That was yesterday though, 9 May 2019. Proud to say that I was one of the 5.7m Malaysians who voted for the change last year. I was ecstatic, I was pleased, I got goose bumps when the results were announced last year.
Little did I know, it has direct implications to the organisation I’m working at.There was a change in leadership, change in mandate (not very different to be honest but clearer) and change in strategy. I was sad because the previous leader was indeed a true leader to me, one that is visionary and always think for the betterment of the organisation. He was able to gather and influence people to rise to achieve a goal that he truly believes in, a concerted effort that is, like in an orchestra.
But, I have faith in the new government and I have faith in the new leadership. Being a realistic optimist that I am, I marched on, helping the organisation to go through the changes in the realm that I am capable of because what I do, think or advocate is always in the interest of the organisation, not myself, not my department only. For someone who gets bored easily, I am always motivated to change, for the purpose of improvement and as part of progress. So change is good. But I have to say that transition is not easy, you have to learn how to adapt, you have to change the way you do and view things, just like in the first few months of marriage, the first few months after having a child and so on. At individual or couple’s level, it is less difficult, but at organisation level, it is difficult. You need the whole organisation to be aligned and move in a concerted manner. It takes time.
So just imagine the difficulty at a country’s level. It’s going to take time to see the positive impact. We have to have faith and patience. Rather than complaining, be part of the solution and think of how you can contribute. I get annoyed when people especially those who voted for the change feel unhappy with the progress made by the new government. Now that it is possible for a government to change, they think that they could do it again the next time in the next election. I hope we will all think rationally and not emotionally when we make decisions, I expect more from the educated ones. If it’s a corrupt government, then of course we should hope for a change. But if it’s not, why change course? At least not in the short period of time. While I believe that change is good, changing too frequently is detrimental to organisations. How many times do you want to change your strategy? How do you expect people to execute if you keep changing your strategy? Think about it.
As what our prime minister said yesterday,
Banyak yang telah kita lalui bersama di dalam negara yang kita panggil Malaysia. Ini negara kita. Kitalah yang akan menentukan nasib kita.
Bangunlah dan berjuanglah untuk mencapai matlamat negara tercinta ini.
Let’s strive together towards achieving Shared Prosperity 2030 shall we?
Happy 1st anniversary Malaysia Baharu!
Dayana Omar 