By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (page 14)
May 5th, 2011theSun, Malaysia (page 14)
Where was President Obama born? That was the BIG question discussed last week on American television. Only persons born within America’s borders can hold positions of high office , hence the whole ‘birther’ debate ensued. The Apprentice big boss, Donald Trump who has implied intentions to run for president, was “so proud” and “so honoured” that his persistent prodding led to the disclosure of Obama’s birth certificate and even then, cast doubt over its authenticity. So what did the president do? Addressing the media, he chided those involved, saying “We do not have time for this kind of silliness” and made it very clear that he will not discuss this matter again, ending the press conference without taking any questions.
Indeed there were far more important matters to discuss. After all, America is involved in three wars and has one pending, part of the country was hit by tornadoes, they nearly had a shutdown, the economy hasn’t been doing too well and the soaring price of oil seems to be on their shoulders. These are serious issues, and there was the media going crazy over where the man was born.
Fast forward to this week, while the media were going berserk over the birther debate last week, one of the many things Obama had to deal with besides the White House Easter egg hunt and staff dinner was actually determining whether the administration had sufficient intelligence to bring Osama bin Laden to justice and they did. Indeed there were far more important matters to discuss than whether Obama was a natural born citizen.
On our side of the world, we’ve had our own share of silliness. Unfortunately, instead of serious issues outweighing the occasional silliness, the reality is we have taken an extended leave of our good senses.
Should nasi lemak be sold in schools? Seriously? Is this what our politicians in high office are discussing? Personally, I am all for healthy eating but I also believe in teaching self discipline and the role parents/ caregivers play in a child’s eating habits. The point is, are there not more important issues that need the attention of our politicians?
I guess they are busy trying to convince us how paying for a local email account will benefit us even though that money could be used to build better facilities, be poured in to education or put to paying consultants and advisers to come up with a solution for minimum wage in our country.
Instead, we run camps for children to become more ‘manly’ when really we should be more concerned about whether our young are being taught to become decent grown ups. Instead we allow politicians to discuss the state of women drivers in parliament. Is there really a lack of items on the agenda I wonder?
Perhaps addressing the serious brain drain problem in our country should be added to the agenda. It’s not just about catering for those who have left but it’s also about providing for those who are equally qualified and living in the country – something Talentcorp needs to address to avoid more qualified Malaysians leaving the country. The World Bank’s economic monitor report on Malaysia’s brain drain problem shouldn’t be taken lightly just because Talentcorp has started chugging; we should instead be pouring our efforts into minimising our loss and not focusing on the authenticity of a sex tape.
Malaysia has a lot of potential and capable citizens – that is a fact. The problem is that we give in to our silliness more often than we should. We spend more time on the nonstory than we do tackling important issues. Telling the people through a one-page weekly advertisement in major dailies how life is improving, does not translate to the reality that inflation is too high and Malaysians households spend half their income to pay off debts .
How shall we stay relevant when the bulk of what is being discussed by our politicians should be filed under silliness? With everything that is going on within our country and around the world, do we in Malaysia really have time to be taking leave of our good senses? I think not.
Natalie can only hope our politicians pursue that which is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.
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