Dear Malaysian rakyat ,

It is time to wake up, and change our ways. There is a lot to be done. Our beautiful country is being destroyed because we have all chosen to be silent. We need to dig deep into our souls and question our morals and beliefs. If this silence continues, then the cries of our soil will not be heard.

We the citizens of Malaysia, all have a right and duty towards her - Malaysia. We should stand tall and defend our beautiful country. While she weeps, we cannot leave her to wallow in her own tears.

All Malaysians, we took vows, very early on in life, on a daily basis at school assemblies. Yet how many of us can say we fulfilled those vows? How many more of us can even remember the lines and words in those vows? Just in case you are wondering what I am talking about, it is called the ‘Rukun Negara’ and here are the lines we all promised to uphold:

‘ Maka kami, rakyat Malaysia, berikrar akan menumpukan seluruh tenaga dan usaha kami untuk mencapai cita-cita tersebut berdasarkan atas prinsip-prinsip yang berikut:

Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan

Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara

Keluhuran Perlembagaan

Kedaulatan Undang-undang

Kesopanan dan kesusilaan

Dear rakyat, I am sure, we all have fond memories of reciting these vows of allegiance to our country and remember how proud we were to recite them. But can we be proud enough with ourselves, to say we have observed these principles? Sadly the answer is no. We don’t have to look far as many of our leaders/ MPs don’t even uphold them.

Here’s what I am suggesting dear rakyat . We have a duty and promise to fulfil. And we are all going to put our best effort into keeping our promises. Well, most of you reading this might question, ‘what we can do’ to uphold these promises. The answer is simple - everyone of us just has to believe in these principles and live our lives according to these principles.

First: Trust in God. It does not matter what religion you practise, every religion only preaches good teachings. So Malaysians, should stop fighting about race/ religion and enjoy our good peace and harmony with each another. Do not allow any political party to belittle any race/ religion or to tear our country apart for their silly personal gains (politicians who work for any particular race/ religion should be brought to court for being racist.)

Secondly: Supremacy of the constitution. We should all practise democracy. It doesn’t matter how small or big. We fought really hard for our freedom and independence only to have it taken away by the very own people we elect to represent us. Hence we should all find ways to make Malaysia more democratic. It might be small baby steps, but every little bit eventually adds up just as the recent political tsunami has proven. We the people of Malaysia, should demand for more elections, from kampung heads to state assembly persons, to local councillors. Every single position that could be voted for, should be voted for. Hence the rakyat would have more say over any issue. We will have our independence once again.

Thirdly: Justice/Gloriousness of Law. Laws are there to protect us, the rakyat . They are not meant to be used at the whim and fancy of our politicians. However, as many Malaysians never want to uphold the laws anyway, it allows the corrupt and unscrupulous politicians to get away with many other bigger sins. We must uphold our own laws. We can start by lodging police reports and by filling petitions and handing them in to the police. The police work for the rakyat, and they are supposed to be the champions of our laws and justice. We should be allowed to lodge reports without fear or doubts. We can start by lodging a report against every single politician who has on national media promised something, then backtracked. Every public suspicion should be taken seriously. If the accused person has nothing to hide and has done nothing wrong, then he/she should come forward and speak the truth.

Lastly but not least - manners and good behaviour. This has to be the least upheld pledge ever. We don’t have to look far for examples. We have had our famous MPs and words like bocor, babi, kerbau, monyet , and probably a full list of other vocabulary that should never be heard.

All of us are guilty for not upholding the last pledge. Do something about it. How about say, popping over next door to the neighbours to offer them a plate of food and to catch up with them? Why not say hello to the newspaperman/postman/ rotiman? How hard can it be to open doors, pull out chairs, stand in line, throw litter into bins and just to be generally nice to everyone around? Won’t Malaysia be a much nicer place to call home then? Why not plant some trees and lots of plants and hope Malaysia heals. Take some time out, take a stroll at any of our beaches and pick up litter.

We all have things we can do to save Malaysia. We don’t have to wait for our MPs or ministers.

We have the rakyat . We have ourselves. Every single one of us can make a big difference. If only we put our heart and souls into being good citizens.

And while we are at it, we should not allow the elected ministers/MPs to take the easy way out. We should question them on policies. We should test them on knowledge. We should make sure they work hard for the people. We should want to see every written piece of legislation or policy. We should look into the accounts/expenditures of our country. After all, Malaysia is our home.