BUILDING THE NEW MALAYSIA
AS the newly-formed Federal Government gets to work, the reality that Malaysians have a new government with different goals and priorities than the previous Barisan Nasional government has slowly begun to sink in.
The rakyat, on May 9, voted for change and now look forward to an administration that, in their own words, practises competency, accountability and transparency. The change in administration has also imbued people with a refreshed sense of freedom, but, like other human rights that matter, exercising freedom must be reasonable and should never be exercised out of spite or to offend.
The recent Umno election seems to reflect that a significant number of its members are still in the initial stages of loss, anger and denial. Two months is quite some time to linger in this stage.
To remain relevant to the Malays and, ultimately, the nation, Umno needs to be in a contemplative and intellectual reasoning stage and identify the reasons for BN’s loss. Umno has to recognise the loss and admit defeat so that it can strive to be a capable opposition now and to ensure the mistakes will not recur.
For the rakyat, BN’s loss was no surprise. It came from a coming together of a plethora of events, ideologies and perceptions.
Whether the new Federal Government is able to smoothly tackle the intricacies of governing the nation in our current tech-driven world remains to be seen.
One thing is certain though, democracy still breathes in Malaysia and is desired by all Malaysians, including the Malays who are the numerical majority race. What is now vital is that all Malaysians consider the nature of the media-bestowed title of “new” Malaysia, which is to rise from the upheaval of GE14 and what the integration of a multiracial, multicultural and multireligious nation entails.
Quite distinct from “assimilation”, which is the general model of the old governance and widely accepted as the norm for countries which are racially or spiritually diverse, Malaysia is a forerunner in national integration and the waters to be sailed are quite uncharted.
For peaceful integration, at the very least, everyone, regardless of differences, must be able and willing to forgo racial and religious bias and view each other as Malaysian first.
Although this may be much easier said than done and will necessarily be a learning process, the National Day theme for 2018, “Sayangi Malaysiaku” is apt.
If we are able to keep this simple theme close, Malaysia as a nation shall, in all aspects, develop in leaps and bounds. With a little luck and improved civic consciousness, we may even, earlier than expected, step out from what is sometimes arbitrarily described as “developing nation” status.
Peaceful integration and mutual respect must be the “big picture”. Petty and negative considerations, such as payback or arrogance, must not be allowed to define the future democratic growth of our young nation. Such sentiments deserve to be consigned to the dustbins of history.