This country where I was(am) from is so disappointing... Mana boleh? How can such things happen? See, the way that things are in this hopeless place!
I don't want to stay in this place, okay? Every time I hear the news, I feel so embarrassed to let people know about my nationality. I wish to further my career overseas, settle down but maybe not give up my citizenship status; so I may pay less tax in both places, and can be able to return to Malaysia for a good retirement.
You had these thoughts, so have I; but I choose not to act on my feelings.
You may be unhappy about policies that seem to deprive some people of certain benefits due to ethnicity. You may not be happy to see racism at nearly every level in society, which explains the decades of racist prejudice and behaviour in all races. You are not pleased to know that the neighbour's children are receiving the scholarships even though yours may be performing better academically and possibly in every other areas.
You might feel ashamed when people laugh at the Ministry of Defence. You hear stories of deaths of National Service trainees, poor implementation of the NS programme, et cetra, et cetra, et cetra. You wonder why you feel scared whenever you see policemen because you ought to be feeling safe, ideally. You probably are, like me, pissed off when you see downright injustice happening in the country. The rich stepping extorting the poor. You should be angry to know that corruption is all over the place, and the "big fishes" never get caught. You need to feel afraid when you can not have confidence in our Judiciary, be it because the Court of Law lacks either power or impartiality.
Five decades of alleged fraud in elections make you unmotivated to see and/or to work towards any positive change in Malaysia. Change which Malaysia is in dire need of.
You lost hope. In the process you may have lost some memory too. This nation, albeit its many imperfections, has however in one way or another, groomed you to become who you are this day. If you were educated in Malaysia, did you forget about your education? Yes, the system has its many flaws, of which I am very unsatisfied about too, but no education is bad education. If you were born in Malaysia, did you forget about the various vaccinations you received? Yes, I am aware that the healthcare system has a lot of space for improvement, but has it occurred to you that there are a lot of barriers to healthcare reforms? What I write here are merely quick examples of the good the Government has done for me despite my frustrations, that I can think of. Are you capable of being grateful? Did you do anything to helpful to remove your eyesores?
If you simply do not care, I must say, please do not complain about the country since you practically did nothing to contribute to her development. If you can forget how much you have gained from where you came(come) from, how come you are somehow able to describe in detail all your losses as if the country owes you? You want to leave Malaysia for greener pastures and return in your retirement. You are smart. Earn more money and come back here for the various benefits you enjoy but fail to acknowledge or appreciate. For example, highly subsidised fuel. Anyway you are probably aware that you might have no place to call home once you give up your citizenship for another.
I do not ask you to remain in Malaysia all your life and never leave the country, nor am I trying in any way to convince you that the Government is better than you think it is; I only implore that you be a responsible citizen. It is not very difficult. At the very least, please do not badmouth the country lah. By the way, if you do not cast your vote into the ballot box to decide whom you want to govern and run the country, my opinion is that you have absolutely no right to express any form of resentment when things go wrong. Say, if the candidate I voted for wins and screws up, I can be disappointed; if the candidate whom I did not vote for wins and screws up, I can feel displeasure. However if I did not make my choice, again I say that I have no right to any regret or dissatisfaction.
Rather than harping on what can the country do for you, start considering what you can do for the country!
