Overcome complacency, speak up against injustices, Malaysians told

 

GIFT CEO Chandran Nair says Malaysia has failed to realise its full potential due to poor governance, incompetence and a lack of transparency.

PETALING JAYA: The founder of a renowned Hong Kong-based think tank has called on Malaysians to overcome their complacency and rise up to the challenge of helping the country achieve its true potential.

Chandran Nair, CEO and founder of the Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT), said many Malaysians remain silent on the pertinent issues of the day because they believe the country to be incapable of change.

Chandran disputes this but says that the responsibility of turning the country around falls on its citizens.

“A healthy parliamentary system is one in which people speak up,” said Chandran, adding that “development has a long trajectory” and may take an entire generation.

“More Malaysians should stand up and speak, especially those of us who have positions where our voices can be heard.

“There should be forums across the universities, the think tanks, and TV cameras there so people can listen,” he told FMT.

Pointing to the commutation of former prime minister Najib Razak’s sentence in the SRC International case, Chandran said Malaysians did not appear to show sufficient outrage at the Federal Territories Pardons Board’s failure to explain its decision.

Najib, who began serving his initial 12-year term on August 23, 2022 after being found guilty of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and money laundering, saw his sentence halved by the pardons board and his fine reduced from RM210 million to RM50 million.

Chandran also called for a more mature political system which would see parties within the ruling coalition voicing their dissent on key issues affecting the country.

He said the view around the region, including in Hong Kong and Japan, was that Malaysia has failed to fulfil its true potential, with the country’s gross domestic product of approximately US$12,000 per capita paling in comparison with Singapore’s, which stands at US$75,000.

That is due to poor governance, incompetence and a lack of transparency, said Chandran.

“I think most people see Malaysia as a country that is hijacked by elites.”

He acknowledged that the country’s economy grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, but said success came at a heavy price.

“Some people who are apologists for all the excesses of that period say: ‘Yeah, but we had to do it that way.’ Well, I say: ‘Look at Singapore. They didn’t do it that way.’

“So to suggest that was a great golden era where we had great leadership is actually not being honest about what the truth is,” said Chandran.

Those excesses, he said, left the country with a systemic problem which has seen it lose its “value system” over time.

Pointing to the resignation of Singapore’s transport minister S Iswaran from the People’s Action Party and the government after he was charged for corruption, Chandran said:

“He didn’t have to be told, he fell on his sword.

“In Malaysia, elites rarely ever say they are wrong and that they’ll resign, because they have no values.”

Chandran said that it is up to Malaysia’s youth to ensure there is a new generation of politicians who have deeply ingrained values like integrity.

“The silver lining is that the era of unscrupulous individuals who have governed this country is coming to an end, both in terms of their age and their relevance.

“Now it’s up to the next generation, to make sure that the next generation of politicians do not follow in the footsteps of their predecessors,” he said. - FMT