The building brick of society.

The building brick of society- it's the family. The persons/leaders, who forfeit the management of family values, don't deserve our support and trust to lead us. I don't mean to sound condescending, but family values form the basis of good government actually. It's one of the bedrock of the Confucian idea to establish peace under heaven. The individual in our society always operates in the context of the family.

The family unit and the values grounded on this building brick of society actually sums our hopes and fears we have for our society and eventually, our government, our nation. It's in this context that I find Sanusi JUnid's latest posting on his blog, his seminal piece.

Seterusnya, jika kita rujuk kepada keadaan keluarga sebagai asas kepada keharmonian dalam masyarakat dan negara :

TIDAKKAH KITA MERASA BIMBANG, GUNDAH DAN GELISAH, APABILA MENDENGAR

begitu ramai yang membuang atau membunuh anak, kisah cerai berai menjadi-jadi, anggota Parlimen, sebagai penggubal undang-undang, yang sepatutnya menjadi contoh dan teladan, tersenyum lebar menerima hukuman penjara, kerana berpoligami,

tanpa mengikut undang-undang; pemimpin terus merebut jawatan tertinggi dalam parti walau pun terdedah dengan skandal seksnya,

pemimpin parti dari satu agama yang mempunyai dua orang isteri dari dua agama yang berbeza,

pemimpin yang mengharapkan kesalahannya, jika terbukti nanti, terampun dengan popularitinya,

pemimpin yang terus mempertahankan kedudukannya sebagai pemimpin walaupun disahkan mengamalkan rasuah politik,

dan akhir-akhir ini kita terbaca dalam Mingguan Warta Perdana seorang isteri Menteri menyerang seorang pelakon yang jelita. Sudah tentu keluarga yang terlibat berada dalam sengsara.

Mampukah mereka yang keluarganya dalam sengsara mengamankan negara, dan membahagiakan rakyat jelata?

Kita juga letih mendengar nasihat dari mereka yang pernah menjadi pemimpin, yang mengecewakan, tidak berhenti-henti turut memberi nasihat dalam berbagai perkara pula. Bolehkah, sebagai rakyat, kita katakan kepada mereka, dalam bahasa yang mereka mudah faham - 'please leave us alone.'


 

One UMNO leader with whom I have always been and am fascinated is Sanusi Junid. Whenever he rose to speak during UMNO general assemblies, I would be at my most attentive self. In one particular year, I sat spellbound when he characterised Malaysian politics by using the Ringgit notes as analogies. The most expensive being politics with the picture of the Malaysian parliament depicted on that note. I can't remember which Ringgit note- perhaps it was the Thousand Ringgit note.

I attended several of his talk sessions whenever I had the opportunity. As he was a leader of the MAYC, he spoke at many MAYC functions. Though never a member of any youth organisations, I would try to attend his talk sessions. I found whatever topics he spoke on to be interesting. He has this uncanny ability to weave his speech with anecdotal wisdoms.

I shall always remember his formulaic characterisation of a good leader- ABDRS- Amanah, Berani, Disiplin, Rajin Dan Setia. At other times he regaled us with the story of si Tobeng. In his latest blog, he tells us again, the story of the fishes in Ho Chih Min's home that would jump when people clap their hands.

He is the one, Anwar Ibrahim feared most in Dr Mahathir's team. Anwar would ask his people to immediately get tape recordings of what Sanusi said at his speeches. I can never forget Sanusi's story about the animals he looked after when he was the Agriculture Minister.

Saya jaga banyak binatang di dalam tugas saya sebagai menteri pertanian. Tapi yang paling saya tak tahan ialah babi- kerana binatang ini akan menyondol kita dari belakang.

I once attended a Hari Raya function at his home in Bangsar. As I took off my shoes, Sanusi told me- keep your shoes in a safe place. Ini, adik adik saya, bukan boleh percaya sangat bila tengok kasut cantik. Nanti hilang….We all let out guffaws.

I hope our UMNO leaders think about what Sanusi said. Everyone in Malaysia was stunned with incredulity at the spectacle of the windbag from the land below the wind, smiling upon being sentenced to a month's jail. The symbolism behind the cynical smile wasn't lost on many of us- the couple simply made a mockery and poked fun at Islamic law. He should be given a heavier sentence.

Leaders who made a virtue of owning up to his sexual exploits continue to lead others. Something is clearly wrong with our value system.

Leaders who don't seem to take seriously the religious sanctions against allowing spouses to retain their original different faiths. The obvious implication here is that religion has become a private thing. What religious denominations will the children follow? Can they decide what they want at a young age and then, midway, adopt different religions?

The basic political unit is the family actually. There is a serious note in Sanusi's anecdotal essay- the basic unit of society is the family. It is very difficult for us to accept that one who isn't able to manage his/her family affairs can handle the country and serve as its leaders. The husband who can't manage the wife is easily seen to be subservient.

The family and family values ran through the entire Confucian idea of establishing the ideal government. In an interview with Fareed Zakaria, Lee Kuan Yew spoke on this theme. They are represented in the Confucian maxim of XIUSHEN QIJIA ZHIGUO PINGTIANXIA. They are essentially a formulaic summary which offers counsel toward the ideal of "great peace under heaven," which is another term for judicious government. The ultimate goal in Confucian political philosophy, as stated in this aphorism, is to bring peace under heaven (pingtianxia). How does one do this?

To do so, one must first be able to keep one's own household in order (qijia), which in turn requires that one cultivate "self" (xiushen). This teaching is a political philosophy that emphasizes the role of government and stresses the ruling elite's moral obligation to strive to bring about peace under heaven. Peace under heaven in turn encapsulates such ideas as public safety, national security, and water and forest management and also, this concept of peace under heaven should be interpreted to include peaceful living and existence for all things under heaven.

But always, the basic building block is the management of the family and family values. I hope UMNO leaders read what Sanusi is saying and study them further.