Turning 50!

This year, Malaysia will be turning fifty! In August, the nation will be celebrating her fiftieth year as a sovereign independent nation. Her flag flying majestically, her national anthem echoed in the air, and her history continued to be made with each passing year. I am proud to be Malaysian!

What is our expectation from our nation on her fiftieth birthday? Has she delivered well? Has she made us proud....? Or have we purposely ignored to ask ourselves, what have we done to make our nation proud?

If I were a doctor doing physical examinations on Malaysia - my report will say;
-this is a nation suffering from poor vision, hard of hearing which supports the observable symptons of not listening well, lacking energy and stamina and having too many parasites sucking the life out of her.

But I am not a doctor. I am simply a citizen concerned with changes in her. Gone are her zest for successes, instead she is turning into a sleepy head. I worry for her future and the future she brings to my children and grandchildren.

When I was a young boy, Malaysia was a young nation itself. As a young boy, I was full of optimism and aspirations. Malaysia was too. The late Tunku was one leader with abundance and overflow of confidence. I was in school absorbing new knowledge and keen to learn with a mind so open you could see only white space and not so much grey matters - something you may say still is the case with my mind today.
I grew up loving my country Malaysia, which at the time was no further than the little village weekly market place. That was where all the happening was - every Sunday when my Mak, Sisters and I used to walk the 2 miles gravel road to sell our produce and to buy, in exchange some of the niceties such as fresh sardines and yellow fins, sugar and condensed milk.
Malaysia was simple, honest, and in a positive way naive and so was I.

Lately, perhaps feeling lethargic with age or feeling aged with too much stress of living and competing - Malaysia and I are like two best friends going with the flow and not exactly seeing eye to eye with each other.
I have turned into a conceited, matured and weather beaten man while Malaysia in what is supposed to be at a prime age of 50, already showing signs of fatigue, lacking confidence and lost of direction. Definitely being overtaken by its neighbours in the like of seductive Thailand, big brother Indonesia, and even fast growing Vietnam in courting the rich and famous from abroad to come and invest. I worry for my friend Malaysia more than I worry for myself.

I have been away working abroad as an expat for the last eight years. That is soon coming to an end. Today, I had a phone conversation with a someone in Kuala Lumpur exploring possibilities of joining one of the public listed blue chip as one of their senior leadership team members.
The thought of returning home - brought fresh hopes and aspirations. I hope Malaysia too, is keen to welcome me back.

Malaysia - I will definitely will be celebrating your Golden Anniversary and Birthday!