With all that is happening in Malaysia, I keep praying that there will rise from among us, leaders who display hope, leadership and inspiration to galvanize Malaysians in the right direction. Without the idealism that freedom promotes, we are akin to lumbering giants unsure of our direction, fumbling here and there making every mistake we can.
To date, what we can see is a bunch of would-be power-brokers who manipulate prejudices, vanities, or our desires for certain issues as expressed in the Net or MSM.
We see loads of finger-pointing at those whom we feel are responsible for certain situations either for the sheer joy of raising them or because of genuine concerns, and we laud and magnify those who would speak up for the rakyat for the sheer euphoria of seeing freedom of speech at work. Yet, such occasions are rare because of many reasons.
Currently, official statements are mere rhetoric which are so contrived, tiresome and self-serving. Did the leaders even write those messages themselves and are words the best that they can offer? The threat to democracy in Malaysia is plain for all to see.
After 52 years of existence, Malaysians are well aware of the kind of leadership we need. Many quarters seem to have shown us that substance and leadership in political leaders are not as effective as "proven" strategies-the kind that repeat subtle lies, manipulate religious minds with false promises, and shamelessly attack their opponent's patriotism. In their quest for popularity, the higher-ups shape the messages or direction of certain parties or leaders and in doing so, we are deprived of the leadership that we so desperately need.
By hanging on to the thinking and clichés of the past which by themselves are inadequate to the stormy needs of the present, we are carving the wrong type of history for our nation. It is crucial that we remember that no personal significance or insignificance can spare any of us. The scary thought is that the current challenges that we are facing will be either a foundation of honor or dishonor to the next generation.
Leaders may claim they are fighting for truth, integrity, freedom, justice and compassion. By saying it, I hope that they realize the rest of the world will judge them by their words, and condemn them if they fail. Yet, we see many leaders in our midst who truly make an unforgettable spectacle of themselves, giving credence to Plato's words:
Wise men talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something. - Plato
Each of us has the power to remedy, to a certain extent, the problems that beset our nation. With that in mind, we can decide to either nobly save our country by doing what we know is right or meanly lose the last best hope for our country by conforming to norms and beliefs that go against the grain of our moral conscience.
The way is plain, moral, just - all inclusive. If we follow the way of our highest principles, the world will forever applaud, and God will surely forever bless.
What the should be the bulwark of our own nation? It should not be in a leader or in a party. It should be our belief in the love of liberty and democracy. If that is absent, then we can be sure that the seeds of despotism are at our doorstep. If some continue to trample the rights of others, they have lost focus of the meaning of merdeka and have become subjects of cunning tyrants who control them like puppets on a string.
Personally, I believe that citizens must be given the truth. I believe we are all mature enough to be depended upon to meet any national crisis. All we want is the plain truth - not lies or wishful thinking or rhetoric from synchopants.
Our leaders should uphold the highest ideals that were held in the hearts of our forefathers. They cannot forget that they were elected by the people to serve them and not the other way round. Most definitely, in our effort to pull ourselves out of such troubling times, we must remember that nationalism must never be blind or abstract loyalty to a particular leader or extreme agenda that demands blind obedience. True nationalism means the leaders must work towards honoring the will of the informed people and serving the general good of the whole nation.
If not, the rakyat will voice out their discontent in the ballot box in the next general elections.
29 comments to LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FUTURE...
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Anonymous Are we prepared to be the laughing stock of the world forever?
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Unknown Dear Village Boy
Thank you for your elegant and erudite comment. It is heartening to see your exhortation for us to uphold important values that can and will make us better people that we can create a better society.
Take care and thanks so much for sharing your words of wisdom.
God bless you and yours.
Shalom
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Unknown Dear Anonymous
Sighs...the situation in our country reminds me of "The Emperor's New Clothes" as some leaders still live in denial and in delusion whilst the rest of the world is laughing their heads off at us while the rest of us cringe in shame!
Take care and thanks for sharing.
Best wishes
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Catherine "All Cabinet Ministers should study the 57-page judgment of KL High Court judge Lau Bee Lan to decide whether Home Ministry should withdraw the appeal on the “Allah” controversy and focus instead on inter-religious dialogue to resolve the issue."
- Lim Kit Siang
My questions are simple:
1] How many of them care to read?
2] How many of them understand what they are reading?
3] How many of them can reason out what they have read?
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Unknown Dear Catherine
I was going to leave a comment like yours in the same article that was posted in Malaysia Today.
I agree with you wholeheartedly and I am sure many Malaysians out there do as well.
Take care and thanks for being a thinking and caring Malaysian.
Take care and have a good rest, Catherine.
Shalom
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Anonymous It's immaterial whether they read or not.
Muhyiddin & Nazri have already made the FINAL decision.
So sad!
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Ckw "The arrogant dig their own graves, and the high-handed plant the seeds of their own destruction."
- Zhuge Liang
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Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 8.51 p.m.
Sad but true...
Sighs...
Take care and have a lovely evening!
Cheers
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Unknown Dear CKW
Many thanks for that quotation. I hope that the seeds of destruction that they are planting will lead to their own end....
Take care and have a lovely evening.
Cheers
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Anonymous Look to the future??
Do we actually have a bright future in this Bolehland?
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Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 10.59 am
Sighs...
Well, my head says one thing and my heart another...
:-(
Take care and bless you for being realistic..
Best wishes
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Anonymous Wise men talk because they have something to say.
Fools talk because they have to say something.-- Plato
....and I thought that silence was golden...no? LOL
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QQ Each day is a day of fresh commitment. Let's create waves of change through actions. It's now or never!
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stephen Something happened to this blog.It went to the present this morning and rolled back to the past late in the morning!
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Unknown Dear Anonymous @ 10.15 am
LOL!!! That is a good one. :-)
Have a nice day!
Cheers
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Unknown Dear QQ
Well said, dear QQ! Time is running out. They are fast doing the groundwork while many are still griping!
Take care and have a good day!
Cheers
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Unknown Dear Stephen
Bless you, dear observant friend. My new post called "Tuesday humor" had to be removed before 10 am because my feed does not validate and it was not being updated so I had to save it to be reposted later.
Something is wrong with my scripts because of the ... in the "Looking back...and looking forward to the future" so I had to find out what is wrong.
I only just came home as I had to meet a friend and his son who hail from KL and am trying to sort out the problem.
Thanks for being so observant!
Take care and have a nice day.
Cheers
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Unknown Dear Wong
Indeed that is the horrifying state of affairs...
We have to be vigilant and on guard at all times.
Take care and God bless you.
Shalom
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jtba Dear MWS ,
Politicians are selfish and use every means to strengthen their
grip on their followers . They all play a zero sum game.. " with us or against us " mentality .
This applies to both sides of the divide .
The followers have all already decided whom they will support in the next GE.
It is obvious from the blogs that the followers are aplenty on both sides , and no volume of good sound advice will convert one side to the other.
It is akin to ' preaching to the converted " , with little chance of any conversions of any one side to the other .
I applaud your great efforts as well as the other bloggers who advocate social justice , equality ,and freedom but humbly opine that some " NEW INPUTS " must be adopted to ensure that the we keep our political converts , as well as to win over as many fence sitters and new registered voters as possible .
Otherwise , all the same visitors to blogs like yours and M2Day , etc , and the ones going to support BN blogs , do so to just " shiok sendiri "
( not to mention the number of productive man hours expended )
No matter what you write , the leaders from " the other side " will never change their spots .
Hopefully you will write to ensure that the leaders from our side , keep to their manifesto and walk the straight and narrow .
Encourage folks to speak up against short comings/deliveries
especially if it involves PR so that they perform consistently, correctly and competently to raise the benchmark of governance .
We can never change the mindsets of our politicians , and our hope is to change the mindsets of our young to be demanding for good governance and to be intolerant towards injustice and abuses of power .
Teach them to insist that the rules are need to be enforced with zero tolerance so that our children learn that the fruits of the rule of law come after we inculcate the habit of respect of ' simple ' laws ( anti literring , no speeding , illegal parking , etc ).Break any laws and you have to face the consequences. They will then tend to be more unforgiving to those who break the " more serious " laws.
I am sure you will have more ideas , and I look forward to your additional INPUTS for a change for the better for all M'sians.
Salam
jtba
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QQ "I only just came home as I had to meet a friend and his son who hail from KL and am trying to sort out the problem."
Wow, sis, you are like a Yang Berhormat. Keep up the good work!
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Unknown Dear QQ
No way LOL...I am no Yang Berhormat haha but a Yang Stressed because of the feedburner issue :-(.
It means that my new posts may or may not be updated via Live bookmarks, google reader or other feeds. Blogger feed seem to be ok.
I am quite distressed as I feel as though my lifeline is in danger LOL. I know - I am such a terrible blog addict and I honestly cannot imagine life without the internet.
According to updates in Feedburner Help Group, many others are experiencing the problem.
If there is anyone out there who can help me, please advise.
In the mean time, QQ, do take care and swing by again for my next post called "THE INDELIBE STRATEGY".
God bless!
Cheers
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Unknown Dear JTBA
Many thanks for your progressive and supportive comments.
I agree with your observations but wish to add that there are still many fence-sitters out there who may swing the results either way and these are the ones whom we should 'convert'. Research has shown that many do not make up their minds right till the eve of the election date and even at the ballot box may change their minds.
Certainly 'new inputs' and strategy must be unraveled to try every which way to win the battle. We are at a distinct advantage because we do not have the machinery at our disposal and bloggers like me work independently solely because of our patriotism and dream for a new dawn in our country.
Most definitely, another important group would be the youth who are impressionable and could be swayed by the propaganda from the other side (not that I am ageist) because they may lack the exposure to defining moments in history such as the one 31 years ago....Besides, their interests, perspective and priorities may be different and a lot of work has to be done here - to get them to register as voters, to shape their opinions and to ensure they exercise their right to vote.
Thank you very much for your wonderful suggestions. I am always open to such input and even constructive criticism because what is important is not self-glorification but to moot for change in our country.
Take care and do keep in touch.
God bless you and yours.
Warmest wishes
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jtba Dear MWS
I apologise if my earlier posting in any way sounded critical of your blogging - that was definitely not my intent . For the records , I am 100% supportive of your blog.
Perhaps I must learn to get off my high horse the next time I post anything here .
Everyone marches to a different drum beat and yours certainly has
an admirable rhythmn that others should follow.
Salam
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Unknown Dear JTBA
You are really a fantastic person. I did not take offense to your post at all...as expressed in the opening lines of my earlier response to your comment.
I mentioned 'constructive criticism' because there have been occasions when I have been lambasted on a personal level about my writing but even then, take it in my stride.
No one is perfect and I am the most imperfect of all because of my eccentricities, idiosyncrasies and blog addiction, not forgetting commitment to the cause.
Your comment was and is excellent to say the least because there are so many wise and observant statements there.
I did not see you riding on any high horse :-) but rather as a knight with a shining armor riding on a white horse fighting the cause for change in Malaysia.
No worries ok? I am sorry if I gave you the impression...
At my age, it takes a lot to make me angry haha and I can assure you it is largely political issues that make me fly off the handle :-).
Thank you so much for being a very supportive and caring reader. I always appreciate your input and suggestions because I know these come from a very sincere heart.
So like what my younger boy used to say to his buddies ..."Friend friend, OK?"
So to you and anyone else, please feel free to blast away. I mean it. There has to be freedom of expression for liberty and democracy to thrive.
Take care and once again, my deepest appreciation to you.
God bless!
Warmest regards
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semuanya OK kot There is nothing new to say on this. What M Bakri Musa wrote today is: "Our leaders lack the intellectual capacity or leadership qualities needed to solve the myriad problems facing our people, from the lack of jobs to rampant crimes, from our failing schools to corrupt institutions."
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Unknown Dear Semuanya OK Kot
What he wrote is true but I wish to add this...
The ironical fact is that whilst they lack those abilities, they act as though they have been given divine enlightenment as to how to disentangle our nation from the many tricky predicaments before us...
In the mean time, all else goes on an anti-gravitational direction - downhill :-(.
Take care and thanks for sharing.
Have a lovely evening.
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A Arthur Sad to say I failed to see any good leaders emerging from UMNO. One who loves country more than he/she loves power, money and fame. Even when they lose out 5 States the Federal Government would throw spanners into their work and make their administration tough and hard to manage.
It would be a long uphill battle to push them out for GE13 as they have the might of the incumbency in their hands, a large number of civil servants are dependent on their handouts, the polis and MACC are in cahoots with them, the judiciary is in tatters, FDI is dwindling, our Foreign reserves suddenly dropped, religious conflicts over a simple name and a whole host of problems handled wrongly.
Let us push the 4.2 million eligible voters to register. Then perhaps we may have hope.
Village Boy The power to change the world lies within our lives. This new century can no longer rely on the leadership of military, economic or political powers; doing so will certainly lead us down a path of destruction and impoverishment. Each of of us has to becomes leaders in creating a new world based on mutual respect, compassion and co-existence.