There is no ‘Knight in Shining Armour’ for Malaysia

 

Malaysians are easily triggered. At the same time, Malaysian politicians have made a fine artform of saying the darndest things. This phenomenon often leads to a lethal combination for our country.

For example, this week’s headlines were filled with a national dialogue on chopsticks. Many column inches have already been devoted to this rather innocent form of cutlery.

Who would have thought that chopsticks, the pair of equal-length sticks that have been used as a kitchen and eating tool in most of East Asia for over three millennia, would cause so much discussion and be elevated to the status of “vital national debate” in Malaysia?

Right, here’s a summary for those of you who’ve been holed up in a cave this past week and missed the entire episode. Our erstwhile two-time prime minister had apparently said something pertaining to this culinary utensil that got everyone’s knickers in a knot.

At the launch of his latest biography, he is reported to have said that the continued insistence of Malaysians of Chinese heritage on using chopsticks was actually hampering efforts towards real national integration and is a cause for racial division.

Yes. That’s what he said.

It is not the disjointed national policies, preferential treatment to some Malaysians, and the blatant weaponisation of race and religion that has led to our fractious and tenuous communal relationships.

Nope. According to him, it’s chopsticks.

Of course, every time he speaks, it leads to a massive discourse and a dissection of his intent, his historical relevance, and discussions about his place in modern-Malaysia. And the country collectively holds its breath to see how far things will go after another one of his proclamations or gaffes.

It is sometimes inconceivable that at a time when he should be an elder statesman working towards national unity, he continues to thrive by simply stirring the hornets’ nest.

Isn’t it time that Malaysia realises that ultimately, this former strongman is just a consummate politician who says and does whatever that is politically expedient for his own personal agenda?

More importantly for all of us, haven’t we also understood that this habit is not unique to him?

It is an affliction that all politicians in our beloved country seem to have. And, can we all agree that everyone, across the political divide in Malaysia, has let us down terribly?

Here’s the real state of the nation.

We have a government we didn’t vote for. And our current prime minister scores himself, and his team a 90% mark for their performance, since taking over the government about three months ago. Mind you, these are not independently awarded marks. But just a self-declared and unaudited pat on the back.

All this while our economy is in the doldrums and people are still struggling to put food on the table.

A new slogan has been launched, called the Malaysian Family or “Keluarga Malaysia”. This is to ostensibly show that the government of the day is caring and compassionate, and we can steer the nation out of our current difficulties, if only we stick together as a family.

Our dear leaders have even turned this catchphrase into a fashion statement, by donning shirts and outfits emblazoned with these words. The public relations spin doctors have a new motto to use to misdirect the citizenry from the real issues facing the country.

The propaganda machinery continues even while the most racially biased national budget was recently unveiled. But every government politician spews this new narrative, which at the end of the day, is just likely to be another empty slogan.

This week, we also saw another former prime minister having his conviction upheld and called a national embarrassment by the appellate court. This, after having been graciously given his passport back to travel, even after being found guilty by the courts for embezzling vast amounts of money.

Ordinary Malaysians like you and me would never have been afforded such civility.

I once had a kerfuffle at the KL International Airport on a company trip with one of my team members because he hadn’t paid-off his PTPTN student loan. He wasn’t allowed to leave the country.

But for our elite politicians, such leeway of graciousness is afforded, and they are even given special dispensation when they don’t show-up back on time for proceedings. Go figure.

And now, every politician who gets hauled to court, seems to use the same playbook of checking themselves into hospital to avoid their day in court. And it happens across the board, even with those politicians we had some hope on.

When will we, as a nation, realise and stop believing in our current crop of politicians?

I turned 50 a month ago and ever since I remember, it’s the same politicians who have dominated the national discourse. The same faces with the same baggage remain in the spotlight.

Of course, they are politicians, and won’t really leave of their own volition.

And even if they leave their strongholds, they will still want to be part of the political landscape by being puppet masters. When they don’t get their own way, they tend to scheme and plot from behind the scenes, to usurp power again.

It’s really a given that they won’t actually go voluntarily. Therefore, it really is up to us.

It becomes incumbent upon us Malaysians to not get attached to any politician. We need to stop being deferential to these people. Haven’t we learnt that they will potentially fleece us for everything, if we continue to treat them as demigods and saviours? Hasn’t the penny dropped, yet?

They are not our liberators. They are all self-serving. Don’t get devoted to any one of them. Don’t fall for their charismatic overtures and rhetoric. With their repeated actions, they have all made it abundantly clear that they are in it for themselves.

It is ordinary folks like us, who are going to lift our country back on to the path of harmony, prosperity, justice, and inclusiveness. So, shall we stop paying attention to these fellas? - FMT

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