Imagine a picture frame hanging on the wall which appears lopsided to you, as you observe it seated in your armchair. Try as hard as she does, the adjustments to the same by the maid just does not seem to get it right. Either it is too much to the left or too much to the right.
You have a choice.
Sit there and gripe until death brings an end to your misery.
Or get off that armchair and set the picture frame right.
You and I have the same set of choices about the state of mismanagement of this country. Sit and gripe or get up and set things right.
In one of the comments to the post, Get to know your MP, ‘twotablet’ posed the following question to me : ‘…are you sure you are not using the same rhetoric as our beloved PM in his last e(r)ection manifesto? You started somewhere above with the same work with us thing…’.
Firstly, let me say that this blog is not about rhetoric.
It is about my belief and my hope. And my aspiration for this country.
I believe that Malaysians by and large are decent, caring people who, in truth, are greatly concerned about the wrongs that are being inflicted to a great many of our fellow Malaysians. I believe that the seeming silence of the greater number is not out of indifference to those wrongs but is brought about by an unfounded fear to dare to stand up and ‘set the picture frame right’.
It is my hope that this blog may help to rally together like-minded Malaysians to dare to stand up and ‘set the picture frame right’.
What is my aspiration for this country?
The comment by A. Williams to my first post sums up so succintly, the problem that grips us as a nation and, that which must come to pass if we are to emerge from this national crisis as a just and caring people. I pray that we have the strength and courage to ‘set the picture frame right’.
“The government meant to serve us, the people of this land, has hijacked the power that belongs to us to fire those that have disgraced the sacred seats of Parliament. Our rights over the years have been whittled down by draconian laws. The wealth of this country that belongs to the citizenry has been squandered by irresponsible men and women.
And we, the people, have been sleeping, lulled into thinking we are the servants of the government we chose. We have accepted false measures of what a nation should be, what our rights and responsibilities are, and many of us have turned the other way rather than face our failure to be a people faithful to the truth, protective of our children’s future and loyal to our Constitution.
We voted in our government servants and promptly became subservient to them. We have such a low opinion of ourselves as a people able to bring dignity back to our Parliament and able to change the destiny of our nation. Why? Because we are on the whole self-serving too, at our own level.We live in enclaves of self-preservation and want the other man to fight for us.
The time has come to change. And change must begin with us. We need to change our mindset of apathy. We need to forge a new alliance among ourselves, a unity founded on a love and respect for all peoples of this nation. We need to carve on our hearts that every man not given justice is our brother and every woman shackled by the discriminatory laws and customs is our sister .
There is no other road to restoration but that of commitment. We must rise as a people if we want a People’s Parliament”.
The People's Parliament 
AL Ho
April 19, 2007
I support democracy led by an accountable Government that is pro-people.
Having said this, the more aware amongst us need to do beyond talk and go about with the grassroots, helping the less aware amongst us to rise above their current state of unawareness.
Efforts that goes beyond the virtual world can result in turning the mind towards the light to bring people to rise above apatheticness as one.
The Eagle
April 19, 2007
Or you can turn the picture completely upside down and see how long before anyone notices.
Bernard Khoo
April 20, 2007
Good impactful start. I have bookmarked you. Cheers.
Syed Akbar Ali
April 21, 2007
Salam Sam,
Took some time getting here but I did. Congrats on your site. Semoga Tuhan rahmati segala usaha sdra.
I agree with you. The country is in serious trouble. Syabas to Internet technology to unite us to see the common problems that beset us. If only Blogs were here 30 years ago.
The road is uphill but let us never waver.
Let us open as many fronts as possible to engage and effect change. Whether it is a political front, a legal front, an NGO front, a front working from the inside etc – let there always be a party of people calling for good. The community of the moderate people (ummatan wasatan) who are neither this extreme or that extreme.
Since we are a guided democracy (which can be rigged, manipulated, kept in the dark, denied information, arrested and such) we have no choice but to adhere to democratic principles. But change cannot be effected so easily thru the ballot box. Looking back over the past 50 years this may not be very possible.
The other way which is effective is to change mindsets among the ruling elites. We are a ‘guided’ democracy, so there has to be a ruling elite. And in this country there is a ruling elite. Other than the Parliamentarians and the YBs (on both sides) there are the academicians, the Civil Servants, the Judiciary and so forth.
I was not surprised at all to find out that the ruling elite has had very little contact with the proponents of ‘Civil Society’ in our country. As people they are quite like us. Quite normal people. But when they assume the role of ‘stage actors’ they can be quite formidable because they are playing to a gallery. And they can only act according to the script they have memorised. When they act, the general public will applaud. The general public knows the script well also.
Other than the ruling elite, who do we have to engage with ? We will have to deal with the general electorate. This is the average Awang, Mutu and Ah Chong in our country. I believe this is an infinitesimally more difficult task. Look at the voting patterns over the past 35 years. Do we seriously expect our voting public to effect change thru the ballot box ? I dont think so.
But it is the ruling elite has the power to create chaos and also the power to undo the chaos they create – after people have suffered much pain and tears of course.
N’theless they are a means of effecting change. Target the ruling elites and engage with them. Visit the campuses – to engage the Vice Chancellors, the Deans and the Professors. Visit the PAS leaders – to meet them and to let them know that we come with substance, not high falutin and alien ‘western ideas’.
I feel if we target these select groups, it will expedite our objectives too.
It will be interesting to find out what the present Mufti of Perlis has read ? I believe it is some type of reading that has profoundly influenced him. This is a very good example of one man being capable of effecting so much change in the thinking of the people. The people listen to the ruling elites. The ruling elites have to listen to Civil Society.
Salam. Syed Akbar Ali.