How is it that the nation endowed with so many natural resources and potential seems to squander opportunity after opportunity to make real and tangible strides in delivering on the basics of good, clean governance?

By G. Krishnan

Imagine two nations. They’re in fact neighbours but their histories were much more intimately intertwined. In fact, they were once upon a time one nation. But as history would have it, politics led them to come to a mutually agreeable accommodation and they went their separate ways.

Once no longer united as a single nation but rather functioning as two sovereign independent nations, they wrote their own histories and tried to make the best of their strengths and to overcome their challenges. Fascinatingly, as much as they have had some intriguing commonalities between them, the decades that ensued tell a most revealing tale of these two nations; physically separated only by about a half mile waterway, but for all practical purposes, they might as well be half way across the world from each other.

To be sure, they were both governed for long periods by their own home-grown strongman; some would call them dictators. Both nations were – in their own way, endowed with certain resources: one had – and still has – a dizzying reserve of natural resources, physical beauty to be cherished, and an abundance of human potential. The other largely had some geo-strategic importance and its human potential. To be sure, they each had their own challenges and demons to overcome as well.

Recently, we get another reminder of precisely how far apart these nations become in the kind of societies they have created for themselves, despite their fairly comparable status in the early 1960s. One nation is regarded by an internationally renowned body as being practically free of the scrooge of corruption. The other – after years of total control of the government machinery - lingers in some dismal company and is chronically fraught with widespread corruption.

How is this possible? How is it that two nations literally joined in the hip from the start, or like two peas from the same pod, become so glaringly different?

Read more at: IMAGINE...

Comments (15)

...
written by Eskay345, November 24, 2009 21:14:04

Our greatest problem is that Malaysians are extremely loyal and being regimented to following slogans like "leaders by example".
But the negative part is that most of our leaders set bad examples for the people to follow. So when being rejected, they will profusely shout "pengkhianat"
That's why our Malaysia has kept on "turun tangga" on all aspects of transparency, corruption, and educational standards except only crime that kept going up.

• 
• +0
• 
• 

...
written by jaz, November 23, 2009 11:03:28

Typical Malaysian governance.

Excuse my bluntness, I'm not feeling especially generous with my words today.

• 
• +1
• 
• 

...
written by eagle22, November 22, 2009 13:54:54

Its the NEP, Ketuanan, RajaH & EMNO .... even PR takes over ... i bet the lazy civil servants.. will still continue with their tricks.

---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8J8b9e4MXY

• 
• +4
• 
• 

...
written by uxzee, November 22, 2009 11:53:28

The mentality of Singaporeans is to excel at whatever cost or hindrance and the mentality of UMNO is to sellout the country,its people and the wealth for their own personal gain.

• 
• +7
• 
• 

...
written by temenggong, November 22, 2009 09:57:24

Simple. One has the culture for excellence, and the other has the culture of dominance. It's in the culture.

• 
• +6
• 
• 

...
written by batsman, November 22, 2009 09:55:04

Both countries use same cruel treatment on political prisoners. Eff Singapore non-stop from here to eternity.

• 
• -2
• 
• 

...
written by Jan, November 22, 2009 08:22:19

G Khrisnan, why don't you tell us something that we don't know?

• 
• -5
• 
• 

...
written by smalluncle, November 22, 2009 06:21:04

WELL, if Malaysian do not do something come next General Election, IT WILL BE TOO LATE.

There will be no treasure left and we will be like the "Tiny RED DOT" neighbor down south who have NOTHING some 40 years ago when they go Independent.

Question is , do we then have a leader who are CAPABLE to transform the TINY RED DOT into a Red Hot, glowing RED CRYSTAL BALL?

With our current set of RULING & OPPOSITION, manyat SUSAH Lor.

• 
• +3
• 
• 

...
written by michael chick, November 21, 2009 23:58:34

And the other has ROSMAH !!

• 
• +6
• 
• 

...
written by michael chick, November 21, 2009 23:55:58

One has Singaporeans Girls?

• 
• +6
• 
• 

...
written by Rainbowseahorse, November 21, 2009 23:53:38

G.Krisnan,

Why don't you just spill out the names of those two countries you are making comparison to?

Just simply write: Singapore is more developed because it's being run by highly efficient, highly educated, and very much less corrupted people in government, while Malaysia is in a state of limbo as it has been, and still is, run by grossly incompetent, some even with fake education certificates to hide their lack of qualifications, and corrupted (especially UMNO's) people in the government.

The whole world knows that, and we must certainly know that too, but there is fuk we can do about this fuk-up situation except come next GE where we have to remember to change out the old and replace with a new government.
But then, there are many...just too many...who would think the old is good, like wine!

• 
• +12
• 
• 

...
written by bambooman, November 21, 2009 23:50:33

mahathir still remain a significant contributor tp the woes faced by malaysia.....and we have joker(s) who are proposing for him to be senior minister!!!

• 
• +11
• 
• 

...
written by Susanna, November 21, 2009 23:37:43

Meritocracy and Clean government and governance makes a whole world lots of difference. One keeps getting better, the other keeps sliding downhill

• 
• +6
• 
• 

...
written by toroono78, November 21, 2009 23:12:27

ITS ALL ABOUT A LEADER AND HOW HE/SHE LEADS THE PEOPLE.WHAT WE HAD HERE IS LEADERSHIP BY EXAMPLE BULLSHIT AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE STILL GETTING.

• 
• +5
• 
• 

...
written by truthbespoken, November 21, 2009 22:58:03

The ANSWER is...Singaporeans have a clean, meritorious society once under LKY and Malaysians have a highly corrupted and racist society once under Mahathir.

While Singapore is still expanding in all directions under her new leadership, Mahathir still remain a significant contributor to the current woes faced by Malaysia.

• 
• +19
• 
•