After a long delay, allow me to post my thoughts concerning public engagement with the current political crisis – many of them are no longer original by now :)
Many writers seem to be angrily telling politicians “Stop bitching and get back to work.”
I suppose it would probably be just a little bit too rude to tell those writers to “Stop bitching and get back to work.”
My central question is this: What is an honest, sincere Malaysian to do?
Are we to stay on a moral high horse, stamp our feet and merajuk, despairing as to why idiotic politicians cannot do what they’re supposed to?
I think not.
My main reason is this: it is relatively unproductive, hopelessly ineffective, and indicative – in my humble opinion – of a poor understanding of politics.
Let me say at the outset that I have no problem with people who want to go on strike, vent their anger and so on. Go right ahead. Many in said movement are my friends, and my feelings on those friendships are not changed in the least.
Let’s be frank – you’re frustrated, I’m frustrated; you hate the fact that Malaysian politics has reached the stage of “You play backside!!” “Nononono, YOU play backside!!!”? Well, I do to.
But what are you going to do about it?
I have spent my entire ‘activist’ career doing at least two things – learning what effective advocacy is, and battling cynicism. I do the latter because cynicism is not effective advocacy.
I agree with those who say that a cynical, disgusted and disengaged public is the gold mine of unscrupulous politicians.
If we’re more concerned about our own disgust and personal feelings than we are about the truth, it will become the beginning of the end.
It is difficult to shame the shameless; politicians only listen to and are swayed by things that affect votes – they are not interested in courting spoilt ballots, and they couldn’t care less (trust me) if some bigshot editor wants to give them a moral lecture.
Let’s get serious here. Like it or not, *someone* has to be PM of Malaysia. No matter how we hate it, the drama that is unfolding now before us will likely determine who that someone will be.
If you want to say that all the realistic candidates are a bunch of losers, fine. That doesn’t change for a second the fact that they are still by far the frontrunners for the premiership.
You want to preach about being attentive to the people’s problems instead of personal politics, fine. That doesn’t change for a second the fact that more than anything else, the welfare of the people in the years to come will be determined more than anything else (especially in the Malaysian context) by who sits in the PM’s chair.
And that, in turn, will possibly be determined by whoever wins this vicious war of attrition. Remember, being neutral is not the same as being objective. Would you speak of being neutral in Mugabe’s present day Zimbabwe?
(Mind, I’m not saying we should support anyone blindly – that’s just silly. But we must take our chances on whoever is most likely to be accountable, truthful and just – and then hold them mercilessly to their every promise. If non-performing, kick out)
This is precisely why I got involved in politics – an industry I have never, for all my years in Kuala Lumpur had the slight bit of interest in. Like many out there still, I was a cynic who found it disgusting.
Long story short, I grew up.
All around the world, I began to understood that if you really care about the welfare of humans, if you really want to end suffering – then you cannot afford the luxury of being disgusted by and disengaged from politics.
It is also naive to believe that the scandals surrounding us can be wished away. Remember Liberty Valance? “From the moment a girl gets to be full-grown, the very first thing she learns / (is that) When two men go out to face each other, only one returns.”
Yes, I too wish it were a cleaner fight. But I think that like it or not, we may have gone past that point.
With the amount of mud that has already been slung, our task as writers and as citizens is no longer just to try in vain to stop the fight – our task is to demand the truth.
I concur with Malik Imtiaz, who writes that the lack of confidence in our institutions of law enforcement remains a critical national crisis. It is especially under these circumstances that we must ever keep up the pressure to find the truth, not to turn away because we can’t take the heat.
This is what I mean when I say that we writers need to get back to work – we need to maintain the pressure for truth and justice to be upheld, not use newspapers we control to reflect personal views and try to incite cynicism.
Let us not be preoccupied with claiming to represent an entire nation as being ‘disgusted;’ let us instead represent only ourselves in an attempt to sift through the lies, and uncover the covered.
In my humble opinion, that is the step we are called to take in order to bring about a better Malaysia.
You are saying that because Anwar is one of the ‘front runners’ you are talking about.
You are saying that because one of the main culprit of the political mess currently is Anwar Ibrahim.
You are saying that because you agree with the undemocratic frog hunting tactics which Anwar is employing.
Anwar Ibrahim should concentrate on how he can help the rakyat right now, and talk about coming to power in the next general election.
The elections are over, it is an open secret that Anwar does not have the numbers. If Anwar continues with his drama queen stunts, we will be a 3rd world nation in no time.
We are Malaysians. We will decide who becomes the next prime minister, or even MP in the next general elections. We have already voted a few months ago. WE CANNOT STAND ANOTHER 5 YEARS OF POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY> ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Malaysians do have mouths to feed, children to educate and bills to pay. The last thing we need right now is political uncertainty.
PKR goons have the right to demonstrate. But as responsible citizens, please think of the negative impact daily demonstrations brings to our country, and the man on the street.
ANWAR and other power hungry PKR goons should just shut the fuck up, and wait for the next general elections.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
Please don’t try to fool people with promises of a so-called ‘better Malaysia’. Stop the idealism crap, I think we have been hearing that since forever from the PR ball carriers.
The elections are over, 82 MPs from PR has been voted in. It’s time to walk the talk. The rakyat are fuming with PR. They have yet to deliver anything. Anwar Ibrahim do not dare to run anywhere in KL or Selangor because the rakyat have seen how Pakatan cannot live up to their idealistic promises in the real world.
Dont think you represent the majority!!
I for one think DSAI is spot on in what he is doing! Exposing the weakness of the current govt.
You 2 jokers want to blame the current economy malaise, the mismanagement of our oil resources etc etc etc, dont blame DSAI, blame the right people!
Blame Barisan for our problems!!! If you had wanted a full solution for all our problems, PR needs to be in Federal Govt first!!!
Life has to go on even if after 16th Sept.2008 ,nothing happens . Practicality beats idealism . Who becomes the next PM is the last on the mind of a father who has hungry school going children to feed !
We can equally tell the BN goons to f**k up, they have sodomized us for the last 50 years especially the last 30 years they have robbed the rakyats dried. You have the blooming cheek to ask us to keep silent? Go and wet your ass, you are riped for the picking by your BN goons, they very often screw among themselves!!
Nat,
I agree so much on things that you put forward. True enough that this is the time not to “merajuk” and ignore what’s happening around us at this crucial testing moment. It’s not AI fault that the situation turns so badly. We just have to continue the struggle. If we have been patient for the last 10 years.. we can do it now.. InsyaAllah!
I like what NikNazmi quoted from Thomas Paine that he wrote in his blog – these are times that try men’s souls……
Well done Nat! May God Bless you
Wait for the next GE to change the Government? The damage done may be irreversible by then. Our next generation may have to become maids and labourers in some foreign lands.
http://www.malaysiawaves.com/
sigh, your whole post was pointless. the point is, when is anwar going to walk the walk?
he has been talking, and talking, and talking, and talking. fact is, he doesn’t have enough MPs to cross-over. fact is, he doesn’t have more evidence to prove wrongdoing.
if he did have any one of those, why is he waiting around and watching pak lah getting stronger by the day?
how about he quit the cock-talking, and get down to work. if you don’t have the numbers or the evidence, fine. start working towards the next elections. work on strengthening your foothold on your new states. work on improving your new states.
as and when you get your hands on controversial material, expose it. don’t talk about “next few days”, cos as we all know, anwar’s “next few days” never come. even if it does come, it will be a weak piece of evidence. probably the next thing he has to resort to is an SD done by himself ala raja petra.
so, how about just getting down to some actual work, and come next general election, kicking some serious ass?
you know, if you make it too obvious that you are in such a big hurry to takeover power, people are gonna start suspecting stuff.
Nat,
I would like to put this entry in my blog. Hope it’s ok for you :-)
nat: of course, no worries. thanks :)
Can’t concur with you more! Insightful argument. Succinctly written. Bloggers’ strike will only undermine the truth seeking mission.
May I quote: “All it takes for the devil to succeed is for one good person to do nothing”. The essence of this quote is ever more applicable now in the current murky abyss of will, sincerity and truth from the powers-that-be with their pathetically dinosauric mentality.
Kattan
Hello nat,
I agree with your stand. We should always demand and reveal truths in every aspect things we do.
Like you said like it or not, “somebody” has to be PM of Malaysia. No matter how we hate it, the drama that is unfold for now before us will likely decide who that someone will be.
PKR goons inded have the right to demonstrate or voice out their view stance. But as responsible citizens in our beloved country, please think wisely of the negative impact daily demonstrations brings to our country.
Anyway, is the writers ethical to emerge truth stories to the public regarding issues they wrote. However, they have to be responsible for their actions which will eventually change the public’s view and opinion concerning the issues, and also the impacts toward the country as a whole.
What can I say, people could change the world with just a pen, compared to using swords during the old days.
Dear Nat, I totally agree with your views. Profound!! One way to deal with inflation and to improve economic situation is to stop all deep rooted corrupt practices in the culture of present government!! Inflation is partly caused by how the government in using the country’s funds. Inflation may be world wide but in a rich country like Malaysia, this can be ameliorated. While Anwar takes the tops on in a hard and big way, PR MPs must not forget their roles to work hard within their limitations to make changes for the betterment of the Rakyat they represnt. Regardless of who becomes the next PM, the Motivation is to fight for a Clean and Transparent Government for the Rakyat.
Reading some of the comments on this post, I have two things to say:
(1) Whether some bloggers go on strike or carry on writing has no bearing on the intelligence of Malaysians. We are smart enough to discern the truth from the lies in the MSM, let alone among the blogs.
(2) despite all the political turmoil that the country is in, the good consequence of it all is that Malaysians(incl bloggers) from all walks and quarters can generally discuss and debate intelligently without getting emotionally worked up. Intelligent online discussions and constant dialogue with the elected government will eventually lead to a peaceful solution, especially between BN and PR and the third force, the rakyat.
(3) We should focus on the issues involved rather than jump on quick solutions such as changing the government, imposing temporary emergency rule or more absurdly, using Islamic courts to judge the alleged sodomy incidents. Religious issues should be tackled on their own merit and be completely separated from issues on race, politics or economics.
(4) If PR takes over and gets rid of corruption in a year’stime, that is great but sorry, folks, that will not cause inflation to come down. Pls study Econs 101 or not let yourself be hoodwinked by partisan policitcs.
My advice is for the government to deal with today’s problems of inflation and accountability in public finances asap.
Restore rakyat’s confidence that the government is trustworthy and above partisan politics, then we can see some improvement in the current climate of mudslinging, soap opera and a full dose of bloggers’ jokes to amuse us for months.
anti-anwar,
Dont lump the shit we are in today to Anwar or PR. We are in the gutter today because for 50 over years we had UMNO-BN.
What you see today, the fucked up economy, judiciary, police, standard of education, poor health care facilities etc are the end result of the last 50 years.
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