LETTER | Why we can’t solve any of our country’s problems

LETTER | There are many things we want to fix - the school system, the lewd jokes, the deaths in lockups, the rabble-rousing speeches, the bigotry, the flip-flop in doing everything, and the endless abuse of power and corruption.

I think we will get none of this resolved. Do you know why?

You see, for Malaysia, the problems we face today are problems related to our national ethos. The problems have to do with who we are, not what we can do about them.

You see, students are not supposed to expose lewd jokes uttered by their teachers. This is the cultural and traditional psychic buried deep in our minds. If some students do so, they will be ostracised by the establishment at every level.

Sometimes we wonder why it is so difficult for the people in power to see the problems being highlighted by all and sundry.

Well, it has to do with our nation - whether we are governed by the progressive or the archaic.

We are always a very traditional and religious bound society. This by itself is not necessarily bad. After all, traditions and religions have always provided the moral and ethical fabric for any society.

However, the problem starts when inept, corrupt and archaic people are in power. They can’t change or see the need for progressiveness for several reasons.

First, they can’t see their own baloney. They fail to realise that they are caught in their own archaic mentality. They can’t see the inherent changes currently taking place in any society.

Second, they act in self-preservation. They still think the majority in society is conservative and probably ignorant. So, they sided with the conservative to suppress the progressive.

Third, they are inept and corrupt people. They govern not for the interest of this nation and the wellbeing of its people. So, they don’t really give much thought to any societal change and the need for new policies and imperatives.

For this country to change, we must break the stranglehold of the inept and the archaic. Otherwise, the problems we talk about will just be superficial. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.