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Millennials know our greatest asset is our diversity

LETTER | Lost in the euphoria of the triumph by the people of Malaysia against a government that has governed this country for 60+ years, let's not forget the sacrifice and the magnanimity shown by the leaders of PKR and DAP in arriving at a consensus in agreeing to work with Dr Mahathir Mohamad, some of whom have toiled and suffered at great expense during his earlier stint in leading the country, and for him to lead the charge that culminated in the events of May 9.

Kudos to Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang - both could have compromised their principles in the face of the adverse odds - but yet remained steadfast and never wavered for once, in their quest, at great expense to their personal lives. Both have been persistent and shown consistency in their struggle for a better Malaysia despite the mounting odds placed against them.

Again lest we forget, the charge for this earth-moving event was led no less than by the millennials, the majority of whom are also first-time voters. I believe it is their courage and bravery in creating several movements that encouraged fellow Malaysians. Whether the movements were well-received or received brickbats subsequent to their launching, the efforts by these millennials created an awareness and encouraged those who have voted more than once to be brave too.

With the results of May 9, the millennials showed the country and those who have administered and managed the country previously that they do not buy into those stories that were 'designed' to segregate the population that has been perpetuated repeatedly by the previous government.

The millennials recognised that all these charlatans comprising politicians, activists, religionists, educationists or alleged defenders of one's identity, are merely masquerading as `champions' or defenders of the topic they allegedly represent.

Moving forward, consistent with the theme propagated by them in their campaign, it may be worthwhile for the new administration to consider the following.

A report card system is implemented and can be accessed for viewing by the public whereby departments or agencies that have failed and have been singled out by the Jabatan Audit Negara year in year out previously show reports on the progress of their action plans in rectifying the shortfalls on a periodic basis.

Encourage more civil discourse on topics pertaining to the future of the country. The existing culture of shouting down doesn't befit the nature of the people in this country. The majority of the younger public do not like the condescending attitude consistently demonstrated by the previous administration - charlatans who claimed they know the matters and shouting down those who they deemed are not suitably qualified.

Revamp the existing education system. The existing system in its current form has been the contributing factor leading to the decline in the employability of the rakyat. In all honesty, our education system has been hampered by various interests group and charlatans proclaiming defence of certain interests in churning out huge numbers of unemployable graduates.

The new administration should free itself from the shackles of these self- interest groups and charlatans to revamp the existing system to one where getting entry into a “sekolah kebangsaan” is a privilege and proud moment for every rakyat. When our public education system is on par with other world-class institutions, demand for privately-operated educational institutions who are mostly on twinning programmes with foreign institutions will slowly diminish and with diminishing demands, outflows from the country will be reduced too.

The next step the entire population can help and continue with the momentum generated by the millennials will be to turn our asset i.e the diversity of the country as a group into a viable and sustainable venture for the country moving forward.


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

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