The recent long Hari Raya and school holidays must have given many Malaysians the opportunity to move around a bit more.
To be with their loved ones, friends and acquaintances. Or, attend open houses, where more alliances have been forged.
The opportunity to talk about how the new unity government has fared or how the impending elections in some states are going to turn out amidst some impropriety by some politicians wasn't missed by people whose radar on things political is ever so keen.
A good discussion increases the dimensions of everyone who takes part, an American essayist, Randolph Bourne, once said. How right he was!
As citizens, we, too, have the right to take stock of where our country is heading. Or, whether our leaders are taking us in the right direction.
So that we'd know what to do when faced with another election. Just like Abraham Lincoln, the American president, said: "The ballot is stronger than the bullet."
With more people reading these days (and not necessarily books), they're attuned to what's happening around them. And, politicians won't have it so easy to spin outrageous yarns or resort to vote-buying to stay afloat in the 21st century.
So far, the cadences from the unity government have been positive. Pleasant to the ears, so to speak. For example, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent admission of the abject poverty that still lingers in the country is a case in point.
It was very telling when he said: "It is shameful that a capable country with vast resources such as oil and gas, palm oil and industries has failed to resolve hardcore poverty, which is a fundamental issue."
Such Anwar-speak is reminiscent of the time when he was a student activist in the 1970s. It's heartwarming that his fervour for the downtrodden is still as strong.
Now that he's firmly in the saddle, it's time he plugged the leaks and cranked up the gears into action. It's not going to be easy, but sincere affirmative action will earn PMX brownie points. And perhaps he has to remember that it's not so important to be serious as is to be serious about the important things.
While there's much to crow about in terms of the potential investments from China running into the billions, it's important to quickly convert them into tangible benefits.
And talking about quick wins, there's much to score in the tourism sector. There's much to gain from the pent-up demand from people yearning to travel.
Hong Kong's anticipation of some 600,000 Chinese mainland visitors during China's Golden Week from April 28 to May 5 has seen brisk business by all who had anticipated the influx.
And now, we hear that we missed the boat (or plane) in tapping the boom in Chinese tourists during China's Golden Week because there are not enough aircraft and frequencies to fly them here. Are we hearing about Golden Week for the first time?
Another area that also involves foreigners and needs overhauling is the Malaysia MySecond Home (MM2H) programme. Changes to once-attractive rules, which were akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, were undertaken by the previous government.
Like getting applicants to have liquid assets of RM1.5 million and a monthly income of RM40,000 for a shortened length of stay of five years from 10 years previously. They can only be described as "tak masuk akal", or incomprehensible.
Previous applicants only needed to show savings of between RM300,000 and RM500,000, and a monthly income of RM10,000.
Learning never exhausts the mind as we can make good on our past mistakes by differentiating what's good, what's bad. Perhaps it's time we cast our net wider and learned from people who don't need to come from the superpowers or the First World.
Zimbabwean politician Roy T. Bennett put it so well when he said: "Make improvements, not excuses. Seek respect, not attention."
The writer is a former Bernama chief executive officer and editor-in-chief
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
