Protests are un-Malaysian? You’d rather sell out?

 

True to form, our politicians and those with vested interests spew out nonsense about protests not being part of Malaysian culture. They say it’s a Western construct.

But historically, we got rid of the British through protests. Our New Economic Policy (NEP) was borne out of protests. And a few years ago, the protests organised by Bersih (The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections) led to a ground swell of change in our political landscape.

Younger Malaysians are especially vested in being vocal for their future.

They demand that our leaders, technocrats and bureaucrats are held accountable for their actions. If you were at the peaceful rally last weekend or followed it in the media, it is apparent that Malaysia’s hope rests with these young people.

This, despite the authorities being hell bent on thwarting them.

Let’s be clear, the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 states that organisers need only to notify the police of an assembly 10 days prior to it. There are no permits or licenses that are actually necessary to proceed with any assembly.

Even though it was going to be a peaceable demonstration, the police themselves applied and were granted a court order to prevent the gathering, on what many suspect are dubious grounds.

The police had set-up over 50 roadblocks around our capital city to stop people getting to the location where the gathering was supposed to take place. They also are said to have deployed over a thousand police personnel to disrupt the assembly.

We really have to admire the demonstrators, for they continued in spite of these barriers.

The huge police presence, quite frankly, didn’t deter but piqued the interest of ordinary Malaysians.

I reckon the protesters would have assembled, made their feelings known, and dispersed peacefully. Instead, the authorities clamped down, got people annoyed, and even those who would have just tacitly supported, ended up being more interested.

This heavy-handedness by the authorities makes people more supportive of the accusations levelled by the protesters in the first place. The proverb – there’s no smoke without fire – comes to mind, doesn’t it?

There is a wider awareness in the country on issues of integrity with numerous reports surfacing on various suspicious deals and shady practices that have become prevalent.

When such information is made public, we get momentarily shocked, and lament about the lack of ethical scruples in the way our nation is being governed. But then magically, we collectively let out a big sigh, and simply get on with the rigmarole of our lives.

Have we become numb or just accustomed to all the impropriety that is reported?

While young Malaysians gather on the streets to protest, the vast majority of our people have resigned themselves to simply accept that we cannot expect integrity from literally anyone holding public office.

If we reflect on last weekend’s peaceful assembly, the demonstrators were only asking for integrity from our public servants. Integrity is at the foundation of Malaysia being a progressive and modern nation.

By Jove, how is demanding integrity actually subversive?

Don’t we all know that integrity is the fundamental value that most employers look for, in new hires. Through my executive leadership coaching sessions, it is clear that integrity is the cornerstone on which employees build relationships and trust with their colleagues.

But in Malaysia, crucial traits like integrity and honesty appear to be scarce commodities in politicians, and bureaucrats.

We Malaysians have to wake up.

It is our civic duty to stop those who bring disrepute to the proper governance of our country. Otherwise, we will all live to see the nation descend into a “failed-state”. Already, many believe that our once exemplary nation is now the “sick-man” of Southeast Asia.

Here is the universal truth.

Malaysia’s public services that consist of many bodies, were explicitly established to fulfil a public purpose. They remain directly accountable to us, the citizens.

These services include government ministries, public agencies and commissions, government hospitals and schools, the police, the armed forces, and so on.

The purpose of such public organisations is to serve the interests of all Malaysians. They are not privately owned entities serving the interests of their owners or shareholders.

Our public services are funded largely by compulsory contributions from us, in the form of taxes and fees. Really, Malaysians don’t have a choice but to finance these entities.

Therefore, their legitimacy is very much dependent on whether we trust them. Or not.

Public bodies need to earn our trust by being fair, transparent, responsive to our needs, meeting standards, and being compliant with the relevant laws and regulations.

When a group of Malaysians decide that they don’t trust a public service or the way it is being managed, and then gather to protest peacefully, hearing their grievances is vital for the survival of our nation.

It certainly doesn’t augur well, when instead, the authorities mount a gargantuan effort to disrupt our right to assemble.

Spinning nonsensical tales about protests not being in keeping with Malaysian culture, and conjuring up confusing narratives about the whistleblowers who bring misconduct to attention, is simply wrong.

Public bodies in Malaysia do not serve the interest of any “specific owner”. They belong to all of us, the Malaysian public. And our right to protest any wrongdoing in these public entities is to safeguard these essential services for the nation.

Whether we agree or disagree with our fellow Malaysians who braved the obstacles and went out to the streets to protest last weekend, it is vital that we all agree on our absolute right to protest.

To be able to rally and protest in a collective fashion, is probably the last bastion of our rights as citizens of this country. We cannot, under any circumstance, sell out on this. - FMT

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