Take a step back…

 

First it’s Tun Haniff Omar’s cautionary reminder for us to ‘hasten slowly’ with his A Malaysian Journey.  His message seems like a carefully worded reminder that we could lose it all if we’re not too careful about how we demand for our rights, and that we have to see ourselves first as Malaysians above all else.  Otherwise, no matter where we stand, rich or poor, majority or minority, we could possibly see 49 years of struggle go down the drain just because some of us refuse to give some in order to take some, but rather want to do everything “My Way” no matter what happens. 

 

Then the Sunday StarMag ran a series of stories about the Rwandan Tragedy about the Hutus and the Tutsis, as seen through the eyes of a film-maker, Raoul Peck, and the despairing experiences as related by Tan Sri Vohrah, and also posed the haunting question with a list of modern time genocides: (Are we) doomed to repeat the horror? 

 

Being smarter doesn’t guarantee you’ll get it all.  Being the stronger doesn’t mean you’ll win all the time.  Being the minority doesn’t mean you must just let things go without trying.  And being the majority doesn’t mean you can do it all as you please.  Any upheaval at all simply screws up the social order and if it finally ends, nobody’s going to take his cake and enjoy it too.  There are no winners.  We see it happen elsewhere.  We don’t want that to happen here.  You see something’s not right?  Got your differences? Let’s sit down and negotiate.  Chinese saying: “Take a step back; look at the horizon and the sky.”  You’ll see chances for compromise. 

 

As Datuk Wong says we need to: Stress on the common ground

 

Let’s look forward to another Merdeka day.  And another.  And another.  In spite of our differences.  Agree?