I guess that was their ‘social contract’. That in coming together for survival, they forged a partnership that was formidable in years to come. Today, America has grown to become the most powerful and prosperous country in the world. And the foundation to their success was their belief of coming together even though they were very different. They knew that a New World was possible and they made it happen!

 

Now, coming back to Malaysia. Around 100-150 years ago, the British brought in the biggest wave of immigrants from China and India. These people came to Malaya to survive as they believed at that time that this was the land of opportunity - like America was too.

 

Similar to the Thanksgiving story, some years later, the Malays forged a partnership with the Chinese and Indians to drive out their enemies, the British. Don’t you think there is an irony here? The British who brought the Chinese and Indians to work here were at last driven out by the very same people together with the natives.

 

Somehow, one couldn’t do without the other. We needed to work hand in hand so that Malaya was set free. And yes, we did make Malaya independent in 1957 without any bloodshed.

 

And with this newfound independence, our social contract came into being. It was inked as the federal constitution of Malaya. This and only this, I believe is our contract.

 

And for the first few decades, Malaysia was doing remarkably well, especially economically. There were some major upheavals like the Singapore expulsion, the confrontation and May 13 but looking back, hey, this was a young and fledgling country. We needed to do some re-balancing and changes and we moved on.

 

And now 53 years later, after being called a ‘tiger economy’, we are now on the verge of being the sick man of Asia. Literally. Our FDI and economic figures don’t seem to generate any confidence or hope in near future and for our children.

 

Our neighbors from whom we used to import maids from (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thai etc) are running ahead of us and trail-blazing new grounds.

 

Our political masters who have been in power since the day our constitution was inked have amended it countless of times (650 times as of 2006). Groups are now questioning this document and any discussion on certain parts of it is God forbidden. Recently, someone did say that our NEP has been bastardized. Can the same be said of our constitution?

 

But what was the original intent of the social contract? Was it to turn our country into dictatorship or where racism is the order of the day? What happened along the way? Our unity is fast becoming a novelty so much so we need slogan after slogan to remind us of how things were in ‘once upon a time in Malaysia’.

 

Frankly, I believe our success as a nation lies in the very lines of our constitution. This was the basis of our togetherness. This document was not only meant to remind every generation what Malaysia means to us but that of everyone’s right and dignity was fully protected in this land of ours.

 

Somehow, we are still attracting immigrants today. Look at the Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Burmese, Filipinos etc who are still flocking to Malaysia to earn a living and maybe hoping to settle down here in future if possible. If these people can see the value of Malaysia, why can’t we?

 

Well, a little imagination may help us. Read our constitution and understand it. Yes, Malaysia will face many walls, setbacks, crossroads and what not but our constitution is there to guide us. It is our ‘Bible’, our ‘Koran’ our ‘Baghavad Gita’ of this country.

 

If we use it wisely we can come out of this mess which we have created after all these years. We have to, we need to and we must make Malaysia possible!

 

Only then can we proudly proclaim every 31st August Merdeka, Merdeka, Merdeka with gusto!!!