KEEMANXP Dot Com

At times of crisis, it does not take long for a proud Malaysian to stand up and arrogantly boast to the world how he or she could handle the crisis way better than the politicians or experts. Look at the non-stop pouring of comments and postings on social networks, instant messengers, blogs and forums, a foreigner would have wondered why Malaysia is blessed with a plethora of intelligent citizens and experts of aviation and crime investigation despite being so-called touted to have one of the worse education systems in the world. Of course, one would tell you Malaysians can in fact do everything thanks to the lifelong motto of Malaysia Boleh!

Having said that, the unfortunate incident of the missing MH370 plane has once again showcased to the global audience the true nature of Malaysians in managing or rather, menacing a crisis. Three weeks ago, when the unexpected event started to snowball across the nation and the world, our leaders were indeed in a state of shock. They gave contradicting announcements during press conferences, telling everyone things were under control and would be solved soon.  Three weeks later, we still hold on to the same mantra. That sparked even greater speculations of cover-ups with numerous conspiracy theories being presented by not only our fellow Malaysians but also the rest of the world.

We could not really blame them for doing so, simply because there was indeed a lack of evidence to come up with a conclusive ending to the MH370 mishap. However, I am personally amazed with how creative Malaysians are when it comes to generating conspiracy theories. The persuasive lines of “Based on my friend who is the friend of the pilot’s friend” or “According to my friend’s father who is the friend of a friend working in the ministry” usually begin various purported “convincing facts” only to be refuted with even more sensitive issues that are suddenly linked to racial and political sentiments. There are also those who spend time creating faux news just to gain popularity in the cyber world.

What has happened for the past three weeks make us realize how peaceful this country is until we tend to neglect many things. I remember a month ago at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, I encountered several Malaysians who were complaining to the immigration officers for checking their bags thoroughly and hence wasted their time, and also how our beloved citizens tend to show their frustrations at the flight attendants when they cross check the boarding pass right before they are allowed to board the plane. Not to mention the agonizing protests when a flight was delayed due to technical failures or bad weather.

Now, when unfortunate events like this happen, you will probably see the same group of people starting the blame game. When the netizens in China started to attack Malaysians, not many are willing to defend the nation. Some even join the chorus, singing the hurting tunes of condemning our country. It is indeed ironic, and maybe being ironic is part and parcel of being a Malaysian.

Well, I think it would be good to let the relevant authorities do their jobs. The least we can contribute as a citizen would be to stop menacing the whole mishap. If we do have useful information or suggestions to help locate the missing plane, we can always convey it through proper channels. I am sure that by simply lamenting and being a hero or heroine behind the computer screen would not bring back MH370. I may be wrong, but sometimes being silent for something we are not sure about is perhaps the best thing we could do. Malaysia Boleh? Yes we can but we must do it right, for the sake of our nation.