What does being at the brink mean?

"The darkest hour is just before dawn."

You've heard that one before I'm sure. We say it to ourselves when the situation looks bleak, to make ourselves feel better.

In my opinion, few things say it better than this little conversation between nobel prize winner Professor Barnhardt and Klaatu the alien in the sci-fi movie entitled, "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (2008).

[Brief background: Klaatu who took on a human form was sent to earth to save the planet by eliminating the greatest threat to it - humans. The Professor was pleading for a second chance.]

Professor: Every civilization reaches a crisis point eventually. Yours did. How?

Klaatu: Our sun was dying. We have evolved in order to survive

Professor: It was only when your world was threatened by destruction that you became what you are now.

Klaatu: Yes.

Professor: Well that's where we are. You say we're on the brink of destruction and you're right but its only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve. This is our moment. Don't take it from us. We're close to an answer.


I wholeheartedly agree with the professor in that if you're not desperately clinging at the precipice staring at a 500-foot drop on the jagged rocks, you're not going to see change.

The question for Malaysia is, are we at the brink?

[My answer is no. Not by a very, very long shot. Why? Self interest. No, not by self-serving politicians. By the self-serving man in the street who's afraid that any instability will cost him his job, his makan, his family and his dignity. Reminds me of the question who will bell the cat?]