Celebrating 53 while countdown begins for 20201

Monday, 30 August 2010 | Filed under Nation Building

August 31. Another year of independence as we celebrate 53 years since the British relinquished their hold on the country’s sovereignty. Those who remember those times have grown old and many have passed on. I wonder what goes on in the minds of our youths during Merdeka?

It may seem a little radical to say this but should we move on? Why cling to 53 years when we are a civilization that is about 600 years old? And now that we have added Malaysia Day to this year’s celebration the whole issue becomes just a tad confusing to those who are not in the know.

I would be keen to know what others think about this. To me it fits in with the whole concept of transformation because it signals a change of mindset and the celebration will be quite different. We won’t have to highlight the fact that we had been subjugated for over a century.

Looking ahead, I can see that the next 10 years are important because of the significance of Vision 2020, we must however look beyond that date. The current geopolitics and new trends emerging in technology are already signaling a new era of change in the way people live, learn and conduct their affairs.

Multicultural diversity a vital resource to win foreign investment

The global economic ebb and flow is creating new regions of growth that gives Malaysia a distinct advantage. What can we offer that will increase investment? Our multicultural identity has become a vital resource. And therefore it makes perfect sense to build on our strengths.

The government has put in place the direction for the country to move in order to become the economy that will raise Malaysia to a new bracket of global competitiveness.

But I truly wonder about how we are going to achieve this? There is only so much that the government can do. It is left to the rest of us to take up the charge and make the change.

While we drive around Kuala Lumpur, the feeling that we can achieve the transformation is strong. But step outside the city borders and time comes to a standstill. It doesn’t matter whether you are going north, south, east or west, the rest of the country has simply not kept pace.

Every Malaysian must step out of comfort zones and embrace change

The little townships are charming in their laid-back sense of country life but we are a small country with big plans. These are plans that cannot depend on the few in the major cities to carry through. They need the participation of every Malaysian to make it work.

This is not to say that we change the townships into concrete jungles. But the sense of progress must be there.

If you go to an advanced country in Europe the rural countryside is certainly, very different from the major cities. The rural sector operates through different rules and the people work at a different pace dictated by the industries that are more agricultural. But the use of technology and the advancement of those countries’ rural economies can be seen and felt.

This is not the case here in Malaysia.

Rural Malaysia will make or break country’s transformation

Our small towns look a little dilapidated and sad with buildings that need repairs and if you go further into the countryside the picture that you see has the idyllic rustic sense that takes us back 50 years.

The old folks seem contented to be this way while their children run off to the big cities to become the change they seek so passionately. The culture shock that these youngsters face when they come to the big cities results in an increase in social ills. The cities are growing too fast and the gap between urban and rural is getting bigger.

It is something that needs to be desperately addressed.

Certainly the government has been implementing projects to raise the quality of life of the rural heartland. Land consolidation and ownership schemes such as FELDA and FELCRA, among other programmes, were begun decades ago and they have benefitted the people.

I recall that it was in the 1970s, under the leadership of the nation’s second Prime Minister YAB Tun Abdul Razak that Malaysia made a strategic shift from rubber and tin dependence to diversify into oil palm planting. It required active participation of the rural sector and the government introduced programmes to improve infrastructure as well as develop its human resource.

But today the challenges that Malaysia faces require a different mindset. Professional management of the agricultural-based activities is needed to move the rural economy to the next level. This will enable the introduction of new technology to improve yields and introduce new farming techniques.

But more than that a mega approach akin to the building of a super structure is needed to uplift the entire rural heartland. We cannot address rural issues with solutions that are fragmented.

Bringing Malaysia into the 21st century

I feel what is missing is an overarching plan that points the country in the direction it must go. By this I do not refer to the five-year development plans that keep the various Ministries and government departments occupied on short-term outcomes.

This is a plan that this country has never had. It should have been envisioned at the same time the country received its independence. It would have overcome a number of the socio-economic problems that we are facing today.

Many of the world’s most successful countries developed such overarching plans and these have helped them to stay focused, in spite of changing global circumstances.

Still it is not too late. We can still gather the best thinkers in the country irrespective of colour, race and creed and speak without fear or favour to prepare this country for a future where everyone is guaranteed their best shot for a better life.