Lydat principle explained – Dharm Navaratnam

Growing up was when I was first exposed to the Lydat Principle. For those of you that have never encountered this principle, you should consider yourself lucky.

The Lydat Principle was postulated many years ago by a very famous philosopher by the name of I. Lydat.

The famous philosopher basically came up with the principle that if you do not question ideas or statements, than those ideas become policy and law.

He further postulated that policy and law could be manipulated and should not be questioned. Ever. Even if someone disagreed with what was being stated, he or she should just accept it and not question it.

Eventually you would realise the folly of your ways and comprehend that these policies and laws were for your own good. You would understand and come to terms with it.

The Lydat principle gained prominence in many institutions of higher learning and many a scholar was trained in this principle.

Tens of hundreds of students were taught this principle and it even became required reading in economics, social studies as well as political science degree programmes.

It is no surprise then, that many of our leaders today not only subscribe to this principle but propagate its use.

In terms of everyday application, the basic fundamentals of the Lydat Principle state that authority is always correct.

Anything said by someone in a position of authority should not be questioned for fear of an adverse reaction or in some cases grave confusion amongst the masses.

Thus it is advisable that we minions should not be allowed to ask questions or strive to understand why certain decisions are made or policies introduced. We are just supposed to accept it as it is.

Questioning anything means you are unpatriotic, anti establishment, perhaps even stupid. Or maybe you can be called rubbish.

Thus today we are told that Democracy does not equate to free speech. We are also advised that a free press needs to be stifled to ensure democracy.

We do not question why “red shirts” are nicer looking than “yellow shirts” and neither do we question why “red shirts” are more valuable than “yellow shirts”.

We also do not question why some other shirts are considered bad imports and should be sent back to the manufacturer. We see that two different people can say essentially the same thing but only one is threatened with a law suit.

We accept donations as being the answer for large amounts of money suddenly showing up in bank accounts. Neither do we question the origins of said donations. Dismissals of public officials do not warrant any explanation.

We are not supposed to question why some people can apparently get away with racially sensitive statements while others are charged.

We do not question anything anymore, we just seem to accept it all. We just seem to be indifferent. For the few that attempt to make some 'noise' it is regarded as simply that. Noise.

This is a perfect life example of the Lydat Principle in action.

The question is, are we going to allow ourselves to be indifferent? For years, people thought the world was flat until it was proven otherwise. Similarly, the sun was thought to revolve around the earth but we all know that is not true.

There are countless other principles that were thought to be true that turned out to be false.

I think it is time we stopped subscribing to the Lydat Principle no matter how many supporters of the principle there are. Start to ask questions and question everything that needs to be questioned.

Why is our currency dropping? Why are toll rates going up? Whats wrong with our education system? Why do politicians come out with the strangest statements? Why are so many people being charged with sedition?

Why did 7 Orang Asli children run away? Why did it take so long to launch a search for them? Why does crime seem to be going up? Why do Malaysians see to forget things so easily? Why? Why? Why?

There seem to be so many questions and the questions never end. And if you still haven't got it yet, The Lydat Principle is the answer to all of the questions above and to any question you may have in the future.

It's Lydat lah...