The next half century for Malaysia

LETTER | Six decades have flown under the bridge of Malaysia’s nascent nation.

As we plan to celebrate both Independence Day (Merdeka 1957) in August and Malaysia Day (born 1963) in September, we are on the cusp of the future of the next half century.

We must now plan to celebrate Merdeka and Malaysia Day 2024 – the launching pad for a future half-century.

As we count down to the next 50 years of our journey, what would we leave behind for the next generation?

What and how will the new generation of leaders and citizens position Malaysia’s future?

These two questions point to a crucial national philosophy that must be quickly and courageously examined, reset, and nurtured.

Malaysia’s future can no longer be built using the cement of racist economic policies.

In the same way, religion cannot be the artery for political progress.

And the role of our rulers must be enabled to serve as a compass for social cohesion.

The meaning and power of ‘Malaysia’ could quickly be deflated as East Malaysia drifts apart.

And as a result, the promising power of pre-Merdeka ‘Malaya’ will drown in a sea of ​​lost economic opportunities once race and religion become the boundaries that define our political, economic and social philosophies.

Over the past forty years we have become increasingly deeply entangled in the zero-sum game.

“Who wins and who loses” philosophies have rigged the nation as measured by our economic agendas, social frameworks and political infighting.

After half a century, we have reached a point where many believe that Malaysians are not ready to embrace the rapidly changing and crystallizing new world order.

Many make us believe that we are a completely different country and that rights, privileges and religion should remain status quo.

What we have entrenched is a welfare state mentality.

What we have barricaded is a “majority versus minority” battleground.

What we have crowned is a silent oligarchy, neatly woven into a clear society of ‘haves and have nots’.

What we have honed with precision is a capitalism rushing toward the billionaires’ club, where the winner takes all.

The next half century also poses serious challenges for Malaysia (or worse, if it goes back to Malaysia) on the geopolitical and global economic maps of the future.

The truth we need to see clearly and distinctly is that the dawn of the Alfonso de Albuquerque era (1511), followed by the rest of history, is long gone.

We now face a future where we either see ourselves as distinctly Malaysian or drown in the future sea of ​​racially divided Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sabahans and Sarawakians.

We also face a future where religion is rapidly being divorced from power and control.

The ancient times of the use of religion (as the invasions of the Spanish and the Portuguese did) are dying out in this contemporary age, and even more so in the future that lies ahead.

The emerging superpowers of the future have already, and clearly have, mapped out the new world order in which religion is separated from the state and kept at arm’s length as ‘personal and private’ activities.

And as our rulers (sultans) become prized and rare assets in the emerging world map, they must take on this role of social architecture of ‘Future Malaysia’ – a role in which our Malaysian politicians have repeatedly failed and continue to fall given the silent waves of the advancing geopolitical agendas and growing religious territorialism.

Are we ready to sit down on equal terms at roundtable discussions and, without racial and religious blinders, gather at the drawing boards to map out our future for the next half century?

That half-century opportunity ahead of us will all but disappear in the blink of an eye—faster than the past sixty years we leave behind us.

Are we ready for a true, unique and powerful nation?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.