The year draws to an end.
A kaleidoscope, 2008 defies description. In the swirl of colours and sounds, chords were struck and themes developed. I imagine an orchestra tuning up, falling silent and then suddenly and majestically playing a symphony of divine beauty.
Each of us an instrument, our voices lent themselves this year to the harmonies that described and cumulatively defined us as a society and a nation. In the silence behind each echo, we felt whom it is that we could be if we wanted to: one nation, one people.
2008 was the year that transformed us. We found our voices.
We may have voted for one candidate or the other, or even for one party in preference to another. We may have regretted our choices or felt vindicated in the time since or even suffered bitter disappointment for expectations not having been fulfilled. Whatever the case, this year we reclaimed democracy and the right to choose.
It does not matter that since March this year we have seen more political bickering than we would have liked to on either side of the divide, and within the ranks on either side. Any vision that emerges from a true democracy is necessarily the product of the synthesis of varied perspectives and opinions. There never is just one side to things and the heated exchanges about key aspects of our lives is something that we should welcome rather than fear. It is only the truths that flow from this crucible that are sufficiently strong to forge the foundations of a lasting civilisation.
Equally, it does not matter that the governments of the federation or the states made decisions that we would have preferred them not to. It does not matter that this politician or that one acted in a manner that we would have preferred him or her not to have. The reality is that for the first time in a very long time we have had these governments and those who form them behave with some regard to what it is we want; such is the power of the ballot box.
Enhanced opposition presence in parliament, the establishment of Pakatan Rakyat governments in five states and a courageous civil society have also allowed us to see all concerned as they really are, warts and all. We have come face to face with the fact that politicians are not very pretty to look at just as they have had to confront the fact that their fates do really lie in our hands.
And as each of us has come to feel more involved, our sense of belonging has heightened and with it our feeling of ownership. It is your Malaysia as much as it is my Malaysia and together, it is our Malaysia. With that awareness has come the understanding that each of us is responsible for what it is that we become. This has been accompanied by a nascent evolution of attitudes and orientation.
This is the breadth and depth of what it is we achieved this year. It has not been about reformasi but rather, transformasi.
The process is however just beginning and we must continue to be vigilant. As we offer thanks for what is that was bestowed upon us this year, let us not forget that there are those who do not want change. Race politics, with its attendant religious elements, and corruption also continue to threaten us. The latter has gravely undermined us through its insidious colonizing of the wider system and the political process. Its mark is evident in every aspect of our public system, so much so that we are now held to ransom by it.
As for race politics, despite it being self-evidently divisive it sadly continues to play out in the continued politicization of race and religion at great cost. Its destructive quality is seen most clearly in the distorting of legitimate efforts to find more effective methods of affirmative action as attempts to undermine the special status of the Malays under the Constitution.
As we move forward, we must commit to taking it upon ourselves to ridding ourselves of these difficulties. It is not sufficient for us to pay lip service to ideals; we must focus and act decisively. We must develop a more rounded understanding of the sensitivities and fears involved as it only through this that we will be able to develop the necessary language to build bridges with.
The light of the new year illuminates the recently cleared footpath that may ultimately lead us to where it is we should be getting. Though the way is treacherous, our belief that we can be all that we want to be will guide us if we let it.
I believe we want it to.
(Malay Mail; 30th December 2008)
Malik Imtiaz
A kaleidoscope, 2008 defies description. In the swirl of colours and sounds, chords were struck and themes developed. I imagine an orchestra tuning up, falling silent and then suddenly and majestically playing a symphony of divine beauty.
Each of us an instrument, our voices lent themselves this year to the harmonies that described and cumulatively defined us as a society and a nation. In the silence behind each echo, we felt whom it is that we could be if we wanted to: one nation, one people.
2008 was the year that transformed us. We found our voices.
We may have voted for one candidate or the other, or even for one party in preference to another. We may have regretted our choices or felt vindicated in the time since or even suffered bitter disappointment for expectations not having been fulfilled. Whatever the case, this year we reclaimed democracy and the right to choose.
It does not matter that since March this year we have seen more political bickering than we would have liked to on either side of the divide, and within the ranks on either side. Any vision that emerges from a true democracy is necessarily the product of the synthesis of varied perspectives and opinions. There never is just one side to things and the heated exchanges about key aspects of our lives is something that we should welcome rather than fear. It is only the truths that flow from this crucible that are sufficiently strong to forge the foundations of a lasting civilisation.
Equally, it does not matter that the governments of the federation or the states made decisions that we would have preferred them not to. It does not matter that this politician or that one acted in a manner that we would have preferred him or her not to have. The reality is that for the first time in a very long time we have had these governments and those who form them behave with some regard to what it is we want; such is the power of the ballot box.
Enhanced opposition presence in parliament, the establishment of Pakatan Rakyat governments in five states and a courageous civil society have also allowed us to see all concerned as they really are, warts and all. We have come face to face with the fact that politicians are not very pretty to look at just as they have had to confront the fact that their fates do really lie in our hands.
And as each of us has come to feel more involved, our sense of belonging has heightened and with it our feeling of ownership. It is your Malaysia as much as it is my Malaysia and together, it is our Malaysia. With that awareness has come the understanding that each of us is responsible for what it is that we become. This has been accompanied by a nascent evolution of attitudes and orientation.
This is the breadth and depth of what it is we achieved this year. It has not been about reformasi but rather, transformasi.
The process is however just beginning and we must continue to be vigilant. As we offer thanks for what is that was bestowed upon us this year, let us not forget that there are those who do not want change. Race politics, with its attendant religious elements, and corruption also continue to threaten us. The latter has gravely undermined us through its insidious colonizing of the wider system and the political process. Its mark is evident in every aspect of our public system, so much so that we are now held to ransom by it.
As for race politics, despite it being self-evidently divisive it sadly continues to play out in the continued politicization of race and religion at great cost. Its destructive quality is seen most clearly in the distorting of legitimate efforts to find more effective methods of affirmative action as attempts to undermine the special status of the Malays under the Constitution.
As we move forward, we must commit to taking it upon ourselves to ridding ourselves of these difficulties. It is not sufficient for us to pay lip service to ideals; we must focus and act decisively. We must develop a more rounded understanding of the sensitivities and fears involved as it only through this that we will be able to develop the necessary language to build bridges with.
The light of the new year illuminates the recently cleared footpath that may ultimately lead us to where it is we should be getting. Though the way is treacherous, our belief that we can be all that we want to be will guide us if we let it.
I believe we want it to.
(Malay Mail; 30th December 2008)
Malik Imtiaz
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