A CHRISTIAN prayer warrior once prayed over me and anointed me “a good governance advocate”. I did not fully understand what that meant.

That happened in 2006. Then, I got busy with OHMSI, which focuses on the people’s movement against bribery and corruption.

OHMSI was launched in 2005 as a private limited company. We have since worked hard to maintain its operations at a nominal cost of RM6,000 a year – sometimes with zero activities.

On October 25, we organised our best-ever event since OHMSI’s launch. We had a regular, paying audience of about 350, 95% of whom were aged 60 and above. I call these supporters “4M”, or “Middle Moderate Merdeka Malaysians”, our target group.

Who are these youngsters?

This past week, Esther Koh, the daughter of pastor Raymond Koh, sent us an invitation to a dinner to mark the 1,000th day since he disappeared. Also missing are three other individuals.

Since Esther is part of the “grandchildren generation” of Malaysia 2.0, my column this week is for all the young people of Malaysia, on the challenge of “mat rempit”, “mat lajak” and others.

All cultures have “expressive” youngsters, and they are dealt with by their families and communities in different ways. It remains a family responsibility first and foremost, and not that of the government.

The questions that come to mind are, what is parents’ core role in our lives? What level of education did these kids receive? Is such learning not linked to parental roles and responsibilities, too?

I have been there and done that. I fully understand the thrill of having power and control when it comes to speed, but I am equally aware of the dangers, having experienced near misses in life-and-death situations.

No parent can keep an eye on their young boys and girls 24/7, especially if they have more than three.

It is a tragedy that eight children died in the “basikal lajak” case. Many of us are lucky to still be alive in our 70s, with God’s blessing.

Schools as community centres

Primary school ends after the Year Six final examinations. Then, kids have about three months out of the classroom. They have a lot of energy to burn, but usually, their parents are too busy for them.

Can the local community “take over” schools during non-peak periods and use them as recreational facilities for these youngsters? We can build skateboarding, rock-climbing or racing facilities, or even conduct classes on cooking and computer coding.

This is a clear and simple way to provide a different kind of education. It encourages kids of different races to mix among themselves, and the lessons are conducted without any overriding religious theme.

Remembering Raymond

As a nation well aware of the incidents involving Raymond and the three others, and in light of an inquiry’s conclusion that pointed to a cover-up by police and security personnel, plus the home minister’s “no talk policy”, how can we, as the “pained community”, permanently remember these fallen heroes and their families?

Death, or returning home to our Creator, is not a human choice. We feel pain over the cases of these missing individuals. How can we insist on full disclosure from the authorities?

A thousand days is a long time to go without a father or husband.

How can we continue to trust the new government if the word “new” does not mean much? It looks to me the same with all politicians.

God bless the Koh family. The uncertainty over Raymond’s fate must be the biggest pain of all. – November 17, 2019.

* KJ John worked in public service for 32 years, retired, and started a civil group for which he is chairman of the board. He writes to inform and educate, arguing for integration with integrity in Malaysia. He believes such a transformation has to start with the mind before it sinks into the heart!

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.