Clinging to hope

Well, so be it. If it has to be Pakatan Rakyat then let it be Pakatan Rakyat. But it is we the voters who will be deciding which it is going to be. So why can’t we the voters demand what type of government we want? Our votes decide the government so that gives us the right to dictate the type of government that we want. And the type of government has to be a different and better government.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have lost quite a number of friends and family to cancer over the last 60 years or so. Of late, many more seem to have left this world. Maybe this is because I am coming to 62 so at that age you tend to lose more people you know -- which helps remind us that our time is coming up as well so we can consider ourselves as also standing in queue.

Anyway, what I find common to those who suffer from cancer is that most, if not all, do not give up hope. Even if the doctor has diagnosed the cancer as terminal they still harbour the hope that they can beat it somehow. I suppose that is the characteristic of humankind. We never lose hope even when logic tell us there is no longer any hope.

If we hear that a certain herb has been known to help cure the disease, even in cases where the doctor has said otherwise, and there are incidences where people have survived the cancer after taking that herb, much to the surprise of the doctor, we will surely try that herb and hope that the doctor is wrong and that the herb actually does work.

If we hear that a certain holy man in India has helped cure the disease, even in cases where the doctor said there is no chance of survival, and we are told that many people who went to meet the holy man managed to beat the disease, we will certainly make that trip to India in the hope that we are going to be amongst that group that beat the odds.

I have known friends who have travelled to so many places all over the world to seek miracle cures, mainly through spiritual help or ‘faith healing’, in spite of the medical prognosis that says there is no possibility of any cure. Of course, there are stories abound about how people have managed to prove the doctors wrong and that miracle cures or faith healing does work.

Unfortunately, not a single one of my friends managed to beat the odds. In the end they all died, as what the doctors said was going to happen. The miracle cures or faith healing did not work, in spite of the many stories that we hear about how they sometimes work.

I suppose no one likes to be told that they are going to die and that nothing can be done about it. Who likes to go home and just sit around or lie in bed with excruciating pain and count the days till you leave this world? To be told you have two months to live, or at the most six months but not longer than that, is so depressing. It is better that you psyche yourself into believing that there is still some hope you can cheat death by taking some sort of herb or by travelling to India, China, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, etc., to meet a ‘holy man’ who has been known to help cure people whom the doctors said cannot be cured.

It is bad enough you know you are going to die. But to accept the hopelessness of your situation and go without a fight makes the inevitable worse. It is less depressing to believe you have hope and work on that hope by seeking a solution. Who knows, the rumours might be true and the doctors might be wrong and you might be able to find that cure that the doctors said does not exist.

Never take hope away from anyone, especially from someone who is about to die, even if you know it is all false hope. When they excitedly tell you they are going to make a trip to India or China to meet a certain holy man who is said to have helped people beat the odds and managed to prove the doctors wrong, smile and encourage them and tell them that life and death is God’s will and if God wills it then they are going to live and not die in two months or six months or whatever it is that the doctor told them. It is most cruel to tell them, “This is all bullshit and you are going to die in the next few months so just accept that fact and don’t waste time with all this nonsense of miracle cures or faith healing.”

Religion is more or less about hope as well. We all know we are going to die. That is inevitable and unavoidable. The only question is when, how and where. It could be soon or it could be some years into the future. But the day we got born means we are certainly going to die. The only way to avoid death is not to be born. If we are not born then we can cheat death, so to speak.

But we still need hope. We know we have no hope of avoiding death. But we would like to know that death is not final. If death is final then what good is it to be born? Are we born just so that we can die? Isn’t life then totally useless? Why be born just so that we can die? What a total waste of time?

And the hope we harbour would be that death is not final but merely the beginning of a better life, a life after death. We leave this cruel world to go to a better world. What we will enjoy after we leave this world is far better than what we can ever experience in this world. Hence death should actually be rejoiced rather than mourned.

Now, if you tell someone that this is all bullshit, and that once you die it is the end of everything, that person will get very upset with you. He or she does not like to be told that death is final and that there is no better life after death. How can they accept that there is only one life, this life, and no second life, and that once you leave this world you leave forever and do not enter into another world or enjoy a permanent life after death?

This is, again, all about hope. We need to believe that there is still hope even when we die. To be told that there is no longer any hope once we die and that death is final and the end of everything and not the beginning of a second and better life is something most people cannot accept. It makes the entire concept of life totally useless. It makes the acceptance of death very difficult.

Hence if you tell someone that religion is nonsense and that what religion tells you is equally nonsense you will be met with vicious opposition. This is because you are denying these people hope. You are removing the only hope that they have. They know they have no hope of not dying. So they need to replace the hopelessness of their situation with another hope. And that hope is, while you cannot cheat death, death is not final and that life after death is greater than life on this earth.

The same applies to life in Malaysia. We have suffered life in Malaysia under the same government for 55 years. We would like to believe that this is not a hopeless situation. We would like to believe that there is still some hope. And so we hope that the government will change and that the next government will be a better government than the one we currently have.

Then someone comes along and says that this is all bullshit. This person says that there is no hope of changing the government or even if you can change the government life is still going to be the same and there is not going to be any change as you hope there would. You will get angry. And you will get angry because this person is taking away the only hope you have of seeing a better life.

Try telling a person suffering from cancer that the doctor is right and that this so-called holy man in India or China cannot help you live beyond two months and see the reaction. Try telling a person that the Bible or Qur’an is bullshit and that you are eventually going to die and once you die that is final and not the beginning of a new/better life and see the reaction. Try telling someone that all politicians are the same and never mind which government comes to power you are still going to see the same sorry state of affairs and see the reaction.

And this is why many people react the way they do when we point out the shortcomings and weaknesses of the opposition. They are harbouring the hope that a change of government would mean a better life. So when we tell them otherwise we are taking away this hope. They need hope, so they resent it when we take away this hope by telling them there is no hope.

Hope and reality work opposite to one another. The reality is: we are going to die of cancer within the next two months. The hope is: a holy man in a foreign land can help us cheat death. The reality is: once we die that is final and the end of everything. The hope is: death is not final but just the beginning of better things to come. The reality is: many countries change governments but life does not really improve much and sometimes even becomes worse. The hope is: once we kick out Barisan Nasional then Malaysia is going to become paradise on earth.

When I contradict your belief system and tell you to look at reality I am removing all this hope. I know this sounds cruel and denying you hope is just like telling you that you are going to die of cancer in two months -- so save your money and don’t bother to fly all over the world to meet holy men -- or like telling you that there is no afterlife for you to go to once you die because death is final.

If the doctor tells you that you are suffering from terminal cancer and are going to die in two months time I will not tell you that the doctor is right and that you should not try miracle cures or faith healing. That would be cruel. If you believe that there is a better afterlife where you will be going to once you die I am not going to tell you that this is religious bullshit because you need to believe this to be able to accept death.

In both these situations you need hope because hope is the only thing you have. So I will not take away this hope from you.

But in the issue of changing the government, now that is not a hopeless situation like terminal cancer or death. There is still hope that a change of government can result in a better life. But we need a better government to be able to see a better life. So I will barrage you and the politicians from both sides of the political divide that a change of government per se will not result in a better life. It must be the correct type of government.

I know it is not easy to accept reality. How many people can accept being told that they are going to die in two months time so just accept it and stop all this faith healing nonsense? How many people can accept being told that there is no such thing as an afterlife and once you die you are gone forever so live this only one life that you have while you still have it? And how many people can accept being told that a change of government will not automatically result in a better life unless we get the right type of government?

But someone has to do this job even though the person doing it is going to get cursed. As I said, I will not shatter your hope of beating cancer or of going to a better life after death, but I will certainly shatter your hope that a better life can be achieved through a change of government.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not saying we should not change the government. Many of you will interpret this as me saying just that. Yes, change the government by all means. Just make sure we get the right type of government so that our objective of a better life can be met.

In this case, you might say, we only have two choices, Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat. So it is either Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat. And if it is not Barisan Nasional then it has to be Pakatan Rakyat.

Well, so be it. If it has to be Pakatan Rakyat then let it be Pakatan Rakyat. But it is we the voters who will be deciding which it is going to be. So why can’t we the voters demand what type of government we want? Our votes decide the government so that gives us the right to dictate the type of government that we want. And the type of government has to be a different and better government.

Why is it so difficult for some of you to understand this very simple thing? And do I really need to write four pages to put this point across to you?

Yes, in the end this is all about hope. But there is a difference between false hope and hope tempered with reality. I am not selling false hope. I am selling hope tempered with reality. Hence from time to time we need to embark upon a reality check to get us back on track.