What Makes a Civilisation

This subject baffles and boggles the minds of all people in this world. This question comes out for debate and discussion perenially. Social scientists and economists from all walks of life annually delve into history, search through all the ancient books and literature and museums and archives of the world in quest for a reasonable answer to help the present turbulent world to restore its past and lost glory of yester-years.

We can go back to examine the past civilisations of the Sumerians, the Egyptians, the Indians. Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Arabs and the West.

One could find and realise that there are few common factors that made the past civilisations great and glorious.

In my view, it was not religions that made successful civilisations. It was not slavery, totalitarianism, subjugation of human rights, freedom, socio-economic suppression and deprivation.

As I delved into the past, I realised that where the governments were fair and just in their policy formulation and implementation, appreciated and recognised human dignity , values and efforts, their skills and experiences, invested in education and inculcated in their people socially acceptable values and applied science and techology, these were some of the common factors that contributed significally to the making of civilisations.

Let us analyse the rise and fall of the Arabic and Chinese Civilisations. The Arabs were great during the period 800 - 1200 A.D. They excelled in Science, Mathematics, Science etc. They had produced great Mathematicians, Scientists in the fields of Medicine, Chemistry and Physics. People from neighbouring countries converged to the middle East to seek out knowledge. The Arabs were able to expand through trades and Islam their expansionary visions and influence across India, Malaya, Indonesia and Southern Philippines and China and even Europe.

The ancient Chinese civilisation rose and fell easily from grace when the Europeans conquered China by doping the masses into inebriation and inertia through opium importation, consumption and adiction between the 17th and 19 century. In 1911, Chinese turned republic and communist. At the material time, democracy would not work nor capitalism. The people were weaken immeasurably in terms of nationalism, morality and discipline. They needed to undergo the processes of unlearning, training and retraining to inculcate the value of self-sacrfice, discipline, loyalty, determination and commitment to revive China.

During the past 25 years, the late Chairman Deng Xiao Peng brought about a socio-economic revolution by transforming the country from a totalitarian to a liberated socialist country. It embarked on a progressive but moderate social economic policy dedicated to world peace, bringing joy and happiness among the down-trodden and marginalised by helping the poor 3rd world countries like Africa, of fortifying its wealth through its industrialisation and modern infrastructural development programmes and equitable and of embarking on fair trade expansion with and to all countries.

China success story needs to be told and retold so that poor and weak governments of the world can learn and emulate how China revitalises its economy and overcomes the numerous social problems at home. Its agricultural and industrial programmes are successful. It now exports rice, fruits, vegetables and manufactured goods of types and is becoming the top four richest economies of the world. And this is attained within a matter of 25years that is, only one generation.

Can the Islamic countries including Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Bahrain, Libya including Malaysia, Southern Philippines, Myanmar, Southern Thailand and Indonesia look at the Chinese Model and see where they have gone wrong in their policies. Can they change for the better by providing more focus on human development, a more liberal social policy, encourage investments from advanced industrialised economies, jobs creation, better their education programmes and plough back the peoples' money for the welfare of the masses.

Sound religious teaching should be encouraged. It should be capable of moulding the masses to be responsible, positive, industrious, loyal and committed for national development and progress and not to make enemies of and/or 'kill' their neighbours
Religious bigots should be stopped from coming out with aphyxiating rules and regulations that stifle or tend to stifle mental, intellectual and emotional growth. By freeing the masses from these "strangulations", the people will gravitate towards better self-development into more responsible, caring and productive creatures rather than to hit the streets on protests against the hierarchies.

The 3rd World countries must put in place sound social economic policies and ensuring that they are equitably implemented regardless of race, creed and political affiliation. By so doing, that embark on the first step towards making their countries to be civilised and progressive.

Malaysia wake up and move to be an industrialised economy. She must step out of the racial cocoon and help the nation to be more competitive. Race-based policies are scourges of societies and not removed will doom their countries to misery, poverty and misery.