Every country wants to succeed and be a world class nation. Our country is no exception. When Malaysia was formally recognized as a nation on 16 September, 1963, we had great hopes and aspirations. Much effort was put in to develop this multi-racial nation that is blessed with much resources. And we can chart our nation’s progress in many ways till we gained the recognition of being the Asian tiger in the 1980s. However, as years went by, somewhere along that journey, we came into a plateau and then slipped downhill for various reasons. Today we see Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam overtaking us.
I recall my school days where my classmates were from different races and religions. We could mix freely, visit one another during festive seasons and have fun playing and doing things together. We enjoy dressing up in various traditional attires like the kebaya, baju kurung, cheongsam or samfu, Punjabi salwar or Indian saree in our school events. I have actually worn the baju kebaya, baju kurung, baju Kedah, cheongsam, samfu and salwar to work too as I appreciate all of them.
In December 2019, there was a letter questioning our status of being a Malaysian tiger. Then in January this year, an article entitled, Can Malaysia regain its lost Asian Tiger stripes? was featured in FMT (FreeMalaysiaToday). I believe this desire to make Malaysia a world class nation has remained in many of our hearts. After all, we do have many advantages over our neighbouring countries. The question all of us need to ask is, “Are we willing to take on the herculean task to resurrect our status as the Asian Tiger?”
A timely reminder came from our retired politician Mr Lim Kit Siang, who said: Our ultimate goal is to make Malaysia a first-rate world-class nation with world-class political, economic, educational and social system. For that to become a reality, I feel that we must all embrace our diversity, be very inclusive and always stand on the principles of our Rukun Negara which was instituted in 1970. Let us focus on that which is important and not be distracted by endless ‘squabbling’ over minor issues.
Let us all make this nation, our homeland great again. Together, we can. Malaysia Boleh!
By Mei Wong
Mei Wong 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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