Today is the first day of the second year of my blogging. Time really flies. Exactly one year ago, I have started blogging and tried to do something to the deteriorating political culture in our country, which can be best summed up by all the ‘E’ s – deteriorating Ethnic relations, worsening Ethical behaviours of the politicians  and civil servants (including corruptions, abuse of power, cronyism and nepotism), sluggish Economic situation, deterioarting Education standards, Environmental problems and loss of Excellence in whatever we do.

The ‘E’ s has pretty much remained the same – not much has changed in the course of a year. This is expected because you cannot change an entrenched culture overnight or even in a year. The road to bring forth a new culture is tedious and long, just like climbing up a mountain, but if we don’t try, we can never reach the top of the mountain and view the beautiful scenery at the back of the mountain. If we don’t try, we are not going to get a fair and equitable society. At least, I tell myself with a little pride, I have tried.

In the course of the past one year, I notice that  many new blogs have been created in our country. This is a good sign , especially many of these blogs are started by young people, who are the hope of our future. They are like candles; individually, they may not be bright, but together, they constitute a formidable force and a source of light that can no longer be ignored by those in power.

I am especially glad that even the lawyers , who are the officers of the courts and the elite of the society, have come out in force to demand an overhaul of the whole judicial system. This is a good sign for the country, and I hope other professionals should emulate the lawyers and come forward to demand more liberty,  transparency and accountability.

In this globalised world, it is no longer possible to sweep everything under the  carpets and still hope that no one notices the dirt and rubbish underneath. Communication advances, like never before, have enabled everyone to be a writer , publisher. News spread at a speed almost as fast as those of light. Internet has enabled every household to have a virtual library; almost everything can be learned and uncovered via the web and the links. You can be physically remote yet in contact with all parts of the world.

Leaders, civil servants and even private businesses have come under scrutiny like never before. It is as if all of us now is staying in glass houses. All of us have to behave in proper manner, and this is espescially true for those in power.

The people are much better educated and have a broader perspective than before. Many life experiences which they have not gone through personally can still be experienced through seeing the stories of others on televisions or movies. Even the less educated ones are not as ignorant as before. With better education and broader perspective, people have come to expect more of their leaders, their governments. They are no longer contented with being governed; they want to be part of the governing process.

So it would be wise for a government to be transparent, forthright, liberal, accountable and clean. Confucius has said many hundred  years ago: those who win the heart of the people will get to rule the country. This principle is  still very true.

This is also the era of the flat world where hierachy in society is fast being flattend. Every individual is as important as the other individual. People have individuals rights which their fathers have never experienced nor dreamed before. This has given me hope that a day will come when everyone in this planet will be treated as an equal, irrespective of race, creed or religion..

 BAck to this blog. I am very honoured that Blogwatch, a European site, has singled this blog out for mention and has wirtten a very encouraging discourse on this blog. For those who wish to read this discourse, please go to this link: www.blogwatch.eu. I think this is perhaps the best anniversary present for this blog and certainly I will tried my best to live up to what the author has said.

I will continue my style of non confrontational approach to issues, both national and global, using examples, stories, facts and figures to present my viewpoints . I hope that more people will come and join my small little voice to  make this a better world for all of us.

Please read this post:

Climb the mountain, Light the candle