LETTER | It has been more than 16 months since the historic GE14 which led to the first-ever change of government in Malaysia. I would have imagined the large majority of Malaysians would have been very optimistic and hopeful that, finally, things would improve or at least, won’t stay stagnant, or God forbid, get worse.
For me personally, it was such an enriching experience to be able to witness the peaceful transition of power, albeit some uncertainty and disbelief that there will be a new government in place. I was definitely one of the many who had very high expectations of the new Pakatan Harapan government.
Fast forward 16 months, it really has been quite the contrary. I find myself no longer interested in Malaysia politics, as the general consensus that things are relatively still the same, just a different name to the party administrating leadership to the country.
While for the first 12 months or so, we can accept to a varying degree that the team is new to the job, but there is only so much of patience we, loyal, normal Malaysians can afford to have. And I believe, many Malaysians are as (quietly) frustrated as I am.
At things stand now, there appears to be no cohesiveness between all the coalition parties in Harapan. Decisions made appear to have not been consulted between all the parties before it is being announced to the public (the sore thumb sticking up being the khat issue). All politicians must realise this.
The general public does not know what happens between closed-door meetings, high-powered discussions or four days/three nights "Lawatan Sambil Belajar' trips overseas. All we do care is when any decision is made, it must be thought through, done through proper consensus and most importantly, communicated well to the public and of course, being able to answer one or two difficult questions to justify your decision.
Sadly, this has not been done and many of these decisions made or announced appear to invite more questions than answers. And a key point to note for all Harapan ministers (and I hope this is re-read again for clarity and thinking in perspective) - if any decision made by the government can be questioned with logic and facts by the former ministers (from the previous government who lost a general election for the first time in history), that is a true and clear signal to re-evaluate some of the decisions made and whether they were made for the benefit of the rakyat.
The nation is still as divided as ever, and yet, our leaders are not standing up to show and provide genuine leadership to address the "elephant in the room". Yes, we will never find the ideal, perfect solution in such a multiethnic, multireligious society like Malaysia but there must be a common theme of unity amongst all Malaysians to sincerely unite for the sake of the country, the sake of our children and the sake of our children’s future.
What I may say next could be deemed controversial or probably, difficult to achieve. To have any chance to be united, to be true Malaysians, to think "we" instead of "me", our children need to go to school together. Children who play together, stay together.
During my school days when we play "police and thief", galah panjang or football, we chose our teammates based on how good he/she was or how fast he/she could run. It never crossed our minds that whether our teammate was Malay, Chinese or Indian.
To move forward, we must also think like that.
Let’s think about it, Malaysia. Let’s do something about it, Malaysians!
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.