May

2

Does it take a genius?

May 2, 2007 |

EinsteinThese days, I cannot help but come across some form of silliness or stupidity as I go about my daily life. From what we read in the newspapers to the behaviour of bureacrats in government departments, we seem to be faced with an endless string of symptoms that signals a dire crisis in Malaysia.

Almost everyday, whenever I read the newspaper I will come across some silly idea or stupid remark from a person in a position of authority. Frankly, there are so many of such instances that I find it difficult to remember all of them.

Anyway, just for a taste of what I am talking about, here are a couple of examples. First, recently there was a suggestion from the Ministry of Tourism that all Malaysians travelling abroad be required to complete a form detailing where they are going and why.

Apart from the futility, this suggestion smacks of simplistic thinking and the lack of thorough consideration of the ramifications of such an exercise.

From the outset, isn’t it obvious why Malaysians might want to travel overseas? Even if the Malaysian tourism authority could recreate some of the attractions found in foreign destinations in Malaysia, would that stop Malaysians from taking holidays abroad? And instead of asking why Malaysians go abroad, wouldn’t it be better to ask foreign visitors what they particularly enjoyed in Malaysia so that we can preserve and enhance these aspects of Malaysia?

Now let’s say that the clever people in the Ministry of Tourism does in fact carry out this suggestion, are they actually going to hire people to sift through the millions of forms to collate the reasons why Malaysians travel abroad? This exercise would probably entail hundreds of thousands of ringgit, if not millions, in printing and transportation cost and salaries. And at the end of it all, are Malaysians going to give detailed explanations why they prefer the Maldives to Tioman or something useful like that?

I seriously doubt any intelligent person would consider that such an exercise is worth all that money and effort just to find out why Malaysians travel overseas.

The second example of stupidity comes from a Tan Sri, who is supposedly the religious adviser to the Prime Minister. I would imagine that for someone to be appointed an adviser of the Prime Minister, he or she must be some clever person. Alas, that does not appear to be the case.

Whilst commenting on the need for converts to Islam to change their names to ‘Muslim names’ he said, “the present practice where converts are required to change their names should continue as this has long been established.”

Instead of getting a flash of insight, we get an inane justification for a practice that has dramatic consequences for a person’s life. If we were to go around justifying practices simply because they have been long established, then we shouldn’t bother to change the world for the better at all, should we?

Just imagine what the world would be like if Thomas Edison decided that he shouldn’t invent the light bulb because candles have been used since before Christ. Well, that may be an extreme example. Let’s try another one.

Albeit unofficial, we have practices all around the world that discriminates against women. And I don’t think I need to tell anyone that this is something that has been happening for hundreds of years, which definitely qualifies as a long established practice. Now, would anyone in their right mind argue that we should continue the practice of discrimination against women because of that?

Well, my point here is not how silly or stupid some people in government are but these examples show the level of thinking that pervades even at the highest level of government. Some of us may laugh at such stupidity – for they are indeed laughable – but I am extremely concerned as to what this means for the future of our country. If we have people with this kind of mentality running our country, which doesn’t even seem to surpass the intellect of secondary school children, what will become of Malaysia in ten years’ time?

I think it’s very obvious that we have a very serious problem on our hands. The pressing question that is begging to be answered is how do we solve this problem. Well, for a start, let me quote a real genius: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

Well, the government that we have had since independence 50 years ago have somehow brought us to this point. Personally, I would encourage my friends to think twice about re-electing the same government to continue running this country.

I know that the fear of change stops many of us from doing the right thing. Yet, almost everyday I hear people complain about the dismal state of affairs of various aspects of Malaysian life that inevitably leads back to the failure of our government. The list is endless, but let me just highlight the topics we hear most about: the education system, the dirty water supply, the bad infrastructure by our beloved Minister of Works, the strained relations between the races, the greed and corruption of government officials and the lack of basic human rights and freedoms.

I think all these topics are very familiar to most of us. I am sure all of us have at some time or other lamented about these things and wished that they were better. But what are we doing about it?

At this point, I think something else that Albert Einstein said is apt. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Now, if we wanted a better Malaysia for all of us, doesn’t it make sense to change the source of stupidity that has created all these problems for all of us? It doesn’t take a genius, does it?


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5 Comments so far

  1. MZZainal on May 5, 2007 11:17 am

    I would encourage my friends to think twice about ‘re-electing’ the same government and making those changes within the opposition also as both entities are stagnant, ineffective and disappointingly directionless.

  2. Jonson Chong on May 6, 2007 4:36 pm

    To a certain extent I agree with MZZainal, and I completely understand where he is coming from.

    Nevertheless, I’d like to make certain observations. One, UMNO and BN is not “stagnant, ineffective and disappointingly directionless.” The UMNO-BN money-making complex is dynamically, effectively and confidently directed towards enriching themselves, at the expense of the Rakyat.

    One thing that the Rakyat can expect if they re-elect UMNO-BN is more of the same deception, intimidation, incompetent governance and lack of principles. When the Rakyat elects the Opposition, at least they have a slight hope of the Opposition YB doing a half-decent job and not ripping them off. And even if the Opposition YB is really so pathetic and useless, then just don’t vote him or her again.

    Like I said, we cannot expect things to change in this country unless we start doing things differently. Thinking and acting differently, that is.

    Two, it doesn’t do the nation any good at all when capable and intelligent Rakyat do not participate in the political process. I have absolutely no doubt that there is an abundance of such people “out there”. If only they would do something.

    At the end of the day, ideas and words don’t count for much when action is not taken.

    Three, despite the actual and perceived ineffectiveness of the Opposition, we must recognise that the Opposition has achieved significant albeit limited success despite the overwhelming odds against them.

    Please remember, the complete mainstream media has completely shut off public access to positive news of the Opposition. Moreover, the array of national resources and machinery (paid for by the Rakyat) are being used to perpetuate the dominance of UMNO-BN.

    Can the Opposition use the National Service to brainwash future voters? Does Opposition YB’s receive millions of ringgit in development funds for their constituencies? Will the police allow the Opposition to hold massive rallies on important issues, like they allow UMNO-BN backed NGOs?

    Nevertheless, I am highly aware that the Opposition must not use excuses for their so-far limited success. We must accept that UMNO-BN is not suddenly going to be fair and provide a level playing field. We have to improve and strengthen ourselves to the extent that we overcome the challenges posed by UMNO-BN, and present a credible alternative to the Rakyat.

    Here, once again, I would humbly urge my fellow Rakyat to play a part in the political process. No great thing has ever been achieved in this world without any difficulty and sacrifice. With our children’s future in our minds, can we still sit by as our nation is brought to its knees?

    I don’t know about you, my friends, but I cannot face my children if I do not do my part in the struggle for truth and justice in Malaysia.

  3. MZZainal on May 7, 2007 4:31 pm

    I bow to your wisdom, My Lord.

  4. Jonson Chong on May 19, 2007 11:11 am

    I was having lunch with a friend yesterday and she pointed out that the correct form of a blog should have links to whatever articles, pictures etc. that we are blogging about. Hence, I decided to look up the articles I mentioned online. Here they are: “Going abroad? Fill a form first” and “‘No need for Chinese Muslim mosques’”.

  5. Malaysian X » Blog Archive » It’s the law, stupid on May 31, 2007 8:31 am

    [...] appears that not only are some people in the Barisan Nasional government stupid, some judges in the judiciary are equally [...]

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