I was shocked by some of the statement made on Charlie Hebdo shootings. They opined that such a comic that poked fun at religion will have such a consequences. 

Malaysia is a secular state, and I feel it is best it is maintained so.

Religion is a very personal belief.

I would compare religion as your favorite colour.

There can be a lot of reasons why you love a particular colour, it's a feeling, it's a trust, it's a belief that can make you feel good.

But you can't force others to have the same likings - they have their own preference too.

Even if a person loves blue colour, there are navy blue, dark blue etc (e.g. Protestant and Catholic in Christianity, or Sunni and Shia in Muslim). I can't

So if a country is ruled by religion, especially a country that has multi-religions.. just imagine a person who loves orange colour, and force the whole nation to paint nothing but orange colour for their house, and wear nothing but orange shirt.

If you feel ridiculed - you can expect the exact ridiculous stuff happening in countries ruled by religion.

I randomly thought about several products that we use daily - they are mostly made in Thailand.

I guess most of the FDI, previously parked in Malaysia, had been routed to Thailand.

Well, if I am foreign investor, I would do the same too - cheaper labour, no silly issues such as quota ratios..

To sum all up - openness is the key.

The moment you try to control a country with rigid elements such as religion or closed-door policies, you will start to see downfall.

Example? Myanmar. It was once a very rich and prosperous country, but due to its closed-door policies, it had become one of the poorest in SEA.

It starts booming as it opens its door again.

If only time can stop at that era.

Personally, I think that was the time people of Malaysia lived in harmony.

People, regardless from any descendant, would come together watch the movie, laugh and talk about it.

Talk about now - which was the last Malay language movie that all Malaysians last watch?

If you look at P.Ramlee's movie - its value is still relevant, the humour is still silly and funny.

You can feel that the people back then were really honest, straightforward and simple.

I hope someday, the day would come - that Malaysians would realise that, happiness means simple things.

It's not peer pressure, it's definitely not emotional - it can start by smiling in this hard time, just like how P Ramlee stayed positive in his movies.

Let's look at the big picture: the government who knows how to give cash to citizens is nothing.

Any country can do that.

The current government, which failed make good policies, and make them well run, is the root cause of this country's deterioration.

This is the reason why you hear noises against the government which failed to make good policy, that people can feel.
It is the policy

Whatever campaign that people participate, apart from posting an Fb photo that you are "participating", what really matters is will you take action as communicated on the campaign's objectives.

Would you stop wasting food after the hunger campaign?

Would you really find ways to stop wasting electricity in daily life after you switch off lights for 1 hour in Earth Hour?

Would you stop buying smartphone(it's hard for me to stop using, I admit), or change the existing working smartphone to the newer one, (this I can do it easily) because you know the impact of rare earth production waste - because smartphone needs rare earth material?

Would you stop using plastic bag, or at least start reusing plastic bag, because you know it harms the environment?

Would you contribute your vote in coming election, knowing that it helps to make a change?

Everything starts from small. Everything is small before it becomes big.

Everything is hard before it becomes easy.

It really depends on you, whether you're just a campaigner, or an influencer with your action.

It starts from small and it starts from you.