Europe's Sense of Time Lost At the Edge of War

European cities have always fascinated me not so much for their art, music or literature though these are impressive testament to the heights of civilised culture. Not even the intellectual vivacity of the Europeans, who can be as pedantic and pretentious as any other urban people around the world. 

    No. The one thing that resounded in my soul is the echo of a cathedral, an empty chamber hall, a promenade of columns. Europe in the early 1970s and 1980s had this strange air of melancholy and spiritual depth (or death, if you will). Yet, there was nothing clearly spiritual about modern European art and literature. Therein lies the paradox (like the rich harvest of wheat fields of Van Gogh paintings versus the empty streets of De Chirico’s works). 

It was as if God himself or a Messiah had visited the European cities, stayed for a few nights as an anonymous stranger and then left to never return. Perhaps, He decided it was better to leave a spiritual vacuum in Europe with all their existential angst and self-centered, post-modernist philosophies. That whisper of a spiritual longing, traumatized by centuries of intra-European wars, may one day turn into a loud cry of desperation.

I know. As an ethnic Chinese student, I stayed in Europe for a decade split between the 1970s and 1980s: mostly London and Paris, cities of many beautiful streets, squares, and palaces. What the Chinese-American architect, I.M. Pei, said about buildings as the mirror of life—“the presence of the past, the spirit of a place”—is ironically true of Europe.[1] The vast spaces and confluence of Baroque and iconic buildings stand as silent witnesses to the tragic experience of Europeans in the horrendous two world wars of the twentieth century.

And if one is quietly alert, you can almost hear something like an echo of an inner longing for a time lost, un temps perdu. The most evocative description of that echo resonates in some of the classical music of the Baroque period. Listening to Bach/Marcello’s Adagio from Oboe Concerto in D Minor (second movement) in its various forms (piano, violin, guitar), one can grasp the weight of lost longing.

A New Crisis at Europe’s Doorstep

That cry for a long-lost teacher, a spiritual guide, a Renaissance man or woman has never been more desperate in times of crises such as the present war rumblings in Ukraine. For the first time since the Second World War ended in 1945, a major European nation has been attacked and invaded by a foreign superpower. The reverberations of the new war are being felt across the world especially in Southeast Asia where I reside. Economically, rising fuel and food prices had already spiked up before the war and will continue to hit our living costs.

But geopolitically, the Russian invasion of a sovereign country may be a dark harbinger of what might soon happen to Taiwan and to the stability of Southeast Asian countries (at the outset, only two members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Singapore and Indonesia, condemned the Russian invasion but as the conflict intensified, a total of eight Asean member states voted for a UN resolution condemning it). But there is more than meets the eye.

On the one hand, the globalist Great Reset elite of Europe in alliance with some of their American peers, are planning a new world order, politically, economically, and militarily. That new world order is modeled after the European Union, a concept that is politically flawed as it subsumes the sovereignty of nations under its umbrella to the laws of the EU state. (Incidentally, the insight into this flaw was revealed to me in a conversation with the theoretical founder of the Euro, the late Canadian economist Robert Mundell, who said: “The currency union would work perfectly on the assumption of free labor mobility.”[2] In simple terms, it assumes a jobless Spanish factory worker can move to Germany to find a similar job there. The cultural and social differences are simply too stark for this ideal state to ever be achieved.)

On the other hand, Russia’s nationalist President Vladimir Putin is clearly looking to achieve his life-long goal to rebuild the Soviet empire while China’s president-for-life is also eyeing Taiwan. The Cold War between the liberal Western democracies and the autocratic communist regimes in the East never ended in December 1991. It simply went into hibernation and infiltrated American universities and Congress through ideological subversion, a process clearly described by former KGB propaganda agent Yuri Bezmenov, who defected to Canada in 1970.[3]

How to resolve the war in Ukraine? Ukraine, on its own, a nation with a surprisingly small GDP of US$165 billion despite its vast natural resources, does not matter as much to the Western European nations as it does strategically to Putin. As a tactical move to de-escalate tensions between Russia and Ukraine at its borders, the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation could just as well have told Putin that Ukraine will not be a member of NATO for the “time being” in lieu of rescinding the NATO 2008 Bucharest declaration which promised to accept Ukraine and Georgia into the military alliance. (We can recall what happened shortly after that declaration: Russia’s invasion of Georgia in August 2008). But strangely, this de-escalating chess move was never put on the table of diplomatic negotiations before the invasion on February 24, 2022. Now, the world and most acutely the Ukrainians are suffering for that tactical mistake, which may have been intentionally made for reasons only the globalist elite may know.

If European politicians and the stumbling Biden administration have made a Faustian bargain to trade a pragmatic peace for an ideological clash of civilizations, then there is nothing we, citizens of the world, can do but pray and speak out against the plans of the warmongers. By all accounts, Russia’s Putin is clearly the aggressor, and we shall see if he has the wisdom to just de-weaponize Ukraine as he claims, and hopefully leave the ravaged country to rebuild itself on its own prerogative as a neutral sovereign state.

Post-war restoration is perhaps a distant future. Yet, one can’t help but notice  the swift change in mainstream media’s focus from the Covid-19 variant to the war. Just when the black swan of the pandemic was near its end, another black swan swept into view like a Greek tragedy. This is why to keep our hearts and minds from the media’ gloom and doom lens, a quiet meditation on ancient art, faith and silent spaces is a refreshing balm to the soul. One recalls that amazing scene in the movie The English Patient, where the war-weary nurse Hanna is pulled up in a rope by her friend Kirpal Singh to admire with a torch the frescoed murals of an Italian cathedral; it is those quiet moments of joy that restores our sanity.

The nurse Hana in the film, The English Patient. https://sikhchic.com/books/another_look_at_the_english_patient_the_book_the_film

While the echo chambers of Europe resonate with rumors of war and confusion, the cry for wisdom from God or Providence is what Europeans need to listen to. The key is not for each man and woman to ask the "how" and the "why" in this crisis, but to ask what has really ailed the nations of Europe for decades, and to wake up to the voice they have been listening to all this while: the voice of the wolf or the voice of the shepherd?

[1] I.M.  Pei, “For Changing the World, One Building at a Time, Lifetime Achievement Award,” Asia Society, https://asiasociety.org/asia-game-changers/im-pei.

[2] Author interview with Robert Mundell, “An Asian Common Currency: The Case For and Against,” Smart Investor, September 2000.

[3] Ankit Kumar, “Use of Deception in Warfare: Case of Russia,” Centre for Land Warfare Studies, July 10, 2019, https://www.claws.in/use-of-deception-in-warfare-case-of-russia/.

This article was first published in Rising Asia Journal (May-August 2022 issue)  

https://www.rajraf.org/10282/uploads/article/1055/1_Long_Shih_Rome_OK.pdf

Identity, Family & The State of the Nation

It occurred to me one morning (I sometimes have sudden insights in the first half hour of waking up) that a bad country breeds bad people while a good country breeds good people.  

Usually, first thing in the morning, I like to be thankful for the country I live in (regardless of its condition) by having this silent thought: "what an amazing and blessed country this is." 

And then, the next thing I know, an insight emerges: a country may be divinely blessed yet the agents of change (politicians, communities, citizens) have somehow blundered their way into fallen state.  

In a good country (loosely defined as a well-governed one), families and individuals who are already dysfunctional on their own will invariably veer towards the mean, which is anchored and influenced by the political governance and constitutional institutions of the country.

But in a bad country (which is lacking in transparent institutions and rule of law although they may be administered efficiently: think Nazi Germany), dysfunctional individuals become worse and sometimes take on the qualities and flaws of their political leaders (eg lack of ethical standards, corruption, double-dealings and plain deception). 

So this brings me to shift my focus from the nation to self-knowledge and the identity of an individual (whether they are residing in a good or bad country). 

The most remarkable thing about many people is their ability to go about living without really knowing their true identities. 

Knowing who you really are is different from being aware of your thoughts and aspirations. 

It is like travelling in a train with the short-term knowledge of the train's next five stops but not knowing its final destination. 

People clearly know what they want, what they like and hope for but they live with an image of their identity created mostly by themselves and by their enclosed inner circle of friends and relatives (who are also, most probably, also living without knowing their true identities.) 

To be fair, life is a journey of self-discovery of one's identity. What I am saying is that pristine journey that started from the age of critical age of 12 onwards is being diverted and influenced by the political and social environment of our times.

We are moving into an era where we are voluntarily evolving into a group of AI robots living and re-creating our lives according to the mutual interactive adjustments in our program codes (read the power of ChatGPT in shaping our lives and work). 

We may live in a bubble of outer harmony whilst deep inside each individual, there is a private turmoil of fear, envy, greed, lust, selfishness, and spiritual darkness. 

To paraphrase Tolstoy's quote on families, every dysfunctional country is unique in their badness. Yet, they are similar in their leaders' dislike of free thought, a free press, justice and intellectual dissent. 

At the communal level, everything has to be swept under the carpet to keep the peace in the group/the community/the family or else something will blow up and create emotional meltdowns.

Similarly, a bad country, or one that is transitioning from good to bad, tends to be paranoid about political dissent. 

That is why autocratic regimes are always fearful that dissent leads to "social unrest" and revolutions.

For example, the current public demonstrations in Australia and Europe against Covid-19 restrictions reflects the push back of sensible citizens in not allowing bad, blanket policies to erode their individual liberties. 

On the other hand, there are many societies, in both emerging and third world countries, that are seeing a rise in authoritarianism while the global tech media giants manipulate the facts about the agendas of globalist governments (e.g. climate change, vaccines mandates, lockdown mandates, financial asset bubbles, etc). 

Feedback loop & ways to break it

So there is a positive feedback loop process whereby a bad administration creates a sycophantic press, which in turn, nurtures the worst qualities in its citizens (fear of and anger against other people with different views and values). 

The way out of this bad country-bad citizen symbiosis is to firstly, acknowledge how the state of the nation (the political, social and judicial health) affects our thoughts, aspirations and hopes. 

Secondly, we need to face the truth of who we are: we are first and foremost, creations of a higher being, which is the shared conviction of the monotheistic faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). For the atheists, existentialists and  New Age followers, I reckon their search for identity will be a more complex maze to figure out.

Suffice to say that knowing how our personal identity is aligned to our divine purpose on earth according to our faiths is crucial in knowing oneself.  

Finally, no matter how bad, corrupt or hopeless the condition of your country, I strongly believe the power of our words and thoughts have an impact on the nation's health. Thinking and declaring negative words and views about your country will imperceptibly make it worse. 

                                        

                      A man stands over the city of Paris. 

Spiritual Meanings of Balance

Someone in the Facebook page Kierkergaard, Dostoeysky, Existentialism & Absurdism recently asked a simple, interesting question: "What is balance ?"

To me, balance is essentially a biological-physical phenomenon. We can talk of a balanced diet, of a balanced work-leisure life and a balance between physical activities and rest.

But in the spiritual sense, it has not much meaning except in the context of the immutable laws of justice whereby a man shall reap what he sows. 

If  he  kills  another  man,  his  own  life  will  be at  stake  for  the crime if  convicted  in  a  court of law. An  eye  for  eye,  a  tooth  for  a  tooth, according  to  the  Mosaic  law.

And here is the metaphysical, existential challenge to every man and woman: when our inner conscience discerns what is right and wrong in a higher order beyond the physical, we will try to make sense of that unseen order with our rational minds. 

Manichaen  &  Taoist  concepts  of  balance 

So in the beliefs of the ancient Persian and Eastern philosophers and mystics, the order of the world is held up by the balance of good and evil forces (or energies). 

For them, this balance is necessary for a kind of cosmic equilibrium without which either energy will cause disorder and constant chaos. 

The mystical Taoists believe in the Yin and Yang energy that flows through all life forms. When either energy becomes too strong, there is disaster.

In Persia, the Manichaen theology (founded in the 3rd century by a man called Mani) taught the dualistic view of good and evil. 

The key narrative is that a powerful God was opposed by the eternal evil power and that man and his soul is a by-product of this battle, under the influence of light and dark.

Scientifically, we can observe there is a certain tension between gravitational and centrifugal forces that drive the perfect orbits of the planets and all physical phenomenon.

In the spiritual sense, this kind of balance is a philosophical distraction at best, and a deception, at worst. 

Good and evil in the garden of Eden 

So this brings us back to the question: "What is the intrinsic nature of good and what is evil?" 

Good is firstly, knowing the signs and motivation of evil: when God told Adam & Eve not to eat of the fruit of the Knowledge of Good & Evil, the truth of the matter is that eating of that fruit will lead to their spiritual death. 

It was not an arbitrary test of our obedience but a test of one's "free will" whether to use it for self-glorification and self-supremacy or trust ourselves in the care and love of God. 

Secondly, being good is committing oneself (in deed and thought) to aligning with God's ways to glorify Him together whilst overcoming the temptations of evil.

So we have two concepts of good here: one is for our own good (eternal life or death) and the other is for others, paving the way for the Kingdom of God on earth. 

In the Christian context, the truth of good is our salvation from sin and the working out of that salvation through the trials of life. In John 14:6, Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father (God) except through me." 

And the truth of evil is the destruction of our souls by Satan, who is like an Artificial Intelligence super robot programmed with enormous powers to destroy mankind by any means necessary. 

Stacked against God's powers, Satan is already a defeated foe with an insane goal to destroy as many souls as he can out of spite.

So, mankind is engaged in a strange, spiritual battle that is played in reverse because in the timeless future (Book of Revelations), the war is already won by God. 

The purpose of our lives on earth is to win that battle and finish the race at the end of our lives, ultimately receiving the crown of victory from our Creator. 

In summary, the only meaningful concept of balance in the spiritual sense is the qualitative balance in our inner man (intellectual, emotional, physical state of being) that is essential for us to discern intelligently and decide not to touch and consume the forbidden fruit: the path to self-glorification and self-determination. 

In other words, every man for himself and God against all

   

The Sound of The Deep

1. Once I was asleep,

Now I am awake.

2. Once I was lost in the deep,

Now I see the light out of the tunnel.

3. Once I was taken to many places,

Now I am content where I am.

4. Once I let my memories overtake me,

Now I see through the maze.

5. Once I was a street fighter,

Now I've made peace with myself.

6. Once I was a traveler,

Now I am a pilgrim of the soul.

7. Once I saw a mountain in the distance,

And felt a soft tremor when I closed my eyes.

8. Each morning, I wake up to the sound of joy,

The love You have showered me in my sleep.

9. Each day is a new dawn,

Soon to give way to the night.

10. But You, O My Lord, are supreme,

Even in the sorrows of our daily toils.

11. I thank You for Your grace,

Your guiding hand in my very life and work.

12. I thank you for the American, the European,

the Asian and last, but not least, 

I thank you for the African.

13. I thank you for all creatures, great and small.

14. You call me from the deep,

Your voice surpasses the ocean's roar.

And Your Words are true,

Yesterday, today and tomorrow,

Even these very mountains.

Will melt like snow

Before the eternal sunlight of Your gaze.

                                                                                      

Co-dependency, its Roots and The Big Brother Government Complex

One of the most psychologically negative thing a parent can do to children is during mildly anxious moments in a normal doctor's visit, the parent argues with the doctor about how her/his prescription/advice may not be the best for the child.

For example, the parent, usually a mother, will say: "Are you sure about this, doctor? Isn't this dosage too much for my child?"

From the interaction between the parent and the doctor, the child eventually perceives that trusting in a doctor (an outsider) is subject to the parent's approval/disapproval of the doctor's judgement. The final impression is "Mom's or Dad's advice is better than the doctor's."

If this happens 3 out of every 4 times with an external party throughout childhood, teenage and young adult years, the child unconsciously develops:

(1) an emotional co-dependent relationship with that parent

(2) an anxiety complex and most likely, a borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adulthood

(3) a tendency to also be over-protective over his/her own children. All with good intentions but in flawed ways that do more emotional harm than good.

What evidence do I have to support this hypothesis? 

I have seen it myself when accompanying one family during these doctor visits and the protective, well-educated mother actually has the best intentions for her daughter.

Canadian psychologist professor Jordan Peterson taught about this co-dependency problem with the Sleeping Beauty tale. The overprotected child is being cursed by Maleficient (external nature/the world) into a comatose sleep (internal reality) until a Prince (the rescuer/savior) comes to kiss her back to consciousness.

Nonetheless, at the polar opposite situation, which we are seeing in today's pandemic period, no sensible thinking citizen should put complete trust in the vaccines-pandemic agenda supported by governments, "scientists" and the medical fraternity. 

From Parents to Big Brother Governments

In fact, the psychologically co-dependent adult is quite capable of transferring her/his trust from the parent to the authority of the government. Thus, there is tendency to trust in a Big Government that controls much of our values and choices.

In the case of vaccines and lockdowns, people are mentally primed to be overly fearful by highlighting the deaths and the critically infected cases. The manipulation of statistics is also a common tactic.

My conclusion is that we have to undo the co-dependence of the mind by initiating independent and critical thinking skills. But apart from activating the intellect, what else can we do?

Essentially, having a strong faith that there is a divine God who cares for our well-being is the key to deprogramming ourselves out of the insecurity and co-dependence complex.

A Masquerade Before The Midnight Revolution

There is a youtube video that was recently posted by Perth-based Pastor Robert Clancy about an Australian man who reveals himself to be a former member of the Freemasons, a New Age secret society that has deep roots in ancient belief systems. 

It is a strange and visually distressing video to watch yet very revealing about the world we live in. Our values and cultural lifestyle have been shaped and influenced by the entertainment, educational and political environment. 

This Freemasonic world of masks and hidden signs reminds me of Werner Herzog's 1974 film The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser which is based on a true story of a man shielded from civilization for the first 17 years of his life. Kaspar, lived in a cellar, "devoid of all human contact except for a man, wearing a black overcoat and top hat, who fed him."

What does the innocent character of Kaspar Hauser have anything to do with the Freemason's secret cult and domination of the modern world? His tragic personal story remains an enigma.

But like the strange tale of Kaspar Hauser, the nefarious experiment of the Freemasons in social engineering the mind of man to become a contrived Nietzschean New Age soul shows that it is not the uneducated man that is insane and monstrous but the established members of society (i.e. the people who kept him secluded) in their manipulation.

If a 21st century Kaspar Hauser was similarly locked for 17 years and released into the modern world, would he be able to make up for lost time by immersing himself with social media and online self-education? 

I doubt it. Such is the distortion and polarisation of social media (especially Facebook , Instagram, Netflix) that a naive exposure may well cause a regression in his undeveloped personality and perception of the world.

 

Whether we refer to them as the global elite, the illuminati or the Bilderburg group,  the Freemasons' agenda for humanity is an ancient  struggle against our Creator. In the name of the greater good of mankind, they continually seek to undermine and distort any human tendency towards truth and conscience (e.g. good can be evil and evil can be good). 

The seeds of the Freemason's political and social revolution have already been planted since the early 20th century. In 2020, their globally coordinated pandemic "accident" has succeeded in controlling civil society with mandates on human health and liberties.

But it isn't too late to wake up and look with Eyes Wide Open at everything we read, hear and absorb. For certain talented and ambitious people seeking fame, fortune and power, the Freemasons offer them a fake Hobson's choice between belonging to a select group of enlightened, evolved beings or joining the "vulgar masses of ignorant, useless eaters."  

Once that choice is cleverly presented with both the right mix of fear and desire, it is easy for most people to be tempted and accept whatever moral compromises they are required to make.  

So how do we withstand the growing power of the Freemasons in their infiltration into all aspects of society (politics, business, art, finance, media and education)? 

The key is to pray for the Lord Jesus Christ to expose and destroy this secret organisation and its aims (the key one being the destruction of Christianity). 

From God's perspective, I believe He sees it as a masquerade, a satanic charade that the Freemason masters think they have deceived mankind when they are the ones deceiving themselves. 

Ultimately, the social and political upheaval that they are instigating globally will be exposed and destroyed. Like the alternate title of Herzog's film: Every Man For Himself and God Against All. 

A Double-Minded Nation Undecided Between A Fox or A Hedgehog

The three key psychological reasons why a nation or individual fails to achieve anything of substance in this era of disinformation are:

1. A double-minded mentality (hypocrisy in saying one thing & doing the opposite). 

2. Giving oneself excuses (e.g. "our nation was brutalised by the imperialists 100 years ago, so now we need to hate the West and avenge our honour.")

3. Intellectual indifference. Not believing in any ideals worth sacrificing your time and effort in sharing the merits with others. It is intellectual complacency that is inextricably linked to an education system devoid of critical thinking training. 

Meanwhile, others, who don't have these mental flaws but are passively indifferent to people who do, are actually complicit in their failures.  

Extending these root problems to the macro level, the beginning of a failed state or society starts with a few good, reasonably intelligent men who compromised their integrity and vision of hope. Either due to convenience or personal gains.

And this state of the human condition brings us to how a nation's destiny deteriorates, hits bottom and then, miraculously, reinvents itself.

It's Not Just Great Leaders Who Change History

The history of great nations as well as the turning points of lesser nations have often been portrayed as events driven by great, gifted leaders: 

Lincoln in the America of the 1860s. Gandhi in the India of the 1940s or Deng Xiaoping  in the China of the 1980s. 

But what it takes for a nation to turn from an era of hopeless despair and decline into an era of optimism and renewal is more than just the emergence of a leader.  

It takes a community of wise, persevering  men and women who would have engaged in deep spiritual struggle for the nation's destiny over several years. Nothing occurs by chance. 

In fact, the Russian author of War & Peace - Leo Tolstoy - held the view that major historical events were not the outcomes of great leaders but the combined actions of ordinary, lesser known protagonists.  

Yet, it is more the rule than the exception that, once a nation has fallen into corruption and decline, it usually gets worse over time, becoming a basket case for the world to look at with pity and loathing. 

An Adopted Nation By Chance 

So, I was quite bemused when an old journalist friend Professor Harish Mehta who manages an Asian strategic journal, asked me to write about this small South East Asian country of mine which, incidentally is not my country of birth though I am a citizen.

The country is Malaysia, once tagged as an Asian tiger economy in the early 1990s but has since then, gone through a never-ending cycle of fortune and misfortune.

I wont go into the details but these cycles that I speak of are economic, political and psychological in nature.

A Simple Yet Baffling Paradox 

The paradox of this nation is quite simple yet baffling to outsiders. 

On the one hand, Malaysia is, by and large, a multi-ethnic nation comprising about 67% Malay bumiputeras (i.e. Malays and indigenous natives), 25% Chinese and 7% Indians who have lived peacefully with each other for the most part of the country’s six decades as a sovereign nation apart from an ugly race riot in 1969.

This ethnic mix of Asians and the peaceful co-existence of the country is unique in many ways. You might call it the axiomatic vision of God for Malaysia.

On the other hand, the country’s ethnic communities have been divided by race-based political parties thanks to the self-seeking ambitions of politicians who exploit the mindsets of its respective communities. 

(Here we are referring to maverick politicians such as  the former two-time Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir who fostered not only a certain race-based mindset but a generation of crony capitalists).

Why is this a baffling paradox? Because the ideal and the reality are not only at odds.

There are internal contradictions within the ideal and the reality on their own. 

One such example is the contradiction of being religious (i.e. a lover of all fellow human beings) while feeling morally justified in treating certain people groups with unfair economic prerogatives (in terms of public sector jobs, scholarships and government contracts). 

At times, critics attribute Malaysia's root problems to half baked intellects and mediocre men of good intentions but flawed methods. 

By and large, the common antagonist is usually the old fox himself, a moniker for Tun Dr Mahathir.

But I prefer to describe Malaysia's problems as one of being double-minded. Like a split Jekyll and Hyde personality that has become unrecognisably one person.

Many psychological problems stem from man's inability or refusal to see and understand who he really is.

The failure to understand your true identity, your true national nature will only lead to failures in future endeavours.

Hedgehog or Fox?

Transcribing Isaiah Berlin's metaphor of human personality to nations, I would ask this of political analysts and historians: "Is your nation a fox who is good at many things or a hedgehog who only specialises in one competitive advantage?"

Unfortunately, Malaysia is a hedgehog that has made some failed attempts at being a fox. 

As a hedgehog nation, what are Malaysians generally good at? Living peacefully with pragmatic respect for each other's ability to work efficiently and practise our faiths freely. 

Since the 1970s, that is an unspoken formulae that underlined the relative economic success of Malaysia despite political and institutional obstacles. 

From the 1970s to the early 1990s, Malaysia succeeded in transforming its resource-based economy from a low income country to a middle income nation by becoming a prominent manufacturing exporter of electronics products.

This growth period was particularly strong in the late 1980s with the influx of capital from Japan following the Yen's revaluation under the Plaza Accord which made Japan's home-based manufactured exports too expensive.

But by the 2000s decade, Malaysia saw a slow erosion in competitiveness in the wake of more efficient nations, namely China (mass production of cheap electronic goods), Singapore (brain drain to a meritocratic and corruption-free system) and lately Vietnam (mid-level manufacturing). 

And in terms of political stability and policy clarity, Indonesia is viewed by foreign investors as gaining the upper hand over Malaysia.

Faced with so many emerging regional and global economic competitors without having a concrete reform plan, it is no surprise that Malaysia has been stuck in the middle income trap. 

It is at this stage of the impasse that the hedgehog tries to learn fox tricks, which typically means concocting many half-baked policies with little confidence or faith in following through.

This state of affairs was encapsulated by several key policy failures, essentially the flip flop policies that hampered the promotion of English as a medium of instruction for maths and science. 

Other causes include the misallocation of resources into real estate development, white elephant projects and to top it all, the 1MDB sovereign fund scandal.

Complicating Malaysia's economic reform agenda is the fact that the Malay-centric parties such as UMNO hardened themselves into more intense identity politics and race rhetoric to strengthen their rural vote base after the Opposition parties gained ground in 2008 & 2013 before eventually taking over on May 2018.

Hedgehog Learning Fox Tricks

So going back to Isaiah Berlin's analogy, a politically exhausted hedgehog can only learn a few fox tricks in order to compete with the surrounding fox nations. 

Instead of trying to learn the methods of the multi-talented fox, Malaysia has to look internally at its own people and sharpen their strengths, which is essentially, a highly capable, globally competitive workforce that can work, learn and solve problems together.  

In other words, learn to see and plan like a fox whilst remaining true to one's nature of a hedgehog.

The pandemic has tested Malaysia's economy to the limit with the SME (Small and Medium sized Enterprises) devastated by lockdowns. But even when the economy recovers, which it eventually will, the national policy target of reaching a high income nation status (US$15,000 GDP per capita) should be reviewed.

Without reform measures to address corruption and political accountability issues, focusing on economic growth alone will invariably worsen income inequalities, providing fodder for race-oriented politicians. 

The priority of any government should be to repair communal ethnic relations and transform the political landscape and atmosphere (which  disintegrated in early 2020 into the current political impasse after a backdoor coalition called Perikatan Nasional replaced the democratically elected Pakatan Harapan government in March 2020). 

More Than Elections

After the collapse of the Muyhiddin Yassin's government in August 2021 and the rebranding of the old cabinet under a new Prime Minister, the current government still has a wafer thin majority in Parliament. 

With a General Election expected by 2023, this government will face the same issues as the previous one which lasted for just 18 months.

Will another election change Malaysia's destiny? The seemingly gargantuan solution to Malaysia's 'structural' problems involves more than just voting in a competent government. 

The nation needs a large pool of leaders and common citizens (urban and rural) on the ground who are ready to undo the shackle of race-based policies and create a new national vision of hope and rejuvenation. 

A blessing in disguise from the pandemic recession (which has hit many SMEs across all ethnic communities) is that it is somehow stirring up an urgent need for political unity, bipartisan co-operation and reform. 

(There is no way an economy like Malaysia's can thrive without the mutual purchasing power of each community). 

But as I said earlier, it takes more than the election of a few good leaders to change the history of a nation. 

It takes an entire generation of common people to avoid those three psychological flaws mentioned earlier, namely; double-mindedness, giving excuses and intellectual indifference.

Like many developing nations struggling to recover from the pandemic recession, Malaysia's window for reform may still be open, notwithstanding the current geopolitical dynamic of the U.S.-China tensions in the region. 

Genuine change starts with facing up to its unique identity and acknowledging its destiny in the new global economic landscape.