I BELIEVE we have taught all our students to “think out of the box,” while they were at training in INTAN. But such thinking is never easy, or can such ideas ever remain only in the world of non-reality, or the world of our imagination.

In life, any creative translation always needs appreciation from another dimension which is located in the realm of ethics and morality, or simply with the leadership courage to frame, form, and speak out about such ideas towards a group of listeners, and to get their help and mobilise their support to translate the same into reality.

Based on the above logical argument, I have a rhetorical question to the Board of Petronas. If we really do not want to host the F1 Races anymore, and have thus lost our motivation to promote Petronas as a global brand anymore, we must change our advertising and branding strategy. With the symbolically “loss advertising need” for Petronas as one F1 country sponsor, why advertise Petronas at all on Driver Outfits?

Consequently also, why not advertise Malaysia instead, not only as “Truly Asia,” but also as a modern developed Muslim country? We have, after all, converted our 30 year New Economic Policy as a political agenda to an entire generation of bumiputera peoples, from the agricultural economy and moving towards a knowledge industry, in the next 30 years.

Therefore, while I think advertising Petronas is not wrong, my very practical question is, who needs to know about the what, where, or why we have that brand, if not simply only Malaysians? Our own petrol is not distributed locally or globally as a brand. What then is the real purpose of global advertising for our Petronas brand; why not move towards Malaysia Truly Asia?

Instead, as an alternative, if our contract for advertising does not have an exit clause, is it not really more meaningful for us to change the branding to Malaysia Truly Asia? My argument is that advertising the country with some serious content but which says something more meaningful, is better than still building our petrol or Petronas as a brand.

Malaysia is in fact the home of most “Asian peoples” although one Google Application does not even put us in Asia but instead within the Pacific. Not sure when we moved? But, Wikipedia says:

“Malaysians are the people who are identified with the country of Malaysia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Malaysians, several (frequently all) of those types of connections exist and are the source(s) of their being considered Malaysians. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents and overseas Malaysians may also claim a Malaysian identity.”

If Malaysia is truly Asia and will continue to become even more so, why not tell the world about it and ask them to join us? Can someone please tell Google et al the same too!

GE14 and our Change Agenda

In “Multi Ethnic Malaysia,” Dr Lim Teck Ghee and friends define the real and true meaning of our serious and different multi-ethnicity. Such Merdeka Malaysians, as per writers of that book, in my definition are, Malaysians above 54 years of age and usually above 70 years of age and are very comfortable in speaking English. These ones were born under Colonial Malaya, and the colonial Borneo States plus Singapore and have the real life experience and knowledge of our political dialogue and culture of why and when we, as equal partners, negotiated and agreed to our so-called Social Contract in Malaya.

A good friend and former Kadazan Federal Minister from Sabah once told me: “KJ, we did not agree to the Social Contract, as per your agreement. For us, there is only the Malaysia Agreement and that is a contract.”

But can the Malayan readers of the Merdeka Constitution please pause to understand the full implications of the GE 14? If we do not succeed to change the Federal Government, filled with bribery and a corruption, it will become a fully embedded culture and we will become a failed state.

The modern form of capitalism, as part and parcel of new age cronyism and nepotism, is now an operative culture of the full ability to abuse authority and power towards their partisan larger agenda. Only small peoples, or what “Small if Beautiful” author Joseph Schumpeter called us, can make the difference because they do not allow the control of their small but beautiful lives.

In the modern world today, the new lingo is “micro-financing and crowd-funding,” which enables a newer form of moral capitalism because small and beautiful people give their little towards ensuring and funding some bigger agenda.

This kind and quality of moral capitalism is called “empowering or em-couraging small people to mobilise their moral audacity for right and wrong towards action and seek to make a real difference in matters of governance and administration.

This is a real time for change now; not tomorrow! “We must become the change we want,” said Gandhiji. Nelson Mandella paid his price with 27 years in jail, while Mother Teresa spent her lifetime doing the same!

President Obama said we can and he tried his best! We can too! May God bless Malaysia! – December 11, 2017.

* 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.