Stardate: 22-1-22
Associate editor’s log:
Our beloved nation of Malaysia is being drawn unerringly into a nebula of negative growth, a veritable black hole as we are unable to resist the gravitational pull of our own folly and limited vision.
The overarching reason for this sad state of affairs is simple - there are many ailments, but in most cases, the remedies lie in the hands of culprits.
It seems to me that everywhere you look we are faced with a Catch-22 situation.
If you are unfamiliar with the concept - in the classic Joseph Heller novel set in World War II, any pilot requesting mental evaluation for insanity - hoping to be found not sane enough to fly dangerous missions - demonstrates his own sanity by making the request and thus cannot be declared insane.
It was deemed a Catch-22 and the phrase has entered common usage to describe a difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually dependent and yet innately conflicting conditions.
It is an absurdity, a farce, a paradox.
And yet it is playing itself out in dozens of scenarios all over the country. There are glaring problems which some seemingly apparent solutions, but the power to fix the issue is in the hands of those who are causing the problem and benefitting from it.
Thus, they not only have the motive to let the situation persist but they are involved in actively obstructing any improvements.
Political instability
Take, for example, the political instability dogging us at both the federal and state levels. One of the key reasons was elected representatives showing complete disregard for what the voters elected them to do.
In theory, the answer to this may be anti-hopping legislation. But guess what? That means we need the people who are causing the problem to be sufficiently self-aware and contrite and act for the greater good. Yet we are in this situation because they acted in precisely the opposite way!
Similarly, we find cases of possible police brutality or negligence. Does it happen? Of course, it does. But who investigates these cases, oversees the reports, compiles the statistics? The police themselves!
Lately, we have been treated to one farce after another after allegations of a shareholding scandal implicating the MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki emerged. The fact that the anti-graft body has so many allegations against it is so damning because they are the ones who are supposed to clean up society.
He was investigated by the Securities Commission, but of course, the MACC have investigations against the SC, thus compromising the perceived independence of their findings. By the way, as I write this, parts of the nation’s capital are being shut down to prevent protests against this man. Just think about that.
This Catch-22 is everywhere, I’m afraid. Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci wrote that a crisis occurs when the old is dying but refuses to allow the new to be born. Look at our long-entrenched political establishment fought tooth and nail to thwart the Undi18 move, to prevent the registration of a multi-racial youth-led party like Muda.
Even the ‘experience’ argument is a Catch-22 paradox. It is argued that experienced leaders are needed, yet look at the stalemate they have led us into. New leaders are needed, but how will they ever gain the requisite experience unless a gamble is taken on them.
The paradox is everywhere. The media is supposed to be a watchdog, but the political masters turning the mainstream media into a compliant tool. Without fear or favour? My experience in a mainstream media newsroom saw quite a bit of fear and a lot of favours!
So, every time a bold solution presents itself, the Catch-22 is right there. I’m sure we can identify that race, religion and regionalism are being used as fault lines in our society to divide and rule. Political parties based on those lines are obviously a root cause.
We should try the radical move of banning them - requiring parties to be ideological and not championing only one segment of society.
But who do we need to go through to make such a change? The answer of course is the political elite who play on these divisions!
Another farce.
The rich are getting richer and under no real obligation to help the rest of society. They determine policies that suit their interests and use their wealth to maintain their influence. There is an interlocking power structure of politicians, royals, big business and religious leaders keeping us down.
That’s why many of us live lives of cognitive dissonance. If you are reading this, you are aware that the rules are skewed in an unjust manner so that there is one law for the elites, another for the masses. And we do not know how to fix the problem. There is no end in sight … and yet the day we give up the fight is the day we are truly defeated. - Mkini
MARTIN VENGADESAN is an associate editor at Malaysiakini.
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