Imagine a trolley rolling down the track, heading towards five workers. It is too late to stop it. The only thing you can do is to pull the lever to divert the trolley to another track with one worker. What would you do?
Would you rather kill one worker in order to save five? Or do you think there is no moral difference in killing one or five?
This is the classical ethical question in the utilitarian tradition of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
When former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak was pushing his trolley on the aisle of Tesco in Semenyih, I thought about his trolley problem.
Trolley problem adapted
The trolley rolling down the track in Najib’s case is his political career. And the two choices faced by Najib is whether to drag just Umno (one worker) or the whole Malaysian society with him (five workers).
As we inch closer to Najib’s days of reckoning in court, he must be aware that his probability of surviving is slim.
So far, there are 42 criminal charges against him relating to corruption, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Although the legal process may take some time, proving any one of these cases beyond a reasonable doubt would likely give the former prime minister a lengthy jail sentence and put a brutal stop to his political career.
As Najib’s trolley rolls down, he is facing the biggest dilemma of his life: should he drag only Umno with him? Or the whole society, too?
Culture of money politics
The lesser of two evils is to drag only Umno with him. The current malady of Umno is wholly or partially owed to Najib.
Not only did Najib substantially contribute to the party’s first-ever defeat as federal government by depleting national resources and bringing economic hardship to Malaysians, he had orchestrated moral destruction within the party by parading the culture of money politics in the form of “Cash is King”.
The culture of corruption and patronage was aggressive during his time that every institution and every public official could be bought with a high enough price.
Until today, Umno suffers from political and moral legitimacy in the eyes of Malaysians.
As long as Najib still casts a long shadow over Umno, the oldest Malay political party will continue to struggle to find political relevance and public acceptance.
Some unlucky ones, like former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (photo) and former Felda chairperson Isa Samad, are direct victims as they have been charged with various counts of corruption.
Others were forced to assume the burden of having been associated with the infamous man, either for being in the same cabinet, alliance, or party.
The momentary spike in popularity of Najib and BN’s victory in the Cameron Highlands by-election is significant, but it is insufficient to help Umno to stage a complete comeback.
When Najib’s trials return to the fore, Umno’s legitimacy will once again plummet as the people are reminded of the moral shortcomings of a party that betrayed the people.
In other words, Najib’s trolley will definitely hit Umno when it comes to it – unless the party severs all ties with the man they once called their champion.
Dragging the entire Malaysian society
However, there is a bigger evil possibility – Najib is considering dragging the entire Malaysian community with him.
He is trying to stage a political comeback with masterful social media strategies. His digital team clearly understands what would create a viral post and what would elevate his popularity (at least superficially).
However, the method that he employs is detrimental to the social fabric of Malaysia.
Behind every troll and meme is a message that is laced with racial antagonism and falsehood.
Because Najib couldn’t fight with credibility on policy issues due to his unusually weak past performance as prime minister, he has to fight on emotive, but unproductive issues: race and religion, and false news.
Najib is willing to create a cleavage between the Malays and non-Malays by constantly implying that this country is controlled by non-Malays to the disadvantage of the Malays.
He is amplifying his efforts of spreading false and misleading news, such as suggesting the slow legal process meant that he was innocent of all charges when his trials haven’t even started; or his constant suggestions that things were better during his time.
Therefore, there is a tremendous risk associated with what Najib is doing.
His trolley will eventually drag the community along, resulting in a Malaysian society being more divided and hostile than before.
Applicable variation?
In the classic trolley problem case, many philosophers applied a variation to the problem.
They suggested that what if there was a plump person standing with you on a bridge above the trolley before it hit the five workers. And on that bridge, you have a chance to push this person off the bridge and onto the track, thus bringing the trolley to a halt.
The only catch is that the plump person would be sacrificed.
There is one such person who could spare the society and even Umno of the misery Najib is bound to bring.
This person is Najib’s closest confidante, a person who is detested by many, and toxic enough to absorb all hatred.
Maybe this person could solve Najib’s trolley problem.
JAMES CHAI works at a law firm
MKINI
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.