THE
New Deal should give every Malaysian, their children and grandchildren
confidence and hope that their future is in Malaysia.
This statement sums up clearly the proposal
made by MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek at the party's annual general
assembly on Sunday.
As a medical doctor, he has clearly diagnosed
the state of the nation's health. And his prescription, by way of The New Deal,
covers a range of necessary “medicine” to deal with the current ailments in the
political, economic and social spheres.
Although he spoke in his capacity as president
of the largest Chinese-based party in the country, the problems he identified
and the solutions he offered cut across all ethnic boundaries.
It is not a proposal based on political
one-upmanship but one that seriously sees the nation and its people as one.
And that is as it should be. As Dr Chua puts
it, “The new leadership of the MCA wants the New Deal to also embrace a
government that is constructive and which can unite all races.
“We must always pursue the middle path,
reaching out to a younger generation who may feel alienated. We want a nation
that is fair, democratic, transparent and inclusive of all Malaysians.”
While the specifics of the New Deal have not
been drawn up, Dr Chua's invitation to all parties to sit down and work
together heralds the necessity for everyone to put aside petty politics for the
wider interests of the nation.
We can expect some groups and individuals to
be quick to condemn the proposal by clinging on to the mistaken notion that
this could be an attempt to rewrite the Merdeka Social Contract.
But let us not forget that life must be lived
forward, even if we constantly look backwards.
Like driving, although the images in our
rear-view mirror will reflect what we have been through, they must diminish as
we move ahead.
There are many laws and policies, written and
unwritten, that may have been necessary in a particular period of our
nationhood. We can, and we should learn from them.
But if we continue to be kept chained to these
memories, they will remain, as Dr Chua puts it, “like a millstone around the
necks of our children and grandchildren.”
Surely we must give hope and confidence to our
children and their children and generations to come that Malaysia is indeed a
nation whose future is not only guaranteed but holds promise of a better
tomorrow.
We must listen to their voices and act upon
their aspirations.
President Franklin Roosevelt bravely embarked
on a series of economic and social programmes during his first term of office,
in response to the Great Depression.
Even in those dark moments, the president knew
he had to focus on the 3Rs Relief, Recovery and Reform which underpinned The
New Deal.
FDR's persistent optimism and activism
contributed to a renewal of the national spirit. He went on to become the
longest serving president in US history.
If we are to learn from history, we must be
mindful that the current ailments that plague our society must be addressed or
we will certainly spiral into a future that is dark and dangerous.
Chua's medical training surely reminds him
that prevention is better than cure. And offering symptomatic relief is only
temporary if we do not eliminate the root causes.
It is in this context that we must look at the
MCA's New Deal as not only visionary but necessary. And the time to act is now.
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