The opening ceremony of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing was absolutely fantastic. Like all previous ceremonies, the event was filled with symbolisms that reflect the achievements of the host country. Amidst relishes of fireworks, music and dance, the audience was reminded of China's four greatest contributions to the world – gun powder, paper, moveable type and the navigation compass.

People all over the world, including Malaysians, have a fondness towards displays of symbolism. This can be attested to by the frantic erection of symbolic monuments such as the Petronas Twin Towers, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the fairytale-like structures in Putrajaya during Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's term as prime minister.

Not to be outdone by his nemesis, our current Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has also left a few monuments of his own such as the Crystal Mosque in Terengganu, an executive jet for his travels and sending an orthopaedic surgeon on a holiday to outer space.

Unlike Malaysians who are merely being slaves to symbolisms, the Chinese (of the People's Republic of China) use symbolism to project their mastery over their achievements of thousands of years. The Olympic opening show was a celebration of the ingenuity and resilience of the people of China who have lived through the rise and fall of hundreds of dynasties and national ideologies.

It would be better for me to stop praising China at this point before I am labeled a Chinese sympathiser cum unpatriotic Malaysian especially when our own nation is going to celebrate its 51st Independence Day in three weeks time. But if we think carefully, what is the purpose of Merdeka if we are not encouraged to express views that will help improve our own country?

It would be more unpatriotic if we continue to remain blind to our own faults and mute about our government's misdeeds.

We should accept the fact that Malaysians have all the while been using symbolism to cover up for our own inadequacies. How could the government send a man into outer space when we could not even build a proper highway that does not crack and chip off regularly? Why spend millions of taxpayers' money blasting off a Malaysian into outer space and then spend millions more to bail out our national carrier MAS?

Does the government think that symbols of national 'pride' alone can lead us to prosperity without us having to plan and work hard for it?

We could all learn a lesson from Zhang Yimou's grand showcase in the Bird's Nest Stadium, the venue for the Olympic opening ceremony.

First of all, we should appreciate our own country's history and give credit to every citizen who contributed to the establishment, progress and independence of the country regardless of race, religion, gender and status. Never mind if they are British, Japanese, Malay, Chinese or Indians.

Each one contributed to the formation of Malaysia one way or another. The British brought workers in from China and India to help open up the country. The Japanese made us realise that we have the ability to be free from Western colonisation during the war. The Malays led the way in the road to independence and together with our Chinese and Indian forefathers, we finally achieved self-rule in 1957.

Our history, like any other country's history, is tainted with periods of darkness. But if we ignore them and refuse to discuss them openly, we will never learn from our mistakes. Obviously, there is truth in the saying 'Learn from history to avoid repeating it'.

Secondly, we should get rid of our old mindset and old ways of doing things if they obstruct our road to progress. That opening night, I was expecting to see lots of dragon dances, flashing placards and Chinese nationalistic slogans in the stadium. But instead the show was a modern interpretation of China's history, carefully choreographed to rid themselves of the stereotypical Chinese label.

The political parties in Malaysia should follow suit and dismantle their communal makeup and policies. We are now in the 21 ^st century and the wave of globalisation is starting to hit every shore of every nation. If we keep living separately in our own racial and religious cages, then we might miss the chance of surfing confidently on the wave towards prosperity and peace.

Thirdly, we should concentrate on giving quality education to our children. Out of the four Chinese inventions featured, three were are precursors to the quest for knowledge – paper, printing and the navigational compass. Our government should seriously consider revamping our much declined education system to be on par with world standards.

Yes. Instead of hiding behind symbolism and placating ourselves with fake rewards and accolades, let us all get down to serious work.

If we look at it, the greatest symbolism our country should be proud of is its people's infinite tolerance towards the government. For fifty years, every Malaysian has tolerated the misdeeds and mismanagement of our leaders without so much as a whimper, let alone a bark.

China built their symbolic Bird's Nest stadium because they are ready to receive the legendary phoenix which will bring fame and fortune to their country after years of hard work and dedication by both the government and their people.

However I can't say much about our stadiums in Bukit Jalil, Batu Kawan and the Penang International Sports Arena (Pisa).

Either they were designed to cater only for PC fairs, political demonstrations and banned concerts, or they were meant to be symbols of birds' nests ready to collect the many infertile eggs of failure from our government's report card.