THROUGHOUT last week, I took part in three public gatherings that involved very challenging issues pertaining to the country’s current political, economic and governance situation.

On Aug 5, I spoke at a forum entitled “Malaysia: Where do we go from here?”, organised by Research for Social Advancement (REFSA). On Aug 8, I was one of the speakers at the “808 Rally for Media Freedom”, organised by the Coalition for Press Freedom. And on Aug 10, on behalf of the Global Movement of Moderates, I moderated a “Roundtable Discussion on Politics of Race”.

Besides that, there were other programmes, which, like the ones I attended, reflected the people’s sarcasm, anger and hatred. There is a clear sign that the trust deficit towards the government is at an all-time high.

These sentiments were already there before the 13th general election in 2013. Today, they are heightened, and will probably continue at the “Bersih 4 Rally” (Aug 29 to 30) and beyond.

The sentiments are heightened because the people are not stupid. They are able to see and evaluate issues and come up with an educated opinion. They share this opinion in such gatherings and online.

One of the biggest issues before the people is 1MDB. To them, it is a scandal. The problem with the issue is that not only are the people not provided with a reasonable answer, many actions are undertaken which, to the people, are simply unreasonable and against the principle of the rule of law. To the people, these actions are done with the intention of hiding something.

However, behind these sentiments, Malaysians attending these gatherings and sharing them online have higher objectives that are very clear. Of course, different gatherings and different stakeholders may have different agendas. But, on the whole, they do share a common goal. I call this goal “saving the Malaysian narrative”.

In order to work on the goal, we must first prevent and stop anyone from hijacking the narrative, an example of which is illustrated below.

A, B, C and D are close friends. A buys a building from B at a price that is way higher than the market price. The objective is so that B can use the profit from the sale to give a donation to C. When the public comes to know of the transaction and there is an outcry against the deal, A sells the building to D and makes some profit.

After that, A claims that the transaction was clean, did not involve any element of conflict of interest or corruption because it was a donation, and that in the final analysis, he made a profit.

This is not a Malaysian narrative because the Malaysian narrative is based on the rule of law. The hijacked narrative is not based on the rule of law. We must call the bluff.

What then is the Malaysian narrative? To me, the Malaysian narrative is about upholding the vision of the nation’s founding fathers, the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, adopting the principles of Rukun Negara and progressive developmental and democratic ideas, in sync with today’s new realities and future challenges.

From the abovementioned gatherings, I hear loud calls for saving the Malaysian narrative through change. I agree that the country is in dire need of change. But the change has to be holistic and comprehensive.

The change has to be about a better tomorrow — a great nation that all the people deserve, one that is based on happiness and achieved through fundamental thrusts, such as shared values, knowledge culture, civility, peace, unity, prosperity, social justice, democracy, meritocracy and opportunity.

The change has to be based on shared values and principles, for example, and here, I am borrowing from Datuk Seri Nazir Razak, “integrity, inclusiveness, institutional reform and innovation”.

When can the change be realised? I think the time line is between now and the next general election. The next question is, who are going to do it?

I think this is the responsibility of all Malaysians. All of us can contribute, either as individuals or as members of a group or groups. The groups can vary, from neighbourhood associations to national organisations, and from those involved in charity work to those in politics.

The orientation of the contribution or work may vary too, from organising activities to providing services and advocacy.

Not everyone or every group must agree on everything. What is important is that we can agree on certain values, principles and fundamentals, and start working on some key areas of concern.

Examples of key areas of concern are the supremacy of the Federal Constitution, an independent Election Commission, a people-centred Parliament and true concept of federalism. We should strive to end racism, promote religious freedom and human rights and fight against corruption. We must also make an effort to reform the civil service and policies pertaining to education, trade and economy, and social and foreign issues.

Let’s do it!

Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah is CEO of Global Movement of Moderates and former deputy minister of higher education. He is active on twitter: @saifuddinabd.

This article first appeared in Opinion, digitaledge Weekly, on August 17 - 23, 2015.