Leader

NST Leader: Reliving the good ol' 90s

In that post-Cold War decade of prosperity known as the 1990s, Malaysia was a panhandle sticking out of Asia, globally known as this tiny go-getting country with outsized cojones.

The world entrusted Malaysia with major events because we had this carpe diem mentality and opportunity to make it work. The "Malaysia boleh!" rallying cry was actionable as it was pop culture cool.

Prosperity was evident: annual bonuses were regular while corporate retreats went either to island resorts or all the way Down Under. Easy to see why: in sport, we tamed perennial rival Indonesia to wrest the 1992 Thomas Cup after a 26-year lull; the 1998 Commonwealth Games we hosted, a first for Asia, was a big hit, and Formula 1 races started screaming in 1999.

We had a considerable hand in dismantling apartheid and aided Nelson Mandela's epic reconstruction of South Africa. Putrajaya (1995) and Cyberjaya (1997) were touchstones that sparked the Multimedia Super Corridor (1997) and the exponential boom of homegrown Internet enterprises. The Petronas Twin Towers soared magnificently by 1998, and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport sprinted to a record 54-month finish.

M. Magendran and N. Mohanadas conquered Mount Everest in 1997, another Malaysian first, and that original homeboy seafarer, Azhar Mansor, helmed a small boat in 1999 against mighty odds and treacherous oceans to circumnavigate Earth. We deployed brave soldiers to the United Nations peacekeepers (think Black Hawk Down rescue missions) and granted sanctuary for Bosnians during the rampaging Serbian genocide.

Culturally, we weren't shabby. Megastars thronged: Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, Santana, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, James Taylor, Manhattan Transfer, McCoy Tyner, Tony Bennett, Tommy Emmanuel, Mariah Carey and, for heaven's sake, Luciano Pavarotti and Michael Jackson. From likeable stage for their fabulous talent to a slow dearth. It's disheartening.

Uncannily, as the 1990s bowed out, follies dictated the new millennium as we steadily sank: our voice no longer influential, our dissent inconsequential, our scintillating sporting triumphs languishing and, depressingly, global consternation over politicians who abuse and pilfer monumental government largesse.

So, how to re-ignite Malaysia's mojo in reprising its glorious decade? First, circumvent predictable jobbery, political interference and capitulation to exigencies of niggling extremists. Second, inspire impressarios and promoters — the real experts — to run the show, slash red tape and incentivise them with tax breaks.

Little but crucial starting points and no-brainer resolutions, no? The reported initiative to revive Formula 1 must be tempered though: that great run of tourists, exposure and lucrative downstream yield proved untenable by extortionate costs, sterile returns and indifferent fans.

Hopefully, the Selangor government's well-placed ambition to redevelop Shah Alam Stadium and its surrounding facilities can firm up our sagging belly.

Our crowning legacies can be resuscitated by assertion of positive political will, cheer-led by a clamorous public desperate to cry "Malaysia boleh!" again without follow-up cynicism.

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