Societies and nations use time markers to denote significant events in their histories in the past and significant turning-point changes they want to realise in the future. Time markers are usually the New Year of Gregorian, or lunar calendars, dates of cultural or historical events or, in the case of Islam, the Hijrah or the independence dates of nations. There are also strategic future time markers.
In the case of Malaysia, Vision 2020 launched on Feb 28, 1991 is such a time marker.
Recurring and newly emerging challenges face the nation; nine identified include the following:
ESTABLISHING a united Malaysian nation with a sense of common and shared destiny, at peace with itself, territorially and ethnically integrated, living in harmony, and full and fair partnership, made up of one “Bangsa Malaysia” with political loyalty and dedication to the nation;
CREATING a psychologically liberated, secure and developed Malaysian society with faith and confidence in itself, justifiably proud of what it is, robust enough to face all manner of adversity… distinguished by the pursuit of excellence, aware of all its potentials, psychologically subservient to none and respected by the peoples of other nations;
FOSTERING and developing a mature democratic society, practising a form of mature consensual, community-oriented Malaysian democracy;
ESTABLISHING a fully moral and ethical society, whose citizens are strong in religious and spiritual values, and imbued with the highest of ethical standards;
ESTABLISHING a matured liberal and tolerant society in which Malaysians of all colours and creeds are free to practise and profess their customs, cultures and religious beliefs, and yet feeling that they belong to one nation;
ESTABLISHING a scientific and progressive society that is innovative and forward-looking, one that is not only a consumer of technology but also a contributor to the scientific and technological civilisation of the future;
ESTABLISHING a fully caring society and a caring culture, a social system in which society will come before self, in which the welfare of the people will revolve not around the state or the individual but around a strong and resilient family system;
ENSURING an economically just society… there is a fair and equitable distribution of the wealth of the nation, in which there is full partnership in economic progress; and,
ESTABLISHING a prosperous society, with an economy that is fully competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.
Millions of citizens, young and old, men and women, from private and governmental sectors, were inspired by Vision 2020 during the last two decades. Then, there emerged a new crop of self-declared leaders who are all set to deny the people the dream of a united citizenry and nation. They do not have a vision but they do have their own eclectic model of the power they must wield over others.
Go to the food courts, wet markets and other multiracial public places, we see the ordinary Malaysian from all backgrounds interacting peacefully in harmony and with self-respect. Attend gatherings of political parties; we see the unleashing of political messages that do not reflect well on the ideals of religion or democracy, common sense or societal virtues. Conspiracy theories of all kinds are constructed to persuade the masses to surrender to particular interpretations of realities and to accede to particular sub ideologies. There are the tensions between the good and ideals of the silent sane majority and the unrestrained fury of those who thirst for power and control, wealth and status, their own uncompromising societal engineering of futures to be.
Vision 2020 is one of the most important documents of the nation. It is well-written, inspiring to the majority of the people. It provides substance and direction for development grounded in strong philosophic constituents of human rights, ideas of balanced progress, ideals of harmony and the dream of a beautiful nation, an example to the world.
The new generation of leaders and leaders to be should read and reread the document exercising reflective mindfulness, generosity of heart and virtues of souls. The people cannot be denied the vision as articulated, disseminated and inspired. To achieve the vision, the merchants of hate, using the ogres of race, religion, language, culture and narrow ideology to attempt to achieve supremacy, must not sway the people.
A self-confident society with a large base of good people will be able to resist ideological psychopaths who yearn for the glories of eternal power and ignorant of the geo-scopic realities that are shaping the course of human history. The people, not just leaders or government, must own the dream, vision and beyond, of a blessed nation.
The writer is president of Malaysian
Association for Education