Cure the cause, not the symptoms

Therefore, reforms will need to be achieved outside the electoral process. It will have to be achieved through civil society action. Did India or South Africa achieve change through the electoral process or through civil society action? Did Europe 200 years ago achieve reforms through the electoral process or through civil society action? Did America achieve reforms in the mid-1900s through the electoral process or through civil society action?

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Sometimes, or maybe most times, it is quite difficult to have an ‘intellectual discussion’ with Malaysia Today’s readers. But then this would only be if you were to analyse the dozen or so comments in the comments section. Out of a readership running into the hundreds of thousands this represents less than 1% of the total. Nevertheless, this gives an impression that this reflects the ‘general opinion’ whereas less than 1% hardly represents the majority view.

But is this not so for other things as well? A few Muslims scream about Islam being under attack and a handful of Malays wearing the PERKASA T-shirts shout about the Chinese robbing the Malays of their birthright. And people take this as the general view of Muslims or Malays whereas 99% of the Malays-Muslims remain silent and say nothing because they do not share these views and feel that engaging the 1% is foolhardy seeing that nothing you say is going to do any good anyway.

I know some people lament as to why the silent majority amongst the Malays-Muslims remain silent. Is this because they support or agree with what this 1% say? Well, would you want to argue with a fool? Is it not a fool who argues with a fool? So why bother to engage them? Just let them scream and make fools of themselves and hopefully one day they will get tired and shut up.

There are white supremacists in Britain and Australia, Ku Klux Klan in the US, Nazis in Germany, etc. And they take to the streets and demonstrate and scream. But do these 1,000 screaming whites represent the 72 million population of Britain? Why are the other 72 million British citizens keeping quiet? Well, the 72 million other British think that the 1,000 screaming whites are nut cases. And why do you want to argue with nut cases?

Anyway, I am digressing. Let us get back to the issue of the comments in the comments section of Malaysia Today that I was talking about. As I said, this represents a mere fraction of the total readership. I can just ignore them if I want to. But I am going to address them and make a general reply to these comments.

I am not suggesting that these comments are foolish. Some, in fact, are of substance and certainly add value to the matter being discussed. But many are talking about curing the symptoms rather than the cause of the disease. And this is what I want to talk about today.

Why do you keep repeating what we already know? Do you think that repeating, again and again, that the government is corrupt and abuses its power, the government practices racism and discrimination, the government practices selective prosecution and manipulates the judicial system, etc., all our problems are going to be solved? We know all that. No need to tell us what we already know. Tell us what to do about it.

Sure, I know you will now tell me that we need to kick out the government, change the government, and so on. Okay, that is what we need to do. But how are we going to do that? And will kicking out the government or changing the government solve the problem? Many countries have done this but that did not solve the problem. What makes you think we can do what other more organised countries can’t seem to do? And has not more than 200 years of history in changing governments all over the world not taught us anything?

Most of you are focusing on and talking about the symptoms of the problem. All the comments you post are about the signs of the disease. And all your suggestions are about trying to cure these symptoms rather than getting to the root of the problem, the cause of the disease.

For example, when we talk about the nine United Nations’ Treaties and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (SEE HERE) you brush that off and say that that is not important. What is important is that we must first change the government.

But that is just it. These issues are important. And they are important because if they are not addressed then we will never be able to change the government. It is like saying that when I strike a lottery and become rich I am going to do this, that and the other. But you never go out and buy a lottery -- which means you are never going to win a lottery and become rich. So what’s all this talk of when I strike a lottery and become rich I am going to do this, that and the other? It is merely idle talk and daydreaming.

We need the correct environment and platform to see change. And I mean, of course, change through the electoral process or constitutional means. Of course, if you want to bypass the democratic process and effect change through non-constitutional means, such as an armed revolution, then that is another matter altogether.

But how do we see this happen if we do not have free, clean and fair elections? We have discussed this before. Barisan Nasional will be able to hold on to power even if they win less than 50% of the votes.

We need an independent judiciary if we want to file election petitions to thwart election fraud. We need an uncorrupted Police Force, Anti-Corruption Commission, Human Rights Commission, AG Chambers, Election Commission, etc., if we want them to uphold free, clean and fair elections. As long as all these agencies work for Barisan Nasional and not for the people, then free, clean and fair elections would be impossible.

So, no, the cure to all our problems is not to change the government. The cure to all our problems is reforms. And we need to press for reforms because without reforms Barisan Nasional will be able to hold on to power long after all of us have gone to our graves.

So, my question would be: can we see reforms by changing the government? I would say ‘no’ because we will never be able to change the government without reforms. Barisan Nasional will make sure of that.

Therefore, reforms will need to be achieved outside the electoral process. It will have to be achieved through civil society action. Did India or South Africa achieve change through the electoral process or through civil society action? Did Europe 200 years ago achieve reforms through the electoral process or through civil society action? Did America achieve reforms in the mid-1900s through the electoral process or through civil society action?

Learn from history, my friend. Hitler came to power through the electoral process. And tens of millions of people died because of that. Sometimes, elections without reforms will bring more harm than good.

So, can we stop talking about what’s wrong with Malaysia? We all know what’s wrong with Malaysia. You do not need to remind us about what’s wrong with Malaysia. I can tell you more than you can tell me about what’s wrong with Malaysia. We need to now start discussing what to do about it.

And stop telling me that we need to change the government to see changes in Malaysia. I want to know how to change the government under the present electoral system that we have in Malaysia and whether by changing the government (if that is even possible in the first place) we will be guaranteed of seeing change or will it merely be, as more than 200 years of history has proven, just putting old wine into a new bottle?

Maybe it is time to start thinking outside the box. Can we trust politicians to bring about these changes that we are clamouring for? Are, maybe, politicians too self-serving or selfish and are out for personal gain? Are they really working for the people or working for themselves?

If the politicians were seriously interested in our welfare rather than serving their own interests then they would put aside their personal and party interests for the greater good of the people. But they are not doing this.

There are three parties in Pakatan Rakyat (and, of course, 14 in Barisan Nasional). Then we have PRM, PSM, SNAP, SAPP, KITA, PCM, PERSB, BERJASA, PASOK, SETIA, AKIM, STAR, HRP, and the UBF ‘coalition’ (did I miss out anyone?). Why can’t Pakatan Rakyat talk to the ‘non-aligned’ parties? Maybe I should ask: why can’t the three Pakatan Rakyat parties resolve all their inter- and intra-party issues (which should come first)?

Yes, many who voted opposition back in 2008 are beginning to question whether they still want to vote opposition this time around. We want to see ABU. But many are now asking whether ABU is good enough. They feel that it has to be more than just ABU. It should no longer just be about what we don’t want. It has to be about what we want.

If the political parties prove they are incapable of bringing about change then maybe we should forget about political parties (and therefore about seeing change through the electoral process -- which without reforms is not going to see a change of government anyway). Maybe it requires a different form of action to bring about change.

And what alternative form of action do you think this will require?

That is what we may need to talk about now.