What are Malaysia’s goals?

Of late, I've been feeling that we as a nation have become lethargic, and truth be told, Malaysia is in need of some introspection. This is plainly because we have no goals that anyone can see us achieving as a nation.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg says that there needs to be a measure to everything, for us to know that we are headed in the right direction.

It is taught in Islam that if we do not grow better from one day to the next, then surely we have wasted our time. And mind you, Malaysia is wasting time and running out of it fast.

While we are barraged by the ludicrous statements of lunatic fringe groups, we have grown cynical of the Malaysian dream.

The phrase "Malaysia Boleh" is now said with sarcastic undertones when it was once a sign that we could achieve great things together.

Similarly, the dream of a 1Malaysia, a nation united as one, has now also been given the same sarcasm and said as a farce.

Some would tie it to politics, others would say it was a rip-off to some Israeli agenda and others still have problem explaining just what exactly a 1Malaysia policy means to this day, close to six years after its conception.

And then we have a supposed government organisation tasked with monitoring our progress, a national driver which hides and massages data in order to show somehow that we are on the right path. But let us be truthful, nobody believes them.

We still have projects of gigantic proportions which will make the nation better, but at the same time, we hear those on the streets clamouring for missing leadership.

Malaysia at one time started out with a goal to achieve a vision by 2020, but are we still on this track or have we strayed?

Have we focused too much on the development of our economy that we have forgotten the development of a society of fair share and equality?

So I ask the Malaysian government today – what are our nation's goals?

Let us go one step lower to the states, what are their goals?

In the districts, what about those?

In the cities?

What about in the Malaysian citizenry?

It all drills down to us, as Malaysians. 

What are our goals? Yes, I know it is hard for us to even fathom such a question when every day we are barraged by the need to perform to earn a decent wage, but truly we must know what they are, should we not?

Is it to go to some foreign land and wage a jihad or earn a better life for ourselves?

Or coming back to our country because of the promises of tax breaks and incentives?

Or ranting and raving at the lunatics on the fringes, calling for an absent government to take action?

President John F. Kennedy once said to Americans not to ask what the country could do for you, but what you could do for your country. Ever wondered what he meant?

In our population, we have heroes who feed the poor while scorned by those who do not lift a finger. We have families crying out for their children while authorities twiddle their thumbs and say they cannot help.

We have Malaysians who see their holy scripture torn out of their arms simply because one god is supposedly of greater authority than another.

And through all this, all we hear from our leaders is silence. And that silence is deafening. And it is painful. And it is breeding hate.

But what about the citizens. Will you remain silent, too? Or will you speak up?

To paraphrase Kennedy: what can you do for your country if you don't even bother speaking up?

If our goal as Muslims, as Malaysians and even as a father, mother, daughter or son of someone is to better ourselves for the future generation, then might I just ask, what are we doing to further these goals?

With this being a public holiday for some of us, perhaps we should contemplate that answer before the next dawn. – July 15, 2014.

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