Sometimes I lament how fast time passes. One year has breezed past my eyes and my motherland is a year older now. It seems only a few days (ok maybe not, probably about a few weeks) ago that I wrote my piece in conjunction with Malaysia's 50th National Day, and now I'm back again with (hopefully not another) politically charged piece. I've refrained from being political on this blog, one as to not irk the views of my readers, and two as to avoid being charged with sedition or whatever law they can think of to limit my freedom on the Internet. But hey ho, doing it only once a year isn't too bad I hope...
Yes, we all know about the political tsunami of 10th March, Malaysia's 13th General Election. I can't recall whether I have blogged about that but oh well, as it stands, Malaysia might be at the cusp of a new dawn (what a cliche, I know...) 'The people have spoken!' says the opposition, and for the first time in our 51 years of history, we might see another ruling party in power in the near future. What I want to concentrate on in this post is that being anti-government is NOT being unpatriotic.
Yes.
You read that right.
I find it incredulous that some people can still be duped into believing that being anti-government is an unpatriotic act. This misguided belief (I hope the word 'misguided' is mild enough) goes against the very foundations of democracy. Democracy demands that the people have a choice in choosing who they want to be in power, and it certainly means that they have the freedom to choose between a party's manifesto and the next. In a democratic country a government is not permanent anyway. It is the mandate of the people given to the ruling party in the General Election which is subject to review every five years or so. That means that we have the liberty to support whichever candidate or party that we see fit. Just because a person does not vote for a government candidate, he/she cannot be deemed as anti-establishment. This goes for government servants, workers under the government payroll etc. as well. Sure, the government pays your salary, but not the ruling party. It does not matter if you support the opposition, they will still pay your salary because you are contracted by the government, not the ruling party. Sure, our nation has not seen a change in government since independence, but the people should have the maturity to separate politics from governing policies. It is not unpatriotic to be anti-government and being anti-government shouldn't be taken as anti-establishment or pengkhianat. Our rights are enshrined in the Federal Constitution, and we are given the liberty, the duty to choose what is best for our country.
In actual fact, democracy works best when there are more credible options to choose from to form the government. It is a system of check and balance -- the Opposition keeping the Government in line, in a way giving constructive input for the betterment of the nation. Of course, this is very much idealistic thinking. In parliament we have seen our MPs tossing insults at each other, leading mass walkouts, and in the case of Taiwan, brawling, throwing chairs and basically doing everything that do not justify their paycheck or the people's confidence in them. As the representative of their constituency, MPs are suppose to be protecting the interests of their people and giving constructive input into the country's governing policies, not throwing hissy fits or hurling insults at each other. They have an obligation to fulfil, but sadly much politics have crept into our parliamentary system. MPs toe the line of party rules, which explicitly demand that they support any motion tabled by their party. If not, the party chief whip takes action against their 'indiscipline'. Blatant dictatorship I say. Elected MPs are servants of the people, and should know to who they answer to. Sure they might have won on a party ticket, but when it come to deciding on government policies, they should always have the people's interests at heart first. It is not about who tables the motion, but whether the motion will benefit the people. Political parties should not tie the hands of their elected MPs for deciding what is better for the people that they represent.
In all the developed countries you see what is known as a 'two-party' system, the basis of their check and balance. Nobody would call you unpatriotic because of your political views, because you have freedom of choice. It is almost an anomaly in the history of democracy that a party can maintain power in government for 50 years. A probable cause of this is that maybe most Malaysians think that our country lacked a credible Opposition to provide another viable option to form the government, until now that is. Or maybe we Malaysians just prefer stability and peace (or mere delusions of both). Whatever the reason, there is no more excuse to shirk our responsibilities as voters and people of this proud nation anymore. The general election has proved that society is ready for change, and it is time to choose with a conscience, and with common sense, for better, or for worst. We all want what is best for our beloved country, and a better democratic system is clearly a step in the right direction.~Zhongy~
P/S I think I went totally off topic with this one... Pardon me on that =)
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