Yesterday, I said the many national holidays in Malaysia afford Malaysians the opportunities for reflection and review as to why the country failed to achieve greater goals, such as pondering how Malaysia could transform from a global kleptocracy to a leading nation of integrity in the world.

Just as ordinary Malaysians saved Malaysia from a global kleptocracy and a failed state, the challenge of whether Malaysia transforms from a global kleptocracy to a leading nation of integrity in the world will rest on their shoulders.

Similarly, ordinary Malaysians also have to wrestle with another great conundrum of the nation – whether Malaysia can succeed in nation building out of the diverse races, religions, languages and cultures that have made Malaysia their home to become a model of an united, tolerant, successful, progressive and prosperous plural entity in a complex and plural world. Read the rest of this entry »