[Wrote this exactly two years ago. Didn't post it up then, don't remember why, maybe was scared ... definitely because it was rambling and incoherent.]
I was reading a book today by Joshua Cooper Ramo titled
The Age Of The Unthinkable when I had these thoughts. Consider them.
Before I continue let me spell out where I stand on certain things. It may shock you. First of all, at this point I think Malaysia is beyond hope. I see the progressives fighting a losing battle. Because there are too little of us. By progressives, I mean a certain quality of which its divisive line isn't determined by race, language, education and class (though definitely influenced by those two), party affiliation, occupation, sexuality, and so on. I guess I'll say they are people I agree with - that is the most accurate way to put it, but also very vague. Sorry. I will say it includes people from both BN and PR.
I said, a losing battle. In other words, I mean that we will forever be stuck in this quagmire of racial-related issues. It should have been dead, a long time ago, but it is propped up by our government. Our government is a system, its basic instinct is to survive and propagate, like any living organism, and so it is doing what is natural to it. And I believe that despite what both BN and PR are saying, and despite the fact that at this point I am pro-PR, Malaysia's energy and talents will forever be leaking towards these unproductive arguments, and that we will not progress further, and possibly even be eaten up by some future global crisis. I believe that we do not have the capacity to change - I have not seen changes, barring the BERSIH rally, and the March 8 elections. Beyond that, all that has happened is copy cat; creativity seemed to have disappeared after those two changes, and no longer drive the engine that generates societal change.
And there will be people who will disagree. In fact, I believe many of you will. Certainly other commentators will. See what they write. It's always positive. It's always, Malaysia is having such a such issue or problem ... but hey, we have the capacity to get out of it. What I write will strike them as defeatist. And that's fine - it's not like I'm disputing them. Actually, deep down, maybe I do. At some level I do think they are deluding themselves. But then, maybe I will change my mind a year hence. Maybe some other change will happen, hopefully something unpredictable, not just something boring like Pakatan winning the next general election. In fact, maybe I will change my mind next week.
Why such an uncertainty-laden, contradictory prologue? Because it is the truth. And the sooner you readers realise that every single person, every single event, and everything is as hypocritical and conflicting like that at most levels of reality, the sooner you break out of your complacency and stubbornness.
That Malaysians are being shortsighted when we argue with each other about ideologies, about racial equality (of the more-equal-than-others type), about self-interests above other concerns, especially when you have hit the sweet spot of being under the media spotlight (that refers to you, Kg Buah Pala residents), about religion, particularly under the guise of religious tolerance while the words used are still soaked in the exact opposite ...
For the truth is, we may be arguing over sand. While we were arguing about all these things over the past few decades, the Soviet Union has asserted itself and then disappeared. Meanwhile, Idi Amin was eating people in Uganda. Meanwhile, corporations have risen and taken over sovereign decisions ... Consider the image of three men, hands clasped over each others', grappling and struggling to retrieve that macguffin for god knows how many years, until the macguffin has turned to sand, and while the men are still fighting over it, pieces of it are leaking away. What was the macguffin? I doubt the men even remember.
In this context, can you see how petty it is that certain Malays are fighting for so-called Malay rights? Are you really that different, that separate from the world? Why waste so much energy to break yourself from others? This need to separate, rather than to identify and emphathise, is suicidal and insane. And at the same time, it appears sane to them.
What am I suggesting Malaysians to do?
I am suggesting Malaysians stop being Malaysians. If you can get out of the country, for the love of God please do. But don't be like the simple-minded Cina who emigrated where it is easy. You know, the ones who run off to Australia and New Zealand. Sure, they have their personal, logical reasons to do so - there always is, and I'm not saying it doesn't make sense. What I'm promoting though, is to make the entire world your living space. Malaysians need to begin decoupling themselves from the idea that there is no other choice than to remain permanently feet-planted stuck in Malaysia, mentally as well as physically.
Wales. Kenya. Antarctica. Mexico. Bosnia Herzegovina. South Korea. The Maldives. Exactly - wherever. Malaysians are already everywhere - we are not quite as ubiquitous as the Chinese or the Indians in that regard, but on the other hand neither are we as insular as them.
The world is your oyster. You see, you don't have to be Malaysian, or Singaporean because it's close enough, or Chinese because that is the next America, or whatever. You can be a global citizen in a true sense. And still come back home to Malaysia.
Come back. For it is home. It is your base, your HQ.
But at the same time, you are no longer obligated to fight for whatever it is those pro-BN or pro-Pakatan or pro-PPSMI or pro-Chinese-education or pro-Malaysia-untuk-Melayu-sahaja people are fighting for. Fight where you can - don't just abandon it.
But the act of going overseas, what it affords, is that you see what every other country is going through. You realise, that Malaysia is lucky in some ways, pathetic in others. You realise, that we have almost nothing to shout about. Really. Our government seems to revel in the whole Malaysia Boleh thing to the point of blindness - it wants to be blind, or rather, it wants us to be blind. Truth is, Malaysia Boleh, tapi belum lagi. It's like George Bush declaring 'mission accomplished'. Notice that we observe that declaration not with admiration but with derision. Let me say it again - Malaysians have very few things to be proud of.
And please vote during elections. From now on, please don't just vote because someone is from Pakatan, as I believe
most of you who read this will be anti-BN. Instead, in your constituency, if your MP has done well, and hasn't done anything stupid like insinuate that Malays own the country or that the people can't control their appetite for porn or used doublespeak to imply that ISA is still needed as a tool to strike at dissent and protest against government and its interests, please vote for the person, whether he or she is a BN or PR candidate.
The reason why the people are so discontent, is because our racial-related problems could mostly be solved in a flash, just like that. It's just a matter of adopting a mental attitude, then all so-called complicated problems would disappear. The people are ready to discard the veil of racism, and have been waiting for the government for so long. The government just needs to be ruthless. Declare that anyone could be Prime Minister of the country. Declare a free-for-all in business, in university entrances. Let it go.
Screw Ketuanan Melayu. There is no such thing - if there ever was such a thing, it is no more. There is also no Chinese power to worry about, nor Indian power, nor Orang Asli power. You laugh, but it's a serious point. There are only Malaysians now. And the thing is, while we are fighting over race, race, race, the country is facing the same problem all countries in the world are facing - an aging population, shortage of drinking water, food crisis, global warming. Our energy could have been expended to solve these problems, and zoom ahead of every other country in the world. Instead, we are wasting our time in pointless squabbles, both social and political - behaving like a messy Central African country.
The way ahead -- you decide. You have to decide.
