Along the line of optimism
Pua Khein-Seng invented the USB flash drive. His talent was not recognized locally and the Taiwanese capitalized on the invention. Today, Phison Electronic Corporation is one of the key players in flash based products. The Taiwanese are benefitting after an innovation from a Malaysian entrepreneur/inventor. We have failed to recognize our home grown talent. Who do we blame for driving out Pua from his own soil?
Natesan Visnu
We have lost our faith and hope with everything around us. Our progress is interrupted with the reality of corruption and mistrust. Our mind has been engineered systematically that any progression is surely corrupt. Why did this happen?
We started off as a nation full of ideals and hope. We innovated at an accelerated rate where we left other developing nations in awe. Our ideology as a nation was far more advanced and superior. We once were an innovative society.
Now, we are becoming a bitter society. We have lost our innovation intuition. We have poured our efforts into efficiency. We are focused on profit and process. If we observe, we have developed a system where little attention is paid to innovation. We borrow ideologies from others and failed to develop our own.
Emphasis on efficiency and improvement has ‘robbed’ innovation culture in our society. Sony’s Walkman was a prime example of Japanese innovation. The innovation changed the concept of listening to music. Instead of forgetting about the Walkman and challenging their own innovation, Sony was too focused on profit and they only worked on improving the Walkman. The innovation lost itself to efficiency and improvement. In a nutshell, Sony became more efficient and improvised, not innovate.
“An innovation is something original, new, and important – in whatever field – that breaks in to (or obtains a foothold in) a market or society.”
Corporate leaders are more focused on profit, process and performance. Most businesses rely on innovation from foreign countries. The prime example is the property development industry. The modern houses design does not reflect our origin and culture. The attap dwelling design which was developed using the natural ventilation system has not been applied further in modern construction. The modern design requires additional costs spent on mechanical ventilation. Emphasis on profit and efficiency has destroyed our very own architectural heritage.
Our ancestors were innovative folks. They were environmentalists way before the world was introduced to the green wave. They used natural resources and merged their lifestyle to suit the environment. The boat making industry in Pulau Duyong is another prime example of our innovation. Without modern naval architectural knowledge, they used the tacit knowledge learned from their ancestors to build boats that has marveled the boat making industry.
Pua Khein-Seng invented the USB flash drive. His talent was not recognized locally and the Taiwanese capitalized on the invention. Today, Phison Electronic Corporation is one of the key players in flash based products. The Taiwanese are benefitting after an innovation from a Malaysian entrepreneur/inventor. We have failed to recognize our home grown talent. Who do we blame for driving out Pua from his own soil?
During the 60s and 70s, we tasted the Malaysian culture. We had a strong football team. Merdeka Cup is our very own ‘World Cup’. We were people of optimism. A country that was born based on mutual respect for all races, religion, culture and belief. The air waves were dominated by pop ‘yeh yeh’ music. But sadly, the politicians past and present are not social thinkers. A football or badminton game could bring the nation together but not politicians.
P. Ramlee’s movies and music marks the unification of three major cultures. The central theme of his most notable works marks the integration of Malay, Chinese and Indian culture. Like Mozart, he died penniless. But he left us with optimistic works that we are after all people of a great nation. P. Ramlee is a prime example of a creative and innovative talent. P. Ramlee unites people in his movies but the politicians divide us literally. Do we blame the politics or people for not appreciating a creative soul? He died in vain.
We taught our colonial master a lesson with ‘The Dawn Raid’. We were a nation that will not take nonsense from our colonial master. But today, we are as pessimistic than ever. Politicians are human too. Some have really contributed to make us better, some have made it worse. But we continue to be pessimistic. In 57 years of ups and downs, we have lost ourselves in the name of politics, race and religion. Reconciliation isn’t a political initiative; it is a responsibility of the people. Do we continue to be bitter or take a pragmatic approach to reconcile?
“Empathy matters not just because it makes you good, but because it is good for you. It has the power to heal broken relationships, erode our prejudices, expand our curiosity about strangers and make us rethink our ambitions. Ultimately empathy creates the human bonds that make life worth living “ Roman Krznaric
We need empathy to progress further. Without it we will not regain what we have lost in 57 years of wilderness. People are born with empathy; it is the most natural emotion that could rewrite the future of a nation. It makes our very little time in life worth living for.
