Malaysia needs an educational overhaul as an education system which could produce a global kleptocracy in Malaysia cannot be a good and wholesome one.
The last few days provided another example of why there is something basically wrong with the Malaysian education system which could produce generations of unthinking Malaysians who could easily fall victim to the toxic politics of lies, fake news, hate, race and religion.
However, the historic day of May 9, 2018, is a positive sign that all is not lost for Malaysia, when Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region could unite to Save Malaysia and stop Malaysia from continuing in the trajectory towards a rogue democracy, global kleptocracy, kakistocracy and a failed state.
May 9, 2018 provided Malaysians with the opportunity to re-set nation-building policies in six decades to establish a New Malaysia.
A New Malaysian has not been born, and this mission cannot be accomplished in a hundred days or six months. It will need a decade or two.
This means that Malaysians who do not want to go back to the past of a rogue democracy, kakistocracy and a global kleptocracy must have a Big Picture and long-term perspective to have the perseverance, stamina and determination not only to take the country towards a New Malaysia, but able to convince more and more Malaysians to take ownership of the New Malaysia agenda.
We must not allow those who wish to set the clock of Malaysian nation-building back to the past to succeed, as I believe that Malaysia can be a world top-class nation if we can leverage on the best qualities from the diverse races, languages, religions, customs and civilisations which meet in confluence in Malaysia.
One of our most pressing challenges is to show the world that we can transform ourselves from a global kleptocracy into a leading nation of integrity and not a country where the Prime Minister is the top kleptocrat, not only in the nation but in the world,
We must have an educational system which can prevent Malaysia from becoming a kleptocracy, and enable Malaysia to compete with the rest of the world by ensuring an educational system which promotes high quality of excellence and achievement in all fields of human endeavour.
(Speech by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang on “The Malaysian Experience of Democratic Transition” at City University, Hong Kong on Sunday, 26th November 2018 at 2 pm)