The Glass of Ever-flowing Water

 Today is Malaysia's Independence or "Merdeka" Day.  Celebrating our 63rd anniversary of independence from British rule, where are we heading? Are we considered a success or a failure?

As always in Malaysian politics, we can view the situation as a glass that is either half-full or half-empty. The optimist will say that we have done very well considering the fact that we have a combustible mix of races and religions, which in other regions of the war have led to perpetual strife and unrest. If we look at South-East Asia, the level of poverty that you see here is unlike those that you find in many other countries in the region. True, we are not in the same league as Singapore, but we have not done too badly either. 

The half-empty folks will always point to the success of Singapore, which is like a 'better' Malaysia in miniature, as something we should have achieved by now. We are unfortunately  hampered by race politics and endemic corruption.  Some Malaysians consider themselves second-class citizens, denied of opportunities in education and top positions in the civil service and are uncomfortable with the growing Islamization and 'Arabization' of the administration. 

We can argue for either side until the cows come home and would still not agree on anything. That's the nature of politics. We feel strongly for certain positions which we believe are right and no logic or explanation will convince us otherwise.

We are all born different and we are comfortable with the culture and religion of our birth. When we are asked to go beyond what we are comfortable with, we tend to protest. Why do I choose to write in English instead of Malay? Well, because I've read more books in English and it is natural for me to think and write in the language. 

There-in lies one of the challenges of building a united Malaysia: we all live in our own language and cultural bubbles. Language shapes the way we think and behave. I know it whenever I switch from English to Chinese or Malay: I have to think differently, almost as if I have to use a different part of my brain. 

We humans often take pride in our rationality but experience tells me that most of the time we behave intuitively--making gut decisions and emphasizing opinions that appeal to our biases. We often do not vote with the head, most of the time we vote for the candidate that appeals to the heart. 

We certainly do not know many of the politicians like how we know our family members or friends but we form very strong opinions about them based on news we happen to read or watch on social media. With that alone, we are absolutely certain of whom we dislike. And that often determines our vote.

Thinking takes effort. And in an increasingly complex world, there are no easy answers to many of our social problems. We certainly do not have binary answers to them. Everything requires judgement and balance, which have to be exercise from case to case, from moment to moment.  It is always half-full and half-empty. 

Has humans entered a phase where the complexity of the world is simply too much for their sluggish brains to handle? Will we rather be ruled by AI who will make 'better' decisions on our behalf?  We humans are not good at statistical judgement, instead we are driven by stories: we seek to find causal explanations when most of the time it is not so clear cut. 

I have no easy answers for Malaysia. On this day when we celebrate its 63rd year of independence, I only hope that we can all unshackle ourselves from our instinctive habits of thinking. The glass contains water, and let's take a sip and continue filling it.