No sense

The main challenge of the current generation here lies not in the poverty of the land, nor in the inadequate resources available to us to live comfortable lives. No, by the toil and economic struggles of the generations before us, this generation was born into a world of convenience, luxury and extravagance; and our challenge is of a different type. Set on the road to success, most of us traverse along the path of materialism and glory forgetting that we leave several precious things behind as well. And thus some things no longer make sense...

It doesn't make sense that some entertainment programs are structured in a way that puts an entity or person down in order to elevate another. Many of the salient themes on the television consist of those that condemn lousy cars, lousy food or lousy people, ignorant of the context in which they are found: lousy cars serve to provide cheap and affordable transportation for the middle-class citizens, lousy food is good enough to fill the stomachs of those who do not afford escargots and Wellington steaks, and lousy talent does not stop people from being happy singing or dancing. Yet, imperfection is capitalized upon, and our comedy is another's tragedy. It doesn't make sense that this happens in the same world whose inhabitants suffer and lose their lives to catastrophes and human injustice.

It doesn't make sense that in a nation that faces a brain-drain problem, generous scholarships are awarded to the already rich and privileged (whose wealth could purchase them the best schools, books and teachers) or to a select race or group- at the expense of the equally competent, only less privileged and their rights to education to fulfill a pathetic quota. The poor drop out of schools and dream a distant dream of a tertiary education while the rich are sent to expensive foreign universities by government funding , where they obtain their degrees and often times, eventually stay on and become even richer, not wanting to return and work for the nation; some even scoffing at the incompetence of their homeland and exalting the cultures they weren’t born to. And while this is not a generalization of all the 'rich', it doesn't make sense that a government that aims to get as many people educated as possible in order to increase human capital could fail in delivering subsidies and financial aid to the people who need them the most.

It doesn't make sense that 'cats prefer to bark'; and when Malaysians perceive anything non-Malaysian to be more superior. When the very dreams our parents instilled in us involve working hard, to study overseas, to stay there and have good lives- we are nothing short of Malaysians with an identity crisis. While they mean well, some forget that they cheat the country of its voices, by sending them away. It doesn't make sense that an average and fairly blessed country with problems not unlike other countries is perceived to be a place to escape from. When Englishmen could be so proud of their country, or Americans boast about their home, and when both countries are flawed in their own ways- what a sin it is to be discontented with a beautiful country like ours! There is a difference between realizing our country's lack and the need to improve, and pure discontentment and cynicism.

Oh, many things don't make sense today, but when people realize these disparities in logic, they must stand up in their own ways. Malaysian youth must be proud citizens, proud of who they were born to be, and proud of who they are. Those who stay back must realize their privilege to do so, while those who leave temporarily must be effective ambassadors of this land.
We must all have a passion for our land, our families, our loved ones and our roots - to help make sense, and most of all, we must love who God made us to be.