The best way to predict the future is to create it.
– Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President
Naysayers say it’s the beginning of the end. Optimists say it’s the end of the beginning. Realists say it has not even begun. These sentiments are in the context of where we are heading as a People in a nation caught in the crosshairs of 4-R.
It’s been said that we should never argue with history. There’s plenty to learn, and unlearn. It ought to show where we are heading. We must remember the future. That does not seem to enthuse the present government that clings to the status quo.
Charles A. Beard on the four lessons of history: “Whom the gods would destroy, they would first make mad with power; the mills of God grind slowly, but they grind exceedingly small.”
He goes on to say that “the bee fertilizes the flower it robs; and finally, when it’s dark enough, you can see the stars.” Will Durant drove home the final nail: “All history is guessing; the rest is prejudice.”
America expanded westward following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Native Americans were roundly and rudely displaced, relocated, and their livelihoods were totally destroyed. The government calls it ‘manifest destiny’.
Malaya too expanded – eastward – when the Borneo Territories of Sabah and Sarawak inevitably found themselves in the Federation of Malaysia with the calculated omission of United Nations Resolutions 1514 and 1541.
Article 153 Federal Constitution guaranteeing Native rights in the Borneo Territories terrifies, terrorises, defies and mocks their rights to land, soil and their rights to inground assets under the ad coelum principle of property ownership.
A government that takes refuge in outrageous lies and outright arrogance by employing rhetoric and polemics certainly offers fodder to comedy club routines. After all, laughter is the best medicine, right?
We will get our direction right when we learn to unlearn all the garbage that was force fed from kindergarten to university. The government cannot force any ‘education system’ on the rakyat in defiance of Article 12 Federal Constitution (Rights in respect of education).
The economy seems unfixable. The ringgit will not get back on terra firma in the near future. We are buffeted by unwelcome forces. We refuse to learn from a former Malayan state that has made itself a global economic powerhouse.
Sabah and Sarawak should steer the Federation in the right direction if and when they begin managing their vast natural resources as titans of commerce and industry. Putrajaya better understand that constitutional safeguards are not movable or moving goalposts.
Part VI Federal Constitution (Relations between the Federation and the States), and its Chapter 8 (Application to States of Sabah and Sarawak) needs jettisoning because MA63 underscores the Borneo Territories as equal partners – not States.
Part VII (Financial Provisions) Federal Constitution, and its Chapter 2 (Application to States of Sabah and Sarawak) also needs massive overhaul for intent, content, extent, pith and substance.
If Sabah and Sarawak are destined to set national goals, Part XIIA (Additional Protections for States of Sabah and Sarawak) need rewriting and rebranding. The optics now are bad, unjust and uncalled for.
Is Putrajaya financing the Borneo Territories, or vice-versa? The control of immigration by Sabah and Sarawak speaks volumes for territorial autonomy and sovereignty. The pink elephant in the room is invisible to many.
Is our ringgit surviving the downward spiral because of our natural commodities and manufactories are producing enough volume for its survival? Trickle-down economics teaches us the difference between the greatest and the grotesque.
I remember the carefree 1950s and the 1960s until 1969 when the peace and calm unexpectedly exploded into a national pathos. The aftermath indicates where were heading especially when constitutional assurances assume a pacifier role.
Whether the present leadership secretly finances a Ministry of the Future Well-being of Malaysians is refreshingly unknown. The power in the people will become the deciding factor with a rehashing of politics and government.
The existing (f)laws hover over us like an overcast sky threatening to rain on our parade. These (f)laws spell the future in precise language and define where we are heading. Perdition or perfection await with open arms.
Politicians, academics, judges, and lawyers speak grandiloquently about the ‘rule of law.’ That we are a law-abiding nation. That we are a nation of laws, not men. But they do squat to fix the flaws, defects, errors and terrors.
The voters have the power to pick and place the super-qualified as MPs capable of writing pragmatic laws. The nation’s future will solely depend on who we select and elect as our leaders.
Our rights do not come from some awkwardly written constitution and defective legislation copied from a distant past. Our rights, that must be taken seriously, create constitutions and laws.
Present politics are future toxins if we allow government the monopoly. The vehicle of ‘national unity’ is currently blinded by the fog of unruly political behaviour and conduct.
Remembering the future entails establishing and entrenching a domain of core values and beliefs. It’s Malaysia’s ‘manifest destination.’ Set the compass. Course correction required. No “Mayday” calls like 1969 – ever.
Future generations will justifiably resist and reject imported values that are anathema to local culture. And beware of aged politicians competing with aged wine.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
