NATION IN DISTRESS? I DON'T THINK SO.

For the past few days, several prominent bloggers such as Rocky, Sheih Azidi (Kickdefella), Haris Ibrahim (People's Parliament) and Eric Woon (I Am A Malaysian) has been dramatically urging Malaysians to fly the Jalur Gemilang flag upside down as a sign of protest for the current state of affairs in the country, which they claim and coined as "a nation in distress."

Dia orang ni drama lah. They accuse the BN Federal Government of causing grief and unhappiness to the rakyat, to the extent that since the March 8 general election, they claimed that Malaysia has lost its economic competitiveness, causing foreign investors to shy away and opt for other more investor-friendly nations such as Vietnam, China, India and of course Singapore (dia orang ni semua kalau bab memuji Singapore nombor satu - tapi tak nak le pulak pergi duduk terus kat situ). But these are also the same people who spread tales such as these in their blogs, indoctrinating the minds of Malaysia's younger generations - making their readers believe that Malaysia is really in state of distress and the "rakyat is left to rot" as so eloquently said by Eric Woon in his I Am A Malaysia blog.

Apa yang nation in distress-nya? Someone please stand up and give me a convincing answer. For starters, these bloggers - while preaching to the whole country that Malaysia is in a mess, are not exactly hardcore poor, living in dilapidated huts somewhere in some remote kampung in Jerantut, Pahang without water and electricity, not to mention internet connection for them to spread more "blown out of proportion" tales in their blogs. Most bloggers are actually professionals - lawyers, doctors, engineers, businessmen, accountants, public relations executive etc. etc. whom are quite well off - driving fancy cars, gulping RM20 ringgit frapuccinos or whatever cinos from Starbucks and lives in swanky condos somewhere in Bukit Antarabangsa or Bangsar. And they claim Malaysia is in distress. These buggers should be sent to Sudan or Mauritania for a month - there they offer you first class "nation in distress" package. Nak sangat ke jadi nation in distress? I just don't get these anti-establishment lots.

Pokok pangkalnya, kita kena sentiasa bersyukur dengan apa yang dah kita nikmati selama ni. Just be thankful. Ini tak. Forever complaining and whining - itu tak betul, ini tak betul. To me, if the PM, DPM and Cabinet Ministers are filthy rich (memang dah kaya pun), so be it. I don't see any problem. Biarlah dia orang nak kaya. Yang kita nak dengki sangat kenapa? If you wanna experience wealth, then work for it. Don't simply accuse rich people and rich politicians of acquiring their wealth due to cronyism or nepotism or connections. Who are we to tell or judge that these people got rich through illegitimate ways? For all you know, they worked hard for it. My parents are quite well off - living in a nice big bungalow with 3 fancy cars. You got a problem with that? Does that make us bad people? Think again. I am thankful and proud because my parents are the humblest people that I know - helping the needy sedaya mungkin, driving up north to Perak frequently to visit the orphanages which they helped build and develop, organising weekly religious classes and ceramahs at their home and why? Because they are thankful for what Allah swt. have given them. Ini tak - asyik complain, complain, complain - entah-entah sembahyang pun tak cukup lima waktu. Yang dia orang besarkan gathering of bloggers to further condemn and criticise the establishment. Daripada buat benda-benda macam tu, lebih baik ke masjid ke, church ke or their respective temples.

I'll give you a simple scenario why I believe our country is still okay. Do we see daily riots and people looting the streets, robbing convenience shops and creating chaos, disrupting public order? Tak ada kan? Remember when Indonesians ransacked (I think destroyed is a better word) the American hypermarket Wal-Mart in suburban Jakarta almost a decade ago because the economy in that country was so bad? Do you see that happening in Malaysia. So far tak ada kan? To me, that is my definition of nation in distress.

We still have enough money to eat, pay our bills, car instalments, home loan etc. Siap ada disposable income lagi - kalau tak tak kan le shopping sakan macam beruk almost every week, sale or no sale.

Bloggers yang macam gini bukannya apa, yang sebenarnya exicted sangat sebab Pakatan Rakyat managed to topple BN in four states and denied them the 2/3 majority in Parliament. Konon-kononya moving forward for change lah tu. Some even had the cheek to say that for 51 years, Malaysia did not really achieve anything pun. I quote Eric Woon "51 years of no-sense". Kepala hotak dia orang.

My message to people like these senang aje - if you don't like the current arrangements, please feel free to pack up and leave. If you are a true Malaysian, then you must respect the Federal Constitution, especially Article 152 and Article 153 which also includes the social contract. I'm not going to waste my time elaborating on what the social contract is. You know and I know what it is. Again, if you don't like it - I'm sure the United States of America, Canada or Australia would be more than willing to accomodate people like you so that their Chinatowns of San Francisco, New York, Toronto or Sydney would be merrier.

Nation in distress, konon. Tak reti nak bersyukur langsung.