What, If Anything, Should Malaysia Learn From America?

ARCHIVES 2009

By admin-s On Jun 26, 2009

Let's start having the real conversations we need to have. How do we create together our Malaysian Dream that will make us proud of ourselves & our Nation? This is too important a question to let the likes of Deminegara decide for us.

By Malaysian Heart

Recently, blogger Ninitalk posted a very thoughtful & inspiring entry entitled "E Pluribus Unum – Out Of Many, One!", which was highlighted at Rocky's Bru. In it Nini notes some parallels between Malaysia and the United States, and draws some lessons in race relations, and creating unity in diversity that we could learn from them. She writes:

"America does this wisely and systematically through a common language, a common education system, a common constitution and law. Lately common national pursuits like the fight against terrorism and the pledge to uphold democracy at home and abroad have united the American people and given them a relevant impetus and a modern identity as a nation."

Here are my thoughts, inspired by Nini's post:

While America & Americans have done much to define & promote democracy & freedom, we must never delude ourselves that they fully practice whatever they preach. Obama or no Obama, there is ample evidence throughout their history which shows that America often lacks the leadership, courage, will or integrity to live up to what they profess. Therefore we must never, by default, rely on them as the final arbiter of what is right or wrong; instead we must objectively examine each issue on its merits.

Nini is right in pointing out the similarities between us & America. It has been suggested elsewhere that our Jalur Gemilang was inspired by their Old Glory. Like them, we are of many cultures, religions & ethnicities. Like them, we too have struggled with troubled & sometimes violent ethnic relations. However, our similarities do not extend to all areas; evidence suggests that Americans are among the most proud and patriotic people in the world, while we, on the other hand, lag some way behind. Considering that after 52 years of Merdeka we are still telling each other to "balik" to wherever our ancestors came from, it's not difficult to see why. So, maybe there is something that we can learn from them (in this area) after all.