“Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.”
Otto von Bismarck, German Chancellor
THE Federal Constitution has politely made it possible for Malaysian apologists, polemicists, pacifists, optimists, pessimists, isolationists and fence-sitters to co-exist.
Meanwhile, racists and extremists have secured permanent membership in the cult of irrationality.
The apologist speaks up for all that is right and wrong in the hope of not ruffling feathers.
The polemicist, on the other hand, insists on stirring, stoking and formenting trouble for all the right purposes.
The pacifists believe that the contours of religion and politics have fused due to the vitamins supplied and supplemented by abject atavistic racism.
Isolationists simply don’t care.
Malaysia boasts a vibrant heterogeneous society.
The polemicists are quick to say that equality is on steroids because of the constitutionally prescribed ‘special position’.
Apologists take no issue with that constitutional prescription so long as cultural, moral or financial fatalities are averted for those not enjoying a ‘special position’.
Malaysians have become experts in explaining equity and equality with equanimity and dignity.
That’s political maturity. Polemicists feel betrayed when they are unable to throw a stone into the hornets’ nests.
They believe ‘special position’ grants some communities prescribed advantages and benefits seemingly denied to others.
Article 153 Federal Constitution is singled out as the unwitting culprit for the excessive executive misuse of the ambiguous ‘special position’ crutch which is often misjudged as ‘special rights and privileges’.
Article 153 maybe myopic depending on the protagonists.
Whatever was conceptualised could have found better utterance with grammarians and wordsmiths in the Reid Commission. Hundreds of windows and doors have been flung open for the ‘legitimate interests of all other communities’ as enshrined in Article 153.
Yet, invoking and claiming our God-given rights appear near impossible.
The Reid Commission was evidently mindful of Natural Law — the harbinger of peace in a turbulent world of man-made (f) laws.
Article 153 is the epitome of every citizen’s expectations — there for the claiming and the taking.
So, where’s the problem? What is the issue? Why the fuss? The Madani government should not shirk its responsibility to ensure, insure, and assure contentment for every citizen.
We don’t have a Speakers Corner — yet. A perfect haven for parliamentarians to listen to the citizens’ views and opinions. This two-way street should usher in a new wave in the science of politics.
Talking, discussing, debating, deliberating and legislating may be the mainstay of parliamentarians, but do our selected and elected truly represent the electors’ cherished values and beliefs?
There is no legislated law that mandates dialogue as a crucial and vital element in any democracy.
The selected and elected must come down from their ivory towers to engage in open discussions with the public.
Free, frank and fearless dialogue should become the preferred coin of the realm. Malaysians should insist on such mind-opening gatherings. Transparency begets accountability and responsibility.
Prejudices define mankind. Life is meaningless without some semblance of displayed prejudice feigning innocence and justification. Voltaire reasoned that ‘prejudices are what fools use for reason.’
And we must remember that ‘anyone who has the power to make you believe in absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices’. Putrajaya must listen to that other lament courtesy Voltaire.
Government may believe that ‘everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said.’ Healthy dialogue and transparent discussions will certainly discourage double standards.
Thorstein Veblen once suggested to President Woodrow Wilson in the early years of the 20th century that a fourth branch of government be established so that a handful of experts could take control of the economy.
Is Malaysia ripe for such an experiment? Our economy is stale, static and stagnant. The Ministry of Economic Affairs must employ and retain aggressive and seasoned professionals.
PMX must take advantage of and use the professional services of thousands of problem-fixers in our nation. We have political fixers, mixers and tricksters who are invariably the root cause of all our problems.
A Ministry of Open Communications would bring everybody together to find solutions, answers and remedies. Reality and realism are easier to gauge than political mantras. Citizens Cohesion Councils can do more than national unity.
PMX must listen to the voice of reason amid howling gales of passion to debilitate the prevalent counter-productive government policies. Solution: constant dialogue with the public.
Ultimately, PMX must ask himself whether politicians are problemfixers, seat-warmers, or paidflatterers. Regular dialogue with the public will avoid a slowmotion political tragedy.
Sadistic government policies must be abandoned. Law enforcement must be overhauled. Practical solutions must be researched. Stinking thinking must be avoided like the plague.
Malaysia has the human capital and natural resources to be an aggressive and assertive Asian Tiger, but the 4-R makes for a ‘hemisfear’ of hostility, hypocrisy, hatred and hubris. We got to get out of this choking cocoon.
Surely our selected and elected can see the self-inflicted wounds that seem immune to care and cure. Leaders want to look helpless. They refuse to fix the evident rot.
Malaysia needs urgent legislation like the Honest Services Act to guarantee citizens’ expectations from a proactive government. Law reform and constitutional amendment cannot be over-emphasised or underrated.
We should go beyond the rim of our restrictive and restricted consciousness. The challenge is real. Where’s the Pied Piper of peace, partnership, progress and prosperity?
The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune.
