I’m very sure some of you have seen this letter published on Malaysiakini ’s Letters section. If not, please take a good read.

What most of us will pick up on is that the author isn’t local. We’d also agree that as a man who has only lived in Malaysia for two years, he isn’t a reliable judge of our current affairs. His frustration is obvious. And the truth is that as citizens of Malaysia, we are far more livid.

Being defensive and retaliatory is a natural response we are being criticized. This is especially true when it comes from an (alleged) outsider/pendatang asing/angmoh and when such criticism involves the bold and uncompromising declaration that our country is beyond salvation.

But the question is, Is ‘British Expat’ wrong? Should we argue that Malaysia is not in the worst state in its 58-year history? Our economy is sinking, mistrust among citizens and the administration is commonplace, the wealth distribution is skewed worse than ever before and we have become international laughing stocks. Injustice and inequity run rampant and unpunished. Claiming that Malaysia is destined for doom is not without cause.

Our political process is in shambles. There is zero accountability. Rather than running the country, our leaders scramble for power and shoulder no responsibility. We see grown men bickering like small children with no semblance of self-respect or public decorum. And with no clear lines of conduct, elected officials and ministers dabble in affairs outside their jurisdiction. Both major political coalitions are equally guilty of doing so.

Thus, our economy suffers as a result of nuthouse politics. As a crude comparison, we are dangerously close to having our ringgit being a mere third of the Singaporean dollar, when only half a century ago, we were cut from the same cloth.

We are so lucky that our country is free from disease, free from famine, free from conflict, almost free from natural disaster. The natural conclusion is that all of our misfortunes have been manmade. We have to believe that this disparity is due to a mismanagement of our country.

Nevertheless, browsing through the responses to criticisms of ‘British Expat’ reveals something ugly. Most of the comments are incendiary and without good cause. We have reacted in the most ‘typical Malaysian’ way possible.

Calling him a fake does not make his arguments any less valid. Saying we were violated by the former British colonialists does not solve our problems. Malaysia’s crises exist whether his grammar is perfect or not. Racist/anti-British remarks are just as bad as our home-grown insults “Keling mabuk”, “Melayu bodoh” or “Cina babi”, and these are the very sentiments that prove that we are the keyboard warriors we’re accused of.

Comments such as “he was here for the cheap booze” are absurd to the context of the article. I am disappointed because we have abused the freedom and power social media has given us as a society.

Instant communication means that as much information gets distributed, an equal amount of misinformation follows. We receive news and notifications so quickly now that we are unable to even decipher or verify the truth of it all.

Our recent Low Yat theft incident was blown out of proportion due to the spreading of false rumours though social media. Extremism and cultural insensitivity can spread like wildfire through cyberspace and our eagerness to be in-the-know causes many of us to subscribe to unhealthy content without much thinking.

Massive utility of the Internet

Malaysia has been a major benefactor of the social media revolution. We can attribute many positive changes in our country to the massive utility of the Internet. Examples include greater awareness of social agendas, more efficient road usage (Waze), dissemination of crowdfunded relief efforts for quakes/floods and the like.

We can even attribute our 13th general election results to the new media revolution. Without the awareness generated by independent reporters and online media, we wouldn’t be moving one step closer to a more liberal, more accepting and more prosperous Malaysia.

We are blessed with the means to effect change like we never before in history. We should be using the freedoms of the Internet to debate and deliver constructive feedback, not occupy ourselves with name-calling and fault-finding.

Thousands of websites allow the everyman to express his opinions without restraint. In the past, only the privileged or the exceptional were capable of making a difference. Not any more. As Malaysians, each of us can assume a great responsibility to steer our nation away from disintegration. We have been misled to believe that individuals are incapable of making a difference, when that is now further from the truth than ever before.

Firstly, we must be slower to anger, by being more open minded. Receive all information with a pinch of salt; make references to reliable sources if you are uncertain. Don’t resort to emotional responses and dance your trigger-happy fingers across the keyboard typing the most creative insults known to man.

This is the ‘tidak apa’ culture in action. This is our xenophobia taking over. It’s a sick habit that needs to stop. If only some public figures gave more thought to what they said, we wouldn’t garner such a bad reputation with our infamous one-liners such as “orang Cina balik China”.

We must strive to improve, be better at everything. Make minute changes to various aspects of your life. We’ll be more efficient and easy-going. Practice driving carefully and respect traffic laws. Practice better personal organisation and be punctual. Adopt environmentally-friendly practices, plant your own trees, use less plastic bags, recycle and stop littering. There are a myriad of changes we can make to turn our townships into more pleasant places to live.

We must become more compassionate. Give to charity when able. Don’t wait for people to ask for help, extend your hand first. Do not think it is fine to do something bad because someone else did so. We have become so used to the mentality that “he do ok mah, so I do lorh”.That is the very thinking that brought us down in the first place. An eye for an eye and the whole world goes blind. Know the difference between right and wrong.

We must crave knowledge. Learning only ends when we die. There is no such thing as knowing enough, so don’t ever reject knowledge. Read more, discuss more and challenge everything. There can be no prosperity without adversity. Better understanding of our bureaucracy and the accountability of certain parties will go a long way in solving the agency problem Malaysia has struggled with for decades.

It is not through a significant political overturn that a great nation is born. A change in government will change plenty, but not enough. I am not saying that the citizens are solely to blame for everything wrong in Malaysia, when in fact that is untrue. But we want Malaysia to change, and so first Malaysians have to change. We need to stop letting these negative characteristics define our culture. Why can’t we make ‘typical Malaysian’ be a good thing?

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. So we each need to start doing something.