The spirit of Malaysia
If the leaders cannot lead by example, then it’s the rakyat themselves who must do so.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who not too long ago enjoyed a reputation as the progressive leader of a moderate Islamic country, a model for multi-cultural communities around the world, has now been cast by the international press as a villain, rightly or wrongly.
Major news outlets around the world have extensively and intensively analysed the issue of the RM2.6 billion donation, and Najib had better believe that Barack Obama is keeping watch and evaluating his newfound friend’s reputation very closely, though the outgoing US President is likely less concerned with Najib’s reputation than he is with getting Malaysia to sign the TPPA.
Chances are it’ll be a little harder for Najib to get another golf game in.
This entire debacle has shown Malaysians that the deeply held suspicions we held against the government may have some basis after all. Now we’re hearing, from no less than the Saudi Foreign Minister himself, that the RM2.6 billion was not a donation but an investment.
Donation or investment? Does it matter? It’s all cloak and dagger stuff, and Malaysia’s international reputation is in the pits.
There’s more bad news. Attorney-General Apandi Ali, apparently incensed by the leaking of national secrets to the media, is considering heavier sentences for violators of the Official Secrets Act, including journalists. This piece of bad news comes on the heels of another – that a cyber-crime unit is being formed to monitor online chatter that puts the PM in a negative light. Worse, there are whispers that there may not even be a 14th general election.
It does look like we Malaysians must stop looking to our leaders for direction. The rakyat, all of us, must decide for ourselves the direction this country should take. We must do so as one, as countrymen who depend on each other not just for economic security but for the right to exist upon this land.
This begins with treating each other with respect and looking at ourselves as equals in mind, spirit and dignity. It begins with once again talking to our neighbours and slowing down to help those in need. It begins with not looking at the externals and instead at the character of the other person and at the accomplishments and merits he has given his precious time to attain. It begins by recognising that we as Malaysians depend on each other and cannot exist without each other.
In truth, this spirit of Malaysia is already manifest in little ways as we interact with each other. We see it, for instance, in the young professional who stops her car to help an elderly man who’s fallen off his bicycle. The real spirit of Malaysia has always been there, buried under the dirt and ruck of our politics and the miasma it brings forth.
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Every change begins at the root. If the people do not espouse the same values they expect the leaders to demonstrate, then we will never see things get better. A society can either define itself or be defined by people who have the audacity to call themselves leaders. If these so-called leaders will not lead by example, then the rakyat must.