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Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it – Mohd Rizal Jaapar

March 06, 2016

It was only over a decade ago when one charismatic leader named Anwar was kidnapped from us, imprisoned, his dignity and honour stripped bare.

The horrific image of his black eye and that semen-induced mattress etched permanently into our brains.

Tyranny had triumphed then and we had to grow up with plenty of emotions suppressed and mutated, if not damaged.

Before 1998, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was our new hope for Malaysia. He gave us the face we were eager to show, the stronger feet to run, the louder voice to speak and the guts to change.

Anwar made us proud of our national language and encouraged us to use them as eloquently as possible. We can still remember some of the “never heard before”, but cleverly chosen words spoken at the Parliament. “Mapan”. “Merudum”. “Gawat”.

Today Anwar is still in prison for charges many believed were too absurd, that it was a “perfect crime” choreographed by his political enemies.

Bear in mind Anwar was an Umno man, an Abim warrior, a Barisan Nasional’s most senior general, and the number two most powerful individual in Malaysia. He never joined the “dark side”.

Today George Santayana could not be any truer when he said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it”.

Today we are condemned to witness a remaking of history about greed for wealth and power, abuse of trust, hatred, jealousy, stupidity and ignorance.

We have seen this all too often already and we are sick of it.

We took to the streets in 1999 shouting Reformasi feeling empowered to win this fight against tyranny and injustice. We failed.

We did it again in 2006 when the economy and leadership took another bad hit; we were left jobless with all our savings gone. We failed yet again.

Today I am already at the twilight of my youth, rapidly ageing due to the never-ending scandals, dumb politics and the people’s huge appetite for sexual perversion, and Malaysia is still fighting the same war.

Let us not condemn our leaders and corrupt ministers, false clergymen, the silent judges and law enforcers.

We have spent too much time talking about these losers with very little progress made.

This urgent call is for our youth, to your sons, my daughters, the young and the restless whose candlelight are still strong to survive the darkness, to continue to burn and hopefully brightens our future.

My fellow youths,

You will inherit this country from us very soon. I am sorry that you are in a bigger mess than ours. I am sorry that you have nowhere else to go or no one to seek advice from at this desperate hour.

To be completely honest, you don’t have much of a support either. Those in their 50s would be putting up quite a risk to become a renegade now.

They have a family to take care, a reputation to uphold and a pension fund to protect.

The retired Malaysian, well they have retired. They care about the country but the remaining minutes, days, weeks or months that they have left in this world may not be enough to bury past mistakes. So let them be with God and pray for your success instead.

The super senior citizens in their 70s and 80s may still have a sound mind and a healthy body, but their world is at a different pace already.

To bring them on board might slow you down when you need to run. But try to meet them as frequently as you can, because they have wisdom and experience that you do not possess.

The people in his 90s, well I can think of only one person at this moment. Honestly I still cannot decide if this guy is the saviour or the cause for all our troubles.

I will not worry too much about him though. He had done a lot for us and we must thank him and bid adieu.

My only worry is you. You think you can change the world because you own smartphones and slim notebooks.

You think you are famous because you have thousands of virtual friends who “Like” you very much.

You only read headlines, and leave a thousand-word comment hoping others will “Share” your comments.

This ability to multi-level-share (MLS) everything online I have to admit is awesome and it can be your weapons of mass destruction (I wish we had that kind of weapon during our Netscape, Yahoo and IRC days).

I am worried about your future too. You want a better future but you don’t know how achieve them collectively.

Frustrated, you often choose to ignore everything and become the angry robot that you are programmed to be. I know you have the capability to think beyond skin colour, to achieve them collectively.

I know you have the capability to think beyond skin colour, faith and cultural boundaries; that you no longer believe in affirmative actions or the birth right of the Bumiputeras.

I get that, and it’s not your fault either because you have never enjoyed the privileges. It is more like a curse to you.

But trust me, you will need a handicap to be able to catch up socially, economically and politically with your fellow non-Bumiputera citizens.

By 2020, your total wealth will be five times lower than your Chinese friends and even if you do something substantial, economic parity will only be possible after 2046.

I am being very optimistic here and I am not trying to turn you against the Chinese, but you need to understand the political and economic outlook a bit more before you can shout “screw you!” or “I don’t care” at me, using emojis.

You no longer trust the mainstream media, and I don’t trust them either but 60% Malaysian still lived in a poorly connected broadband areas.

They don’t see what you see, which means you need to design programmes that will allow them to see and understand your reality and your future quickly.

Think of “The Matrix Episode 1”.

I want to give you plenty of cool advice, but for the sake of clarity and space let me give you just one.

This is important, because at the end of the day it is all about the one vote that you cast into the ballot box.

Be it a dirty poll or a clean one, with or without permanent ink, actual or postal vote; whether you’re a member of political parties and whether you like the candidate or not it doesn’t matter.

Scream all you want, curse all you care, share as much as you will, but if you cannot vote you are the biggest loser in the universe.

Do not try to become a super-hero and fight your battle alone.

Thirty million Malaysians are fighting the same war as you. You just need to connect and march on. Think more strategically and put your “weapon of mass destruction” to its maximum potential.

You need to listen to the signs, and you must seek advice from the elders who have been brave enough to go against the tide. Look around you. Something is brewing and you better not miss the boat.

Political enemies unite because they wanted change. Respect the effort because it was not an easy decision to make.

Act for the ultimate change. Vote for your future.

I want to do a little test. See if you have the talent to point and shoot on target.

I want to know whether you really have reliable friends or if you are just one lonely geek.

So go ahead and direct the cursor on your screen to the blue box with the word “share” inside… and shoot! – March 6, 2016.

* Mohd Rizal Jaapar reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.