Jumping Into The Fray
I've been toying with an idea in my head, lately.
Maybe it's due to the restlessness of Malaysia in current times. Maybe I'm tired of playing in a small corner of a policy segment in an industry NGO.
Maybe I'm weary of playing spectator on the sidelines and I'm itching to play in a wider and more general space, fighting for bigger things that matter, for now and the future.
Maybe I'm just crazy at entertaining the thought, at all.
Or maybe I'm just unwilling to give up on certain things dear to me, until I've given it my best shot, to salvage it.
I don't know whether I have the temperament for it - but all my life, friends and family have been telling me that I was born for this. It seems to be one of those things I naturally absorb like a sponge. An area that I have so much interest in, yet I'm not in the fray.
And maybe it's just age telling me that I can't use the excuse that I'm too young anymore, to get involved. It seems like the right age to get my feet wet in the arena - I'm more steady and mature and am not likely to get carried away by the tide of mass consensus.
Right age, right time, right motives and perhaps, finally - the right sort of drive to push me in.
But as always, the path I choose has to be strongly aligned to what I believe in. And it's likely to be at least, mildly controversial. I can see my Malay elders frowning already - puzzled at the radical stand, that I might make.
It's a path to nowhere, possibly. I'll be a minority and it's not likely to lead to great power or riches. But I'm not there for that anyway. If I wanted that, I would choose the easy option which 3 million people already have.
But me being me, the popular option has never been appealing nor made much sense to me, most times. It's likely to be a road fraught with difficulties - I'll stick out like a black African in Finland.
And there's a very real chance that I'll be called all sorts of names and insinuations that I have sold out on my own kind, will be made. And of selling an ideology that still too few, understand or accept.
It's not going to be easy. But at least, it will be what I truly believe in.
Sometimes, you've got to be true to who you are, to find out who you can be.
2007 beckons. Decision time is around the corner.
Maybe it's due to the restlessness of Malaysia in current times. Maybe I'm tired of playing in a small corner of a policy segment in an industry NGO.
Maybe I'm weary of playing spectator on the sidelines and I'm itching to play in a wider and more general space, fighting for bigger things that matter, for now and the future.
Maybe I'm just crazy at entertaining the thought, at all.
Or maybe I'm just unwilling to give up on certain things dear to me, until I've given it my best shot, to salvage it.
I don't know whether I have the temperament for it - but all my life, friends and family have been telling me that I was born for this. It seems to be one of those things I naturally absorb like a sponge. An area that I have so much interest in, yet I'm not in the fray.
And maybe it's just age telling me that I can't use the excuse that I'm too young anymore, to get involved. It seems like the right age to get my feet wet in the arena - I'm more steady and mature and am not likely to get carried away by the tide of mass consensus.
Right age, right time, right motives and perhaps, finally - the right sort of drive to push me in.
But as always, the path I choose has to be strongly aligned to what I believe in. And it's likely to be at least, mildly controversial. I can see my Malay elders frowning already - puzzled at the radical stand, that I might make.
It's a path to nowhere, possibly. I'll be a minority and it's not likely to lead to great power or riches. But I'm not there for that anyway. If I wanted that, I would choose the easy option which 3 million people already have.
But me being me, the popular option has never been appealing nor made much sense to me, most times. It's likely to be a road fraught with difficulties - I'll stick out like a black African in Finland.
And there's a very real chance that I'll be called all sorts of names and insinuations that I have sold out on my own kind, will be made. And of selling an ideology that still too few, understand or accept.
It's not going to be easy. But at least, it will be what I truly believe in.
Sometimes, you've got to be true to who you are, to find out who you can be.
2007 beckons. Decision time is around the corner.
posted by Stingrayz | 3:33 AM
8 Comments:
you're joining PAS?
Najah:
PAS? Hell, no!! (Pun intended) ;)
there are so many hints, tapi i blur. which one la?
Najah:
Sabar itu separuh dari iman, dear. :) Wait and see, okay? ;)
All will be revealed in due time,...
Hmm Keadilan I guess or your opening another party..
party tupperware?
anyways politics will always be politics
Rizal Alwani:
Definitely not Keadilan. All things said and done, I'm still a Barisan man, at heart.
Party tupperware - boleh consider, but only if Puteri UMNO is organizing it. ;)
Yes, politics will always be politics - but it's the players individually or collectively, that make the difference, in the quality of the politics.
StingRay, I think I can hazard a guess where you are going. All I can say is 'good luck', and hope u succeed in that endeavor.
Omecool20:
Thank you, bro'.
Sometimes, we need to plant the seeds for the tree - the fruits of which will only be enjoyed within the lifetime of our children and grandchildren.
Leadership means not only thinking about the survival of our generation today, but also for future generations.
We must begin the uncomfortable journey today, so that they may survive their tomorrows - as a people and as a nation.
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