Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts. – Daniel P. Moynihan, former US Senator
If you come into government clean, honest and fair, you should leave that way too. If you come into government crooked and corrupt, you leave that way too. That’s the naked truth.
But, telling the truth is anathema in practical politics because the puppeteers believe that lying may be protected as free speech and expression. Alea iacta est – the die is cast.
To gain stature in politics, novice politicians must assiduously learn from Benjamin Disraeli that “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Another survival tactic for Pinocchio politics is ordained by Napoleon Bonaparte: “I am sometimes a fox and sometimes a lion. The whole secret of government lies in knowing when to be one or the other.”
The lying starts at the hustings, and gets bigger, better and bolder on polling day. If the candidate wins, he or she will go after honing their skills in crass prevarication or sophisticated mendacity. That’s a given in the survival game of gutter politics.
When the going gets tough, the liar is usually caught and is hauled in for questioning. With a seasoned lawyer in tow, courtesy Article 5(3) Federal Constitution (FC), legal prevarication becomes a professional game of wits.
A liar once swore in as court of law that he was once a pathological liar, and that he is now swearing to tell the truth as he is no longer a pathological liar. Go figure.
Section 79 of the Malaysian Penal Code is a treasure trove for Pinocchio politics. It allows one to think or assume that he or she is justified by law when making a grave error in good faith while being accountable to the public trust!
Meanwhile, section 24 of the Code refers to dishonesty. But sections 79 and 24 put together seem impotent in securing a successful prosecution. Our laws are riddled with flaws designed by dirty paws with toxic claws.
Mark Twain was sarcastically optimistic when he cautioned that “once in a while an innocent man is sent to Congress.”
So, can honest politics begat honest government? What if the super-rich proven to be beyond corruption of morals gain control of government and politics? Will that gain traction and attraction to the voters?
The intent, content and extent of Article 43(6) FC (Oath of secrecy), the supreme law of the land, suggests that ministers are totally insulated for all the wrong reasons and purposes.
There is no constitutional oath to tell the truth. That would be more conducive to the expectations of honest government than an oath of secrecy. Truth and secrets have ominous consequences.
Oaths of allegiance neatly tucked into oaths of secrecy are clever, crafty and full of chicanery aimed at fooling the public.
Together with the Official Secrets Act 1972, ministers are constitutionally safe and secure from prying questions of morals or ethics by law enforcement. Or so it appears.
The lying has gotten so bad that people don’t matter at all. It’s all about politicians vying to stay in power. And they seem to be very good at it by paying homage to tried and tested oral traditions.
Mikhail Bakunin chronicles the agony and anguish of the people thus: “political freedom without economic equality is a pretence, a fraud, a lie; and the workers want no lying.”
Some spin-doctors dismiss Bakunin as a socialist, a Marxist, and a pseudo-communist – if there is such a label. Is it morally wrong that from each according to his ability, and to each according to his need, is toxic socialism that devours democracy?
Pinocchio politics allows the passage of laws that subtly mislead so that they can be cleverly misapplied. Challenge it in a court of law to gauge the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers which, in and of itself, is a wooden lie.
“Every legal power must have legal limits, otherwise there is a dictatorship,” cautioned the Federal Court in Pengarah Tanah dan Galian v. Sri Lempah Enterprise Sdn. Bhd. (1979) 1 MLJ 135.
If only Sri Lempah could have the power and potency to enforce honest government.
One prime minister was imprisoned for larceny and lying in the process. What if he had taken Article 43(6) FC as a bulletproof shield? After all, his lawyers could have argued that it is the supreme law of the land, and that the alleged siphoning of government-owned funds was necessary and needful for national security purposes that required secrecy!
There is no escape from Pinocchio politics. Power is a necessary evil, but in the wrong hands, it is lethal and destructive to the detriment of the people. What is the exit strategy?
Our laws need genuine no-nonsense enforcement power. Our FC needs to be amended and tweaked to remove certain powers from politicians playing an advisory role to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Fortuitously, the Agong’s legislative authority under Article 44 FC saves the day if the prime minister offers wrong or improper advice to the Agong per Article 43(2)(b) FC.
Various ways and means are available to save our nation if and when concerned citizens are able to rally the right genre of support that will yield meaningful and constructive consequences.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
