Take off the political hat, think of Malaysian's future - Rasuah Busters

SHAH ALAM - Malaysians need to set aside political, business and group interests and see themselves instead as citizens responsible for the country's future through the #Malaysia100 vision.

Yayasan Sinar Untuk Malaysia (Rasuah Busters) chief executive officer Nurhayati Nordin said every citizen has a responsibility to work together to ensure Malaysia is passed on in a better state to future generations.

"Whoever takes over the leadership in 30 years' time, each of us has a responsibility to cooperate.

"As Malaysians, take off the politician's hat, take off the businessperson's hat. We are ordinary citizens who want to safeguard our generation and pass on a better Malaysia," she said.

Nurhayati was speaking as a panellist at the Interviu programme "#Malaysia100 Tahun: Masa Depan Negara Di Tangan Rakyat", hosted by Haizir Othman at Kompleks Karangkraf on Friday. The programme also featured Yayasan Sinar Untuk Malaysia (Rasuah Busters) chairman and Yayasan Warisan Ummah Ikhlas (WUIF) founder Datuk Hussamuddin Yaacub.

She said the #Malaysia100 vision does not belong to politicians and the responsibility should not necessarily fall on the government alone.

"That is where we need to see how the vision and mission of #Malaysia100 does not belong to politicians and we do not necessarily need to place that responsibility on the government.

"If the government joins us, that would be far better, but it does not have to depend on the government of the day," she added.

Nurhayati said every citizen remains responsible and needs to cooperate regardless of who takes over the leadership over the next 30 years, adding that the vision should be seen as a shared mission involving every individual, regardless of background or standing.

"That is why I say this is not a mission where we can be selective about who gets to carry it forward," she said.

She advised that Malaysians also need to look at the country's position over the next 30 years rather than focusing only on the current situation, and said the vision was created so people understand the country has a long-term target, as well as to set out steps starting from the very first year.

"The purpose of this vision is for us to start planning from the first year onwards. We want to turn this into a national dialogue so we can hear people's views," she said.

She suggested every citizen should think about the situation of their family and future generations over the next five, ten, 20 and up to 30 years, adding that the same questions need to be considered in education, healthcare and the economy to ensure future generations do not merely become observers but are able to become creators.

According to Nurhayati, the #Malaysia100 vision ultimately needs to return responsibility for the country's future to the people themselves.