A Nation Of Hope Striving For A Greater Malaysia

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This Merdeka month should rightly be devoted to self-introspection by Malaysians about the state of their beloved federation. BERNAMA PICTHIS Merdeka month should rightly be devoted to self-introspection by Malaysians about the state of their beloved federation.
As political rancour shows itself in Parliament and sometimes on the street, it simultaneously elicits a mixture of despair and hope.
Malaysians of a more despondent bent will naturally let rip the almost eternal lament that we seem to have moved little away from the public discourse over race and religion. The more optimistic lot (which includes me) will be somewhat encouraged by a more vibrant democracy in the works (if measured by little more than the decibel readings).
Given how democracy in the advanced countries has developed in recent years, I tend to note with some satisfaction that Malaysia is actually ahead of the curve!
How so? Just note current developments in the United States, that supposed beacon on the hill guiding the entire globe on all things democratic.
Who would have thought that just barely a decade ago, with the almost universally acclaimed election of the first Black American president, his arch-nemesis would be taking over the White House and now re-elected.
Many will describe Donald Trump's jibes at Barack Obama as bordering on racism, reinforced by the current anti-immigrant, anti-foreigner campaigns and an "America First" war cry.
Yet oddly enough, Trump's re-election was on the back of significant support from Black and Hispanic voters.
Time was when the US went around lecturing others about their perceived political shortcomings, including ours.
There is satisfaction from the fact that many advanced democracies are now on a trajectory that Malaysia has traversed.
They were the ones with their heads long buried in the sand while we transparently confronted the fact and reality of identity issues and their political currency head-on.
We never made any bones about the fact that ours is a diverse, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious nation grappling with unfortunate and unavoidable realities, the most glaring of which was that the majority population was also economically disadvantaged at the time of Merdeka.
The painful May 13, 1969 racially motivated death and destruction made us vow collectively to eliminate the identification of race with economic function.
Despite much progress, the problem persists but hope springs eternal that policies instituted then will be revised and reformed to better suit current conditions.
Malaysians who tend to see the state of the nation as a half-empty bottle may want to ponder how ours is now the envy of growing numbers of foreigners.
Just the past week, a CNN report was circulating that singled out Malaysia as the only Asian country out of half a dozen world-wide that Americans prefer to retire to.
As more Indonesians from Kalimantan get the chance to visit Sabah and Sarawak, an interesting online debate is raging and exploring whether these Indonesians will be better off if Kalimantan became a part of Malaysia.
For sure, there will always be room to improve as a nation. Of course, we all dream of a more united country, the better to pursue a common vision for a greater Malaysia.
There was even a time when we openly bandied the idea of a Bangsa Malaysia.
That was when we felt good about ourselves, the shiny modern infrastructure we had built and an economy that seemed rosier by the day.
Greater dreams come naturally when conditions are right.- NST

* The writer, John Teo views developments in the nation, region and the wider world from his vantage point in Kuching

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