It was not until lately that I realise there are actually many young, budding patriots existing in our society. Some are my friends, some are acquaintances, and some are just strangers. But they all carry the same hearts, the same thoughts and the same mission to contribute and to save our beloved nation.
We, the 20-year-olds, have come to an important juncture in our lives. Either we are highly educated or we aren’t; either we are doing great in lives or we aren’t, we all share the same responsibility and the same task — we have to play a part in nation-building, sooner or later.
Or, at least these are what we have been told all this while.
What appears to me is otherwise.
The government has no intention to take you in. They will forbid you, rather than giving you the chance to contribute towards the progress and advancement of the nation. Of course, people will say, things have changed. We have the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Talentcorp. The government is now ready to bring back the talents who have reluctantly bid goodbye to their homeland, which has forsaken them long time ago. Our leaders are serious in transforming our country.
And yet we hear some radical racists and disrespectful remarks are made, from time to time. The mind and the body do not move at the same pace. We boast to the world about our multiracial and multicultural heritage, yet every race is singing a different tune.
I still remember when I was 17, I was a young writer and full of ambitious ideas for the country. I penned the dissatisfaction and the anger on newspapers like Sinchew Daily and Malaysiakini. It used to be my dream to voice out through the power of words. From here as well, I have made friends with many people with the same aim and the same hope.
What we want is just a better future for the country.
And it wasn’t long that I realised, voicing out through words, is a dangerous act in the country. As quoted by a famous columnist, “Being a journalist in Malaysia is like being a performer in the circus, who is walking on a tightrope. If you are not careful enough, you will fall into pieces.”
Soon, I heard about the empowerment of the youth. I took part in Malaysian Student Leaders Summit (MSLS) and met many like-minded people around my age. From that event, I knew there are many out there who still decide to give our country a chance. And thus, the burning passion reignites. I interacted with the students around, exchanging ideas on how to help our country, as well as involving myself in some inspiring discourses. This brought me to join the United Kingdom and Eire Council of Malaysian Students (UKEC) in London.
We invited prominent speakers to discuss recent happenings in the country. We have held activities to raise political awareness among the students. We believe that no matter how little the significance of our efforts, we have achieved something at least — to plant the seeds of hope in the younger generation.
The positive things are done, but what are the changes?
Many may comment, we are paving the way for the next generation if we couldn’t make it this time. The effect will manifest itself in a subtle way. But after so many years, what we can observe is that we have been doing so much, but the leaders are not listening.
When the students are not going back to serve the country, we scold them because they are selfish and they betray the trust given by the taxpayers. How is it that, by pursuing self-improvement is a bad thing? Many will argue that the country needs the talents right now, to drive the nation forward. However, when we take a look carefully, famous figures like Professor Dr Danny Quah and KS Pua, the first USB flash drive inventor, if they did not leave the country and move on to pursue better lives for themselves, how can they possess the skills that our nation needs for development right now?
Plus, how much are they worth in the government’s eyes? This is an important point to ponder as well.
The age-old proverb says, “If you can’t beat them, join them”. Many political veterans, I believe, when they entered the political arena back then, had great ideas and strong spirit. Nevertheless, judging from the situation right now, many have joined the crippled system. How sure are we, that we can beat them? And when we think about Beng Hock’s sacrifice, how many of us are still so firm in changing the current system, by exchanging our families, our friends and most importantly our lives?
After so many years, we are still fighting for our rights, we are still debating about racial issues and we are still quarrelling on religious matters; a vicious cycle that we have had enough.
This is not a post to whine and to complain about the situation in the country, or to extinguish the passion and the courage put forward by the young Malaysians out there. It is just a friendly reminder for the younger generation out there, including myself, to sit down and think seriously, how can we help our nation, when all else has failed?
Not just with passion and ambition, but with real skills and actions.
Enough of optimism. Be realistic.
So, Malaysia, tell me when you are ready.
Tell me when you need me. I will definitely be back in time.
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