Razzmatazz and slogans do not make a government, let alone threats and warnings

If only politics could have survived on a staple of threats and warnings or euphoria of public events and unending slogan launches, we do not need democracy and general elections.

But in Malaysia, the BN-led political parties just seem to be so caught up with so many public events, launching all kinds of slogans, and in between these, spurting threats and warnings. Wonder what kind of political science school they attended.

Why do we need to spend so much of public funds to organize so many events all in the interest of getting the public to abandon the opposition parties? In the first place does it work?

Why do we need to be so obsessed with all kinds of seemingly clever slogans that come with grand launches costing much money? Do these slogans wipe clean the issues that are hand?

And, why can we not learn quickly that the age of threats and warnings is long gone with the winds of change. Today, politicians in the rest of the world are quickly re-learning the art of persuasive communication. Is this too hard for BN politicians to fathom?

The Mahathir mantra that ‘when you tell a lie all too often, it becomes a truth’ is already ancient. Not in these times of the liberating internet medium. But why do the BN politicians still practice this antiquated art of communication?

Confront the allegations

BN must address the allegations. BN must address the concerns. BN must engage the communities with compassion, discourse, cooperation and underscore all these with earnest goodwill.

Billowing threats and warnings is not going to advance the BN agenda to the advantage of nation building.

BN must not dismiss allegations by crying “we are victims”. On the contrary, if BN politicians understand 21st Century politics, they must quickly commission independent, reliable and transparent investigations. In fact the leaders must summon such investigations even before the rakyat through their opposition political parties sound the drum.

But that does not seem to be the case all the time. On the contrary, when the drums of suspicion are sounded, defence pours in freely and only much much later do we get some whimpering admission of guilt. Why must it be always be this way?

Why is it so difficult to observe these tested and proven basics in persuasive communication, one wonders?

BN must remember that glossy prints cannot hide dirty truth. Arty-farty razzmatazz events cannot hoodwink the rakyat. In fact it becomes the very ammunition of your political rivals. Slogans died with Hitler. Today, the voice of the people needs to be harnessed and cusped close to your political bosom – not shooed and silenced away with threats and warnings.

Well if BN thinks it is still relevant for the times and the nation’s future, it better revisit its political strategies all over again. And quickly put its agents through political communication school.

Why?

Because democracy has re-awakened with a thunder and as the rules of Adam Smith are being re-written, democracy is here to stay its full course. Remember BN, Mahathir’s ‘managed democracy’ has outlived its purpose and times. Times are changing and changing really fast. From Russia to China, and to the rest of the world the signs are clearly written.

Today public accountability is the cardinal principle of political survival.

Malaysia Chronicle