Flawed Nationalism!

HIDUP MALAYSIA!!!!

Our 52nd Independence Day passed without much glamour due to fears of the rising H1N1 threats. A wise move, I applaud. :) But oh, look what we have here? What's more NEWS than celebrating 52 years as a nation is NEWS that we're BARELY a nation at all!
This is clearly justified with the controversy over the cow head protest in Shah Alam; putting our country on international news once again for all the wrong reasons.
(uh... wildlife trafficking, human trafficking, ignorance to AH1N1, whipping for drinking...?)

August 28, some 50 people marched to oppose the relocation of an old Hindu temple to Section 23 in Shah Alam. The reason? The mob protests that a temple shouldn't be built in a "Muslim majority area".

.....?

Which brings me to wonder.... since when has any place in Malaysia been restricted to building places of worship? Since when had the multiracial community segregated so far? How far does this reflect on our failure in upholding our 'model multicultural nation' we once were?

Most of all - how DID this argument even made news???!! This isn't even a good argument to begin with! It is just an unreasonable, unconstitutional, chauvinistic argument of sheer stupidity and utter disrespect that puts our 52 years of tolerance and unity at stake.

No one - and definitely no GROUP of people can stand above the law! Our Government has to seriously view this issue and take immediate stern action against the leaders of this protest. The consequence of their failure to do so will ultimately result in no-confidence in the Government's credibility, more social troubles nationwide, wider gaps among races, flawed nation development - and a possible repeat of May 13.

These racial sentiments are JUST not sustainable. For a country as diverse as ours, a breakdown in unity spells doom. Around this time of the year, we are often asked what it is to be Malaysian. We should all take this opportunity to review past experiences and do what we can to revamp Malaysia. Isn't that the essence of being Malaysian?

Anyway, all the racism outbursts, politicking and the not-so-booming economy makes me wonder if the current situation could get any worse. Hmmm... can it?

... I daren't think.

What exactly is the problem with our Malaysia? We have the knowledge to be globally competitive, we have the technology to keep us moving forward. What are we lacking? Ironically, its not something we have missing. To me, it's just something we lost over the years.

Our one biggest obstacle is overcoming ourselves. How long is it going to take us to realise that we are fighting a losing war against imaginary, fictitious enemies - OURSELVES???

How about we look around at what we've been doing around here, yup? Let's see... uh, we are pointing fingers at each other while throwing insensitive racist remarks. Okay. Some politicians win the rakyat over with their silver tongues that holds promises but do not perform. Hmmm. Scratch that - they PERFORM but as if it is staged. They show their outrage and condemn many issues... but the 'performance' stops there, no? We are also constantly pondering over allowing live concerts, managing leaking roofs, correct language, tackling health issues, relocation of temples, by-elections and the list goes on...

For the fun of it, let's just compare - other countries are booming by boosting productivity, efficiency and competitiveness. The recession isn't going to stop them. They can overcome it if they have diligence and the intelligence.

Uh, now, where were we? Oh yeah... by-elections!

.... Do we really want to show the world that at 52, we are still struggling with internal conflicts??!!

WHAT is 1MALAYSIA? All the racist remarks and issues are slowly - but definitely - jeopardising the Government's plans and dampening their credibility. The Government must realise that this is no time to talk if they really intend to bridge the gaps among races to move towards a 1Malaysia. This is no time to just be sitting around sketching plans and drawing great ideas such as the 'sekolah wawasan'. They must be implemented for the people are in dire need of some REAL performance!! Who remembers people first, performance now? Raise up your hands, get to your feet, and start working!

And for those unscrupulous people who utter selfish and stupid racist remarks? They must be punished at ONCE for causing all this public uproar - be it POLITICIANS, COMMUNITIES, GROUPS or INDIVIDUALS.

(Since we are already here, let me comment one or two words about Kampung Buah Pala. In my very humble and immature opinion, they are enjoying excessive benefits LAH. C'mon, when are they gonna stop asking for demands and realise how fortunate they already are?? Do they realise how much they are asking for? This is the taxpayers' money. Every other person in Malaysia has to work for some tens of years to earn a house that's worth half a million. This really is a durian runtuh. They should feel lucky that dear Lim Guan Eng is taking their plight so seriously! I wonder if any of them have heard about the plight of the Rifle Range residents some years ago. Have they seen how the previous state government compensate the residents? HAHAHA. Dig in some research and be thoroughly content with everything you have.)

Establishing a united nation is undoubtedly the most fundamental challenge in pushing Malaysia forward. But after coming so far, for more than half a century - I can't believe that racial integration and unity is now our major setback. It should have been our forward thrust! At this time, we should already be embracing calls for nationalism, we should already have identified one another as 'Bangsa Malaysia'...! But yet, it is sad to note that we are not even at peace with one another, what more discover our national identity. Our manifestation of a true nation is far from complete.

Have we failed in progressing to become a nation?

I think - as long as we are still CRAPPING without ACTING, still ACTING without THINKING, THINKING just for explosive BICKERING and still BICKERING to further worsen our internal conflicts - I'm afraid we have a long, long way to go.

Will our dear leaders please guide us away from going further astray? Well, of course change has to begin with you guys.

Malaysia Boleh!