THE 49TH YEAR OF MERDEKA - DIVERSITY IN UNITY

In the midst of all the "yabayaba" and the extravaganza in celeberating Indepedence Day in Malaysia, it fell upon only one senior party leader of the Barisian Naional who was clear headed enough to outline 5 key issues in nation building. The almost defeated Gerakan president Lim Keng Yaik clearly highlighted what must be done to move Malaysia forward as a nation.
"1. DEVELOP a national economic strategy that will enhance our global and regional competitiveness and improve our competitive position
2. BUILD on common values to achieve Bangsa Malaysia
3. FURTHER enhance public-private partnership for national economic development and
4.ADDRESS problems of the urban poor and low-income families so that in the 21st century, no Malaysian is marginalised or left behind."
Well, I counted 4 issues highlighted in the Star News today. The 5th carefully tucked away briefly mentioning "REVIEWING the education system so that it not only builds unity in diversity but also provides the nation with sustainable long term advantage". Shouldn't education be highlighted too, that being the great common uniting factor for all Malaysian more so "in a multi-racial and multi-religious country, where it is the responsibility of the government to develop and safeguard an education system" rather than to disharmonize it by introducing religious elements in it's syllabus ?. Anuar Musa the UMNO state chief of Kelantan yesterday lamented on the plight of "the economic interests of the Malays are being overlooked" due to the rivalry between PAS and UMNO. The last time I had a look at the ethnic demography of Kelantan, the non Malays make up 7% of the population. So if you are not a Malay, as far as economic activity is concerned, you don't get to be counted or most probably the 7% decided to move out of Kelantan the day before yesterday.
Today is the 48th anniversary celebration of independence for Malaysia, it does not matter even if it is the 42nd or the 24th. What matters most is that the future of this sovereign country of Malaysia whose laws are based on the constitution should never be at the mercy of shadowy racial or religious hijackers. We must never take the Middle East road (see atricle below) where all strives to "look out for their own future and act in ways that strengthen them politically" under the guise of unity in diversity where one stronger party seeks to assimilate the other. Let us take the road of "diversity in unity" where " it presumes that all members of a given society will fully respect and adhere to those basic values and institutions that are considered part of the basic shared framework of the society. At the same time, every group in society is free to maintain its distinct subculture-those policies, habits, and institutions that do not conflict with the shared core-and a strong measure of loyalty to its country of origin, as long as this does not trump loyalty to the society in which it lives if these loyalties come into conflict.
Tomorrow is post independence day. Let us continue to remember the Goverment of the day in our prayers that they may continue to fear God and maintain justice for all

Mideast Course At the Mercy of Local Factions
By Robin Wright and Glenn

Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, August 29, 2005; Page A01
Link : Washington Post

For all the attention and resources the Bush administration has poured into the Middle East, the outcome of its two most critical initiatives is increasingly vulnerable to the sectarian passions, tumultuous history and political priorities of the local players, say U.S. officials and regional experts.

Two developments over the past week marked major movement for the U.S. agenda: Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, a critical step in the creation of a Palestinian state and regional peace. And Iraq submitted a constitution to its national assembly, offering the legal foundation for a new Iraqi state.

President Bush yesterday and in his radio address Saturday hailed the two events as turning points in promoting democracy and peace in the region. On Iraq, Bush said its people have "demonstrated to the world that they are up to the historic challenges before them. The document they have produced contains far-reaching protections for fundamental human freedoms, including religion, assembly, conscience and expression."

But the actual implementation of Iraq's constitution and the viability of Gaza will now depend largely on forces beyond Washington's control -- and both face mounting challenges.

"The theme in this region is the reality of a foreign military power that comes in with great determination and overwhelming force, defeats people, subjugates a nation and then gets completely lost in the local maelstrom of interests and the irresistible force of indigenous identity -- religious, ethnic, sectarian, national. People act in a maniacal way when they assert these identities, which includes nurturing and protecting them," said Rami Khouri, a U.S.-educated Arab analyst and editor of Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper.

"Every single foreign power that has been in this region since Alexander the Great -- through the Romans, Greeks, Ottomans, British, French and now Americans -- has learned the same lesson," Khouri said.

The growing U.S. challenge in trying to influence events was reflected when Bush called a top Shiite politician Wednesday, a day before Iraq's constitution was due, to warn against alienating the Sunni minority and potentially sabotaging the entire process. But the Shiite parties did not quickly or fully appease Sunni concerns -- and Iraq missed its deadline for a third time on Thursday.

"The U.S. is shackled by the very forces that it liberated," said Robert Malley, the International Crisis Group's Middle East program director and a former Clinton administration National Security Council staff member.

"All those forces silenced during Saddam Hussein's rule are using a period of transition, when Iraq is remaking itself, to express themselves or gain advantage. Even though the United States is the dominant force, it is increasingly finding itself a bystander as Iraqis vie for power and to define what a future Iraq is going to be," Malley said.

The administration acknowledged yesterday that political transformations take time and often do not unfold evenly -- and that the outcome is far from guaranteed.

"If the Sunnis do vote for it and approve the constitution, if the constitution is not stopped, then it will be a national contract and it will help with the counter-insurgency strategy," Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, said yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press." "If they don't, then it will be a problem."

Bush also acknowledged the split among Iraqis, which he described as a right of free individuals living in a free society. "We recognize that there is a split amongst the Sunnis, for example, in Iraq. And I suspect that when you get down to it, you'll find a Shiite in disagreement with a Shiite who supports the constitution, and perhaps some Kurds are concerned about the constitution," Bush said. "We're watching a political process unfold."

But rivalries over shaping that future in a free environment have also sparked tensions, even within sectarian factions. Despite the presence of more than 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, clashes erupted last week between two Shiite militias: Troops loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr fought the Badr Organization of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

Militia wings of Iraq's political parties are "looking out for their own future" and will continue to "act in ways that strengthen them, politically and militarily," said Edward Walker, president of the Middle East Institute and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel. "They see themselves winning [over other groups] and now they're fighting to see who gets the biggest piece of the action. That puts the U.S. in a different position."