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“This pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset. This is our chance to accelerate our pre-pandemic efforts to reimagine economic systems that actually address global challenges like extreme poverty, inequality and climate change.”
Justin Trudeau, 2020
This pandemic is definitely an epoch. Like many in the past, I am expecting a new order and envisioning a better world. A world that I can walk through my past, bury all the negativity, and enter a new era where I can live freely and without conforming to any ideology or identity. I don’t have to be a racist or sexist or an opportunist to be heard. I just want to live in a world with equal opportunity. I want to live peacefully, actualizing my true potentials, and just be grateful for living.
I am aware of the chatter, mostly a guessing game on what kind of life we will endure, what the future will look like. The masses seem to be clueless or occupied with a doubtful mind. Life has become a trivia where the common questions are what could be, might be, or even should be.
For the first time in my lifetime, I am not sure what to expect but I believe there is always a silver lining. A crisis presents an opportunity and only a true optimist will prevail. Having spent most of my life adult life dealing with research and policy work, I strongly believe this is the moment. This is the greatest opportunity to set a better path not just for this generation but the ones that come after. The wisdom in me says that I need to protect the right of the future generation, and don’t let them inherit our mistakes.
We all know the problems, but are we asking the right questions? Are we prepared to face the reality and set the wheel in motion? Who among us should lead, reimagining, or recalibrating? Words are not sufficient to share my aspiration but I have started my journey. I am only a traveler and asking you to travel with me. Let us walk together and build a better world.
By Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Eskandar Shah Mohd Rasid, Associate Dean, School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS)