Malaysia’s conspicuous absence in two lists –Apolitical’s 100 most influential people in Climate Policy 2022/2023 and TIME magazine 100 most influential climate leaders in Business for 2023 – are indications that the country is not sufficiently reversing course in the national decline in the last quarter of a century to rise up again as a great world-class nation.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) of PAS and Bersatu were confident that the “Green Wave” that both parties triggered in the 15th General Election in November last year would have the momentum to topple the Anwar Ibrahim unity government by latest in the six state general elections in August this year, but the “Green Wave” petered out despite demonstrating in the recent Kemaman parliamentary by-election that it is a strong factor and cannot be taken lightly.
PAS would not have fielded the Terengganu Mentri Besar, Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and touted him as a possible future Prime Minister if UMNO had not fielded a very strong candidate in the by-election.
But the question that must bugged thinking Malaysians must by why Malaysians are not sufficiently focused on the country regaining world-rank status or on the future.
In the first year of the Anwar unity government, no PAS or Bersatu leader spoke of the need for Malaysia to rise up again and be a world-class nation, or spoke on the subjects which are the concerns of the thinkers of the future – AI, digital technology, climate change and space.
Instead, PN leaders forced Malaysians to be obsessed with the “2R” issues of race and religion and inadvertently exposed the shocking decline in educational quality and standards with a PAS Member of Parliament with PhD qualifications showing herself to be totally “media illiterate” and cannot distinguish between truth and lies, or facts from fake news.
There is a serious unemployment rate among Malaysian PhD scholars and clearly one solution is for them to become PAS MPs.
But unless the nation’s leaders are capable to apply their minds on how Malaysia can rise up again to be a world-class nation, and also think and plan for the future (say when Malaysia marks its centennial in four decades) Malaysia may be doomed to become a divided, failed and kleptocratic state
But this need not be Malaysia’s destiny.
The Sultan of Selangor said in an interview that Malaysia is a melting pot of various cultures that has been preserved since Independence, and that the country must continue to defend its multi-cultural values and background which remains one of the strengths that unite country.
The Sultan of Selangor said there are no pendatangs in Malaysia as the Malay
Rulers have accepted all, including the non-Malays, as citizens.
The Sultan of Selangor is right.
There is no reason why Malaysia cannot be a role model to the world in inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony.