Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all Malaysians. May the year 2013 usher in more joy, more prosperity and better health for all and sundry.

If I may, sometime during the first quarter of the year will come a time of reckoning for the country when voters go to the polls to decide on their future. I would sincerely urge for us all to be rational and not let our emotions rule our heads.

The truth is there exists so much goodwill amongst the various races that attempts to sow discord have failed. Foreign visitors often express surprise and marvel at our harmony whilst many governments wish to emulate us.

Except for one disruptive episode that threatened our democracy our country has continued to enjoy freedom garlanded with responsibility. Thus the country has experienced continuous economic growth and political stability. Even during the worst of times we have never experienced massive lay offs that blighted even the most developed of countries.  

Our current unemployment rate is very low despite the bad state of the world economy. Despite world economic recession, all essential items, i.e. goods that have a direct bearing on the quality of life of the people are still subsidized, foremost of which is petrol and petroleum products which alone costs the governments many billions of ringgit annually.  

Education is almost free from Pre School to university. Our literacy rate is amongst the highest according to UNESCO standard i.e. more than 93% of the population and that was a few years back.  

Workers from neighboring and far off countries still make a beeline to look for work here because they can make good money and feel safe.  Our living and working environment is good and we feel reasonably safe in our homes. No part of the country is unsafe to travel to and you can stop to talk to anyone you like with ease and feel welcome. We enjoy and celebrate each others festivities openly and often more food is prepared than can be consumed. Malaysians are a generous people and live in a land of plenty.

These are only some of the many blessings Malaysians don't even notice but is coveted by many other peoples in other countries. There are more than 1001 other blessings but that would be too much to enumerate.  

We are a very fortunate people. Let’s not be ungrateful but thank God for all these blessings. As we make new resolutions let us all also resolve when we cast our votes to ensure continued unity and harmony, political stability and economic growth for the sake of a better future for all Malaysians. God Bless.