Sarawak Youths Must Lead The Way To Shake Malaysia

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MP SPEAKS | I have a special message to the youths of Sarawak, especially those in the 16-25 age group, on their three-fold challenge at the end of my visit to Kapit and Sibu
The 12th Sarawak general election is expected next year or latest in 2021, and Sarawak’s general election will be the first to be affected by the recent constitutional amendment to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 years
Sukarno of Indonesia once said: “Give me 10 young men, I’ll shake the world”. Can the youths of Sarawak “shake” Malaysia
Yes, the youths of Sarawak, especially those in the 16-25 age group today who may be eligible to vote in the 12th Sarawak general election in the next 12 to 20 months must “shake” Malaysia by showing the way for all Malaysian youths before the 15th national general election in 2023 of the positive energy they are capable of transmitting to save Malaysia from the trajectory of a divided, failed, rogue and kleptocratic state

It may be asked whether Malaysia had not been saved from such a trajectory in the historic and miraculous 14th general election on May 9, 2018? Why is it necessary to save Malaysia from such a disastrous fate once again
Yes, Malaysia had been saved from the trajectory towards a divided, failed, rogue and kleptocratic state on May 9, but the mission of a New Malaysia where the country becomes a top world-class nation of unity, freedom, justice, excellence and integrity cannot be accomplished within one general election cycle but is a long-term struggle lasting a decade or more, especially after the devastation and depredations of the last government which won for Malaysia the infamous and ignominious appellation of a 'global kleptocracy'
There are people who want to stamp out the historic and miraculous decision of May 9 and restore the country into the hands of those who preach an alliance of klepto-theocracy, through the untrammelled spread of fake news and hate speech to incite inter-racial and inter-religious polarisation and conflict, and who do not mind a big racial and religious conflagration in Malaysia, which prompted some to openly talk about “rindu May 13”
Malaysia cannot be saved merely by the efforts of a 94-year-old, a 78-year-old and a 72-year-old. If Malaysia is to be saved, we need the energies and idealism of the youths of Malaysia, with the youths in Sarawak playing a pioneering role, to be the driving and sustaining force to realise great dreams for Malaysia
This is why my special message to the youths of Sarawak is to pioneer a Malaysian youth movement, especially in the 16-25 age group, with the three-fold challenge - to be the agents and drivers of change to save the country from (i) racial and religious intolerance and extremism, (ii) corruption and (iii) to show the world that Malaysia is show-case of the success of the alliance of civilisations instead of a failure from the clash of civilisations
1. Combating racial and religious intolerance and extremism.Malaysia is now in a ludicrous scenario where every ethnic community – whether Malay, Chinese or Indian – is consumed with fear, distrust and hatred in believing that it is facing an existential threat to its rights, position and future in Malaysia. This is the result of the untrammelled spread of fake news and hate speech, especially on the social media where information travels at the speed of light to incite inter-racial and inter-religious polarisation and conflict
These time bombs of nation-building must be deactivated with plural Malaysians developing a social media literacy which is among the highest in the world to acquire the critical thinking to differentiate fake from genuine, know what is right and wrong, true and false, moral and immoral
I challenge the youths of Sarawak to take on this task to pioneer a Malaysian youth movement to drive and sustain a Save Malaysia campaign from fake news and hate speech which incite inter-racial and inter-religious polarisation and conflict
Sarawak has always been a better model of a harmonious and tolerant plural society than Peninsular Malaysia. This is a lesson which Sarawak must deliver in the 12th Sarawak state general election to ensure that there is greater unity, understanding, harmony and inclusiveness in a diverse Malaysian society
2. Becoming a leading nation of integrity in the worldSecondly, Sarawak youths should pioneer a Malaysian youth movement to drive and sustain a campaign for good governance and for Malaysia to become a leading nation of integrity in the world
The very fact that former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak could still make a sick joke about his 1MDB global kleptocracy and said that all Malaysians are his “cronies” who should be jailed like him is most revolting and absurd
However, it is a sub-conscious acknowledgement by him that what he did was wrong and his proper place is in jail. Tongue-in-cheek, Najib is virtually claiming that the 1MDB scandal is all fake news, yet he did nothing when the US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed its largest kleptocratic forfeiture litigation of 1MDB-linked assets in July 2016, naming him as “MO1” – “Malaysian Official 1” described as “a high-ranking official in the Malaysian government who also holds a position of authority with 1MDB” and “during all times relevant to the complaint, Malaysian Official 1 was a ‘public official’
If Najib had continued as prime minister after May 9 any mention of the 1MDB scandal would be regarded as perpetrating “fake news” and would be liable for criminal sanctions under the Anti-Fake News Act passed by the Najib government just before the dissolution of Parliament
All patriotic Malaysians would want to see Najib in jail now, but the Pakatan Harapan government is committed to the restoration of the rule of law and must accept that a criminal trial is a long and slow-moving process
Najib and those of his ilk will regard the lowly position of Malaysia in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perception Index as “fake news”
The mission for Malaysia to be a leading nation of integrity has only just started, and the youths of Sarawak must pioneer the youths of Malaysia in a long-term campaign to ensure good governance and integrity in public life
3. Show-casing success of alliance of civilisationsMalaysia is the confluence of four great civilisations in the world – Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian and Western
Let us benefit from the best values and teachings of these great civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia to build a great Malaysian civilisation which is inclusive and all-encompassing, instead of being narrow-minded, regressive and exclusive
Youths in Sarawak and Malaysia must choose for the country to become a success because of the alliance of civilisations and not to become a failure because of the clash of civilisations
Let Sarawak youths pioneer the youths of Malaysia to drive and sustain a campaign to ensure that Malaysia is a show-case to the world of the success of the alliance of civilisations instead of being a failure because of the clash of civilisations
LIM KIT SIANG is MP for Iskandar Puteri. - Mkini

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