What do we want to be? [Archives:2004/702/Opinion]

By Murad Alazzany
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Malaysia
Undoubtedly, each individual in every society inspires and dreams of a tranquil and secured life in which he guarantees at least his basic needs. A tranquil life means a life vacant of troubles and obstacles that deter one from progressing or excelling. Actually dreaming of such a life has instinctively been inculcated in human beings nature as they inherit it a generation after another. Otherwise, who wants to starve? Who is willing to drudge for his living or for a sordid target in this life? On contrary, great people sometimes starve and drudge for they choose the way of striving and struggling for their own people's tranquil and luxury life. A tranquil life has been always a feature that distinguishes advanced societies in which an individual freedom is reserved and his needs are guaranteed.
Though such a life is what every body struggles hard to reach and achieve, there are still some people who intend to hold a monopoly over it trying their effort to deprive others of. That is because they won't get an ultimate control over it only if they steal other's rights. Their happiness and enjoyment come from other's despair and suffering. If other people's life is totally corrupted, their ecstasy reaches its extreme. Those people are always sick as they are being the leaders of corruption.., they are selfish, egotist, they care for nothing but themselves. Their position is always located at top of the triangle of every corrupted government and authority. That is why a widening gap can be found in most of the undeveloped countries between the rich and the poor, the educated and the ignorant and so on. We can find people suffer from a luxury life while others suffer from poverty. People die of fatness, others die of hunger. A group of people has every thing another group has nothing. Contradiction is very dominant and manipulative in such countries to a degree it ruins every life's aspect.
Taking into consideration the Arab people's critical current situation, a person will burst into crying eople there lack the basic needs that human beings are supposed to enjoy. They don't have the basic needs like a really secured life which comes at the bottom of the human basic needs triangle. Their land is conquered, their dignity is down. Yet , they still rely on our enemy to provide them with the food they eat , the clothes they wear and even the weapons they use to defend themselves, and they will never get rid of these lasting services for they don't have the intention to do so.
I'm writing this article as two days ago I happened to come across an article written in a Malaysian local daily newspaper. In that newspaper it was reported that Malaysian government members held a meeting in the late seventies. The first questions which were posed during that meeting were that “what we want to be and how can we guarantee a better life for our own people?” “Do we want to be an industrial nation or an agricultural one?” After having a long discussion a conclusion has been reached that agricultural policies have been proven to be wrong. It is only industrial countries that have successfully achieved a better life for their own people. So they set up the plans and went through. Now it has been almost three decades and I wonder if the Malaysian people have reached what they wanted to be. Are they now an industrial country that has its own weight among the developed countries?
Actually there is no Malaysian citizen who really worries about his food or his education. Education is free and accessible for everybody since 30% of the general budget of the country is spent on education. Everybody after his graduation can own a house, a car, or can further his study as the government offers him loans he can pay as small installments over a long period of time. Besides, Malaysian people have proven to be able to defend their economy as when they overcame the deflation crisis that hit the economy of most of the southern Asian countries in 1997. Now Malaysian people are not worried about anything, they are just so concerned about how to improve in different fields, how to get a higher certificate, how to offer something remarkable or how to own a luxury house and a better car.
Malaysia actually doesn't differ from any of the Islamic countries regarding its resources. On the contrary, some Islamic countries have more resources than Malaysia has. However, the difference lies in the fact that Malaysia could make good investment of its own people, environment and all the available resources it has. Besides, they have good intention which is to make their country better by serving it sincerely.
Now I think we realized where our deficiency lies. We don't know what we want, what we are supposed to do or where are we heading for. Things must be reviewed soon, everything must be put on its right position and path. If every body is careless and he only thinks about himself without taking into consideration the welfare of the society, then he ship will sink. Sooner or later it will be lost between the huge waves and will be destroyed by an awful hurricane.
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