NOVEMBER 7 — Recently, a group of Malaysian citizens who are part of the Rapera movement conducted a forum and discussion on WhatsApp.
Rapera movement is simply a coming together of people who believe it is important for a nation to have thinking and compassionate citizens to enable us to grow as a happy and successful nation in peace.
When this question was put to a group of 70 Malaysians of diverse ages, cultural, religious, political and educational backgrounds, it seemed they all agreed that Malaysia is indeed in a “sorry state”.
Then, it was suggested that members of the group identify reasons, of whether this was real or perceived, as to why they are of the view that our country is in a sorry state. The idea was to come up with a list “on top of their heads” and then to proceed to analyse which of the reasons given are real and which are perceived.
This is because, apart from reality, it is equally important to address perceptions in the nation building process. An efficient justice system will not be respected by the people for example, if it is perceived that justice is not carried out without preference or as ably as possible by judges.
Anyway, this is the list that they came up with:
1) Too much politicking in the country which is exhausting scare resources
2) Poor political leadership quality, whether opposition of government. This has resulted in:
3) Lack of a positive and dynamic national culture
4) Lack of quality education to produce quality citizens in terms of thinking abilities, skills, knowledge and citizenry qualities
5) Fragmented and disunited opposition which lacks a single national direction
6) The current political system is manipulated to sideline quality and honourable leaders
7) Major national issues being swept under the carpet and are not being thoroughly dealt with
8) Excessive corruption (the use of the word “excessive is interesting because it appears people are prepared to accept some form of corruption!)
9) Politicians “syiok sendiri” and have become arrogant
10) Lack of transparency and good governance.
11) Racial and ethnic discrimination
12) Lack of patriotism as a result of perceived institutionalised discrimination
13) Good policies and laws which are not implemented and enforced justly
14) Divisive national political culture along religious and racial lines
15) Inequitable distribution of the nation’s wealth due to cronyism and “know who”
16) We have become a spectator nation where people do not take ownership of the nation
17) Lack of people-centric, dedicated and conscious-driven civil service with integrity
18) National culture of mediocrity where talents and skills are not valued or respected
19) Unhealthy politicisation of Islam leading to divisions among Muslims
Surely, the list does seem to generally represent some of the perceptions held by the public and are serious in nature in the sense that it can affect true unity and the efforts to build a just and prosperous nation. At this juncture, it is immaterial whether the perception held is true or otherwise.
To me, what is more important is for the political leadership and the nation’s stakeholders to embark on an analysis and honest study as to why such a perception should even arise.
It is important we do not sweep away difficult but root causes hampering us from moving towards as a united and progressive nation.
I sincerely believe Parliament should form a committee of some sort to study and address these concerns. This will be a logical and effective move as each Parliamentarian can touch base with their respective constituencies and through the respective assemblymen, there can be greater access to the concerns of the people.
The committee formed may consist of sub-committees that include other stakeholders and non-political members who are experts or involved in relevant areas to brainstorm and propose long term solutions to address the concerns.
The crystallised report can then be forwarded to the Government of the day for its consideration after a possible debate in Parliament.
Fire fighting and reacting to issues should no longer be the manner to address matters that afflict or promise to afflict the nation. There has to be a wholesome understanding and a holistic approach to national concerns.
While crisis management has its qualities and relevance, leaders often forget that constant need for crisis management reflects on their inability or negligence to foresee and pre-empt problems that are reasonably foreseeable.
Obviously, such an effort will take up a lot of time and effort and hence, it should start today so that we do not delay in aligning our nation back on to its glorious path.
I believe if the leaders are serious and sincere, we could come up with a blueprint which becomes a true vision of the nation which we citizens are prepared to be proud of.
* Jahaberdeen Yunoos is a senior lawyer and founder of Rapera, a movement which encourages thinking and compassionate citizens. He can be reached at rapera.jay@gmail.com.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail Online.
