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Yoursay: PM doesn’t need to ‘look East’, when solution is obvious

YOURSAY | 'If country, race and religion were in this exact order, maybe then we could progress.'

China has a lot to teach us, says Mahathir

Anonymous_4171: Invest in good education, get credible people to run the show, promote people on merit, stop handouts, and finally treat all Malaysians as equal.

Maybe it is hard for Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to digest this, but that is the reality why nations prosper as a whole.

Mahathir should stop saying that we have a lot to learn from China when the obvious is right in front of him. So all of his trips anywhere are not going to be of any use if he fails to see the nation’s glaring faults.

Anonymous 1386141437119065: Seven things that we must not learn from China:

  1. Don’t become a communist country.
  2. Don’t become a copycat of the world. Yes, China may have invented the compass, explosives and paper, but that was within the span of 5,000 years. The United States became the most powerful nation on Earth 500 years after Christopher Columbus “discovered” America.
  3. Don’t let the government have absolute control over finance, commerce and even the freedom of its citizens.
  4. Don’t censor religions before they can be practised.
  5. Don’t lose sight of God. China’s communist religion dictates that man can tear mountains apart and stop rivers from flowing.
  6. Don’t emulate China’s absolute contempt for human rights, where anyone is expendable in the name of “national security”.
  7. Don’t become a modern-day Babylon. We are looking at a surreal China, with many of its advancements purely superficial. It is all an illusion, and will come crashing down after 60 years.

Vim: At 93, Mahathir’s muscles must be aching after visiting so many places.

While these aches will disappear, the ache from his heart will remain forever.

After witnessing how the Chinese economy overtook Malaysia’s by leaps and bounds in a short span of 40 years, Mahathir must have deeply regretted not following the late former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's policies of governance.

When Mahathir reflects, he will surely recall the great harm he has visited upon Malaysia. Even if he were to feel contrite now, which is very unlikely, it would be near impossible for him to reverse the wrongs for three simple reasons:

  1. Unlike his first tenure as prime minister, Mahathir does not have the same clout to make radical changes.
  2. Malaysia is too deeply rooted in racial and religious discord, not unlike a dog expending wasteful time and energy constantly chasing its own tail.
  3. If Malaysia were to allow a level playing field, we could excel in all areas and be on top of the world, both economically and politically. But if we keep not letting certain Malaysians into the game, the government will continually lack the brilliance to steer the country through this ever-changing world. It will take a long time to change the culture and ineffectiveness of the education system, civil service, institutions, police.

With racial and religious divides so deeply ingrained in Malaysians, I am not optimistic. Even if the unthinkable does happen, and the Malays agree to relinquish power, it will still take between 10 to 20 years to bring all these institutions and sectors up to scratch.

By then it may be too late for Malaysia to take advantage of the impending technological great leap forward. Only countries that are now poised for this will be in the running.

There is no guarantee that future prime ministers will not regress to old habits for personal gain. In fact it is very likely, because in Malaysia, the ingredients are abundantly available to meet the recipe for corruption. It's entirely up to the chef what food he wants to dish out.

Anonymous_1529132749: Malaysia is still a relatively peaceful country. With our new awakening and collective hard work, a new and much better Malaysia is possible. But it will take time, perhaps decades. Malaysians have no better option at present.

Change will take time but it's better to have a gradual and peaceful transition. Malaysia doesn't have to compete with her neighbours in every area. Choose areas Malaysia is strong in while complementing neighbouring countries in weaker areas.

If Malaysia and Singapore could put away their mistrust and work together to complement each other, they would be able to face the world confidently.

Anonymous_e1a59d10: If country, race and religion were in this exact order, maybe then we could progress.

Just a Malaysian: Malaysia can never come close to China until we can turn the 3Rs into our strength and not our curse.

Diversity in race is our strength, if we do not use it to turn against one another. Good religious values will guide us to be a better nation if we do not allow bigoted narrow interpretation to define us.

Our royal institution could be our moral compass to ensure our constitution and social fabric remain strong and united. Then, in a positive environment, innovation and creativity will triumph.

We do not need to learn from China. We only need to correct ourselves.

We are so burdened with the 3Rs – race, religion, royalty – that we can hardly move. It is like we have our feet trapped in a cinder block, dragging us into the abyss.

Spratlys: China should advise Mahathir to put country above race and religion, otherwise Malaysia will really be left behind soon by our neighbouring countries.

With so much brain drain, can the nation progress, if so many of us are still arguing about the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC), and are so keen on protecting a wanted fugitive like Islamic preacher Zakir Naik?

Will history prove it was the New Economic Policy that caused this once roaring tiger to become the sick cat of Asia?

Aktan: Mahathir had beautifully expressed what he wished for Malaysians to do in China, but here he seems to have a different agenda? Let's hope Mahathir can give meritocracy a chance to survive and stop playing into the 3Rs game.

Sad to hear bad overtures of the past being played again and again. Why is the majority always talking about “losing their rights”, and to whom? Are they feeling lost after being kicked off the gravy train?

There is a need for a total recall to move on as proud Malaysians.


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