In exactly one week Malaysia will celebrating its 50th birthday. Technically, this may not be correct as Malaysia was only born in 1963, before that it was Malaya, but lets not be picky.
For a person, 50 years is "old". In one year, I'll be 50 and most people will consider that old and they may not be too far off. After all, how many of us will live up to 100 years old. Muslims consider 63 as the age of man. The Prophet s.a.w. lived up to that age. So reaching 50 for a man would mean he would have lived more than half of his expected life.
Not so for a nation though. A nation of 50 years of age is considered an infant still. So, how has infant Malaysia performed? To me, viewed from any perspective, Malaysia has performed rather well. Given the peculiar nature of its populace, with its diverse racial, religious and cultural backgrounds, Malaysia still managed to steer itself clear of inter groups tensions, except once. For this alone, everyone deserves a pat on the back. Arising from this success, other successes followed. Eradication (or rather drastic reduction) of poverty, better health service, access to education, higher quality of life and the likes were the rewards to the population.
God's Kindness is also in abundance. There are lots of natural resources, fertile land, sufficient rain, enough sunshine. As if tin was not enough God gave us oil. And more importantly, we were not subjected to major disasters. The annual floods in the East Coast cannot be considered a disaster since the people will go out in their best dresses during the flood season as if to celebrate the floods. It is now not uncommon to hear people "complain" about the absence of the annual floods.
With all going for Malaysia, why should people complain? Is it just for the sake of complaining? After all, people are never satisfied and will never be fully satisfied. That's the nature of Man. "They are forever ungrateful", some would say. But, feeling grateful should not preclude me from criticising, I would say. If I know things can be better why should I be satisfied with whatever I have now?. If I see wasteful activities, why should I keep quiet? Is not wastage a sign of ungratefulness in the eyes of God? How can I pretend as if everything is alright when I know for a fact they are not?
How do I reconcile the following?
> There are still many poor people working hard trying to make ends meet while the rich are fighting to get richer, sometimes at the expense of the powerless poor.
> Subsidies are given to the rich just because they are of a particular race or with a particular political leaning. Shouldn't help be given to the needy regardless of race or political preference? Why should a Bumiputra buying a RM2 million bungalow be entitled to a subsidy? All housing subsidies should be given to purchasers of low cost houses only so that these houses are really low cost but of certain quality. Just imagine, a 10% discount on a RM2 million bungalow is equal to 4 free low cost houses. The 10% saved by the multi millionaire Bumiputra will be used to buy Italian furniture while the 4 low cost houses can protect 4 needy families from the perils of nature. Who do you think will value the subsidy more?
> The government is spending lots of money on development but are the amount paid justified? Nobody will complain about expenses for as long as they are "value for money". How else do you explain the project subsidies and bail outs. Most of the time, the intention of the projects are noble indeed. It is only the implementation stinks. It is only the contractors that benefits. Once the project fails, the government (meaning all of us) takes over the burden. Examples, too many to enumerate.
> Contracts are given to specific groups. Quite okay as long as they are not over priced and everyone is given a fair chance. More importantly, those given the contracts should be capable of delivering what they promised.
> Have a fair election. Fair in all respects. Lets give everyone a shot at leading the nation. Not that we want to change the government unnecessarily, after all, we need some kind of stability and continuity. We just want to ensure those in power know that their positions are only safe if they perform and they do not deviate from their oaths. Is that too much to ask?
There are a few more but lets not dampen the achievements with too much complaints. As I said earlier, we have done well by almost any standards but it could have been better, much better, in fact.
As we approach 50 (both Malaysia and me) let us strive to better ourselves. Let us offer our thanks to God Almighty for all that have been blessed upon us. Let us thank our forefathers for their foresights and forgive them for their shortcomings. Let us be true to ourselves, correct our mistakes and work together as Malaysians. A man's life is too short for us to destroy a Nation.
Happy 50th birthday Malaysia.
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