A familiar Christmas song that we hear in shopping malls and many homes goes like this: All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, My two front teeth. See my two front teeth. Gee, if I could only have my two front teeth. Then I could wish you, "Merry Christmas".
Today, I asked myself, “What do I want for Malaysia as a citizen of this nation?” These words leapt out: Truth, Justice, Righteousness and Peace. I believe if there is truth, justice and righteousness, the people of Malaysia will rejoice. This will then be the catalyst and momentum towards becoming ONE nation, ONE people, ONE goal.
Fellow Malaysians, we cannot deny that our nation has become known internationally for many negative things. As we see our beloved nation going down a slippery slope in many aspects (integrity, economy, moral), we wonder if there is hope. The fact remains - We cannot undo that which has been done or said poorly or wrongly. The errors that our leaders made have caused much loss and pain to the nation. Our ringgit has fallen drastically. Our economy has been hit real hard. Our people have suffered much these recent years. But that is not the end of the world. Quoting Sir Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister who led Britain to victory in the Second World War, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
The failures that we have experienced individually, nationally and internationally are not fatal. Together, we can choose to do something to prevent the decline and put our nation on the right course again. All of us have our individual shortcomings and strength as well. Where we have failed, let us all endeavour to be real and humble enough to admit our shortcomings and failures. We must be courageous enough to apologise and make changes. Let us all tap into our individual strengths, unite and come together to restore our nation.
As ordinary citizens, we may not be in positions of authority to make significant changes or contributions. However, I believe we can still do something as individuals or as communities. We can choose integrity in all that we say or do. We can be kind to one another. We can choose to be tolerant and understanding in areas that we have yet to fully understand. We can choose to see the positive traits and talents in our potpourri of people. We can choose love over hatred and suspicion. In this way, we will learn trust, respect and honour. What we can do may seem to be a drop in the ocean. However, let us remember: Little drops can make the mighty ocean.
As for all those in various levels of authority, be humble to acknowledge the failures that you see. Be bold to work together to correct that which has gone wrong. Then with the right footing of truth and courage in place, you can strategise together to make Malaysia strong again.
I believe all of us, regardless of our colour, creed or status, want to see Malaysia progress and become a developed nation. Do we have the courage to continue till we see this happen?
Mei Wong | 01 Oct 2022
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