FEBRUARY 28 ― Like almost everything else since the last General Election, the launch of the Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) plan recently was heavily politicised from the outset.
Whether it is the government response to the local ISIS threat or the rise in petrol prices, the sagging KLCI or the weakening ringgit, the BMF or the 1MDB scandals and now Wawasan 2020 and TN50, the response seems to depend entirely on one’s political inclination.
On TN50, a lot of commentators have focused on the credibility or lack of, of the current administration in championing future change.
While the Barisan Nasional narrative is about promoting the idea of a government that listens to the rakyat and then acts in its best interest, the Opposition has focused on framing TN50 as another in a long line of programmes high on rhetoric but weak on action, given the alleged inability of the government to take criticism constructively.
On both sides, the intent behind TN50 is not in doubt, but the ability to translate intent into action is.
But there is a reason why TN50 has the potential to go beyond the current partisan rhetoric on both sides of the political divide.
Does it really matter whether all the ideas put forth by the people under the ambit of TN50 get executed? Is it the sole job of the current government to transform all our wishes for the future into reality?
Given the fact that TN50 is about the hope of the people for Malaysia in 2050, it is by necessity more about ideas than execution.
It goes beyond partisan politics because it is impossible to predict which ideology, which economic philosophy and much less which political formation will be in charge for the next 30 plus years.
If the focus is on hearing all voices, allowing dissent and including as many voices as possible, it has a real chance of delivering a range of benefits that go beyond implementing some of the ideas given.
Done right, this plan has the potential to bring people together in a dialogue about finding ways to make a better life for all Malaysians, transcending current political arguments over individuals and issues that have limited future traction.
Probably the best thing about TN50 is that it is under the ambit of the Youth ministry and focused on the views of young Malaysians.
Nobody is more invested in the future, that too a future more than three decades away, than young people. There is nobody less cynical about the future than young people. What is required to encourage greater participation is to depoliticise the TN50 dialogue process.
While young people are idealistic, they are also increasingly indifferent to organised politics and easily put off by overt attempts to enroll them in a partisan agenda.
Encouragingly so far, the minister in charge has publicly stated his willingness to hear contrarian voices and go beyond party positions in promoting free dialogue.
Unlike more mature democracies, in Malaysia politics is seen less as a legitimate path towards social and public service and more towards self-enrichment.
If TN50 can go beyond politics, it stands a real chance of inspiring a new generation of Malaysians to not just feel that they have a voice, but that they can make a difference, and that there are multiple pathways to a more fulfilling life than one spent solely in the pursuit of wealth.
Of course, this requires a government confident enough in its own plan to either step aside or include the opposition during the dialogue process in order to reassure all young Malaysians that this a genuine attempt to take the nation forward in a fair and transparent manner.
With bipartisan support, TN50 could become an example of progressive democracy in action not just to some of our neighbours in the region, but also to the so-called most advanced democracy in the world.
Also, it could go some way to making local politics more interesting to our young people.
That should be the real intent of TN 50.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
