It has become a sad fact of Malaysian life that the malaise affecting this country cannot and will not be eradicated with a clean sweep of the broom. For starters, the bloody broom is not functioning properly. Then we have the fact that corruption and the corrupted way of life has seeped itself too deeply into the very grain and fabric of our society that it may take 2 or 3 generations to cleanse this land. That too, can only happen if the corrective measures are started today.
To start today requires loads of intelligence, integrity, trust and talent. Don’t we have this? Don’t we have men and women, boys and girls who want to achieve? Achieve on merit, that is. Boys and girls who are willing to put aside physical pain and perceived prejudice to challenge themselves to improve? We have truck loads of them. Men and women who won’t buckle under pressure and give in to find the easy way out?
We have star loads of them.
They’re all around us actually. I know of them personally. In fact I know of one such person very well.
We met late, this person and I. We were probably not supposed to meet, or were we? We’ll never know will we? Anyway this person walks into my life late and nonchalantly and has been attached to me since.
There wasn’t any dramatics about being late, just apologies and outright honesty. The actual details about the truth surfaced much later and perfectly corroborated what was said. How we yearn for this level of honesty in people who claim to be upright and integrous yet lead us with packs of lies.
If sickness was a wealth, then my friend would be a charitable person who wants to give it all away. It is crippling at times, and these are the mild times. It is a stumbling block to duty. Yet the grit and determination shown in overcoming this mind numbing pain is awe inspiring at worst.
You’d want to see this kind of grit in those elected to lead us; putting aside personal pain for the greater good of duty.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, it is often said. But how often does one come across someone whom every beholder beholds beauty? Well from my experiences in Malaysia, pretty much none actually. When someone is described as a beautiful person, there’s another somewhere who’s ready to pounce and denounce. And I’m referring to physical beauty here. Call me shallow.
But when one is beautiful on the inside, and then that beauty is transferred to the outside, there can be no debate as to the actual beauty of the person. This kind of person inspires every beholder to behold beauty. And I’m glad to be among one of the beholders privileged to see this in my life.
Spontaneity creates excitement, doesn’t it? Well being surprised in your own workyard pleasantly was one major spontaneous act which still holds a dear place in my heart. I don’t know what inspired it, what triggered it, but it was something just, well, spontaneous and exciting. Which is something you can never say, in a positive vein, about the leadership of this nation, can you? They’re so predictable that even people with half a brain can guess and surmise what they’ll think and say and do way before they actually do or say anything.
What is it that makes my acquaintance a perfect role model for what can be right with this country? You’ll have to make the acquaintance to find out. From what I can see, we need more people in this country with the outlook my friend has. Add to this a love for the nation and a desire to see this nation change for the better, and you’ll have the kind of people that can move mountains. What more this nation?
There’s a change in direction every now and then that either brings good or bad with it. Or it can bring both good and bad. Sometimes they feel like two steps forward and one step back, at other times it’s like one step forward and two back. But it’s the steps forward that count and bring the most joy isn’t it? So in order to feel the exuberance of that forward step, we endure the steps backward. We build on them. We make sure that forward steps are worth more than the steps back, no matter how many back steps come. This is as true for the nation as it is for friendships or relationships of any kind.
This change in direction can blow with or without fierce gales and storm winds. The ones that are with fierce storm winds can be frightening to say the least.
Friendships, relationships and nations are tested when there are doubts. Doubts can be major stumbling blocks for any relationship. God, when they appear, especially in forms that are hard to dispute and especially when they are in forms that you do not know of. You know what I mean. Then you ask yourself if you wanna give up the fight. You tell yourself no. That’s when you want to stand your ground.
Dispelling doubts amid cynicism and sarcasm is no small feat. But when you love, u want to believe you can conquer it all. No?
Well let me assure you that it can be done, has been done and will continue to be done as long as creating confidence and dispelling doubts is required. Just throw some love into the mix. It’s powerful.
Third party interferences pose a headache whenever there’s imminent progress. What could be considered normal for some people, can be considered abnormal for others. When I said ‘nope’, it was because I thought it was a ‘nope’. Yet it seems that in the ‘nope’ the seeds of doubt get take root yet again.
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