop languages from becoming politicised and used as a tool to control us instead of being used to open our minds to the world.
Rule No 4: Fear God, not religious symbols
When one has faith, everything is possible but when one is insecure, one will bully others, like the group of villagers in Taman Medan who demanded that the cross be removedfrom a church.
Those of you who went to mission schools may recall the morning assembly. The nuns and brothers wore crucifixes. Crosses looked down at us from the walls while the congregation recited the Lord's Prayer.
Some non-Christians may still remember the Lord's prayer. Did we become Christian after our 12 years of schooling? No, but I think we became better Muslims or better Hindus or better Buddhists in spite of the crucifixes and the Christian prayers.
Rule No 5: Families that eat together, stay together
Today, some teachers scold Malay children for sharing food with their non-Malay friends during recess whilst other Muslims refuse to eat or even visit the homes of their non-Muslim friends despite their friends making a special effort to provide halal food.
Eating together is not just about sharing food. It is an opportunity for interaction and engagement with one another to forge friendships.
Look at the border towns in Thailand. Many Malaysian men frequent the massage parlours but the irony is that afterwards, for supper, they are keen to find the nearest halal restaurant.
Rule No 6: We want education, not brainwashing
A few years ago, some secondary schoolgirls told me that during sex education classes, their teacher had advised them to learn to cook several rice dishes like briyani, nasi tomato, nasi pulao or nasi lemak.
The way to a man’s heart may be through his tummy, but what has it got to do with sex education? The girls learnt nothing about birth control, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) or how to say “No!”
Recently, some school examination questions were leaked to the press. Some of the questions suggested that Malay children in government secondary schools were taught how to beat their wives and that only Islam condemns corruption. These questions discourage national integration and unity.
Is it any wonder that many Malays send their children to Chinese schools, where the discipline is better? Or if they can afford it, to international schools?
Rule No 7: Serve the public, not yourselves
Some parents tell their children to become politicians. Some activists, based both in Malaysia and abroad, who claim to support the concepts of good governance and justice, use their activism to get close to the corridors of power, either as a stepping stone to politics or to become a crony.
The corrupt leader’s definition of integrity is, "Do as I tell you, but don't do as I do and when things go wrong, lie and deny."
Rule No 8: Stop blaming others
When some of us claim to be superior to others, a culture of mistrust is cultivated and the blaming of others becomes a national pastime. For example, if the economy was terrible, the DAP, the Chinese, the Christians or even the Jews were blamed.
If it is not blaming others, then it is failing to take responsibility. Look at the apathy shown during the 1MDB scandal. Look at how religious leaders use our ignorance of religion and our fear of God, to silence us.
Instead of demanding answers for frequent fires in tahfiz schools, we are grateful that the victims have gone to heaven; this instead of demanding to know why the schools had failed to follow fire safety regulations and why fire safety regulations had not been enforced.
Rule No 9: Don't be afraid of hard work
Nowadays, the ones who are spoonfed and given extra privileges have become lazy and demotivated. A false sense of superiority has robbed them of any self-respect.
Not every child is determined to succeed, but today, many parents allow their children to drop out of school. How did our education system fail parents and their children?
Rule No 10: Think and choose wisely
Malaysia is blessed with natural resources and is rich in human capital - but we are short of one commodity and that is leadership, or rather leadership without egos.
Leadership is a gift. You either have it or you don't. You can't buy it, although one former prime minister tried.
We must reject leaders whose egos have to be continually massaged because they have a strong sense of entitlement or leaders who demand respect or leaders who claim that receiving the title of “Datuk Seri” will motivate them to perform better.
A leader with integrity will practise what he preaches. He will speak the same language when he is overseas or when in front of a local audience. He will have the same message for both the non-Malays and the Malays. He will not tell the rakyat to do one thing while he does another.
Our leaders, including the prime minister, should be drawn from the most capable Malaysians. The operative word is "Malaysians" - not Malay, male or Muslim. You may not realise it, but a few of them are already in action.
National integration with integrity can be achieved without the enactment of any new laws or new policies being proposed. It does not even need more money to be pumped into the system. All we need is a return to basic values.
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