Jan

11

Revisiting Albert

January 11, 2008 |

alberteinstein.jpgLast year, in my second post on this blog, I referred to Albert Einstein’s quote,

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

In that post, I quoted the genius in the context of our choice of government for Malaysia. At that point, obviously, I only thought of Einstein’s quote in that context.

Now, after a rather long and arduous year, I’ve got a different take on that quote. My new take may reach the same preference in so far as whom we should vote for in the imminent general elections, but it is significantly different insofar as how we should approach the “political” question in Malaysia.

I personally believe that Malaysia, and most Malaysians, have made many wrong decisions in the last 50 years. Indeed, even before independence, we have made substantial errors in judgement. For example, if we had simply chosen to support the more progressive coalition known as Putera-AMCJA to lead Malaya towards independence, Malaysia may not be facing the racial and religious divide that we now face. (For a good documentary on Malaya’s struggle for independence, see 10 tahun sebelum Merdeka.)

Somehow, Malaysia has taken a road that leads further and further into a maze of confusion and conflict. To transcend the confusion and conflict – to have real peace and prosperity, to have a nation whose people feel proud to call it their own, to have a place where we are comfortable to raise our children – we need to have a higher consciousness.

We need to transcend the typical thinking that has prevailed in Malaysia for more than half a century. If it’s politics as usual, at most, Malaysia will only change one government for another, without going very far towards the kind of nation we all want. However, with enlightened politics (and economics), Malaysia can have the rebirth that we are all waiting for.

To be continued…


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