We all want Malaysia to prosper, enjoy peace and stability in our current world of upheavals – be it floods, earthquakes, wars and riots. We do not want to destabilize what our leaders have unitedly built post Covid. And how can we do that? Or how do we unconsciously unravel the threads of stability in our economy or society?
Recently the bugs of protests and boycotts seem to have bitten many in our nation. Everything becomes a sensitive issue. A word innocently spoken can easily be taken out of context and cause tempers to flare. An action with good intention can also be taken wrongly. And the problem? I would say it is due to misguided good Intentions and above it, many protests often are not accompanied by good or feasible solutions.
Many in our country are angry over many things – things that have not been done ‘properly’, things that are not politically correct or promises yet to be honored. In such situations, opinions quickly flood our social media, stirring up greater hatred, anger and division. Due to misguided ‘good’ intentions or half- truths, many end up in wrong focus. The good intention of raising our national flag becomes unforgivable just because it is not put up correctly. Instead of standing together and correcting the mistake, the issue gets blown out of proportion. Cheah's dispute with the Paralympic Council of Malaysia (PCM) over athletes' rewards resulted in talks of a ban. The hard work and good intention of promoting tourism is simply overshadowed by beer glasses seen in a dinner after the official function.
This is the sad moral downward spiral of Malaysia as a nation. We have become a people who are easily agitated and offended. We have lost trust in others who are different from us – be it the skin colour, beliefs or preferences. We are unteachable to corrections and very impatient for results, always fuming when things are slow in coming. With such an outlook, we are actually unraveling the threads of our national unity and also denying ourselves of our Malaysian blessings.
What if we choose to celebrate our differences and use them to strengthen our nation? Our Malaysian sportsmen and women have been bringing glory to our nation. Our badminton players, Pearly Tan and M. Thinnah are a proof of strength and unity that transcends skin colours. Malaysia’s mixed doubles aces Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei split in March 2025 due to strained relationships after the Paris Olympics. However, less than a month later, they reunited. They refocused, fought together for the sake of Malaysia and they earned the honour of being champions! Other than badminton, Malaysia has also gained recognition in various other sports. In August, Tan Cheong Min secured the first gold in wushu for Malaysia at the World Games. The team came back with 5 gold, one silver and two bronze medals! Our para-athletes have also added to our nation’s pride in the area of badminton, powerlifting and athletics. Recently, Datuk Abdul Latif Romly broke the world record and presented Malaysia with a gold medal in long jump. These sportsmen and women are proud representatives of Malaysia – a great land of diversity. And we have much to learn from them.
So, fellow Malaysians, let us put Malaysia first in all our representations – in our Parliament, our judiciary, businesses, schools and institutes of learning, our sports, our actions and speech. Together, we make Malaysia stronger and greater!
Oct 2025
Mei Wong (mwrejoice@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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