I am reminded of a country which celebrated its 200th year of nationhood by placing advertisements asking its citizens what kind of nation they wanted to be. We Malaysians should also ask ourselves the same question.

What kind of nation do we want to be in five years time? In 30 years time? In a 100 years time?

Do we want Malaysia to be like some Middle Eastern nations? A racially segregated outpost? An illegal immigrant haven? Or a nation with a middle-age crisis - aimless, corrupt and bankrupt of ideals?

As it is now, we seem to be unable to manage our road rage, our public safety, our environment, our illegal immigrants, our public institutions and so on. Although we pride ourselves on being one of the better nations, deep down within us we know that we need to do more to take our nation forward.

Too often, we good-natured Malaysians allows self-serving groups and politicians to bulldoze their agendas through in the name of national development. But in many instances, these agendas left behind a big mess leaving us numb and disillusioned.

It is critical now for all Malaysians, especially our leaders, to lead the way forward to reestablish the ideals for our beloved country and re-ignite our passion and our love for the country.

Towards this, perhaps we should revisit the ideals our founding fathers left us.

After all, what kind of nation do we want our Malaysia to be?