The Olympics is all done and dusted. All the hurrahs have been shouted, all the tears, of joy and anguish in equal measure, have been shed. Perhaps now we can go back to our usual routine.
Wait a minute, should it be just back to business as usual? Should the effect of the fortnight of superlative performances be just like water off a duck’s feathers? I wish it would not be so – back to normal life. The motto of the London 2012 Games was to “inspire a generation”. It would be a shame if the years of hard work, the billions of dollars spent and the amount of energy expended to create this most magnificent of events fails to move us more profoundly – to adopt a change in our attitude and work ethic. It would be a shame too if we were to limit the inspirational impact the Games and the athletes just to sports and youths.
The medalists at the Games came home to rousing welcome, with bouquets and monetary bonuses showered upon them. Sarawak’s own Wonder Girl, Pandelela Rinong, has been caught in a whirlwind of congratulations and rewards since she came back, and deservedly so too. With a great round of dives she has put Malaysia, and Sarawak in particular, on the sporting map.
However, should it just because of those few dives that sent her to the medals podium that we admire? I believe that it is not enough just to be impressed by the champions in their moments of triumph. If indeed we want those champions to be our models then let us too be prepared to walk the same arduous path they took in their journey to achieve success.
At the moment the nation’s attention seems to be focused only on the two medalists, Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Pandelela Rinong. But really, the exploits of all our athletes who were deservedly selected to go to the Olympics are equally inspirational. They too have demonstrated exceptional commitment to excellence. If just a small dose of that attitude can rub off on us I believe our community will be so much brighter.
It has been suggested that Pandelela should go round the schools to give talks and to inspire our youths. Why only the youths? The Olympics motto says, “to inspire a generation”. A “generation”, that means everyone, irrespective of age. All of us – from politicians to ordinary people, from top administrators to the humble grass cutters – can be inspired to emulate our heroine in her search for excellence.
Of course, it should not be confined only to the field of sports but to all aspects of life and services. Goodness knows how badly we need a dose of the Olympians’ spirit in our society. Let me just give a few examples (where the Olympics spirit is needed) from just one experience I had last week.
I picked up a friend from the airport which as we all know is styled a KIA (Kuching International Airport). The first thing we noticed is that the airport car park is certainly not of international standard. The grass verges between the parking bays are rather unkempt. There are plastic bags, bottles and food containers lying about.
Now the toilets at the airport. They are passable in that they would not make one puke. But can’t someone in charge do something about the broken or wobbly door latches and the leaky pipes?
On the way back we were caught in a massive traffic jam on the approach to Jalan Song where they are building a fly-over. All the citizens of Kuching have been suffering this inconvenience patiently. However, a comment by my visitor jolted me.
“I can see that this is a fairly big project but it is strange that there are hardly more than a dozen workers here.” He observed.
Hmm, it is true. I have been so used to the “less than Olympic” commitment exhibited by the parties concerned that I hardly noticed it.
As we approached my house it started to rain. One of those sudden heavy downpours so common these days. The road near my house was flooded. Why? Well mainly because the outlets from the road to the drains are all clogged up with dirt and grass.
These are just a few my personal observations. I am sure the readers have their own gripes.
If we were to put all the authorities responsible through the Olympic test I am sure most of them will not qualify.
I hope the achievement of our heroine Pandelela and the attitude of all the other Malaysian Olympians can inspire us all. They have shown we can strive and achieve international standard.
However, I would remiss if I don’t mention one government department that I think deserves a gold medal. That is the Passport Office. I had such a pleasant surprise when I went to renew my passport. After I have submitted all the forms and the fee the lady at the counter said to me:
“Now go and have your breakfast and come back after to collect you new passport.”
I thought she was joking. I did just that and came back a couple of hours later. Sure enough, a spanking new passport was waiting for me. Now, that’s good medal standard indeed! Where in the world can one get a passport renewed in two hours!
So really, inspiration is all around. Not just from the Olympics.