Is honesty still a part of politics?

 

Dewan Rakyat deputy speaker Rashid Hasnon was recently caught on camera eating durians with a large group of people at a durian feast and the photos went viral. 

After insisting that it was an “old video”, he has finally admitted to the offence and apologised for violating the standard operating procedure (SOP) of the total lockdown, thanks to the netizens who dissected visuals of the video frame by frame, forcing him to come clean.

Rashid isn’t alone. Political dishonesty is common. As long as politicians win in an election and stay in power, dishonesty is somehow justified and becomes the core mechanism of their survival.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed fudged about handing over power to Anwar Ibrahim. PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang gave his blessings for party youth chief Nik Abduh Nik Aziz to deny accepting RM90 million from Umno. Former deputy foreign minister Marzuki Yahya claims to having a degree from Cambridge. I can go on, but you get the point - dishonesty flows thick in politicians.

I don’t know about you, but what frustrates me the most is the fact that the ones dishonest are the very people who actually pass the laws that require us, the common folks, to be honest - pay penalties for violating laws, pay your taxes, tell the truth in court.

It is utterly disgusting that when it comes to politicians, there is a moral breakdown. They are liars, scoundrels without a shred of personal integrity. For them, as long as there is something in there for them, it is okay to sweep honesty under the rug - honesty takes a back seat to their own interest.

In a very real sense, the politicians we elect to represent us are our employees. We expect them to govern the country, state, city and other entities for which they are elected to undertake. 

We expect them to work with other politicians of widely different concepts on what is best for us and our well-being. We expect them to represent us with integrity and honesty.

Yes, the job comes with many facets and is not easy to perform especially when having to put aside their own wants when on the job. Unfortunately, what we are witnessing today is the culmination of absolute dishonesty that has led many to believe that honesty in politics is an absolute oxymoron.

Politicians and lying

There is an old joke about honesty in politics that comes to mind. Question - how do you tell when a politician is lying? Answer – when their mouth is open. On second thought, this sounds more truthful than being merely a joke.

Bill Clinton, a man who held the most prestigious office in the world, in his desperation to maintain a façade of morality, gave up his own integrity when he boldly lied, “I did not have sex with that woman!” only to admit later that he had, in fact, engaged in an ‘improper physical relationship’ with Monica Lewinsky.

Kind of reminds me of another man in our own country who also rejected all allegations of his relationship with another woman. 

He repeatedly declared “Never met her, never seen her, never knew of her existence” for as long as I can remember. Is he lying or is he telling the truth? Coming from a politician, I don’t really know what to believe – do you?

Our current prime minister who has been suffering from diarrhoea recently, also made false promises alongside other leaders of Bersatu, DAP, PKR and Amanah when they announced the “10 promises in 100 days” manifesto during the 14th general election which helped them win back in 2018. Some may say that was a more subtle lie (in order to overthrow an evil regime) but still a lie though.

Politicians are so used to spinning and twisting the truth in all ways and directions in order to be and stay in power. It is so unfortunate that our democracy has encouraged dishonesty. 

To get elected, politicians have to appeal to most voters, which means telling them what they want to hear. And to stay in power, politicians have to follow the masterminds of their party, which means doing whatever it takes to secure their positions at whatever cost.

Dishonesty is easy to come by when one is in politics – complete transparency and honesty is impossible since it too often results in political suicide (so they say). But surely there is a way to bring honesty and integrity back to politics.

For honesty to play a role in politics, the people should hold politicians accountable for their actions. First of all, is to keep our own integrity and honesty. Only if we keep our own personal integrity can we demand the same from our "employees". 

Secondly, we must vote for an honest politician to represent us - not the party. Never elect one that has proven to be dishonest or lacking in personal integrity.

When the people begin to elect the “most honest” politicians to represent them, politicians themselves will begin to hold each other accountable for their actions even if they are under the same banner.

The bottom line is that it is the people's job to run the country. Because the task of running the country is so large, we delegate the authority and responsibility to the politicians, but keep in mind that we are still ultimately responsible and that means we must make an effort to properly do our job when hiring and supervising our employees - the politicians.

Some readers might say it’s a long shot. Some readers will disagree, throw their hands in the air and say it will never work. 

Perhaps that is the problem – by not being part of the solution and demanding for honesty and integrity from our politicians, we are actually giving them the space to be so lacking.

To put it in another way - we are part of the problem. - Mkini

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a director, a struggling producer, a photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.