First, the straight talk

Written by R B Bhattacharjee

Tuesday, 14 July 2009 00:16

LAST Friday, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah gave a refreshingly frank speech about the state of the nation that would have struck a chord with Malaysians who are not afraid to face the truth. In essence, the veteran Umno leader — who was once a hair’s breadth away from becoming prime minister — hit home the message that the country has dug itself into a deep pit, and needs to summon all its wits to make its way out.

Firstly, anyone who wants the country to succeed would have thanked the Kelantan prince for playing his part as the elder statesman. In his wide-ranging talk to public relations consultants in Kuala Lumpur, Ku Li roamed the current political terrain, excoriating the government’s record on everything from broken election promises to half-hearted policy implementation to corruption and stalled reforms. In short, it was an unembellished description of a spade that no one would expect the people in power to endorse.

Nevertheless, such plain speaking is almost standard fare in the coffee shops of cyberspace, if not usually as articulately expressed. Unsurprisingly, however, the average person does not often get leaders in the ruling coalition to acknowledge that the nation’s affairs have taken a seriously worrying turn of late. But the number of people who are still in denial about the risks that lie ahead appear to make up a shrinking group these days.

The upshot of Ku Li's evocative sketch of a nation in trouble is that cosmetic solutions just won't wash anymore. He questions, on behalf of the rest of us, the inconsistency between the latest nice-sounding slogans that are bandied about with the unpalatable constitutional crisis in Perak, the "stench of corruption" in the PKFZ project, and the reports of declining media freedom.

"What do we make of cynical political plays on racial unity against assurances that national unity is the priority?" he pointedly asks.

These are hard questions that have not been satisfactorily answered until now. But they cannot be postponed endlessly without bearing a cost for our society. And they need to be confronted today rather than tomorrow.

Undeniably, the current divisions in our society that have been institutionalised as the politics of race and religion are a fundamental obstacle to the future welfare of the country. This is the dilemma that the powers-that-be need to recognise and therefore reform.

It is not going to be easy for Malaysia's current gentry to acknowledge that the times have moved ahead of them, but unless they do, we will continue to be plied with band-aid solutions to systemic problems that will be no match for the economic, social and political crises that threaten to drain us of our entrepreneurial drive.

For the nation to revitalise itself, an honest acknowledgment of where we stand is an essential first step. Dare we hope that Ku Li's message is not lost on those at the helm?

Mature leadership needed< Prev		Next >Robert Tan should raise offer for GBH

Last Updated on Tuesday, 14 July 2009 00:17

Comments

0 #1 SJ Tan 2009-07-16 07:16 "For the nation to revitalise itself, an honest acknowledgment of where we stand is an essential first step. Dare we hope that Ku Li's message is not lost on those at the helm? "

Including those who want to be at the helm…

Refresh comments list

Sorry, you cannot post a comment unless you are a registered user.

JComments

Categories

Comments

Other Publications & Pullouts