The Malaysia we need for 2023 and beyond

 

As Malaysians welcome 2023, at the helm of our country is a new-style of government. For the first time since our independence, we have a strange but necessary ‘unity’ government. Who would have ever thought, even in their wildest dreams, that Umno and DAP would be in government together.

But this is our new reality. At least for the time being.

There are rumours that moves are afoot to dismantle this unity government from within. Apparently, the forces who objected to its formation, are now working towards getting together to fight this new enemy. These are just rumours and speculation. But I suspect it is like the saying, “there is no smoke without fire”.

After the last few years, I doubt most Malaysians will be shocked or surprised with anything that might happen with our politicians. Our political landscape is like quick-sand. Today’s enemies fast become tomorrow’s best buddies. It is like a sordid soap opera.

Our circumstances right now are a far cry from what our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman aspired for. He wanted unity and cooperation. And, he declared that with faith and tolerance for one another, as well as hard work and glad hearts, our young country would become one of the happiest in the world.

He wanted peace, happiness and prosperity for the nation. And, what a wonderful dream it was. But as we coast into a new year, we have to admit that our nation is nothing like what the Tunku hoped for.

We have simply created a fractious and polarised Malaysia.

Again, in our widely hyped Vision 2020 blueprint, we expected that Malaysia would be a united nation, with a confident society, infused by strong moral and ethical values.

The idea was to guarantee that we lived in a nation that is democratic, liberal and tolerant. Our country was supposed to be caring, equitable, progressive and prosperous by 2020. And most of all, the vision was for Malaysia to have an economy which was competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.

Can you just imagine how formidable a nation Malaysia would be today, if these ideas actually were kept at the core of every government policy, every action the authorities took, every strategy plan for education, social welfare, infrastructure, and development?

Perhaps if this new government stays committed to the two essential philosophies of unity and cooperation at the centre of everything we did as a nation, Malaysia would rightly take its place at the forefront of the world’s developing nations.

But real unity and cooperation seems to be continuously threatened in Malaysia.

I think we can all agree, based on the results of the last general election that aside from the stage-managed advertisements by Tourism Malaysia, which show a colourful and united people, the various races in our country are literally held together by the thinnest layer of cement.

There is so much polarisation. And politicians milk our differences, rather than work at bringing us together. They never seem to be seriously concerned about national unity.

As for being a “democratic, liberal and tolerant” country, as voiced in our infamous Vision 2020 blueprint, it seems like a delusional dream, especially with everything that is happening in Malaysia.

So, what went wrong?

I suppose the easiest explanation is that devious politicians, greedy business interests, radical fundamentalists, racial bigots, and the narrow-minded religious people simply hijacked ‘Project Malaysia’.

The task for us in 2023 is to put the country back on track. For this, we must revisit our purpose.

The purpose for Malaysia, as first mooted by our founding fathers, was to ensure peace, happiness and prosperity for everyone in our nation. And we have to believe in unity and cooperation to make sure this happens.

Harmony must take centre stage in every action that impacts the national fabric of Malaysian society. People need to be regularly reminded that tolerance for each other is not a one-way street. The dominant race cannot strong-arm others to be tolerant, but at the same time themselves, show little open-mindedness.

Justice and inclusiveness must not only be sloganised, but be actively pursued.

Action in the national interest, must always be taken swiftly. If racial and religious prejudice is being stirred up, notwithstanding the culprit’s race, religion or creed, appropriate and decisive measures must be taken right away.

If we want unity and cooperation to prevail, we must work hard to embrace each other in a concerted manner to make Malaysia rise again.

I believe that it is vital for us Malaysians to continue to prompt, support and instruct our leaders to work in a collaborative fashion that supports this aspiration. In keeping with this, our current unity government must be given the space and time to govern with these principles.

If citizens allow political scoundrels armed with their own personal agendas to derail the unity government, we will be back to square one again. If this happens, Malaysia will continue to struggle for any cohesion.

Remember, we must become the change we want to see. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.