I've always dreamed of Malaysia to change. For the better, of course. Some would say, "Hey, we are a rich country, and we have lots of developments et cetera et cetera et cetera, we should be grateful that Malaysia is a peaceful country. Don't be an ungrateful and forgetful Malaysian."
For you, maybe. Perhaps you have good food, nice shelter, live in the city, never been robbed.
To me, how many of us are actually rich? There are still many poor citizens who can hardly get a decent meal each day. I'm not sure how true this is, but it is said that in the time of Caliph Umar Abdul Aziz, not one person was poor enough to be entitled for the zakat money. And his sovereignty wasn't even remotely as small as Malaysia. Living in the world today makes me wonder how on earth was that even possible?! I don't know how he made that happened, but looking at the rate Malaysia is going, such a thing won't happen anytime soon. And the way the media keep telling us again and again that we are doing great, I pity my poor countrymen who barely make ends meet each day.
I'm from Terengganu, east coast of the peninsular. For those who don't know, the state of Terengganu was entitled for 5% oil royalty per year, and that amounts to RM 600 million in the old days and about RM 1 billion today, if I didn't get my fact wrong. Yet, among 13 states we have in Malaysia, Terengganu is still one of the poorest states. How does that make any sense? I definitely don't see where all the money flowed to. Development? None worth mentioning. On top of that, I cannot comprehend why that there are still poor and needy people in this state. It just makes me feels sad.
Malaysia is a peaceful country? We are not at war, granted, but how safe is it to be walking alone at night? My mother once decided to come and live in Kuala Lumpur. She already bought a land to build a house. After too many news of murders and robberies, she totally cancelled it. And why do you think they have security guards for apartments and neighborhood watch in your neighborhood? It's so that you can sleep better at night.
I'm not being ungrateful, and I don't forget people's kindness. If you should earn 100 and I only gave you 50, how grateful would you be to me? Unless you are not aware that you should be getting 100. And why are we comparing our country with the countries that are at war, and countries that have no natural resources? It's like hey, at least you didn't get the last place. You got 2nd last, so please be grateful. Given the resources and geographical stability that we have, Malaysia is supposed to be at the peak of the world. Yet we are only at the middle. What is wrong?
2 comments:
Here's my take:
1. Talking about problems is one thing, talking about solutions is another; we know some of our fellow countrymen are poor - what do we want for them? More money/food handed out to them? More jobs creation? More education? More knowledge-based jobs instead of manufacturing?
2. We talk about receiving more, are prepared to give more? There is a study pointing out the correlation between higher tax (the mark of a welfare state) to a considerable poverty reduction. The people of Netherlands once unanimously voted for higher taxes, and we know Europe provides some of the best services to its people today. Our people are still complaining about the higher petrol price we have to pay, or the amount of tax we pay - I'm not sure how far are we getting with this mindset.
3. Speaking of being rich; what is our rich indicators? Our GDP? Export value? Or happiness and social well-being?
If being rich means more earning and more consumption, then I think we are not far from following the footsteps of developing country - most of us are spending beyond our means now.
But is that where we're heading to?
I hope that every family in Malaysia will be able to live independently. That's the objective. How to achieve that? That would be another long story.
There are too many white elephant projects which means that money are not being spent wisely. I don't mind paying taxes if the money are spent wisely. If the governing authorities are showing good examples of how they're spending the tax payers' money, I'm sure Malaysians would be glad to pay the tax. Unlike other countries, even without increasing the tax, i think Malaysia has enough resources to sustain the people, at least the poor people.
My 1st phase indicator would be 'no poor people'
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