MALAYSIAN FIRST, PLEASE

The recent 14^th General Elections (GE14) has taught us many useful lessons, some painful too,   especially for the political parties. Now the political parties in the country needs to take stock after looking at the results of the historic election ever held in the nation. Time has come now to rethink about the stand of all political parties.

The colonial masters practiced the principle of ‘divide and rule’ during their reign of our nation. Of course, this rule is now outdated, yet a few political parties still adhere to this outmoded principle. We see parties that are only open to a certain race and in that way it is only championing one race. This trend does not augur well for our nation which is multiracial, multicultural, multi-religious, and multilingual.

Today, we need political parties that speak for the rakyat, be it a Malay, Chinese, Indian, Iban, Kadazan, Eurasian, or even a Punjabi. As, all of them belong to this nation of ours, it is important the political parties speak for all of them. Although we are divided by own ethnic, language, religion, and culture, but all us belong to the family of one nation, Malaysia.  

We are Malaysians first, then comes our ethnicity. Look at the Americans, they constitute a population from different ethnic groups, but they are proud to call themselves as Americans, and wish to be known as Americans, not as an African, a Spaniard, a German, or a British.

Likewise, we should forget our ethnicity and feel honoured of being a Malaysian first, as aptly said by our present Finance Minister YB Lim Guan Eng at a press conference recently. We want this noble concept ‘I am a Malaysian first, then my ethnicity’ to be practiced by all Malaysian, be it young or old. Of course, this will be not easy going. We have to cross the ethnicity loop which actually divides us. We need to accept wholeheartedly the concept of a Malaysian, a patriotic feeling or a sense of togetherness among the peoples of Malaysia.

Let our future generations to be known as Malaysian and no more on based on our ethnicity, please.

Unity pivotal for the nation

                  

       The nation’s 57^th Independence Day will be celebrated by Malaysians of all walks of life on 31^st August. This year’s theme is “Malaysia, Where Love Grows”.  This theme is chosen with the hope that the citizens of this nation will show more love and patriotism towards building a strong nation and become resilient to all challenges. Where there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time. When our hearts are filled with love everything seems beautiful and delightful to us.

As a nation, Malaysia is unique compared to many countries of the world. Malaysia is a multi-racial society with diverse cultures, language, beliefs, and races, including indigenous groups.  In such a multi-racial context, I believe unity among the people of this society is pivotal. Without unity, harmony and solidarity among the citizens, I am sure the nation could not have achieved such heights, progress and achievements in all sectors. Our leaders acknowledge that the unity in diversity as the plus point for the nation.

Truly, unity is the key for the progress of our nation.  As such, unity should be preserved and treasured at all cost. Unity among the members of our society can be promoted by inter-faith activities among believers of the all Faith. We should learn to consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and fellowship.

More inter-ethnic studies should be initiated among the students to understand the different ethnic groups living in Malaysia. In such ways, tolerance and understanding will prevail among the peoples of Malaysia.

Unity should be regarded as a stepping stone towards lasting material and spiritual prosperity of the nation. People of all walks of life should actively engaged in determining the direction of our nation. We have the ownership of our own future and have come to realize the collective power we already have to transform ourselves. United we stand tall, and divided we fall.

Any incidents that cause disunity and contention among the citizens of the nation should be condemned. Severe penalties should be enforced for those who incite hatred and prejudice against segments of the Malaysian society. Unity should be upheld at all cost. We cannot afford to ruin the strong foundation of unity that has been painstaking built by our forefathers of this nation.

 We hope that the principle of unity in diversity will serve as a guiding light for the way forward for our nation, Malaysia. Long live Malaysia, motherland for more 27 million Malaysians.

Tolerence and moderation: Key for racial unity

At the gathering of World Interfaith Harmony Week recently, Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak called on Malaysians to see the diversity as an asset to the nation.

It is indeed sad to note that certain quarters have disapproved his action and made an issue about his presence merely wearing a kurta at  Thaipusam’s celebration in Batu Caves recently. After all, kurta is just a tradisional attire for Indian men just like Malaysian Chinese and Indian women wear the kebaya.

As clarified by the Premier, we should not confuse between culture and religion. Religion is about faith, but culture is a social practice among people. Both should not be made to conflict with each other.

In Malaysia people from different cultural background adhering different religions, like the Bahá'is, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jain and Muslims, still practising their own culture and customs, including their dress code. The dress code is just a social identity, not a religious identity.

We should not allow ignorance of other religious beliefs to become a barrier for unity and solidarity in our nation. Intolerance should not be allowed to obscure religious truth. A climate of religious tolerance, although challenging should be a priority in our multi-cultural and multi-religious societies in Malaysia.

All of us, including religious leaders, educators, media and the government should work towards establishing religious tolerance and mutual understanding among the citizens of this country. Steps of friendly mutual tolerance ought to be established between various religious adherents of the Malaysia to make haven for all.

As stressed by Najib, moderation is key word for religious tolerance in any country. I believe, as Malaysian we are just like flowers of one garden, living harmoniously and peacefully in this great nation of us.  We have learnt to accept our differences and accept each other as fellow Malaysians in a spirit of fellowship and comradeship.

 As demonstrated by the Prime Minister himself, all Malaysians should consort with peoples of all religions with joy and gladness. We are all waves of one sea, as echoed in 1Malaysia concept.

Meritocracy: Key for development and progress

The Prime Minister, during a dialogue session at Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2011 recently, has announced that the quota system will have to go, and instead meritocracy will be put in place.   

The Premier has put a salient point across to the Malaysians. He has said quota system in the long-run will not benefit any community. 

I strongly support such a move – giving priority to meritocracy rather than quotas allocated to raise the standard of any community in the nation as I believe such a move also applies to the non-bumiputeras, too. 

Personally, I feel that we should do away terms like non-Malays and Malays, bumiputeras or non-bumiputeras to refer to the people of Malaysia. After all we are all Malaysians, born and bred here. All Malaysian, irrespective of race, colour, creed, religion or ethnic group consider this nation as their beautiful homeland. 

I hope meritocracy will become a key factor in developing our nation. We have many shining examples on how many Malaysians have excelled in many sectors based on meritocracy. The time has come to do away with quota system.  This is a long awaited cry among the Malaysians.

We need to employ the best minds in the country to develop our little nation. We should have the best brains to lead all sectors, be it aviation, education, finance, economy, or even the civil service. In promotion, as the Premier has said, the right kind of person should be preferred. The deserving ones should be favoured to hold significant position in all sectors. 

In making Malaysia a modern and vibrant democratic nation, I believe meritocracy is a key factor. Many nations have utilized the best brains to develop their nations. We should also adhere to such a practice to develop our nation.