THE CICAK.com

A call to Malaysian youth

By TEE SUI SENG

If you take the time to trawl through our very own “blog-tal” (www.petalingstreet.org), you would certainly stumble across many rants and raves about various issues affecting Malaysians.

Blogs have blossomed, replacing tattered old diaries, and one of the most popular subjects seems to be the state of the nation. This phenomenon has become so popular even MP’s have jumped on the bandwagon, although any MP that has time to blog is probably not spending enough time in his constituency, but that’s just being cynical.

From the effects of the petrol price hikes on the cost of teh tarik to downright serious observations on the independence of the judiciary, nothing seems to have escaped the attention of everyday Malaysians. And since staid and somber people are more prone to be irritated, this writer spends a fair few hours everyday trawling through their articles looking for bones to pick. After leaving many anonymous comments and feeling smug about himself, this writer has noticed that a fair few of these political commentaries come from writers/groups of writers who have had/are still pursuing an
overseas education.

So what, one might ask…

Well, it just begs the question of what our rakyat, especially the younger generation, are doing at home. All through our school years we have heard the oft-repeated phrase that we will one day be “tunggak negara (the foundation of the country)” and “pemimpin berkaliber masa depan (our future leaders),” but why has this enthusiasm apparently waned? Could it be that they are aspiring to be the next AF/Malaysian Idol/Mentor/goodness-knows-what reality TV programme star? Or too busy sending SMS’s for their AF/Malaysian Idol/Mentor contestant?

Before we get too carried away attacking Mawi and co., let’s take time to look at the other side of the coin. It could very well be that it is the youths educated abroad who are stealing the limelight. By producing articles on the country against a yardstick of a more international and global nature, there is the very real possibility that these writers may be taking centre stage, simply because the style of the piece seems more contemporary and worldly-wise.

Therein lies the rub. We get a generation of youths expounding upon the supposed virtues of the country/countries they have been educated in, firmly believing that adopting these “international” standards would automatically make Malaysia on par with these nations. Instead of dissecting issues and finding solutions, they prescribe a one-size-fits-all cure; all in the name of “development.”

So we get a barrage of ideals: of “democracy,” “freedom of expression and speech,” “autonomy of the media” and “the right to demonstrate,” all being preached as if they will be the saviour of the nation.

There is no doubting that these qualities could be ones to aspire to, and are definitely the attributes of established nations like the United Kingdom and the United States. But just because it works somewhere else does not mean that they will work at home. And this acceptance and adulation of all qualities foreign could be called the “beban luar negara (foreign burden).”

Just like the “beban (burden)” of old days, where the colonial masters would feel the “need” to clothe and put shoes on the bare feet of the natives of a new land and presume an onset of “civilisation” to the colony. It was felt that there was an obligation to educate and reform the minds of such “savages,” and we are only too familiar with faded pictures of kampung people in top hats and tails, assuming such measures would bring them closer to their supposed “ideals.”

See the similarity? Top hats and tails take the guise of “basic rights” these days, the same ones we so often hear being thrown about in many of our blogs these days.

The modern-day version of the “beban” has now come in the form of the ideals aforementioned, gleaned from nations abroad and plastered as the panacea to all that ails the nation today. It is this that is worrisome, a lack of understanding of the intricacies of Malaysia coupled with the obvious benefits displayed in the policies of more developed countries.

Modern-day Malaysia has no parallel. Her politics are complicated, yet almost pedantic. No Lefts, Rights, Liberals, Republicans or Democrats. Just Barisan Nasional and the Opposition (a variable entity, willing bedfellows as long as they smell a chance to topple B.N.) Her society is passionate yet forgetful: a huge public outcry on snatch-thefts fizzles out in a month-long campaign of snazzy TV ads - problem solved! Her people are simple yet demanding: we crave economic growth, but not at the expense of a rise in prices of our favourite roti canai.

Hoping for an elegant parliamentary session with debates centred around the suave oratory skills of Mr. Blair?

Sorry, this is Malaysia. Name-calling and derogatory remarks are a mainstay, intellectual discourse is optional. And the biggest irony is, it works. It may not be brilliant, but it would take a very stubborn fool to deny the progress we have savoured in the past four decades.

But no, this piece will not deteriorate into a conspiracy theory about neo-colonialism or how the West is trying to invade us once again. Nor would it be one slamming the local education system or those with overseas education. Treat this as a piece from someone who feels that we have much to learn from more developed nations, but the end-product would definitely have to be something uniquely “Made in Malaysia.”

Treat this as a call-to-arms for all youths, from abroad and from back home to come together and pick the best out of all that we have experienced. There are a number of very eloquent bloggers who are based back home, and surely a site like this one can benefit much from collaborating with our anak-anak watan.

Similarly, the editorial teams of sites such as theCICAK or Tinkosong.com, which boast of alma maters which reflect every good student’s wet dream, can offer an insight on how life is like once the plane leaves K.L.I.A. But it takes a mix of the best of these two worlds to come up with a solution for the troubled toddler that is Malaysia. And let’s not be in denial. We do indeed have quite a few of these troubles to solve.

So to all students feeling smug about their “ang-moh” education, get off your high horse, throw away your self-inflicted “beban” and get down to the ground. The average Malaysian is not educated at Harvard/Oxford/Stanford, nor does he reside in San Francisco/London. To all those at home, stop feeling indifferent and helpless; if the people at home don’t care, who will?

This is a good time for the country. Discourse is rife, opinions are in abundance. We need personalities who have heads in the clouds, yet feet firmly on the ground. Moderation is overrated, ambition is not a sin. Go on, dream. Be creative, think outside the box, heck, don’t even believe that there is a box in the first place! But always take a good, hard look at yourself first, and ensure that your ideals are for the benefit of the majority. And then we will, hopefully, be able to live up to all that we aspire to be.
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TEE SUI SENG is a contributing writer for theCICAK.

Sui Seng is an undergraduate at Cambridge University and is very optimistic about Malaysia, although he doesn’t know why sometimes. He believes there’s no city better than Klang, and sees it as a premier tourist destination in the very near future.