The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 17 Aug 2013 07:35 PM PDT
My generation has been most plagued with very demoralising directions from our elders. We are told that Malaysian politics will drive the country to the dogs, that graduate pay is horrible and that opportunities to discover the world are non-existent with the economic climate of our country. The only reconciliation of our fate to prevent our demise has always been one sole, resounding instruction - leave, and never come back. Granted, the advice has been given from the very humbling Asian parental instinct, which is to give the best to their children and, if possible, much, much more. But saying that, we find, or at least, I find it very disturbing that our response to attack is not to fight, but to (as quickly as possible) hop on to the first available flight. So what does a person in this situation do? While we understand that our elders have good intentions, the plight of our situation is that we are often forced to reckon ourselves with the fact that we might have to live a life not belonging anywhere. Our elders tell us that Malaysia does not want us, but, on the other hand, living abroad our whole lives is not the most desirable idea of home, and while it is easy to tell us to pull our chins up and trudge on, I wonder why the same cannot be said when it comes to our situation in Malaysia. So, again, what does a person in this situation do? Easy - we take things into our own hands. In an environment lacking in opportunities, an over-ambitious group of university students decide that we will, in turn, create our own opportunities. Tucked away in an oily kebab shop on Kingsway in London in 2010, three Malaysians agreed that something needs to be done. Firstly, to change mindsets; secondly, to let our generation know that something can be done about our bleak fate if we verily choose to do something about it; and thirdly, it must be something crazily fun. Thus, the International Council of Malaysian Scholars gave rise to the Malaysia Public Policy Competition. The model? Simple. Teams of four, three days, three rounds, one presentation-based-policy per team. In an effort towards changing mindsets, the framework was intentionally structured as such to make a conscious effort to deviate attention away from what would-be VIPs onto the participants of the competition. By doing so, the event naturally contains a more solution-driven model, than what would otherwise be a more complaints-driven one. The Competition is in its third year now and it is currently gaining huge momentum. Inevitably, the Competition started off very small. Participants and sponsors alike were skeptical of its results, and for very good reasons, of course. But in its second year running alone, the quality performance of the participants caught the attention of former deputy minister of higher education, Saifuddin Abdullah and the winning team had the opportunity of meeting PEMANDU at the Prime Ministers' Office. If anything, this is a stark example showing that things can change when you fight for it, and above all, that there is a lot of hope left in Malaysia. What is up ahead for this year's competition, I hear you ask. Find out for yourselves by visiting the Competition website or, better yet, sign up to watch the competition. * This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider. |
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