REFLECTION FROM MALAYSIA

A Message from Dr. Rwangyezi.

Greetings from Kwala Lumpur the capital city of Malaysia.

Malaysia was a British colony like Uganda. They got their independence in 1957 and we got ours in 1962.

At that time of independence, Uganda was more developed than Malaysia. Today Malaysian economy is classified as middle income based on modern agriculture and industrialization while Uganda’s is classified as low income based en on peasant agriculture and raw materials.

Four things I have seen here that distinguish a country that can develop from another that condemns itself to perpetual poverty are:

1. The Malaysians have completely reversed the colonial culture back to their indigenous civilizations and then modernized theirs to catch up with modern and contemporary times. They speak and teach all subjects in their languages, worship God in their indigenous ways, eat their ingenious foods in all their hotels and restaurants, have their own beverages packaged in modern ways etc. This does not mean that you can not find French Fries or American burgers. But their food is the first choice and their children don’t eat burgers first. They are proudly Malaysian.
2. ⁠They work really hard and diligently.
3. ⁠They are extremely honest. Cars and motorbikes are left on the roads – not locked! No one steals them. You leave your bags in an open car and you find them intact. I did not see even one security officer with a gun – even when they were guarding ministers, kings, big hotels or banks!
4. ⁠They are not drunkards.

We in the Ndere family must plant a seed on “Obuntunomics” in the Ugandan society if we are to have a transformational impact and a lasting/enduring legacy.

Dr. Rwanryezi, Founder, Ndere Troupe.