Today as I was writing the date, 1/20/2010 (in America, it's month first, which is why it's 9/11), I realized that 2020 is just 10 years away. Back in the 90s when the Vision was conceived, 2020 was pretty far away. Hell, no one was even thinking about the 21st century yet. But now it's T-minus ten years and counting. But before you ask how far along are we, or are we in a position where we can make it, and if we can, will we?--think first: What can be done in a decade?
Much has been achieved in the past ten years--I'd like to say twenty, but hold that thought--in terms of development mainly because of the interweb (you see, ten only). That is a freak, once-in-a-lifetime spike in the progress of mankind. Even if there is some other form of boost to the progress of civilization in the next decade, it won't be as potent as what we have experienced in the 90s and the Noughties.
Ten years ago, 2000. I can't be arsed to Google the shit out of development or the economy or whateverthefuck political or human capital indexes. But think back to what you were doing in Y2K--where were you? what was it like? how was life without certain things back then? or how was it with certain things still there? Compare that to today, and try to think how 2020 could be for you.
The brilliant thing about getting there is that with all the inefficiency in place (those fucking separated LRT/Monorel stations) any right move will go quite a long way and will look like ridiculously huge progress. Think about it. Broadband for all and for cheap. How the fuck have we not yet had decent internet providers/service? But anyway, that would lead to among others, better e-commerce, media streaming and just better productivity from offices and businesses. How awesome would it be to order "nasi lemak satu, kasi sambal lebih, roti sardin dua, sirap limau tiga" online? Fine, it'd be against the whole "weh, lepak kat mamak jom" culture, but McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut are doing pretty well in terms of their delivery service. And most mamaks are 24 hours. And if that's not sold you yet--everyone loves the rotiman, so why not a mamak on wheels and a (decent) internet service?
I have lost my plot here but what I was trying to say is that despite everything that's happened in the last decade, it's gonna take us so much more in this decade to get to a level where we can actually say "Malaysia Boleh!" and actually mean it. Like 'mean it' mean it, y'know. Say it, knowing we actually boleh.
The Noughties was boosted by the emergence of the interweb and even 4-year-olds sending IMs on their BlackBerries, among other things. It's gonna be pretty hard to beat that, yet we have to to that and then some. And also take note the target that was set when Wawasan 2020 was conceived has obviously moved. So much has happened since then that was not expected--September 11 and all it's subsequent wars and security issues; the oil price thing; the credit market thing; pirated VCDs and DVDs sellling at RM5 a pop; the 2008 general elections; the bullshit in Perak and the 'Tree of Democracy'; the ban of the word 'Allah'. In each case, some people gained, some lost badly, be it financially or politically. Either way, the point here is that while we can pride ourselves all we want about our highways and our towers and bridges and whathaveyou, other people make ridiculous strides forward too. The target is moving too, but are we catching up or are we being left in its trail of dust?
Let's be honest, it's not like we planned this yesterday or even yesteryear. And when we did plan it, we made it this huge ass target and publicized it not just among ourselves and our kids, but also to the whole world. In short, we told the developed world, "siap la kau, 2020 aku nak join," so failure would not only constitute a huge embarrassment, it would be just...sad. And such a waste. Of our effort, time and money. Because when 2020 nears, all the energy and emotion and national pride we've put into it will make it such an anticipated period. Midnight, January 1, 2020, the world won't simply change for the better.
It's not just about getting more wired and more connected and having a dozen more skyscrapers in every city. It's also our mentality--something which any halfwit could tell we are sorely lacking. We have the ambition to want something. We know what can be achieved and what can be done, and we want it. That's all fine and dandy. But do we keep it up? Do we maintain whatever brainchild we conceive, or do we just jump ship to the next up-and-coming hot prospect? We can build pretty sweet schools (comparatively) but what the fuck happens after 15 years? Fans and lights don't work, yet we brush it aside and say, "Alah, budak dekat sekolah pondok habuk pun takde. Bersyukurlah dengan apa yang awak dah ada." While cost-cutting and bersederhana are admirable traits, what message do you ultimately send? Where do you draw the line, then? The Way I See It, if it was designed to work in a certain way, you fucking keep it that way regardless of anything. Too expensive? Too laborious? Why did you even bother getting it in the first place? Cutting corners and condescension won't get you far. I don't mean to sound like many a broken record, but we really lack that 'First World mentality'.
Is ten years enough? The fuck if I know.
Sadly, though, the way things are going, I just can't help but get the feeling that 2020 will come and we won't even be near where we think we should be. Then some idiot up top will come out and say something like, "Usahlah kita risau, satu tahun itu agak lama...365 hari...Oh, ya, tahun ni tahun lompat! Jadi kita ada 366 hari. Lama lagi tu..."
Much has been achieved in the past ten years--I'd like to say twenty, but hold that thought--in terms of development mainly because of the interweb (you see, ten only). That is a freak, once-in-a-lifetime spike in the progress of mankind. Even if there is some other form of boost to the progress of civilization in the next decade, it won't be as potent as what we have experienced in the 90s and the Noughties.
Ten years ago, 2000. I can't be arsed to Google the shit out of development or the economy or whateverthefuck political or human capital indexes. But think back to what you were doing in Y2K--where were you? what was it like? how was life without certain things back then? or how was it with certain things still there? Compare that to today, and try to think how 2020 could be for you.
The brilliant thing about getting there is that with all the inefficiency in place (those fucking separated LRT/Monorel stations) any right move will go quite a long way and will look like ridiculously huge progress. Think about it. Broadband for all and for cheap. How the fuck have we not yet had decent internet providers/service? But anyway, that would lead to among others, better e-commerce, media streaming and just better productivity from offices and businesses. How awesome would it be to order "nasi lemak satu, kasi sambal lebih, roti sardin dua, sirap limau tiga" online? Fine, it'd be against the whole "weh, lepak kat mamak jom" culture, but McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut are doing pretty well in terms of their delivery service. And most mamaks are 24 hours. And if that's not sold you yet--everyone loves the rotiman, so why not a mamak on wheels and a (decent) internet service?
I have lost my plot here but what I was trying to say is that despite everything that's happened in the last decade, it's gonna take us so much more in this decade to get to a level where we can actually say "Malaysia Boleh!" and actually mean it. Like 'mean it' mean it, y'know. Say it, knowing we actually boleh.
The Noughties was boosted by the emergence of the interweb and even 4-year-olds sending IMs on their BlackBerries, among other things. It's gonna be pretty hard to beat that, yet we have to to that and then some. And also take note the target that was set when Wawasan 2020 was conceived has obviously moved. So much has happened since then that was not expected--September 11 and all it's subsequent wars and security issues; the oil price thing; the credit market thing; pirated VCDs and DVDs sellling at RM5 a pop; the 2008 general elections; the bullshit in Perak and the 'Tree of Democracy'; the ban of the word 'Allah'. In each case, some people gained, some lost badly, be it financially or politically. Either way, the point here is that while we can pride ourselves all we want about our highways and our towers and bridges and whathaveyou, other people make ridiculous strides forward too. The target is moving too, but are we catching up or are we being left in its trail of dust?
Let's be honest, it's not like we planned this yesterday or even yesteryear. And when we did plan it, we made it this huge ass target and publicized it not just among ourselves and our kids, but also to the whole world. In short, we told the developed world, "siap la kau, 2020 aku nak join," so failure would not only constitute a huge embarrassment, it would be just...sad. And such a waste. Of our effort, time and money. Because when 2020 nears, all the energy and emotion and national pride we've put into it will make it such an anticipated period. Midnight, January 1, 2020, the world won't simply change for the better.
It's not just about getting more wired and more connected and having a dozen more skyscrapers in every city. It's also our mentality--something which any halfwit could tell we are sorely lacking. We have the ambition to want something. We know what can be achieved and what can be done, and we want it. That's all fine and dandy. But do we keep it up? Do we maintain whatever brainchild we conceive, or do we just jump ship to the next up-and-coming hot prospect? We can build pretty sweet schools (comparatively) but what the fuck happens after 15 years? Fans and lights don't work, yet we brush it aside and say, "Alah, budak dekat sekolah pondok habuk pun takde. Bersyukurlah dengan apa yang awak dah ada." While cost-cutting and bersederhana are admirable traits, what message do you ultimately send? Where do you draw the line, then? The Way I See It, if it was designed to work in a certain way, you fucking keep it that way regardless of anything. Too expensive? Too laborious? Why did you even bother getting it in the first place? Cutting corners and condescension won't get you far. I don't mean to sound like many a broken record, but we really lack that 'First World mentality'.
Is ten years enough? The fuck if I know.
Sadly, though, the way things are going, I just can't help but get the feeling that 2020 will come and we won't even be near where we think we should be. Then some idiot up top will come out and say something like, "Usahlah kita risau, satu tahun itu agak lama...365 hari...Oh, ya, tahun ni tahun lompat! Jadi kita ada 366 hari. Lama lagi tu..."
