Walk the talk

Standing out: Many commended Cheah for his readiness to speak up on national issues that concern the people in his open letter to fellow Malaysians on National Day.

NOT many renowned Malaysian businessmen would want to openly discuss issues affecting the nation, particularly those involving corruption because no one wants to antagonise the powerful.

It’s fair to say their fears aren’t unfounded. After all, as businesspeople, many depend on the goodwill of politicians to get their work expedited by avoiding obstacles.

Few would want to see themselves become the target of paid mercenaries on social media, especially not when business is involved. Many prefer to whine privately, but as political dynamics become more uncertain, they find it increasingly difficult to be friendly with only one side.

Now, they need to sidle up to both sides or worse, three or four sides even, but it doesn’t always work that way. Invariably, they are expected to choose sides.

But as we head towards an impending general election, there is growing speculation that results will be inconclusive, yet again.

That means there will be another round of horse-trading and deal-making to “hammer out” a Federal Government like it happened after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government after only two years.

Now, even the DAP has raised the possibility of working with Umno, saying it won’t rule out a collaboration with the latter as “anything is possible in politics.”

It would have been unthinkable previously. But after being in the Federal Government for 22 months, it’s hard to relinquish power. After all, power is addictive.

So, businessmen would rather stay out of the many political crosshairs and minefields.

But eyebrows were raised last week when Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, the founder and chairman of Sunway Group, penned an open letter to fellow Malaysians in conjunction with our National Day.

Many commended him for his readiness to speak up on national issues that concern Malaysians.

In his well-articulated letter, he started off by highlighting the positive developments over the past 12 months, including the historic memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the Prime Minister and the Opposition.

Cheah also cited the gazetting of the anti-party hopping law and the imminent tabling of a political finance Bill.

But the tycoon then rightly rued that “like many of my fellow Malaysians, I worry that some in power appear to be more focused on politics, rather than policies.

“We are all aware of the obstacles we face in trying to build a brighter, more progressive, more inclusive and more sustainable future for our country.”

Calling for an urgent need to strengthen national unity, he asserted that “we must all do what we can to clean up the toxicity that influences our conversations on race, religion and culture.

“And then, there is education. It is no secret that our education system needs a massive overhaul. Unless we urgently address this challenge, we will doom our children and our country to a future of poverty and misery.”

He expressed concern that the command of English among young Malaysians was on the wane, adding that while Bahasa Malaysia is obviously our national language and we should know it, “we are a trading nation and English is the language of trade and commerce. A lack of fluency in English may well pose a major hurdle in our efforts to build a prosperous Malaysia.”

Cheah also touched on corruption, intimating that “the perception is that corruption has now become endemic in this country” and “unless we seriously root out corruption, we are in trouble.”

Cheah has hit the nail on the head. The truth is, Malaysia needs to get its priorities right or risk slipping down the slope.

ALSO READ: Dear Malaysia

The level of toxicity in this country is unbelievable, especially with the amount of time devoted to politics, mostly destructive ones, when we, instead, could be focusing our energy on productivity.

Thinking out of the box has become a cliché, an overused phrase. We need everyone, especially ministers and government officials, to change their mindsets and welcome ideas and comments from credible business leaders.

It’s insufficient to be surrounded by so-called political sycophants whose skills are only limited to their manoeuvrings.

Businessmen who have proven themselves to be committed to nation-building should be encouraged to speak up since they surely mean well. They should be invited to share their expertise more often with our national leaders.

If there’s an award for “Businessman of the Year,” Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah certainly has my vote. Thank you for speaking up, sir. Standing out: Many commended Cheah for his readiness to speak up on national issues that concern the people in his open letter to fellow Malaysians on National Day.