Change the players? Or change the game?

 

This last week threw up much more uncertainties than just the fears surrounding the pandemic.

As we reel from the fallout from this global disaster, in Malaysia, life has become even more alarming with the current political manoeuvrings that are being played out.

And, even as many constitutional experts and socio-political observers talk about the various permutations of our current political impasse, we ordinary Malaysians are left in the lurch.

Now there are even signs that supposedly impartial institutions like our healthcare system have been lassoed into this political mess, with their directives devoid of neutrality.

I mean why else would the health authorities direct that the ongoing parliamentary sitting be postponed at such a vital time, because of only 11 positive cases out of the 1,183 tests conducted?

This comes in the wake of news that a few weeks ago, 204 people who accounted for about 50% of all the officers at a Shah Alam vaccination centre tested positive, yet the centre was closed for a mere two days for sanitisation.

How can the powers that be think that we will not notice these sorts of glaringly inconsistent decisions, without getting suspicious about their fairness?

Is the health ministry now just another political apparatus?

Can they expect us to take their directives about the health of the nation seriously when they do this? Do we need to second-guess everything they tell us now, from the daily infection rates, to the number of deaths that they declare?

Then, when nearly half of our elected representatives tried to go into the parliament building, the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) barricaded them off.

Does this look like we live in a parliamentary democracy with the rule of law governing us? Aren’t our parliamentarians, who ultimately form the apex body that safeguards citizens, allowed to function?

Forgive me if I sound alarmed.

But I see this as an erosion of our basic and fundamental democratic rights.

Then, there were these brave young people who took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur last weekend, to stand up and be counted. We cannot, but applaud their courage and conviction in doing this.

Because if citizens, young or old, feel so moved to protest in the centre of our capital city to make themselves heard, this means every other possible avenue to air their grievances, worries, and fears has been exhausted.

When this happens, we know that the situation is dire.

And I expect those who have been criticising them for congregating in the streets despite a stay-at-home advisory, to call for disciplinary action against the leaders who have been assembling in each other’s houses to plot and scheme.

When the authorities blatantly practise double standards – one for common folks who are not allowed to visit aging parents or even the grave-sites of their loved ones, but ignore VVIPs congregating and meeting for their political survival – then you know the system is rotten to the core.

Many people are waiting with rapt attention wanting to know what is going to happen next.

But when we have a broken system, no personal integrity, leadership self-deception, and racial polarisation, what do you expect? A hero to emerge from this current pool of leaders?

Jumping from one side to the other seems to be the rule rather than the exception in our country.

No one can really be depended upon, can they?

If someone declares that they stand for one side today, the only thing you can be sure of, is that tomorrow they might change their stand.

And again, for those who lead us, we, the citizens, remain the least of their concerns. When will things finally change?

I am reminded of a credo that a mentor told me a long time ago.

He asked me to always remember that “…for things to change, I must change first”. Throughout my adult life, I kept this in my mind almost like a personal prayer. And it continuously propelled me forward.

Today, more so than ever, I know that things will only change in our country, when collectively, we all change as a society.

I truly believe that we must change the way we interact. Malaysians must transform our relationships with each other. Only when we do this, will our behaviour patterns and cultural norms change over time.

We must re-learn how to trust each other.

And grasp that racial parochialism and narrow-mindedness is well past its sell-by date. As a people, we have to stop highlighting and broadcasting our differences, and instead resolve to come together as a group that now has a shared history.

At the end of this month, it will be 64 years since we won our independence from our colonial masters. We cannot be re-colonised by a few in our midst, who spread and propagate fear just for their own political power-plays.

We must realise that what they do drives a wedge between us, and serves only to divide.

Only when there is a change in our relationships with each other, can we transform our institutions and rules to be equally fair to all citizens. This way, no one can divide us for their own political gain.

As hard as these changes may be for some, they will profoundly alter our nation’s landscape and bind us together as a force to be reckoned with.

Until we truly come together as Malaysians, our wait for what might take place next in today’s political dramas, will inevitably result in the same old, same old.

Do we really believe that our situation will get better with just another set of political players taking charge now?

We might change our leaders, but will they really stop the practice of jumping sides at will? Or isn’t the time ripe for a total revamp of the system, rather than just the players? - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.