A friend reminded me that he was looking forward to an article about our nation’s 50th anniversary recently. In fact, I already have something to write about it even before the faithful 31st August. I guess, the unavailability of tools which is my laptop or even a pen and paper have prevented me from jotting down my thoughts but mainly, I attribute it to the change of hectic-ness in my lifestyle lately.
But being a good re-caller of past events, I certainly think it helps a lot for me to recall the feel, the whole context of my thoughts and put it in writing even if the latter takes place much later. I can always recall the broader issues but never the minor details though.
As a new patriot at heart, I do have my share of thoughts but sadly, I only feel it when I’m not in the country. Such, is the dilemma of many of us who love our nation dearly but somehow, when we’re in it, we tend to focus on the wrong side of things. We tend to question how things really work here and why things happen this way. Are we lacking of good literatures to educate us on Malaysia? I remember reading Off The Edge and a writer wrote that we’re Malaysians when we’re in overseas but when we’re in Malaysia, we are Malay, Chinese, Indian etc. Why?
Our nation is still a young one compared to most of the countries in the Western World. I suppose, what we are going through now is natural of any nations en route to becoming a developed nation. But being a developed nation should be cautioned not to be construed as being developed economically only. Do think about developing intellectually, politically and culturally also, and the journey should not blanket the development of societal consciousness. If we question culturally how developed we are, we are still not known for our integrity yet.
Then again, in today’s world context, to survive is to have a strong economy, where this pursuit left many negative side effects. Competitive advantage, some said, but let’s think about our distinguished competitive advantage. What can we actually offer? We may have a good breath of things but how about depths? We may have sufficient infrastructure but, do we know how to innovate? More important fundamentally, do we know how to maintain it? Even more so, do we build something of impeccable quality in the first place?
I may be too immature to understand what exactly our nation is going through now. But I think I can be proud occasionally when I see the iconic KLCC but I’m sure I want something more concrete. Reality begins when we start wanting. So let’s want for an ethical Malaysia to start with.
