Politics In the Era of the Facebook Generation: Spiritual Pearl or Brittle Rust in the Soul?

As I was driving one quiet Sunday morning to my neighborhood church, through the dusty streets and back-roads of Sunway Commercial estate, I thought about God's plan for Malaysia, a developing country in Asia caught in the middle income trap. Malaysia has certainly changed in the past few years, especially after two stormy and lively general elections. But the change can be described as a slow submersion of fresh courage in the psyche of the nation. Unlike Thailand, political change in Malaysia never amounted to a revolution in the streets despite the size of the Bersih rallies.

As I drove, one thought occurred: "The political awakening of this nation will open the door for spiritual awakening." I always thought that the spiritual awakening is the cause for political change but political reforms and liberalisation, slow as it is in varying speeds across Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, China), have triggered the need to question our deeply held beliefs and value systems. Years of political oppression and suppression can either harden a man's heart or humble him so that he is prepared to meet the greater challenges, which is the battle of the spirit against the worldly values of power. Thus, the crystallisation of political oppression can, if we allow it, either change our souls' character into brittle rust or a weather-beaten shining pearl. The Malaysian middle class has entered a new realm of political freedom to express their outrage at the injustice of the ruling government. (The Web and viral networks like Facebook and YouTube have opened up channels of communication wherein citizens can vent their anger and frustrations built up over decades.)

In perspective, the political awakening of Asian society in the past five years (2009-2013) has been tremendous due to three major game-changers: (1) globalisation of trade already started since 2001 when China entered the World Trade Organisation (2) the popular spread of the Internet as an information and political tool of communications and (3) the global financial crisis of 2008/2009 which exposed the vulnerabilities of emerging markets to the credit-driven developed countries.

But much as political reform is welcomed by all sound minded citizens, the changes that we Asian sovereign states face these days are testing the limits of human mental and spiritual endurance. How can Asians strive for higher material well being in societies divided by a widening gap between the lower middle class and the rich? The social pressures to get ahead of one's peers (individually or as a nation) are causing intense tensions in the psyche of Asians, making us question the core meaning of our daily struggles: does man live just to have more and more material goods or is there something more than this consumer-bourgeois existence?

At the edge of this inner tension, the political landscape is also shifting as the old power elite is threatened by a citizenry that is not as tolerant about injustice as it's forefathers. Thus, there is political chaos in Thailand, Turkey, the Middle East where the Arab Spring has turned into an Arab winter of discontent. Some political analysts view chaos as the well proven strategy of the globalists/external enemies to take control over nations. And the superficiality of the Generation Y who are so gullible in what they read and see on Facebook poses as the Achilles heel for Asia. Once their young are easily deceived by the media and political spin masters, the future leadership of Asian nations will be compromised.

2014: Don't Look Back But Change Quickly At Midstream

As we edge closer to 2014 in the remaining two months of 2013, the world has already passed the turning fork at the crossroads. There were two paths (or more specifically mental perspectives) that we faced: the road to a better future and the road to a darker future regardless of our personal disposition. These two choices reappear into our vision every time a chasm or crisis emerges.

Somehow, I get the intuition that the Rubicon has already been crossed but my question is which road have we taken in 2013. Are we walking on the road that leads to global disaster, a perfect storm of economic disintegration and political chaos interspersed with periods of outer calm and stock market bullishness? Or are we on the more difficult and narrower road that leads to truth and a lasting peace, a divine kingdom built not on sand but on the victory of good over evil? My intuition indicates that there will not be any true light in the world until after the darkest hours have come to pass. And that time is upon us.

Everywhere we look today, we find rising crimes, disorder and high levels of public anxiety about our personal safety. The world, both on the local community level and the global level, seemed to have entered a new time zone of greater ruthlessness, more intense ideological delusions and political change that is running out of our control. (A police inspector quietly shared with us his anxieties, advising us to take ownership over our own safety by being alert and taking precautions.)

There is an increasing price to pay if we continue on the path that we take. Man's first impact on his world is his heart condition and his thought life. If he harbours selfish ambitions, his actions will follow according to script. If he takes a more measured and thoughtful assessment of himself, his actions will be more measured and rational. But rationality cannot overcome irrationality especially when law and order appears to be eroding by the day. Like a criminal who has started his criminal activity, he is on an automatic path of self-implosion, triggering a series of events that will lead to his incarceration, physical, mental and spiritual. 

The Narrow Path of Redemption and Sanctification

When Jesus said let the one without sin to be the first to throw a stone at the sinner, He shed light into the human heart. Not only is the episode a lesson for us not to judge others, He is in fact saying that we are all born with a criminal gene inherited from Adam. That genetic code that impels us to throw stones at others (not only in judgement) is embedded in us and can only be reprogrammed by the blood of Christ wherein we cleanse our hearts and minds with the righteousness of God through acceptance of His Son's sacrifice and redemption.

So there is still hope for those of us who have taken the wrong path but the window for change is getting narrower by the day. We can't look back any more at the pristine condition of our innocent youth when we stood at the crossroads of moral action.  But we can decide to step out of the current path and move quickly to the right path of personal redemption. In doing so, we move from a path of self-condemned stone throwers to the only path that can overcome the stone-inscribed law of judgement through the power of the Holy Spirit and the abounding grace of God. 

How Would A 6% GST Be Positive for the Malaysian Economy?

Now that the Government has finally announced the launch of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) by 1st April 2015, there will be a growing debate on whether it is positive or negative for the Malaysian economy.

The good news for Malaysia is that on 25th October 2013, the Malaysian government is finally admitting that economic realities do matter and political priorities will have to adapt to the current global economic realities. This admission comes after decades of sheltering the Malaysian consumer with subsidies and constraining labour productivity with misguided policies.

Likewise, the Malaysian public will begin to get a clearer understanding of the macroeconomic issues involving their livelihood, their cost of living and why their wages are not growing as fast as their regional counterparts.

I shall enumerate the core issues involved and the economics of taxation to answer this controversial and politicized issue (all things related to taxation are political).

The Substance of Change Rooted In Sound Aspirations: To Rally or Not To Rally?

With regard to the peaceful rallies across the country, I fully support the people’s protest against electoral fraud and 5 decades of institutional racism and corruption. 

And because of these events and the widespread communications of the Internet that will eventually go to the rural areas, I believe Barisan is currently pressured to either (a) reform from within or (b) perish in the next elections once the rural voters see through their lies and bribes. The clock is ticking steadily for them to change before voters return to the poll in five years.

However, there is always a small but real risk that Malaysian citizens, in their determination to bring about political change (Ubah), become too caught up to think clearly how their ideas of change can be accomplished. Peaceful civil resistance is an effective way against tyrannies. But let us also hope and pray that the Malaysian Spring (as coined by Lim Kit Siang) does not turn into an Arab winter of discontent which is what has happened in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Tunisia and Syria. 

In my ruminations of the future, I believe there are two potential tsunamis that Malaysia faces today: (1) the external tsunami of foreign political domination, which is often violent and hidden from public knowledge (e.g. Arab Spring and the training of Syrian rebels by foreign funded terrorists). (2) The other tsunami is an internal peaceful process of political change engineered by every right-thinking and conscientious Malaysian. Both these external and internal forces are working against each other. 

Thus, as democratic citizens, we should strive for a delicate balance where we put pressure on both the two main political parties to change and offer the best policies and solutions (early signs of change include the latest move to shift the reporting structure of the Election Commission to a parliamentary committee and discussions of a single non-racial party). 

GE 08 and 13 showed the trend is against BN so they have to really act fast in a way that is legitimate and ethical. Similarly, comparably high expectations are placed on the shoulders of Pakatan Rakyat leaders to offer viable and sound policies to govern and steer Malaysia through the global economic challenges. 

Put simply, the key strategy for Msians today is to pressure both parties to come up with the best political solution to Malaysia’s dependence on race-based politics in the next few months and years. 

The 21st century clock is ticking and it is my view that the global elite are planning to destabilise every nation and region (we also need to watch what the Spore government is doing with regard to our politics and how they treat their own citizens).

On a slightly different note, there have been blog discussions that some Christians were disappointed with the election results despite their prayers for change.

I totally agree with Kon Onn Sein’s view and knew beforehand that a number of Christians will be frustrated with the results.

We should trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding, in all our WAYS submit to Him and He will make our paths STRAIGHT (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The election results almost resulted in a hung parliament situation (if not for the irregularities) and this may be the ideal situation for both political parties to compete against each other for the people’s favour to govern. Barisan may have the upper hand now but God’s hands can work wonders behind the scenes and beyond our comprehension.

Just continue to pray and praise God for the promises He has declared over Malaysia. This nation will arise to fulfill her destiny as the rainbow nation of the world!

 

Dawn of Malaysia's Rainbow Nation: The Mandate to Rule is Shaken

Malaysians have woken up! Politically, socially and intellectually thanks to Facebook, You Tube, blogs and alternative media. The movement for real change, which started in GE12, has gained tremendous speed in GE13. And the massive, peaceful, multi-ethnic rally in Stadium Kelana Jaya on 8th May is a testament to the new Malaysia, the rainbow nation that will shine after 56 years of political darkness and a troubled history despite relative economic health.

Some commentators on the web and print media have missed the whole point: we are not saying the Opposition will take over the government or whether the elections results can be verified and fraud detected. Those issues will arise and be resolved in due course.

No. The real change is that the urban people of Malaysia, from all races, starting with Selangor and then to other major states, are saying to the incumbent government: YOU HAVE LOST THE PEOPLE's MANDATE TO LEAD AND TO GOVERN!

Al Jazeera’s reporter is right in saying that it is a moral victory. Not just for the Opposition (even they themselves are surprised by their relative success in the cities) but most importantly for the people. (Political analyst Dr Bridget Welsh's article "Silver Linings in a GE13 Without Gold" best captures the heart of the nation at present although I am sure there will be more profound analyses as history unfolds before our eyes.)

The issues that have caused this swing in urban public support against the government under BN have been percolating for five decades. And MALAYSIA'S TIME FOR CHANGE HAS COME. This was prophesied by many before GE13.

Yes, we shall see a peaceful tsunami of changes ...whether it means reform of BN into an integrated non-racial party, or PR taking over by hook or crook (hopefully the former). The final outcome is a clean and just government that is fair to all races, classes, gender and age groups.

Ron Paul: "Any idea whose time has come cannot be stopped by any army or any government."

Fallacies over the "Chinese Tsunami" debate 

There have been several debates and much outrage over the PM's Chinese tsunami remarks.  In my view, the analysis of voting trends based on racial lines is interesting but not exactly truthful: the demand for democracy, clean governance and economic freedom is a justified global demand that any race, be it Chinese, Singaporean, Thai or Spanish would cherish and aspire for. The fact that the Chinese happened to be in the majority living in urban areas does not indicate much except that the Chinese and other non-bumi races also happened to bear the brunt of discriminative policies enacted by BN's policies for five decades.

Imagine Steve Jobs (rest his soul), after seeing a surge in sales of iPhone3 in China, saying there is a major Chinese swing in demand for iPhone3. Demand for iPhones or any successful product is global and nothing to do with race. Same thing in Malaysia. 

Demand for fairness, justice and free and fair elections is universal. 

But the good news is change is coming and the people's mandate is shifting out of the government's hands. The pace of change is also out of their hands unless the incumbent government submits to change. It is no longer a question of when but whether they will allow themselves to be reformed internally or externally by a Pakatan Rakyat takeover.

This is what I wrote in response to a well researched but fundamentally flawed article in FreeMalaysia website:

 

"While your mathematical analysis makes sense, it is still not demographically realistic because the key issue that swung the elections at the state district level is not race but the urban-rural divide.

A high proportion of Chinese happened to reside in the urban states while the rural states happened to be populated by Malays.

The momentum is building among the urban voters, and this cuts across racial lines, to vote on issues that affect the governance of the country, the economy and the need to stamp out corruption at the highest level.

If we continue to call GE13 a Chinese tsunami, it is going back to the old school of analyzing Malaysians along racial lines.

Change your perspectives, then you will change the country for the better. Racial dominance is a tool that has no edge anymore in today's globalised, connected economy."

Postscript: In the past week, I have read, heard and seen so many moving stories/videos of people taking part in their democratic rights to vote and demand for free and fair elections. This one - I Am Malaysia - written by Jun Watanabe for The Malaysian Insider is especially poignant. 

How GE 13 Can Be A Game Changer for Malaysia

This General Elections will be a game changer if we play it right with less propaganda brainwashing from both sides of the fence and with more real issues addressed at the heart of the nation.

In my view, Malaysia's problems inherited from Dr Tun boil down to this: in our efforts to jump-start a nation governed by mediocre ministers and dominated by cronies, Dr Tun tried the strategy of "THE ENDS JUSTIFIES THE MEANS." As a result, the nation became even more unbalanced with little improvement in human capital.

Whatever that the "ENDS" denote for each Malaysian, it is basically trying to get the results by hook or crook (e.g. income distribution quotas, ETP targets, money politics to get required seats, Project I.C. in Sabah, etc).

This is why the nation has deteriorated in its academic research institutions, in intellectual discourse and in cross cultural communications. In other words, people learn not for the fun of learning but for exam results. People start businesses not to create a new value for customers but seek the quickest profits available. This is why many businesses engage in the latest money spinning asset reflation game called property development.

We accepted the fast track economic goals at the expense of fairness, justice, due process and genuine kindness to minorities, the underprivileged and the politically and spiritually oppressed. (In the late 1980s till the early 1990s, our economy was lucky due to the unintended consequences of the Plaza Accord when the Japanese had to revalue their Yen upwards and prompt a mass migration of Japanese MNCs into the emerging Tiger nations. The 1997 Asian financial crisis exposed the weakness of this economic model).

Instead of teaching the underprivileged how to learn, how to catch fish, the government gave/promised them loads of fish in perpetuity. Meanwhile, there was a suppression of all freedom of the press and freedom of inter-religious conversion. Only with the advent and popularity of the Internet in recent years has there been a growing intellectual forum for Malaysians to voice out their thoughts, political and spiritual frustrations.

Looking ahead, I believe it is time for due process to be the main driving force for change in Malaysia. It is time for the "MEANS JUSTIFIES THE ENDS" approach to solving our day-to-day and strategic problems. 

Whatever the election results, for 15 days, we Malaysians can start campaigning for our values and aspirations on the Internet/Facebook to be voiced out instead of whole-heartedly accepting the message of our politicians/party of choice.

But if we continue on the same old path of seeking the ends at all costs, then we may not be so lucky this time round. True reform starts with knowing where we came from and how we managed, despite all the compelling reasons for failure, to survive as a nation without a major civil crisis since 1969. Thankfully, I humbly confess that it is only by God's grace that we have peace and good communal relations in this country in spite of the divisive work of the extremists.

What Position Should Malaysian Churches Take In Politics?

One common issue that has arisen frequently among Malaysian Christians is this universal question of what position should Christians (or the church as a body) take in regard to politics. Should Christians voice out their support for a party that espouses moral leadership values and good governance? Or should Christians remain neutral with regard to political affiliations? 

This issue was raised in a recent post in Micah Mandate and written by Alwyn Lau. As a macro economist, I find it always helpful to tackle controversial issues with a broader mindset and be intellectually wary of popular thinking.

The political climate in which we live in today is not as simple as the writer suggests i.e. vote out the government that has lost legitimacy in the eyes of God and the people. Look at what happened in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and now Syria. All those governments were in their own ways, dictatorial and illegitimate but have been taken over by the ‘Muslim Brotherhood,’ which I
strongly believe (and supported by several investigators) is an undercover operation of the One World Government/Illuminati/Committee of 300. After the 'Arab Spring' revolution, those  countries are now in worse shape than before the regime change.

(To digress, the study of geopolitics can greatly benefit from applying probability analysis to events - how probable is it that several countries' regimes can fall like a deck of cards within a short time frame? How probable is it that hijackers armed with paper cutters can bomb the twin towers on their own?)  

While I share the view that Christians need to be involved in reforming their societies, yet we have to take a skeptical view that all political actions (even a peaceful revolution) are like toothless tigers without a genuine call for the spiritual renewal of a nation.

The globalist agenda of the committee of 300 is to play two national political forces (BN vs Pakatan Rakyat) against each other and when there is widespread chaos and disenchantment, the global government will step in to offer a “new” solution that inevitably means destroying the national sovereignty of the people. Their methods can be through military incursions (e.g. the Sulu incident in Lahad Datu?), false flags, political unions (e.g. the disastrous Eurozone project) or rigged elections to usher in their chosen candidates.

As far as the church’s position is concerned, I personally believe that it would have been more prudent for churches like DUMC (in deference to Pastor Daniel whom I know is a good man of God) to be more supportive of ethical and moral values in governments/parties rather than take a specific party line. 

This is because we as Christians should be careful not to put our faith in men (or parties for that matter), however honest or however noble their values. If we put our faith in men instead of moral leadership values, then they too can turn corrupt once they are in power. This is especially poignant in today’s geopolitics when global secret societies are attempting to manipulate the destinies of nations through the media/financial markets/economic and political alliances.

In conclusion, do make your voice stand out for reform and do vote. But be wise and watchful, and when you hear rumours of wars and shakings among nations, pray hard for God’s protection over our nation.

Unanswered Questions: The Truth Demands A Hearing

I think the mainstream media analysis (including blogger Art Harun's) of the Suluk 'incursion' is flawed simply because the analysts are taking a historical and legalistic view of the whole incident.

What they fail (as well as many Malaysians) to ask is why did the Suluk sultan plan this invasion at this time of Malaysia's history. I am not saying there is an underlying conspiracy but there are many, many unanswered questions especially at this time of world history where countries' sovereignty is being threatened by the globalists (Syria/Libya/Egypt/Greece/Spain,etc,etc).

To deal with the cunning of the globalists, we must not talk logic or history with them. Neither should we fight tooth for a tooth as they are backed by very strong military and intelligence forces around the world.

We should be alert not to accept the narratives of globalists/politicians who control the media. Intelligent skepticism is the key to unlocking the truth. And citizens should demand for the truth to be spoken and discussed because telling the truth will expose the enemy.

I fully sympathise with the families of those who were killed in this tragedy. But the tragedy, I believe, will be worse if we do not know the agenda of the globalists who are out to destabilise Asia.

There are indeed many unanswered questions and the best way to deal with these mysteries is to allow the questions to lie fallow in our minds and ask God for guidance.

Watch out for North Korea (China/Russia proxy who have recently moved their troops near the North Korean peninsular) and the hidden agenda of certain key politicians in Washington. They are preparing and here we are...talking about history.

The mystery of today's geopolitics can only be unravaled by asking tough questions (is this believable, is this the truth, can I trust the media? Can I trust the politicians to tell the truth?) and applying probability analysis (how probable are events that appear to be independent but are actually not). If the answer is no, then the only choice is to speak out that our demands for the truth be found and made public (pending another ineffective Royal Commission of Inquiry).