Read an interesting 'prayer' in Suddenly Senior' today. This is how it goes :
The Senility Prayer
God grant me the senility
to forget the people I never liked anyway,
the good fortune to run into the ones I do,
and the eyesight to tell the difference!
I realised how true it was even though the author might have written it with humour in mind.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
Unity In Diversity
I have always stated that our country's future lies in the ability of its citizens to respect one another's difference. We are a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious society. We have understood this and so did our founding fathers who prepared the Constitution to uphold the delicate mixture that exists in this beautiful country of ours. Of late, certain elements are trying to undermine this very foundation thereby creating an atmosphere of suspicion, distrust and hatred among the various races. Because of this situation, most of the speeches made by public figures go in one ear and come out the other. I have no more faith in our political leaders.
When I read the article on the keynote address by the Prince of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah at the Young Malaysians' Roundtable Discussion on National Unity and Development in Malaysia : Prospects and Challenges for Nation-Building, it was so refreshing! Coming from the royalty and of such a high rank, it really was what this country needs at this juncture. I hope all our politicians took note of his speech. This man is speaking from his heart for the good of this nation. Sit up and take heed.
In his speech he said, "In the case of Malaysia, nation building has occurred in generally peaceful circumstances. It was not imposed by another country. And it is undertaken mainly by collective choice rather than compulsion. The fact that we have been able to forge a nation without resorting to the rule of the gun has made us something of a rarity and a case to be studied, if not emulated. It has allowed a relatively effective system of governance to develop. Our track record at development and resolving problems such as illiteracy, poverty and poor health has been good."
This is in recognition that all races were involved in the development of this country.
He also said, " First, Malaysians of all races, religions, and geographic locations need to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have a place under the Malaysian sun. Only when each citizen believes that he or she has a common home and is working towards a common destiny, will he or she make the sacrifices needed for the long haul. In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution, the Rukun Negara and Vision 2020 encapsulate the rights, hopes and aspirations of the population in a way that no other documents do. The integrity of these documents must be defended and promoted, especially the first."
How very true! We will know if we are defending the Constitution in the near future! (The Federal Court has fixed May 14 to hear R. Subashini's application for leave to appeal against a decision ordering her to bring her divorce and custody claims to the Syariah Court. For the uninformed : Subashini is a Hindu whose husband converted to Islam without telling her. The Syariah Court is a religious court for the muslims.)
Strangely though, not many of our top political leaders had anything to say about his views on nation building. There were many comments from non-muslim groups, NGO's and a few bloggers, praising his stand on the importance of the Constitution. I waited a few days to post on my blog as I was hoping there would be some favourable comments from the top leadership but I didn't read or hear anything from them in the papers or the news. I guess they don't have time for such trivial stuff as National Unity!
As long as there are people like Prince Raja Nazrin, there is still hope for this land. The full text of his keynote address can be found at thestar online.
When I read the article on the keynote address by the Prince of Perak Raja Nazrin Shah at the Young Malaysians' Roundtable Discussion on National Unity and Development in Malaysia : Prospects and Challenges for Nation-Building, it was so refreshing! Coming from the royalty and of such a high rank, it really was what this country needs at this juncture. I hope all our politicians took note of his speech. This man is speaking from his heart for the good of this nation. Sit up and take heed.
In his speech he said, "In the case of Malaysia, nation building has occurred in generally peaceful circumstances. It was not imposed by another country. And it is undertaken mainly by collective choice rather than compulsion. The fact that we have been able to forge a nation without resorting to the rule of the gun has made us something of a rarity and a case to be studied, if not emulated. It has allowed a relatively effective system of governance to develop. Our track record at development and resolving problems such as illiteracy, poverty and poor health has been good."
This is in recognition that all races were involved in the development of this country.
He also said, " First, Malaysians of all races, religions, and geographic locations need to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have a place under the Malaysian sun. Only when each citizen believes that he or she has a common home and is working towards a common destiny, will he or she make the sacrifices needed for the long haul. In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution, the Rukun Negara and Vision 2020 encapsulate the rights, hopes and aspirations of the population in a way that no other documents do. The integrity of these documents must be defended and promoted, especially the first."
How very true! We will know if we are defending the Constitution in the near future! (The Federal Court has fixed May 14 to hear R. Subashini's application for leave to appeal against a decision ordering her to bring her divorce and custody claims to the Syariah Court. For the uninformed : Subashini is a Hindu whose husband converted to Islam without telling her. The Syariah Court is a religious court for the muslims.)
Strangely though, not many of our top political leaders had anything to say about his views on nation building. There were many comments from non-muslim groups, NGO's and a few bloggers, praising his stand on the importance of the Constitution. I waited a few days to post on my blog as I was hoping there would be some favourable comments from the top leadership but I didn't read or hear anything from them in the papers or the news. I guess they don't have time for such trivial stuff as National Unity!
As long as there are people like Prince Raja Nazrin, there is still hope for this land. The full text of his keynote address can be found at thestar online.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Barbarians At The Gate
Recently our government has opened up an area in the State of Johor, south of the Malayan Peninsular called the Iskandar Development Region to help boost our struggling economy. To get foreign investors to participate, the Prime Minister unveiled incentives and also announced the relaxation of certain rules that were considered the stumbling blocks. The main one is the removal of the requirement for the foreign businessmen to set aside 30% interest in their business for local Malay business partners.
This is of course common thing to us Malaysians as it is spelt out clearly under the NEP (New Economic Policy). Initially the 30% was meant to be the guideline, which later was abused until it became not less than 30%! Until today if this matter is brought up by the non-Malays, it is considered a threat to their rights and some people will unsheath their kriss and wave it in the air and threaten blood shed!
The reason for the special rights of the Malays is to correct the economic imbalance among the races especially between the Chinese and the Malays. The NEP was launched in 1971 by Tun Abdul Razak who was the Prime Minister at that time. The NEP ended in 1990. It is now 2007! Isn't it time to do away with this racial policy? This is the Malaysian political scene. The crutch is very difficult to throw away even when you can walk without it! Such is the subsidy mentality.
The Strange thing about the Iskandar Development Region is that the government is willing to forego the 30% for the Malay businessmen just to attract the foreigners!
"The opening up of the Iskandar Development Region to foreigners should not be seen as a threat to the Malays." says Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin. He also said that Malays should take up the challenge to compete against foreign companies. Why is it there is so much confidence when it comes to foreigners but not with the local businessmen?
If the government is really sincere about the matter, the 30% requirement should be abolished throughout the land on all matters and level the playing field for all Malaysians. We should first try it in the local arena before we give the opportunity to foreigners. We are already inundated with illegal Indonesians who seem to get better treatment here than they get back home! There is a Malay saying, "Kera di hutan disusukan, anak mati kelaparan!" It means feed your children first before you take care of the monkeys in the forest.
This is of course common thing to us Malaysians as it is spelt out clearly under the NEP (New Economic Policy). Initially the 30% was meant to be the guideline, which later was abused until it became not less than 30%! Until today if this matter is brought up by the non-Malays, it is considered a threat to their rights and some people will unsheath their kriss and wave it in the air and threaten blood shed!
The reason for the special rights of the Malays is to correct the economic imbalance among the races especially between the Chinese and the Malays. The NEP was launched in 1971 by Tun Abdul Razak who was the Prime Minister at that time. The NEP ended in 1990. It is now 2007! Isn't it time to do away with this racial policy? This is the Malaysian political scene. The crutch is very difficult to throw away even when you can walk without it! Such is the subsidy mentality.
The Strange thing about the Iskandar Development Region is that the government is willing to forego the 30% for the Malay businessmen just to attract the foreigners!
"The opening up of the Iskandar Development Region to foreigners should not be seen as a threat to the Malays." says Entrepreneurial and Cooperative Development Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin. He also said that Malays should take up the challenge to compete against foreign companies. Why is it there is so much confidence when it comes to foreigners but not with the local businessmen?
If the government is really sincere about the matter, the 30% requirement should be abolished throughout the land on all matters and level the playing field for all Malaysians. We should first try it in the local arena before we give the opportunity to foreigners. We are already inundated with illegal Indonesians who seem to get better treatment here than they get back home! There is a Malay saying, "Kera di hutan disusukan, anak mati kelaparan!" It means feed your children first before you take care of the monkeys in the forest.
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