Could civilization be a reality rather than a mirage?

AT THIS time of the year one of the many thoughts that spring to my mind is both simple and direct. That is: peace and goodwill to all, irrespective of who they are, where they pray, who their parents are, where they live or where they come from.

We are all members of the human race. We all have two hands, two legs, one head, one mouth, one nose, one pair of eyes and two ears and so on and so forth.

That we are born black, brown, yellow or white is merely an accident of birth. It is absolutely beyond our control. We have “no control of, or responsibility for, the circumstances of our birth or parentage”. We are all just brothers and sisters in a big human family.

We should give a helping hand to those who need help. We should protect those who are weak.

And, above all, be united and live harmoniously together to build our relatively new nation.

Our future is within our control, but we must realise that happiness is the key to success. We have the choice.

I know Malaysians can make the right choice, having seen the countries that are in a permanent state of chaos like those in Africa and part of the Middle East.

We are living in a rather difficult and troubled world, a world with great uncertainties, a world going through incredible changes, some for the better like in Malaysia, while others like Burma leave much to be desired, a world riven by competing ideologies, different belief systems, ethnic identity, and the lesser noble attributes of Homo sapiens such as jealousy and the desire to own more than what we actually need.

The question is how one can possibly even think of peace and goodwill to all men, especially when there is so little peace and goodwill reflected in the barrage of world news to which the world media subjects us.

And goodwill can scarcely be uppermost in the minds of those who are being affected by the scourge of a global depression that seems to be looming ever closer everyday, losing their homes or their jobs.

But all this leads inevitably to one conclusion and that is how can Homo sapiens not try to accept and practise peace and goodwill to all men?

Logically, if we are to ever achieve the peace and harmony in the world that we desire, there is no realistic alternative that I am aware of. Ultimately for civilisation to be a reality rather than a mirage, we must practise peace and goodwill to all men.

So my message for this Christmas is simply peace and goodwill to all men, a time honoured message that has been repeated time and time again over hundreds of years, and no doubt ever since the earliest societies.

Christmas is a time when peoples throughout the world, irrespective of where they come from, who they are, where they live, what they believe in and where they pray, we can all celebrate our multi- cultural, our multi- ethnic and our multireligious systems in the spirit of peace and goodwill to all men.

Count our blessings. We in this country have the good fortune to be a relatively peaceful, prosperous and tolerant society and freely able to participate in the pageant of special days celebrated in our society.

We are spared the typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and wild fires. We do have the occasional floods but unlike those in Japan, or in Europe where people, houses, buildings and vehicles are swept away

We should, therefore, continue to let Christmas be celebrated by all in the true spirit of peace and goodwill to all men.

And for one day especially, and every other day as well, cast aside the everyday doom and gloom that fills the media and make Christmas Day a day of celebration of our family, our society, our nation.

Let this be the first step in our long journey to lasting peace and unity. Let this be our dream and mission. I know that if we have the will and the determination, and above all, the sincerity we shall achieve our cherished goal and mission.

Warmest greetings to everyone wherever you may be. Merry Christmas.