YOURSAY | ‘Is there no really saving a country which has removed every check and balance?’

Yes, Malaysia is in a state of failing

ABC123: Commander S Thayaparan, I don't think you are correct in this case. If you read Josh Hong's opinion, he did not write that naysaying is intellectually bankrupt or totally devoid of merit.

Instead he wrote that naysaying/complaining alone is not enough, there should also be proposals, policies, ideas and the will to action them. I agree with him.

Look at the opposition. The bloggers, the online commenters, even your own articles, Commander. Only complaints.

“This is bad. That sucks. This is broken. That has failed.” But no solutions. No suggestions.

Anyone can complain; some, like you, have a podium. What Hong said was, don't just use that podium to complain endlessly, but move things forward with constructive suggestions.

David Dass: I am not sure that I would agree with the author's conclusions on whether we are or not becoming a failed state. But there are matters we should worry about.

We should take a good hard look at our democratic institutions and processes. Are we truly a democratic country? Are our elections free and fair? Are constituencies delineated fairly? Are the people of Malaysia treated justly and fairly? Are they treated equally?

Are our judges upholding the constitution and the rights of all the citizens of Malaysia? Is Parliament working the way it should? Are all policies and proposed legislation debated vigorously enough?

Do we adhere to the rule of law? Are our enforcement agencies professional in the discharge of their duties? And is corruption under check?

Are our schools and colleges producing graduates who are intelligent, knowledgeable and creative? We need such graduates to take us to the next stage of our development.

Do we really appreciate the importance of English as a working language and do all that we should do to ensure that the educational system ensures English language proficiency, in addition to proficiency in Malay?

I am also concerned with politicians who have no qualms about pitting race against race and religion against religion. Racial and religious harmony is absolutely critical to our survival as a nation and no one should be allowed to endanger that.

The world has become very complex and very competitive. Technology will wipe out millions of jobs. Our people must be educated to be creative and adaptable. Everything points to technical training as the way forward.

More efforts should be made to make sure that our children are prepared for a world where technology will dominate our lives. We will fail because we pursue the wrong policies and allow political discourse and divisive policies to take us to the abyss.

Abasir: David Dass asks all the oft-repeated questions for which the answer is a resounding 'no', an answer known to all including the unrepentant perpetrators of the 'nation-building' farce we had once gullibly believed and literally stood up for.

As such, I would somewhat agree with Commander Thayaparan that "there is still some ways to go, before we are inducted into the failed state hall of fame. It is going to be a slow but painful process".

There is no really saving a country which has diligently (and religiously) removed every check and balance in its unfettered run to meet its preordained fate.

Clever Voter: Nations failed because of:

1) Power in the hands of one autocratic ruler.

2) Absence of middle class.

3) No checks and balances.

That Najib Abdul Razak wears three hats - adviser to 1MDB, finance minister and PM - is bad.

The urban middle class makes up 50 or more percent of the population but they are buffers to any discontent. Many still vote for BN but their loyalty is threatened despite being direct beneficiaries of the patronage system.

The public system still works. But the decline in resource allocation, poor education and problems of corruption pose threats. Maturing into a developed state requires a matured and trusting political system, self-governed and tolerant population and a withering of the state controls over personal lifestyle.

A strong political culture is needed for the population to avoid public abuse and mismanagement. A nation can fail if the population allows it to be abused.

Dont Just Talk: A failed state can be summarised in just two examples and they are:

1. When leaders do not lead by example. One need not look far - just across the Causeway, a once mudflat island nation Singapore which is under a clean and transparent PAP government, a nation without any rubber, oil palm plantations, tin, etc, and with government-linked companies (GLCs) like SIA (Singapore Airlines), etc, turning in millions in profit year after year as compared to our MAS (Malaysia Airlines).

2. While the Singapore government practised meritocracy, Malaysia still practices mediocrity after 57 years of Merdeka.

To stay in power, the ruling government plays up the three Rs (race, religion and royalty) daily and their greed for power and illegal material wealth know no limit.

During the early 1970s, our ringgit stood tall against Singapore dollar at RM0.90 to S$1 but alas, today it is RM3.15 to S$1.

With an opposition in disarray, now split five ways, what hope is there for a better Malaysia, except that it is just wishful thinking.

9174382725382: For the ordinary folks to understand what's a failed state, there's no necessity to look further than those who are by our side.

That the quality of the human factors had deteriorated so badly that some cannot differentiate how long is 5 inches or how bad it is for a sales promoter to not be explain the product features well.

Or that some don't even know what is the lead component in a steel cup. And the pharmacist does not know what is periodontics. Somebody interviewed for a marketing post does not even know there's a definition of ‘marketing mix’.

The list go on - the bigger picture of the country sinking into this state of failure is more worrying and much worse than we knew.

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