misled_youth
28-08-2004, 04:45 PM
Malaysia misses out on medals - and more
By Ioannis Gatsiounis
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Olympic athletes are topping the local news, but not for the reasons that one would hope. With the Athens Games nearing their close, Malaysia hasn't won a single medal, though it earned two in Sidney four years ago when it aspired to amass more trophies and recognition in future Olympics.
The lack of any bronze, silver or gold led Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to deliver a rare diatribe on Thursday: "Malaysia is not poor, we have food, health facilities. How about countries which don't even have these? Where did they get the energy and ability to win?" Then he added, "Our abilities must have stagnated while other countries have improved and gone beyond us."
It was clear Abdullah was thinking beyond the Olympics. In recent weeks the government has shed its confident exterior to reveal an introspective, head-scratching core. Instead of continuing to try to superficially boost Malaysian confidence through self-congratulatory press conferences, it has begun to acknowledge that there is a major gap between dreams and reality here; between the long-term vision mapped out by former dictator Mahathir Mohammed and the government's and public's gumption and determination to see it through.
Two years ago, for instance, the government thought technology and innovation would pave the way for Malaysia's future. But very few research and development (R&D) projects have been commercialized, and Malaysians in general haven't embraced the creative, competitive spirit of the globalized world as expected. The country's science, technology and innovations minister earlier this month urged a greater focus on R&D and vowed to provide further incentives, despite the fact that numerous incentives already are in place.
Meanwhile, top officials have been lamenting the loss of their "best and brightest" to overseas markets. Talk has switched from calling Malaysia a "model islamic democracy" to how to actually achieve one. (Abdullah is set to release a book detailing his concept of Hadhari Islam, which seeks to meld modernity and Islam into a working whole.)
So what's gone wrong?
Malaysia's performance at the Athens Games has people talking because it is seen to provide clues. "If you don't do well, you have to work harder," said Abdullah. "If you train three hours a day, maybe you should train five hours a day. If you have done five, you have to do more than five. You must improve, that's all." Added an editorial writer in a local Chinese paper: "Malaysians have placed too much emphasis on economic expansion and the speed with which we accumulate wealth, such that we have overlooked the advancement of social and human development, including the development in sports."
The irony is that Malaysia has a high regard for record-setting. Walk into any local bookstore and you will find The Malaysian Book of World Records prominently displayed. In it are records on "the largest service center", "the smallest frog" and "the number of heads shampooed in one day at a shopping mall". It is part of a government-scripted confidence-boosting campaign that inspired the national slogan, "Malaysia boleh" (Malaysia can). Few utter it with a straight face anymore, recognizing the fact that mere words are hollow. And on Thursday the prime minster urged Malaysians to find "the real determination to win and perform well".
Letter writers to the small handful of Malaysia's independent websites have called their nation one of "false pride" (ie, reveling in meager achievements) and accused Malaysians of opposing genuine competition. Indeed, the substance of Malaysian pride is tested any time Malaysians step into the international arena - and what has happened at the Olympics has led to much-needed introspection, at least for some.
Others simply have tuned out. At the central train station in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, two big-screen televisions were on: one showed the Olympics, the other motorcycle road racing. Only the latter drew a crowd. At food stalls, pro-wrestling continues to dominate the airwaves.
The government is partly responsible for the country's woes in Athens, and beyond. Whereas leaders of other nations attended the games' opening ceremonies, as a writer for a popular weblog here noted, "Our senior politicians were not to been seen...when Malaysia comes out with bizarre things like 'The longest ketupat [rice cooked in palm leaves] in the world' in Malaysia, you can see senior politicians officially opening and acknowledging such achievements."
Abdullah said the government is willing to give Olympic athletes the facilities they need, but they "must have the focus and determination to succeed".
A traditional dancer here, no stranger to competition, said some Malaysian athletes assumed they could not succeed internationally, whether it was because of physical size or fate. After Malaysian marathon swimmer Abdul Malik Mydin swam across the British Channel last year, Mahathir was dismayed by how many Malaysians assumed Mydin had been blessed with supernatural power.
When people succeed or fail, Malaysians often attribute it to their rezeki (luck or karma), as in: "It must be our rezeki to win this award three years in a row," or, "People say popular artists in my movies attract the audience and that they are part of my 'winning formula'. To me, it's just rezeki."
But the dancer said that doesn't stop Malaysians from hoping their Olympic athletes will do them proud, or ward off disappointment, empathizing when they don't. "It's really very difficult to face that kind of feeling," she said.
But that's where real progress usually starts - grasping the hard facts. It's a reality Malaysia slowly appears to be coming around to. Sooner or later it will have no choice.
Ioannis Gatsiounis is a New York native who has worked in Indonesia as a freelance foreign correspondent for various Stateside dailies and co-hosted a weekly political/cultural radio call-in show. He now lives in Malaysia.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@<hidden> for information on our sales and syndication policies.)
----
1. Gov is self-seeking in nature. Mere rhetorics are enough to satisfy the uninitiative press/public.
2. Gov flip flops on EVERYTHING. Pak Lah wants to focus on agriculture. We have factory's, free trade areas, we produce computers, chips, SLR camera's, photocopy machines, technology, etc etc. And gov wants to go backwards?
Long time ago gov implemented policy to increase rice production, ppl resisted. Now, Thai/Burma/Viet harvest 4 times a year, while we harvest twice. We have to import from them.
3. Pak Lah, lose that beer belly, then only you qualified to ask ppl train harder. You can't even train your accolytes (mufti's included) to behave properly.
4. Malaysia Boleh is a joke, when it comes out of a politicians mouth. It's only valuable, when it comes from someone who succeeds.
Stick it to the man ya'll
(sorry... URL for this article missing)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FH28Ae06.html
Moderator Edit: Edited, URL added
________
Sunset Boulevard Residence 2 Pattaya (http://pattayaluxurycondos.com)
By Ioannis Gatsiounis
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Olympic athletes are topping the local news, but not for the reasons that one would hope. With the Athens Games nearing their close, Malaysia hasn't won a single medal, though it earned two in Sidney four years ago when it aspired to amass more trophies and recognition in future Olympics.
The lack of any bronze, silver or gold led Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to deliver a rare diatribe on Thursday: "Malaysia is not poor, we have food, health facilities. How about countries which don't even have these? Where did they get the energy and ability to win?" Then he added, "Our abilities must have stagnated while other countries have improved and gone beyond us."
It was clear Abdullah was thinking beyond the Olympics. In recent weeks the government has shed its confident exterior to reveal an introspective, head-scratching core. Instead of continuing to try to superficially boost Malaysian confidence through self-congratulatory press conferences, it has begun to acknowledge that there is a major gap between dreams and reality here; between the long-term vision mapped out by former dictator Mahathir Mohammed and the government's and public's gumption and determination to see it through.
Two years ago, for instance, the government thought technology and innovation would pave the way for Malaysia's future. But very few research and development (R&D) projects have been commercialized, and Malaysians in general haven't embraced the creative, competitive spirit of the globalized world as expected. The country's science, technology and innovations minister earlier this month urged a greater focus on R&D and vowed to provide further incentives, despite the fact that numerous incentives already are in place.
Meanwhile, top officials have been lamenting the loss of their "best and brightest" to overseas markets. Talk has switched from calling Malaysia a "model islamic democracy" to how to actually achieve one. (Abdullah is set to release a book detailing his concept of Hadhari Islam, which seeks to meld modernity and Islam into a working whole.)
So what's gone wrong?
Malaysia's performance at the Athens Games has people talking because it is seen to provide clues. "If you don't do well, you have to work harder," said Abdullah. "If you train three hours a day, maybe you should train five hours a day. If you have done five, you have to do more than five. You must improve, that's all." Added an editorial writer in a local Chinese paper: "Malaysians have placed too much emphasis on economic expansion and the speed with which we accumulate wealth, such that we have overlooked the advancement of social and human development, including the development in sports."
The irony is that Malaysia has a high regard for record-setting. Walk into any local bookstore and you will find The Malaysian Book of World Records prominently displayed. In it are records on "the largest service center", "the smallest frog" and "the number of heads shampooed in one day at a shopping mall". It is part of a government-scripted confidence-boosting campaign that inspired the national slogan, "Malaysia boleh" (Malaysia can). Few utter it with a straight face anymore, recognizing the fact that mere words are hollow. And on Thursday the prime minster urged Malaysians to find "the real determination to win and perform well".
Letter writers to the small handful of Malaysia's independent websites have called their nation one of "false pride" (ie, reveling in meager achievements) and accused Malaysians of opposing genuine competition. Indeed, the substance of Malaysian pride is tested any time Malaysians step into the international arena - and what has happened at the Olympics has led to much-needed introspection, at least for some.
Others simply have tuned out. At the central train station in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, two big-screen televisions were on: one showed the Olympics, the other motorcycle road racing. Only the latter drew a crowd. At food stalls, pro-wrestling continues to dominate the airwaves.
The government is partly responsible for the country's woes in Athens, and beyond. Whereas leaders of other nations attended the games' opening ceremonies, as a writer for a popular weblog here noted, "Our senior politicians were not to been seen...when Malaysia comes out with bizarre things like 'The longest ketupat [rice cooked in palm leaves] in the world' in Malaysia, you can see senior politicians officially opening and acknowledging such achievements."
Abdullah said the government is willing to give Olympic athletes the facilities they need, but they "must have the focus and determination to succeed".
A traditional dancer here, no stranger to competition, said some Malaysian athletes assumed they could not succeed internationally, whether it was because of physical size or fate. After Malaysian marathon swimmer Abdul Malik Mydin swam across the British Channel last year, Mahathir was dismayed by how many Malaysians assumed Mydin had been blessed with supernatural power.
When people succeed or fail, Malaysians often attribute it to their rezeki (luck or karma), as in: "It must be our rezeki to win this award three years in a row," or, "People say popular artists in my movies attract the audience and that they are part of my 'winning formula'. To me, it's just rezeki."
But the dancer said that doesn't stop Malaysians from hoping their Olympic athletes will do them proud, or ward off disappointment, empathizing when they don't. "It's really very difficult to face that kind of feeling," she said.
But that's where real progress usually starts - grasping the hard facts. It's a reality Malaysia slowly appears to be coming around to. Sooner or later it will have no choice.
Ioannis Gatsiounis is a New York native who has worked in Indonesia as a freelance foreign correspondent for various Stateside dailies and co-hosted a weekly political/cultural radio call-in show. He now lives in Malaysia.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@<hidden> for information on our sales and syndication policies.)
----
1. Gov is self-seeking in nature. Mere rhetorics are enough to satisfy the uninitiative press/public.
2. Gov flip flops on EVERYTHING. Pak Lah wants to focus on agriculture. We have factory's, free trade areas, we produce computers, chips, SLR camera's, photocopy machines, technology, etc etc. And gov wants to go backwards?
Long time ago gov implemented policy to increase rice production, ppl resisted. Now, Thai/Burma/Viet harvest 4 times a year, while we harvest twice. We have to import from them.
3. Pak Lah, lose that beer belly, then only you qualified to ask ppl train harder. You can't even train your accolytes (mufti's included) to behave properly.
4. Malaysia Boleh is a joke, when it comes out of a politicians mouth. It's only valuable, when it comes from someone who succeeds.
Stick it to the man ya'll
(sorry... URL for this article missing)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/FH28Ae06.html
Moderator Edit: Edited, URL added
________
Sunset Boulevard Residence 2 Pattaya (http://pattayaluxurycondos.com)