Light at the end of the tunnel?

As the year comes to a close, the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” feels a long way off as the tunnel seems seamless.

For the litany of unending woes; social, economic and political, that occupy centre stage in Malaysian politics, one is not going to be blamed for being despondent and despairing.

While some problems have appeared recently, older ones have mutated to even more bizarre outcomes. Indeed the cliché of a perfect storm gathering momentum, is no longer an exclusive observation of political pundits.

That the current political turbulence has affected adversely the country’s reputation, business climate and the façade of a working democracy, is indeed an understatement.

On the economic front, the intense pressure on Malaysia’s finances posed by a confluence of negative factors has surely dampened further investment sentiment.

While some are attributable to external factors; the continuing slump in crude oil price, a slowing global economy especially China and a prolonged outflow of foreign capital, domestic factors are however invariably self-inflicted.

Local economists have alluded to poor fiscal mismanagement and systemic weaknesses related to good governance. Stubborn fiscal deficit and ballooning debt services cost continue unabated.

As if the good and services tax (GST) in April and the subsidy rationalisation programmes weren’t sufficient to inflict the agony on the rakyat, the spectre of unwelcome hike; highways toll, public transportation; LRT, monorail and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad, couldn’t be more sadistic.

The sufferings of the overburdened rakyat have aggravated manifold with the rising cost of living, job losses and further unemployment especially amongst graduates.

While there is a widespread consensus to the clarion call to reduce the inflationary pressure of goods and services, there is lesser consensus of how to go about achieving it.

After the convoluted investigation into the affairs of the state strategic investment fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and the expose in July by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of the RM2.6 billion “donation”, Malaysian political trajectory has taken a bizarre turning for the worse. It has indeed dominated the entire Malaysian current political history.

The spate of sackings of his deputy and the attorney general coupled with a cabinet reshuffle, were interpreted, by many, as “acts of desperation” to curb further calls for transparency and possibly of criminal charges.

The Public Account Committee (PAC) was rendered dysfunctional, while the Special Task Force dismantled. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) were not spared. The acts that are “detrimental to parliamentary democracy” have taken a new meaning in the Malaysian constitutional lexicology.

To demand an end to the PM’s perceived corrupt practices, the streets of Kuala Lumpur witnessed yet another mammoth demonstration of the yellow T-shirts of Bersih 4.0 on the eve of Merdeka Day.  This was counteracted by the “red-shirt” demonstration.

Very regrettably though, political events in Malaysian current history could only be interpreted by the jaundiced media from the rubric of racial and religious schism. It further heighten communal relations and stoked inter-religious tension.

In the same vein of strengthening the executive grip on power particularly over the legislative and the judiciary, the passing of the most draconian piece of legislation, the National Security Council (NSC) Bill, is a final blow to the integrity overhang of Putrajaya.

Anxiety and pessimism are mounting when laws like the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca), Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) and Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) witnessed abuses on legitimate dissent accused of “attempted sabotage of the Malaysian economy”.

The Umno general assembly visibly depicted the president taking on his critics on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), namely Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his deputy, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

If his speech was anything to go by, one could surmise the impact of it all, when Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, a former bureaucrat, has to write an open letter of sort in a local media of “how he felt left out”.

Najib has conveniently forgotten that he is the prime minister of Malaysia and not only a president of Umno, a Malay party, albeit the biggest one. Again he was overly appeasing the Malay psyche and pounding on Malay fear, all for his own survival.

The time has surely come for the Malaysian politics to craft a “higher order of political thinking”. The task of the next (read new) Malaysian government, should there ever be one, is of a different order of magnitude.

It requires a sea-change in Malaysia’s social, institutional and economic systems and a "revolution" in the mind-sets of all stakeholders, namely the leaders and the rakyat.

This writer would implore that all political parties, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the entire citizenry, embark on a bigger national conversation and an agenda of “a justly balanced and inclusive Malaysia” and the creation of a new socially-just model of sustainable socio-economic development.

Representing the new kid on the block, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), we humbly express our undivided commitment to advocate the Maqasid of Islam, (higher intentions and objectives of Islam) as the basis of our struggle.

We uphold the cardinal principles of justice, rule of law and freedom of belief, plurality, civility, human rights, equality, accountability, integrity and good governance, as the main cornerstones of nation-rebuilding, as expounded by astute contemporary scholars of Islam, the like of Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardhawi.

We must all strive to avoid turning the nation’s current misfortunes into a self-fulfilling prophesy of doom. We must forge a vibrant contestation of ideas, performance and all enriching developmental programmes for “a better Malaysia for all”.

It is a gargantuan task indeed but do it we must. Given the current disarray in the opposition fraternity, I say it with the tongue in my cheek; shall this be the silver lightning in the Malaysian sky?

Will there be light at the end of the tunnel? – December 23, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.