People
don’t seem to learn from history- you can never get to status quo ante- to what it was before. Dr Mahathir had his 22
years- whether he comes back as mentor and be an indirect PM or arranged for
his horse to lead the country, it will not happen. Similarly, the joker who stakes
a claim as the Sultan of Melaka as well as some others, they forget that lesson in
history. We can never go back to what it was before. The days of absolute rulers
and discretionary rule are over.
The
difference between some of us in wanting Najib to step down as leader of this
country is; one side wants a return to strongman politics, while the other
wants to usher in a progressive government which governs according to the rule
of law and carries out more just and equal policies. The first group wants status quo ante- to what
it was before. What it was before were the halcyon days of Mahathir’s rule. The
tactical advantage the first group has is that it can point to a central figure representing its
particular political preference while our side, sad to say cannot provide such
a figure yet.
Are
we going to allow the return of the good old days of better organized pillage
and plunder instead of the free-for all dip in the teller under the current leadership?
We don’t want status quo ante and we certainly
reject the hubristic government of Najib.
Let
me say at the onset here- the reason why Najib enjoys an extended political
life much more than he actually deserves is because decent people like Tengku
Razaleigh Hamzah, too refined and principled, refuses or is hesitant to move
in. to my mind, he is the only credible central figure able to command
respectability and the widest appeal. It’s puzzling why he is slow off the
mark. So allow me to respectfully remind Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah of the
statement: ‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do
nothing’.
The
admiration for autocracy is reflective of the general rejection of
indecisiveness and detachment associated with the current leadership. The Najib leadership is not helped either by
stupid remarks from insensitive political duds. Eat less sugar to prevent
diabetes, eat other things if chickens are expensive, use other roads if you
don’t like paying tolls, leave this country for another if you don’t agree with
Putrajya. These are intellectually lazy arguments coming from thoughtless
persons. Why are these confused signals thrown around contemptuously? These
things happened, because Najib overplayed the elegant silence game. He doesn’t have
the courage and conviction to step in and stop these nonsensical sound bites
being spewed. He is not seen as stoic, cool and collected but viewed as
disturbed, withdrawn and empty-headed. There is a large vacuous space between those
ears.
The
idea of an over-assertive and decisive leadership is appealing. More so when
people now realise that Najib leadership lacked firmness and decisiveness.
Perhaps it stems from a taciturn and timid personality who wants to please
everyone. When he took over as PM, one of the advice he sought from a former
DPM was how to handle Dr Mahathir. Imagine that!
Now,
that is a revelation. His idea of managing the country is to please everyone. Things
like weeding out corruption, selecting the best men for a good government was
far from his mind. Using government machinery as a tool to bring about progress
and cultural change.
Managing
the ship of state was far from his mind- pleasing everyone was his primary
objective. He was told to treat Mahathir like a child throwing tantrums- pay
attention and treat Mahathir well and all will be all right. Obviously he
hasn’t- because strongman Mahathir exercises more influence over the UMNO
warlords than just being a spoilt child.
Our
side wants Najib to leave in order to pave the way for the creation of a just
government- democratic, upholding the rule of law, carrying out policies that
give all round decency to our citizens. Admittedly, the problem with our side, we
haven’t yet got a central rallying figure who can command all round respect and
confidence.
When
the ship is captain-less, it is directionless. When the ship of state is leaderless,
the country is aimless. There’s a sense of hopelessness in the air, emitting
the stench of decay. How do we describe
our leader? Only one word comes readily to mind. Hubris: which means, extreme
pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and
an overestimation of one’s own competence or capabilities, especially when the
person exhibiting it is in a position of power. As I have said in an earlier article, after
completing his presidential speech, Najib remarked that he has given a good speech.
Of course it was a good one given the adulation and the usual ululating from a
sanitized crowd. There is a saying attributed to a Greek Philisopher that Whom the
Gods would destroy, they first make mad.
The
Chinese in particular have no limiting sentimentalism to change a government.
They have this cultural concept of the mandate of heaven. When a leader is
blessed to rule, he receives the mandate from heaven. The mandate is withdrawn
when he is no longer fit to rule. The Mandate of Heaven was a well-accepted and
popular idea among the Chinese people. It places the problem of political
choice in a simple manner; leadership is changed in accordance to the giving
and withdrawal of the mandate of heaven. The concept was often invoked by
philosophers and scholars in ancient China as a way to curtail the abuse of
power by the ruler, in a system that otherwise offered little other checks to
this power.
The
Mandate of Heaven had no time limitations, instead depending on the just and
able performance of the ruler. Throughout the history of China, times of
poverty and natural disasters were often taken as signs that heaven considered
the incumbent ruler unjust and thus in need of replacement.
Malays
on the other hand has an inbuilt limiting sentimentalism. They complicate
political choice. We can’t change because who will look after us? We can’t change
because our religion will be threatened. We can’t change because our rulers
will be removed. We can’t change because there is no alternative to UMNO. We cannot
remove Najib because he is the son of Tun Razak and because he has red lips. Whereas,
if we simplify the matter, we only need to evaluate the performance of Najib and
the members of his government. Najib is
worse than sleep-prone Pak Lah.
Just
look around us. We are plagued with an increasing number of problems with
catastrophic implications. As a result of financial imprudence, the government
needs to increase taxes. It does that to finance the burgeoning bureaucracy and
to spend on projects by cronies. That’s all to it. No mystery there. Spending
on welfare is reduced and cut to allow more balance with the government to
pursue other business projects. The cost of living is rising, evidenced by the all-round
increase in prices of essentials such as clothing, food, housing and education.
Now,
those are clear signs, the mandate of heaven or God’s political subsidy must be
withdrawn. It must be returned to us, the rakyat.