COMMENT: There was a time when Malaysia was known as a nation which had an unquestionable sense of unity and harmony among its people, an outcome of a bloodless progression from her independence to economic advancement.
What was unquestionable then is now being questioned. Why? Just think of the malaise caused by political affiliations, greed for power, disillusionment of racial inequality, racial tension and discrimination. The list goes on.
How often do we hear this: “The country has gone to the dogs.’
It’s with deep distress that many feel that our past efforts and those of the generations before us have been futile in achieving an exemplary multi-racial nation with tolerance and harmony as its hallmarks.
The examples of these were almost endless but day by day, such achievements seem to be forgotten and it may seem these achievements’ might never be seen and heard of again.
Is there hope yet for our beloved nation? The answer is yes, as the future stands as an effect of every decision of its makers made or applied today.
As 2015 comes to a close, former de facto law minister Zaid Ibrahim makes no wish to celebrate or make any life-changing resolution, except to tell a story about how wonderful Sarawak is.
“That sense of Malaysia is retained in daily life Sarawak. I would say that Sarawak is the place to be in the future when Peninsular Malaysia burns through its own folly
“If anyone wanted to escape the tyranny of Putrajaya, moving to Sarawak would be a walk in the park by comparison,” he said.
In his latest posting on his blog, Zaidgeist, he said he sees similarity between Syria and Malaya. Syria is in the throes of a civil war that has taken the lives of more than 200,000 people.
The feuding parties, the Sunnis and the Shiites, just don’t know when to stop and seem to hate each other more every day. They call in allies, leading to a massive escalation of conflict that could bring Middle Eastern countries, including Turkey, into full-scale war.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have crossed the desert and the seas, suffering the loss of their loved ones in the process - all to escape tyranny and violence.
“I feel it’s prudent for us to stay away from Peninsular Malays who are always looking for a fight. They want to fight Christians, liberals and those selling smart phones. Perkasa wants the group of pensioners who call themselves G25 to be classified as “deviants”.
“Sarawak will provide some kind of protection from the madness found in the Peninsula.
“In Sarawak, Malaysians will be quite safe from racist thugs whose idea of “jihad” is to fight over shopping malls and enforce khalwat laws.
“In short, Sarawakian leaders can provide us with some relief from the toxic and deleterious politics of Putrajaya,” Zaid stressed.
People emigrate when situations become unbearable. They do it because they want to give a new and better life to their children and grandchildren.
The worst that can happen to any family is when a country breaks up and violence rears its head; when everything that constitutes law and order is dictated by one man.
Zaid said that “Sarawak is potentially the best place to be if one wants to escape the misfortune that will sweep Peninsular Malaysia in the years to come. The school system and even public administration will be better with the use of English — when your English is good, you tend to know more about the world.”
“The Islamisation of the state will be impossible because Umno is not in play there, and Malays in Sarawak will be safe without Umno.
“The current chief minister is a practical man who is concerned about poverty and who has made some sensible decisions for the people. Only recently (on Dec 21), he challenged the media to help expose corruption and injustice in society.
“I know its election period but you will never hear that kind of thing from Putrajaya. In Putrajaya they talk about race, religion, conspiracies, ‘enemies from within’ and nothing else.
“In Peninsular Malaysia, we can all hope and wish that things were different, but nothing will be the same again” he lamented.
He said that Malaysians can wish that Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stays away from us but we are breeding them by providing the same philosophy in our schools and religious institutions that the madmen in Syria do.
“Our political leaders and highly-paid preachers sound like Taliban leaders and the self-styled ISIS “caliph” Abu Bakar Al Bagdadi, so how can we expect a different outcome?”
He said that it would only be hope, in the New Year, to see Ali Tinju not hogging the headlines and that the recent fight in Kota Raya was not a prelude to something more serious.
“We can pray that Federal Court judges become fearless and independent; the police become a professional law enforcement agency; the Resolution of the European Parliament with respect to 1MDB and human rights abuses in Malaysia, amongst other things; will be taken seriously by Putrajaya and that politicians will take heed of what world leaders think.”
But seriously, no such thing will happen, Zaid added as a matter-of-fact.-The Ant Daily
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