KUALA LUMPUR (April 15): Veteran political leader Lim Kit Siang plans to pen a book on whether Malaysia can reverse the national decline and become a world-class great nation by 2040 or 2050 as his first post-retirement project.

In a statement on Friday (April 15), the Iskandar Puteri Member of Parliament said his book is about whether Malaysia can be saved or whether it is condemned in the trajectory of kleptocracy, kakistocracy and a failed state.

Lim said since his retirement from competitive politics, he had been wondering wether Malaysia can return to the founding nation-building principles embedded in the Malaysian Constitution and the Rukun Negara on national unity, the doctrine of the separation of powers, the rule of law, integrity and good governance, respect of human rights and fundamental liberties.

“[And] whether it is possible to get Malaysians regardless of race, religion or region to accept that Malaysia is a plural society — multiracial, multilingual, multireligious and multicultural — and at the confluence of four great civilisations of the world, and diversity is our greatest asset instead of liability, and whether it is possible to stop the take-off of the second Malaysian diaspora after the first Malaysian diaspora when over a million of the best and brightest Malaysians regardless of race or religion opted to stay overseas all over the globe to help make other nations great and world-class instead of Malaysia,” he elaborated.

He said in the past half-century, Malaysia lost out to Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Vietnam.

“Will we lose out to more countries, even to Indonesia and the Philippines, come 2,040 or 2,050?” he quipped.

He also invited Malaysians to write their reflections and perspectives to share their thoughts with him in the coming month to help him write the book.

“This is the best testimony to our love and patriotism for Malaysia,” he said.

He also said Malaysia had not been spared warnings the country is in danger of becoming a failed state like Sri Lanka.