Published by Malaysiakini, New Straits Times, Malay Mail & Sin Chew, image from Malaysiakini.
For the longest time, I have been a big fan of Liverpool. For the longest time, Liverpool repaid my faith in it by winning trophy after trophy, the most recent one being the European Champion League.
But there is a part of Liverpool that has sputtered to a stop: since 1989/90, it hasn’t won the Premier League Championship. It has not been overshadowed by Everton, its perennial Merseyside Lesser Rival, but the likes of Manchester United and now Manchester City.
Growing up on Big League Soccer, with a huge collection of Shoot! and Match magazines, I grew up liking football, as much as I love the likes of Soh Chin Aun, R Arumugam, Mokhtar Dahari, Shukor Salleh, Santokh Singh, James Wong and Hassan Sani; not forgetting Zainal Abidin Hassan and his brother Khalid Salleh.
Lately, doctors have found a problem to my constant breathlessness: arterial blockages, which have now necessitated an open heart quadruple bypass surgery.
As I am prepared both for the surgery, and the possibility of meeting my Maker, I am encouraged by the song sung by legions of Liverpool fans: You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Malaysia is new, at least in terms of how Pakatan Harapan has wrested power from the hands of the kleptocracy of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
Regardless of what will happen in the operating theatre or after, the Malaysia that I truly love – way more than Liverpool, to be frank – shall not be abandoned ever.
Teams of researchers at Emir Research would be at the fore, to ensure a regular flurry of analysis.
Malaysia, after all, is as good as the amalgamation of three ideas: Justice, Transparency and Accountability. To the degree we have all three, in constant motion and flow, Malaysia will remain the Tiger of Asia as it will always be.
Be that as it may, there is no full stop to excellence.
Author Malcolm Gladwell, in The Tipping Point, affirmed that practice does make perfect.
When a cobbler or shoemaker has been at it for more than 10,000 times, epiphany is bound to make him better and stronger. This is what the Japanese refer to as “kaizen”, the art of constant innovation, every living moment.
Like it or not, I have been writing non-stop since 2015, fighting a battle to save Malaysia. I was even arrested, interrogated and released on police bail under the previous regime simply for social media writings and engagements on fighting then kleptomaniacs.
However, with a quadruple bypass open heart surgery to undergo early next week, I feel the mind must also be stronger than the body. Without that inner courage to go through with it, I won’t be strong enough to come back stronger too!
To be sure, I have done my part for Malaysia and hope to do more. Now I need and hope for all Malaysian prayers that I will go through it successfully and come back sturdier and firmer to continuously push for reforms, God Willing, for a better Malaysia without any distinction to race, creed and colour.
This may be a sign-off, hopefully a temporaneous one. If not, I am more than convinced this nation will continue to rebuild itself, to regain what was lost.
I enjoyed every minute of the time that I worked to save Malaysia, even the hardest minutes there were. I have made peace with many, if not with all.
Never give up on this great nation of ours, and treasure the diversity therein. Thank you, Malaysia.
Dr. Rais Hussin is President & CEO of EMIR Research, an independent think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based upon rigorous research.
刊登在：星洲网 (Sin Chew).
在很长的一段时间里，我一直是利物浦的忠实支持者。在此期间，利物浦一直是赛场上的常胜军，最近一次是在欧洲冠军联赛。
但是利物浦的一部分已经死去：自1989-90赛季以来，它没有赢得英超冠军。它虽然没有被艾佛顿 （Everton）超越，其在默西赛德郡的对手，但曼联以及如今的曼城都不可同日而语。
在足球大联盟中成长，我还收藏了大量的《Shoot!》 和《Match》杂志，我的成长都与足球有关，就像我喜欢苏进安、阿鲁穆甘（R.Arumugam）、莫达达哈里（Mokhtar Dahari）、Shukor Saleh、山都星（Santokh Singh）、黄才富和哈山沙尼（Hassan Sani）一样；还有再纳阿比丁（Zainal Abidin Hassan）和他的好兄弟Khalid Salleh。
但最近，医生诊断我呼吸困难的原因是：动脉阻塞，要进行四冠状动脉搭桥手术。
由于我已准备好进行手术，并且有可能面临手术风险，我就以利物浦球迷演唱的队歌：《你永远不会独行》（You Never Walk Alone），来鼓励我自己 。
马来西亚是新的。至少就希望联盟从纳吉手中夺下权力而言。
无论在手术室或之后会发生什么，我真的喜欢大马，比利物浦还要喜欢，我坦言，这个国家永远不会被抛弃。
Emir Research智库的研究团队已经着手进行研究，以确保定期进行分析。
毕竟，大马，已经很好的融合了3大理念：正义、透明和问责。就此而言，在不断流动和前进的过程中，大马将永远是亚洲之虎。
尽管如此，什么事都永无终点。马尔科姆·格莱德威尔（Malcolm Gladwell）撰写的《引爆流行》中，肯定这种做法确实很完美。当一名鞋匠或节目制作人做同样的事情超过1万次，他一定会变得越来越强大。这就是日本人所说的“改善”，在生命的每一时刻，不断创新的艺术。
无论喜欢与否，为了拯救大马，我自2015年开始不间断地写作。甚至在前朝政府期间，仅仅因为在社交媒体的贴文和打击当时的盗窃行为而被警方逮捕、审讯和保释。然而，随着下周进行的四冠状动脉搭桥手术，我觉得我的心灵也必须比身体更强大。内心如果没有强大的勇气，我也不能撑到恢复健康！
可以肯定的是，我已经为大马做了许多，并希望做得更多。现在我需要并希望所有大马人为我祈祷，让我能够手术成功并能够更加坚强和坚定地回来推动改革，如果情况允许的话。因此，为了一个不分种族、宗教和肤色的更好的大马。这可能是一个考验，希望这考验是短暂的。因此，我更愿意相信这个国家将继续自我修复，以重新获得失去的东西。我很享受拯救大马的每一分钟，即使是最困难的时刻。我一直与许多人建立良好的关系。永远不要放弃我们这个伟大的国家，并珍惜其多元化。谢谢你，马来西亚。
莱斯福贤是EMIR Research的总裁兼首席执行官，EMIR Research是一个独立的智囊团，专注于根据严格的研究提出战略政策建议。
