Author: UKEC

A couple of months back, I drove to the Royal Lake Club at the heart of metropolitan Kuala Lumpur. As I stepped out of my car, I checked my pockets for my cigarette case containing my beloved Sampoerna. I lit the cigarette as I was early for my meeting with a Minister from Bersatu. Less than 400 metres west is Dataran Merdeka; many battles have been fought there. 1998 witnessed seas of Malaysians square up against the Federal Reserve Unit as they rallied in the name of ‘Reformasi’. In the late 2000s, Malaysians took to the street again to demand free and fair elections, ‘Bersih!’, they cried as the surroundings were blurred with tear gas and showers of the FRU’s chemical-induced water cannon. Cries of ‘Kleptocracy’ filled Dataran Merdeka in 2015.

The past few weeks have been a tumultuous period for Malaysia. As the dust settles (for now), and Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, prepares to helm the new government, it is timely to take a step back and consider the current state of the country, as well as lessons that leaders and ordinary citizens should takeaway. As an individual who studied political science, here are three points of reflection about nation-building and where we go from here.

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” “Step out of your comfort zone,” “You will be fine,” such so-called motivating quotes have never failed to crop up in our sight, be it on our social media pages, our daily conversations with acquaintances, or even loved ones.

As students studying overseas in the UK and Ireland, we are a handful of the lucky ones on track to living life the predetermined ‘good’ way — trying our best to study hard in ‘good’ universities, get ‘good’ grades, and graduate in a field with good ‘career’ prospects. Once all that’s done, we are meant to go on and work in ‘good’ companies, contribute to society in meaningful ways, and start the process all over again with the partner and children that we are supposed to have. With the golden rule in place, life becomes boring with a fixed template; at different points in our lives, we might wonder if there really is more to life than it seems.

“Was British colonialism in Malaysia a good thing?” This was the prompt I was given in Year 8 history when my teacher, despite my fervent and unequivocal presentation answering a firm ‘no’ to this question, continued to encouragingly say, “There were some positive facets as well…” Though my frustration was palpable, my 14-year-old self struggled to fully articulate how harrowing it was to hear someone, a British woman, no less, attempt to silence me and dismiss the trauma of an entire society who continues to struggle in the wake of a post-colonial hangover.