Malaysia still a third world country/ Malaysia 2020 vision / Malaysia a developing country

According to our ' beloved' former Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, we should become a developed country come 2020. That is just 7 years from now. Hey! That's not far off and it's just round the corner. We are actually at the edge of being considered a first world country joining the ranks of othernations like Japan, Korea, Switzerland, and Germany among others ( I don't consider Singapore as a proper country due to it's size and population. It's more of a city state- a red dot in the sea of the Malays archipelago). Let's just celebrate from now as we have all the attributes of a first world country like our awesome KLIA, iconic Petronas Towers, excellent dual carriage North-South highways, world class education infrastructures and facilities, professional and educated workforce, top 20 trading nation, very professional army,and a very open and competitive economy. Well the list goes on and on. The reality is that we are still a third world country. Until we we improve by a wide margin the shortcomings below , there is no way that we could join the first world club. 

Dirty public toilet

1. Our public toilets are still dirty even the paid ones at shopping complexes. Any where you go in the country our toilets are in dilapidated and extremely dirty  condition. Most of the time, these toilets  cannot be used. Even in reasonably good 4 star malls , our toilets are still not very clean (Toilets at Jusco stores are slightly better). Even the toilets at the KLIA are  not squeaky clean as to be expected of a highly rated airport. I think the standard of cleanliness used at the airport an other places is still measured by the standard of the cleaner who comes from a south Asian nation  and the supervisor is also from that region, known to have a open concept toilet. ( This is not to say that their toilets are not clean). I also think the biggest culprits are the users who have a very bad habit of not flushing  after using the public toilet. Our apathy towards cleanliness is just disgraceful. I think public toilets in Thailand and the Philippines are in much better condition than those found in this fast developing country. It is very depressing. While in Tijuana Mexico on vacation , I also found the public toilets there were spic and span.When in Japan visiting an area near Tokyo Disneyland , I was impressed by the cleanliness of the public toilets there despite being used by thousands of people. It must be the toilet training and education. Malaysians have to be trained how to use the toilet. Don't expect  Malaysia to be in the first league if we can even clean our toilets.

Reckless driving?

2. Another weakness is our bad driving attitude. Sad to say that Malaysian are known world wide to be very aggressive drivers . How can Malaysia be considered as a first world country , when we have really bad attitude when it comes to driving. Rich and poor Malaysians drive  recklessly. They all drive their Bentleys and Kancils like crazy. We hogged the middle lane of the highway. We changed lane dangerously,We drive cars like jack rabbits. I have seen Kelisas and Kancils being driven in the access of   at 110 mph. We never give way (yield) and slow down at the roundabout. We also like to tailgating extremely close at 120 MPH.Where else can you find cars driven by uncles and 'pakciks' trailing passing ambulances so close to beat the  the traffic jam and cutting queses. Moreover, they  would never drive to the curb to give way to the ambulance to pass through. In England , once I saw a car go over  a reasonably high curb to let the ambulance passed through when  there was ample space to begin with. This is the right attitude of a of first world country. Sorry Malaysians , please change you driving habits first. We are still a backward country.

3. Another thing that I feel shows that we are not a first country is the bountiful facilities and too much  respect that we give to ourVIPs. These privileged people are supposed to serve us and not the other way round. Foreigners can see that the minute they touch down at KLIA. There will see a number of facilities that are provided at the airport. I'm not talking about the paid facilities (We don't give a hoot about that)  but the ones given to the politicians and high ranking government servants. Do you know why politicians refuse to let the young ones serve or replace them?  Or  that the KSUs or Ketua Setiausahas refusing  to retire (tenure is extended a number of times after retirement)? We'll  they get so much benefits and respect. Even tissue papers in their meeting rooms are of the Royal Quality and the flowers are real and not the plastic ones that we have at our homes. These people travel first class and can go wherever and whenever they want. On top of that they will be conferred Datukships and even Tan Sriships. Dont believe me you just look at all the middlke ranking police officers, virtually all of them are Datuks or Datos. I believe once there is less of the VIP treatment then I believe we could be part of the top rank nations. In a developed country, the people are the focus.

Lack of freedom and choice?

4. Last but not least is the lack of freedom and choice in this country. We are still in the the third world tier because we lack the utmost degree of freedom. We cant even question the leaders or our  politicians. Any perceived negative comments are treated as questioning the leadership. The newspapers are controlled by the ruling party or their owners associated with the government. Most of the news are controlled. No news or news blackout on the dirty things done by the top rank politicians or government officials. Sometimes or most of the time the politicians decide the agenda of the newspapers. Until there is check and balance , there is no way that we could became a developed country.

I really hope that , Malaysia can become a develop country as envisioned by Dr Mahathir. I don't think we would be able to achieve that in 2020. The numbers for a develop country might be there soon but the essence of a developed country is still too far. At the moment let's just be happy to be lumped together with other third world countries. We are not that different from Zimbabwe, Iran, Kazakhstan or  Myanmar .