No roar, mediocrity has made M'sia lose its bite

Malaysiakini

01-05-2025

YOURSAY | 'End racial politics if we want to be a tiger, otherwise, we're just buffalo.'
'Stop dreaming,' Zaid dismisses idea of Malaysia becoming 'Asian Tiger'
Bobbyo: Is there any leader who is willing to reorganise the whole school system and syllabus to compete with the best in the world?
This is where we need to start if we want to be reborn as a tiger cub first. Then on to a full-grown tiger.
If not, stop fooling the public with the empty rhetoric of making empty promises that English and artificial intelligence are important subjects to master.
Look at what activist Siti Kasim exposed on what is taught in our schools, such as hatred towards the Jews and those who support them.
In Chinese vernacular schools, children are taught to use their minds to come up with ideas to improve their intellect.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is so busy defending his seat that he cannot see further than that.
What former law minister Zaid Ibrahim has said is true, we can never achieve tiger status. We are moving backwards from where we started.
In the 1950s and 1960s, we imported foreign labour as the locals did not want to do the hard tasks of clearing the jungles, building roads and constructing buildings.
In the last 10 years, we have had millions of Malaysians who are skilled professionals leaving our shores.
Many more are preparing to go. At the same time, this nation has received millions of foreign workers doing jobs that Malaysians are not willing to partake in.
It is history repeating itself. To show that we have not moved from our spot.
So how do we become an Asian Tiger if our leaders' minds are stuck on protecting their interests, rather than the nation?
Koel: A bunch of cowardly men who just want to be populist heroes are not going to move this country into a truly developed status.
A bunch of cowards out to seek a good life for themselves, their families, their parties, and their cronies are not leaders who know how to help the country attain developed status.
A bunch of hate-filled cowards who have problems accommodating a world beyond the insularity of their race and religion can certainly never take this country into a developed nation status.
Various parties continue to vie for power in Malaysia.
Petty, uneducated, selfish and egoistic. The country is under constant threat and abuse by such vindictive and stupid people.
So Zaid is 100 percent correct. We should all stop dreaming the impossible dream.
Em Em Kay: Zaid has never shied away from challenging the status quo.
In his latest assessment, he accuses the Madani administration of clinging to archaic policies and failing to demonstrate the visionary leadership necessary to achieve true economic transformation.
Many of the government's strategies reflect outdated thinking and compromise bold reform in favour of political convenience.
The promises of progress and reform touted by Anwar have, so far, fallen flat, replaced instead by incremental measures that fail to address Malaysia's deeper, structural issues.
As Zaid pointed out, the country is on track 'just to become a better version of Pakistan' - a reference not meant to disparage Pakistan, but to underscore his fear that Malaysia risks stagnation: a country with some improvements, but ultimately held back by outdated systems and insufficient reform.
Headhunter: Agree with Zaid 100 percent. How can we become a tiger state when the best in the country are not in charge?
The nation is being helmed by mostly half-baked politicians and civil servants. Corruption alone has brought the nation to its knees.
The courts themselves have a long queue of corrupt politicians and civil servants trying to delay their cases or bargain their way out of prison.
We lost talent to other countries because of corruption in high places and institutionalised discrimination. Stop kidding ourselves that we are a tiger state.
Neutral Point: Learn from Singapore. Separate politics from religion and race. Then you can start talking about tiger. Otherwise, we are just buffalo.
Our leaders from day one till today work along racial and religious lines to clinch their power.
When they are in power, they focus on how to enrich themselves.
So Malaysia remains a failed state as long as we are still talking about race and religion in politics, not education and the economy.
IndigoTrout2522: Zaid is correct. It is a long, long way before Malaysia can even consider being an Asian Tiger unless it makes drastic changes.
It is nowhere near the Asian tigers of South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. And not even Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia, which are moving ahead.
In 1965, Malaysia and Singapore were comparable, but now we are far, far behind in almost every aspect. Why? The answer is pretty obvious.
Pink: Zahid has always had myopic views of Malaysia because he is a frustrated politician.
He could not see the massive data centres now being built in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
In the recent SPM results, more than 17,000 students got nine straight As.
At least seven Malaysian universities are in the top 100 in Asia, including the underrated Universiti Teknologi Mara, his alma mater. Universiti Malaya is listed among the top 100 in the world!
Not far from my apartment are two branches of top British universities, Reading and Southampton, and numerous international schools, including one of the most expensive, Marlborough College.
One eminent professor from Reading University, UK, told me that these universities are not targeting Malaysians because Malaysia has so many good universities of its own.
True enough, we have so many students from China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and even the UK studying in this country.
This year, the number of applicants from China increased by 37 percent. There is also an increase from all other countries.
While at Universiti Malaya, I spoke to a student from China and asked him why he chose to study in Malaysia. He said his father encouraged him to study here because it is a beautiful country, with nice people and has many good universities.
Malaysia is an underrated country even by its people. It is a resting tiger ready to pounce.
MS: Malaysia is a country which has heartily embraced paralysing mediocrity as a national imperative and a religious duty.
As a consequence, it has also lost its ability to even recognise mediocrity, sloth and decline in everything from politics and politicians to education and public services... all of which have been accepted as normal.
Its willing acceptance and defence of high corruption, its willingness to leapfrog an unrepentant felon to receive a royal pardon and the right to spend the remainder of his sentence in his palatial home is just one example of how low the bar is set for criminal politicians.
Just listening to the country's poorly educated politicians will provide the proof required for the country's sorry state and the promise of the worst to come.
Mario T: Change the racist policies, introduce meritocracy and introduce equal opportunities, then there is a strong possibility of being an Asian tiger.
Otherwise, do not even think about it.
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