middlemarch

A new era begins. The healing process starts now. Let’s see what this new team can up with. In the March 2008 general elections, Malaysians delivered a clear message to the powerful: We all have a view and our opinions and intelligence should be respected and taken into account. I hope Malaysians will use that power wisely in the days, months and years ahead. And with that; for Malaysia, I think we have learnt that democracy is here to stay, and we the people do have a say in shaping our nation’s future.

The rakyat needs new, visionary thinking. We need freer markets, more inquiring minds, an independent judiciary, a first-class civil service that helps private businesses and increases productivity and a great security force that instills more confidence. And the leaders; they need to be brave enough to act decisively and implement policies that benefit Malaysia and Malaysians. If we do not change our ways, we are in danger of watching Malaysia – the nation we all call home - being washed away into irrelevance. Malaysia is still behaving with a Third World mentality. With just 11 years to go, are we really serious about our goal of achieving a developed nation status by 2020?

We are blessed in Malaysia with a melting pot of races. As the Swiss are known for their precision, we should be known for the only country that has such great ethnic groups. It should be our brand. We need to integrate. We need to build back this country and her people.