Think Big Dream High,E-7 – Have My Countrymen Changed 200% in the last 30 Years ?

Change

I am from the village. For more than 30 years now I have not resided in the village.Eventhough I am residing in the city,I am still a villager at heart. I still think about the village, the villagers, about my friends and schoolmates from the village during my younger days. Once in a while, I go back to the village to meet my old friends, their families and children.

Physically, my village has changed. The roads are no longer murky and muddy. Children go to school riding their bicycles or sent by their mother or father using motorcycle or car. The villagers houses too have changed from a thatched roof to tiles or ardex or zinc. Children do not go to school barefooted anymore. In 30 years time there appears to be obvious changes physically.

Thirty years is a long period of time. For a country, the situation now compared to 30 years ago is a long period of time. The country’s economy has changed a lot. During the 70’s or early 80’s our country does not have big factories, no highways, no high rise buildings, no modern shopping complexes, no LRT, ERL, Monorail, MRT, very few cars on the roads, no private TV stations and not many TV channels can be watched. In general, our economy expanded nearly 200% in 30 years.The per capital income has increased to about USD10,000.

The country expanded 200% but does my villagers way of life also expanded 200% in 30 years?. Does my villagers that are part of my countrymen developed as fast as that? If previously, my countrymen sells vegetables, fruits or traditional cakes at the market or towns, are their children turning into successful entrepreneurs or respectable businessmen?. If previously most of my countrymen were farmers , labourers, police and soldiers, are their children turning into successful accountants, lawyers, doctors or managers with five or six figure salaries? Indeed, there are some who are successful. Why not?. If the country expanded 200% surely my countrymen too have developed and improved themselves.


Which communities change more?

The question is which communities benefited from the country’s development activities. There is no need to do any research nor look at the statistics about my countrymen’s development. Roughly, it can be said that my countrymen is still living the way they lived 30 years before, Their way of thinking, communicating and attitude have not changed much. In comparison to the country’s economy, the economic development rate of my countrymen cannot be seen clearly.

The country’s development can be seen with our eyes. It is only my countrymen’s economic development that cannot be seen clearly with our eyes. What is obvious is the change from a house with thatched roof to a house with tiles roof, a house with bamboo walls to a house with wooden or half concrete walls. From walking to cycling to school. From cycling to riding motorcycles. From motorcycle to driving a Kancil,Myvy, Proton Waja or Wira secondhand car. Those that are earning a fixed income like clerks, officers, or teachers can afford to own a new Kancil,Myvy, Wira or Waja. From using the sarong to long pants or branded jeans. But where do they purchased the branded jeans?. Obviously not from the five star shopping complexes but from the bundle shops. It is true, all these are changes. These changes are healthy and encouraging. My countrymen have indeed changed a lot. The question now is the level of changes that happens.The non-muslim communities too have changed. The changes that happened to the non-muslim communities are different. They changed from a wooden house with zinc roof to a bungalow house or luxury condos. They changed from using bicycle to driving a Mercedes Benz or Bently. In fact, many owned private jets.

The changes experienced by them are fast and multiplying. Their wealth multiplies.Their numbers are small but majority of the country’s wealth belonged to them.They are in the 20% super rich group and controlling the other 80% wealth of the nation. Why does this happened. It is because their rate of change is not one time but thousands and millions of times. Their rate of change is more then 1000% compared to our countrymen’s change of about 30%. This still make the whole country on average changed 200%.

Previously, they were scrapped steels vendor, now they are owners of steel mills. From a garbage collector to owner of factories. From a mechanic to owner of a repair and spare parts chain shops that are worth millions of ringgit. From a salesmen to owner of supermarkets. From laborers to big contractors. From a factory worker to become the bosses. From hawkers to manufacturers. From real estate managers to owners of real estate companies that are listed on the main board of stock exchange. From the consumers of electrical tariffs to owners of Indipendent Power Plants(IPP) that are earning millions of dollars in a day. From a TV audience to owners of TV stations that offers more than 100 channels.From a handphone user to the owner of the largest telephone company in the region.


Disparity still exists

During the previous school holidays, my family went back to our village. The villagers are very comfortable with their lives. I went back home twice or three times in a year but my village communities year after year remained the same. There are no shocking news except generation after generation have left the village. No such news that says their children have open up a factory, purchased a shopping complex in the city, expand their multi-million dollar housing projects, or news of their children becoming CEO of a listed corporation on the Stock Exchange or their children went back to the village using their own helicopter. No such sensational news as this are heard in my village.

Exponential changes

As I mentioned before, my village have changed so have the villagers. Is that the kind of change that I want to see happening to my countrymen?The water from the spring eventhough not diverted will still reached the cove one day. My countrymen too as time passes by will also changed. Is it sufficient? Or will this guarantee that my countrymen will not be left behind. The changes that happens with time is unavoidable. It flows like the stream from its origin to the cove. It does not make my countrymen advanced in comparison to the other communities. The changes that are required by my countrymen if they want to be at par with the non Muslims must be exceptional, must be exponential. Not just normal changes. The changes that need to be made must be multiple and not just any change.

If during the younger days work as a mechanic, when older owned a chain of repair shops. The father works in the stalls, the children owned factories. Father is a teacher, the children opened their own private hospitals. Father is a soldier, the children owned shopping complexes. This is what you called exceptional changes, exponential changes. The changes in multiples. My villagers need these kind of changes, the changes that will bring progress to the mind of my people, the changes that will bring up the social status of my people. In order to achieve this, we need to change not just 200% in 30 years but change 1000% 10 years down the road.This exponential change will require my countrymen to start to think big dream high and have a strong heart,or otherwise we will continue to remain below par.