Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia

December 30th, 2010

We’re not just starting a new year; we’re waving a whole decade goodbye. In that vein, let’s look back at some of the stories that defined Malaysia’s decade. For 20 years we had one Prime Minister who in 2001 shocked the nation with the announcement of leaving office and since then we’ve had 2 more Prime Ministers govern within the decade and gone through the 8th and 9th Malaysian plans. The introduction of the MyKad, saw our little blue laminated IC’s put to rest, while the launch of Malaysia’s conscription training program National Service had many 17 year olds not only anxious about SPM results but also being chosen for NS training.

City traffic has become as notorious as Bangkok’s, the KL Monorail doesn’t connect to the well used LRT, SMART tunnel becomes a monsoon drain when KL floods and we’ve said goodbye to the pink minibuses, welcoming the red, blue, beige Rapid KL busses. We also have had to add to the acronyms of SPRINT, PLUS, Guthrie, DUKE and whatever else which all come with tolls and confusing signboards but thankfully we have the Touch ‘n’ Go and the SmartTAG only to zoom into a jam or a lane that has a system glitch. We’ve also started flying low-cost with FireFly, Air Asia and it’s X thanks to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). We’ve bought jet fighters, submarines, had many helicopter deaths and lost a few engines in the process.

We’ve sent a cosmonaut to the International Space Station to have a look around, while reverting back to the slow march version of the Negaraku, recognizing Malaysia day and celebrated over 50 years of independence and not so good judgment.

The International Court of Justice gave us Sipadan and Ligitan, though we lost Pulau Batu Puteh to Singapore. We’ve since been aware of disputes for Limbang and Spratly Islands. Though within our boarders, we’ve seen an influx of unskilled foreign workers to the point that now I’m not sure if Malaysians are to speak Burmese, Bengali or Khmer when ordering food or at a petrol station.

The public became more vocal, aware and took their disapproval to the streets from issues of water to teaching math’s and science in English. There was the BERSIH and HINDRAF rally and then other marches that should not have happened with a cow head.

Religious tensions have increased this decade witnessing the defacing of religious houses and an increase of apostasy cases. We’ve become more aware of fatwa, sharia law, Islam Hadhari and what words can and cannot be used to keep the peace. There was also the much talked about Imam Idol and Malaysia’s first Islamic channel TV Al-Hijrah.

From a handful of universities to colleges sprouting out ever so often in the hopes to be the education hub of Southeast Asia, though with it comes a different set of problems – culture shock for foreign students and Malaysians to militant training.

We hoped that if we closed our eyes, the stories of victims of– Canny Ong, Nurin Jazlin, Aminulrasyid Amzah, Teoh Beng Hock, Kugan Ananthan, Sosilawati might not be true.

New media, online news portals, bloggers have created awareness and also gone into hiding. We’re more aware of the Federal Constitution after March 8th; by-elections have not fazed us while ISA has become a point of contention for many.

Some of our sportsmen and women - Nicol David, Lee Chong Wei and the Malaysian football team have come out tops and brought big cheers.

We’ve added to our vocabulary buzz words, acronyms and general knowledge– BTN, corridors, statuary declarations, baby hatches, MACC, loan sharks, PEMANDU, sodomy, police brutality, ETP, GTP. Malaysia Boleh, Correct! Correct! Correct! 1 Malaysia, pendatang and learnt that Mahidol University was one of Asia’s top five universities.

The Malaysian 5 ringgit note cannot grow on trees and subsidies were reduced, increasing the price of petrol, sugar and regulated the price of the humble roti canai while prices of basic goods have skyrocketed. Though we now have to wear seatbelts even as a rear seat passenger and plastic bags may soon be banned.

Malaysian cinema boomed but we lost quite a few pioneers – Krishen Jit, Yasmin Ahmad, Tony Kasim and Loga Arumugam of Alleycats fame to name a few.

Pudu Jail torn down, Bukit Bintang Girls School torn down, too many heritage mansions torn down and talk of a mega tower – the gains don’t balance out tearing down history.

We’ve had to deal with multiple floods, landslides, bus crashes, state assembly sitting under trees, political bickering, party hopping and so much more.

Looking back it’s been an eventful decade, as a friend summed it up quoting Dickens “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. The next ten years is critical because at the end of it, we should be celebrating a vision fulfilled – 2020.

Natalie couldn’t recap everything within the world limit but hopes that we can somehow move forward maturely into the next decade. Happy New Year Malaysia!

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Sticks & Stones

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose            
theSun, Malaysia              
December 16th, 2010

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” must be high on the lie barometer. The tongue has got to be the most vicious weapon. A careless word does sting and now we know what some people think of us – thanks to Wikileaks . But is it a surprise? There’s an old saying about how if we all knew what others thought of us, there would be no two friends left in the world. Though the question remains- is this really a surprise?

On our side of the causeway, we’re told to focus on our achievements and ignore snide remarks while Singapore attempts damage control trying to cover multiple elephants with a tissue paper. In a few days or weeks, the scenario might be reversed- who’s to say? And Singapore might be the ones sending us a protest note.

I do however like the high road we’re told to take especially since we’ve fallen two spots on the Human Development Index (HDI) and now sit quite comfortably on the 57th place while our not so favourable neighbour is 30 countries ahead of us at the 27th spot in a whole different category named ‘very high human development’. So let’s focus on our achievements and not theirs.

The HDI now in its 20th year, started with the quote ‘people are the real wealth of a nation’. We in Malaysia have over 27 million people in our country according to the World Bank but for some Malaysians, it is not the number of people but their level of patriotism that ultimately matters. Perhaps the HDI should have carried out studies on patriotism just like in Malaysia to be doubly sure that the wealth is legitimate. Ironically, just last month the comment questioning the level of patriotism was met with disdain and within a month there’s been a 180 degree change citing studies and a 9% jump. How is patriotism even measured? And we wonder why our neighbours see us as simpletons.

Maybe we’re confused about patriotism because history textbooks are being meddled with . If we ourselves aren’t sure about our history, about who is responsible for what and where we’ve all come from, it’s no wonder that patriotism is being questioned.

But back to the HDI. Three new indices were included in this year’s report Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the Gender Inequality Index and the Multidimensional Poverty Index , however, Malaysia did not have the necessary data available according to the Economic Planning Unit.

In order to focus on our achievements, we need to know where we are and pan out a strategy to get us to where we are to be. If developed status is what we are after, should we not be most concerned about poverty levels in our country and gender inequality instead of patriotism levels so that we know what needs to be done for the poor and the marginalised? We are only as rich as the poorest among us.

The fundamental truth about development has to do with people, not patriotism, tall towers or how Malaysians abroad give our country a bad name. Development is about people and how well we look after them. If we care about the people and invest in the people, allow creativity and not limit talent we then head in the right direction.

On a recent trip to Johor, a friend lamented as we looked across to the other side, “Amazing how just on the other side, they got it right”. One has to wonder, why we are still playing catch up to a country that shared our history and if there is some truth in what was leaked about Malaysia. Giving credit where it is due, Singapore has done well and we only have ourselves to blame for our bad press. Instead of just focusing on our achievements, we should take this as a wake up call to stay focused on our 2020 goal and so not dwell on what has been said.

It is good to know where we stand but we cannot stop people from speaking ill of us. Retaliating never looks good. The best revenge is to be successful and we have ten years. Just ten years to achieve what we’ve set out to do.

Natalie wonders how patriotism is measured while untangling the Christmas tree lights! Merry Christmas!

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Broken Windows & Crime Rates

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia
December  2nd, 2010

“My neighbour was stabbed around 6pm, house got broken into! Be careful and alert wherever you are!” wrote a friend 2 days ago.

No, this did not happen in the UK where knife crime is rampant, it happened in affluent Bangsar, where some street have guard quarters and barrier and police make spot checks ever so often.

Everyday there is a report in the paper about someone being held at knife point, slashed or raped after a robbery. So we put our handbags and lap tops under the seat, hoping that at the next red light no one tries to smash the window to steal our belongings. Or when we reach home, no intruder slips in as we open the main gate. Security guard fees, CCTV cameras, alarm systems, chunky padlocks with safety keys add to our monthly expences. Gated communities seem a necessity and not a luxury anymore. We build taller fences, try not to go for walks and become more paranoid when carrying out everyday chores because our personal security is at risk even when we’re at home.

I dare say without a doubt crime has become an epidemic in urban areas around Malaysia. Perhaps I feel strongly because too many people have fallen victim.

There’s a saying that “hunger makes a thief of any man” but is it really hunger or is it greed in today’s context?

The Broken Window theory suggests that when a building has a few broken windows that are not repaired, there is a tendency for increased vandalism and perhaps even brake-ins. The underlying factor is that we need to care enough to prevent crime.

Zero-tolerance seems to be the answer but what do we do with the criminals? Shooting them in police raids is not the answer. Clearly there is a reason why all this crime is happening.

There is opportunity. If they are Malaysians, why are they not gainfully employed? What has the state not done and how do we rectify it? If they are foreigners, what are they in the country to do? Were they given what they were promised in the first place and does this crime supplement their wage to equal it out to what was promised? Surely our system has failed us and we need to care more as this epidemic grows.

Having more police patrols, is only a deterrent, the police are not omnipresent. Community safety is far more than preventing crime. It includes social and economic change.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs states that security is one of the most basic needs of every human being – and right now we in Malaysia don’t have that. Not only are we not safe, simple things like our cheques are intercepted in the mail and fraudulent cheques are allowed to be banked.

It has come to a stage where we feel there’s nothing that can be done because the cycle is so deeply intertwined and the whole system has failed and nothing can be done and no one seems to care enough to do something about it.

Perhaps what is needed now is for a strong community uprise to say ‘enough’ but who has the time to do all this community things?

Once your stuff has been stolen does anyone believe it will be found? Chances are unlikely. Perhaps if those in charge of fighting crime, make us believe that our broken windows are fixed, we might stand a better chance at having a safer community.

But for now, I’m not sure what we can do except to continue to be careful and alert wherever you are but that you might get stabbed at 6pm!

Natalie can’t always be alert but is often paranoid.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com