Eyes on Malaysia

"We want the world to see us, but what will the world see?
We want the world to know us, but what will they know?"

As I type this post, my hands are still shaking. Earlier the afternoon me and Si Han (Freezer) helped carry a disabled man on a wheel chair down 3 flights of stairs. The stress on my arms was overwhelming - though the man wasn't heavy at all - and the effect is still there.

That's not the whole reason of me typing this post. I'm not complaining about showing some kindness to a disabled man who was struggling to near the stairs in hope that someone would offer to help him down.

The whole purpose of this post is that - what happened to the Malaysian spirit?

"Malaysia Boleh"

What are we doing with that spirit?

Boleh what?

Play batu seremban in space? Build a ferris wheel so large for Malaysians to ride up for 15 minutes while both money and time could be spent at better use?

Upon boarding the bus to head back to Subang, Si Han protested. "KL Sentral is the most fantastic architecture in the country. One toilet per level, and no special lanes or facilities for disabled people."

"There are facilities for them," I pointed out. "Just that it's spoiled."

How often do Singaporeans regard us Malaysians as people who 'can-build-but-cannot-maintain' and the leaders of this country would react as if the skies were collapsing beneath their ego? Isn't that a fact? The elevators meant to take disabled people downstairs from the upper floor in KL Sentral was spoiled, so how do you expect the poor disabled uncle to go down? Fly or glide down the railings?

That's not the real issue. Allow me to address the critical problem here.

The spirit of Malaysia.

I once know of a land where people were nice and friendly. I once believed that the this land is peaceful and free from social diseases. I once thought that I my country is a home where the families of the home would stand up for what they believed was right, fight for justice and uphold righteousness.

I want to believe in that Malaysia, but is it becoming the Utopian Malaysia?

The disabled uncle rooted his wheelchair at the edge of the stairs, hoping for someone to carry him down. Hundreds of people must have passed by his side and walk without giving him a second thought. Credit given to the kinder souls who dropped in a couple of pennies inside a little plastic bag he had on his lap.

And if no one still believes in the spirit of Malaysia, I chose to be that spirit.

The spirit of Malaysia is fading. How shall we revive it?

Prayers?

Campaigns?

Implementation of new policies by the government?

It must begin from us within. No one can change the nation, we can. Simply because we are the nation, we are Malaysia. Not the physical state, not the geographical location. But us, the people, the citizens.

We often want Malaysia to be known in foreign countries. It seems awesome when foreigners praise Malaysians. Of course! Who doesn't like the honey of the ear, while forgetting the bitterness of the medicine that we ought to be taking now?

We want the world to see us, but what shall they see? A dying spirit, a failing enthusiasm, a moral-lacking society?

We want the world to know us, but what will they know? A nation divided morally, an epitome of nonchalency, an example of tidak apa?

Boarding the bus back to Subang, I realised that I had no small change left. An aunty graciously smiled to me as I approached her with a ten-dollar bill in my hand. Counting the one-dollar notes that she exchanged with me, she adviced me on purchasing the right tickets next time before boarding the Rapid KL Buses and to plan my journey ahead of time - to save money.

And I thank God, in all of His grace that He showed me that the dying spirit of Malaysia is not dead. Beneath the defeated ashes of a fire that was once a fighter's spirit, the glow is still very much alive. There is a chance that this glow will once again burst into a magnificent fire, if and only if we choose to fuel it one more time before it's too late.