THE Embassy of Malaysia commemorated its National Day on August 31 with a flag-raising ceremony at the official residence of the ambassador. Ambassador Dato Abdul Malik Melvin Castelino Anthony led the rites, graced by the local Malaysian community and a host of local guests and friends of the embassy. The…
The recent turn into this new year was especially poignant because we passed 2020; I vividly remember when Mahathir launched Vision 2020 back in 1991 and the sense of bravado it fuelled at the time when our economy was growing at 8% to 10%, and apparently only 7% was needed to get us to developed-nation GDP per capita by 2020. Vision 2020 wasn’t just about the economy, it also envisioned a “united” Malaysian nation or a bangsa Malaysia by then. We achieved neither and, sadly, our politics has become so dysfunctional it is hard to imagine how we can turn things around.
To get straight to my main point: I am of the view that Malaysia needs a system reset or nationhood recalibration. I just don’t think you can deal with social cohesion on its own, it is too intertwined with our politics and economics. Even the most harmless reform idea is quickly racialised and sometimes translated in religious and economic terms. It then becomes a political challenge and it has been a lo