What does it take to kill hope?

“Hope is the first step in the road to disappointment”, goes a line in the Sci-Fi book “Dawn of War”.

Like many Malaysians, I have always refused to believe that a country with one of the highest internet penetration rates in Southeast Asia and with a sizeable population of educated citizens could lack the means and support to push for a government that is morally and legally transparent.

I refused to believe that while the rest of the world and a least half of the Malaysian population were up-in-arms over Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s ready acceptance of an RM2.6 billion “donation”, the elite echelons of our leadership could still feign ignorance and continue playing “boss”.

I held fast to the hope that 2016 could see satisfactory answers for two pertinent questions that lingered in 2015 – who was responsible for the billions of losses incurred by state investment firm 1MDB, and what happened to the billions deposited into our prime ministers bank account?

But If Malaysia’s 2015 was a year defined by the 1MDB controversy and the RM2.6 billion donation scandal, then 2016 looks set to be the year that kills hope, going by how it has started.

Political disappointment

Barely into the first month of 2016, Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali announced that a 6-month investigation has culminated into a decision that there was insufficient evidence to prove any criminal wrongdoing by Najib for accepting RM2.6 billion.

Cynics and critics will say they expected nothing more from an attorney-general whose very appointment was wrought in controversy when his predecessor, who was heading a taskforce probing the financial wrongdoing of 1MDB, appeared to be replaced rather hastily last June.

But expected or not, the dismissal of the “donation” controversy has landed a hard blow to the hopes of all Malaysians who still believed that change is within our control.

We have already witnessed the systemic dismantling of a taskforce meant to investigate the 1MDB controversy; the firing of a critical deputy prime minister; and too many other instances where our leaders have traded integrity and transparency for political mileage and self-serving interests.

Throughout all the criticisms and media spotlight of 2015, Najib’s political position remains as strong, if not stronger, today.

Even politicial heavyweights such as his former mentor Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad and former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, appear to have mellowed in their criticism, worn down from the lack of any real progress in their efforts.

Economic hardship

Nothing kills idealism better than economic strife, as bread-and-butter concerns are the most effective “distractions” from issues of transparency and good governance.

In the backdrop of a trying global economy and a hike in the cost of living, Malaysians are finding less and less reasons to remain hopeful for political change.

Lower-to-middle class Malaysians will find 2016 a financially challenging year as many companies here have already begun cutting jobs, annual budgets and expenditures In pre-empting an almost-definite global economic slowdown.

An unproven political alternative

There’s nothing that quite kills hope as much as a fallen hero, and for most Malaysians, 2015 was about coming to terms with a failed Pakatan Rakyat, what was once seen as the agent of political change.

Held high as a beacon of hope after the 2008 general elections, many in Pakatan Rakyat had instead turned out to be just as arrogant, uninspiring and self-serving as the leaders they were voted to replace.

It is therefore understandable that Malaysian voters remain wary of the newly-formed Pakatan Harapan, and the leaders of its three member parties will have their jobs cut out for them in convincing Malaysians to renew their faith in the opposition alliance.

For hope to thrive, Malaysians must have a stable and viable political alternative in which they can support. And unfortunately, we have yet to see that in Pakatan Harapan.

The road to disappointment?

There are still those who refuse to accept corruption and the pillaging of our country’s resources as a norm.

But from the man-on-the-street to local politicians, none of the Malaysians I have spoken to of late dare to believe that the public will ever get more than half-baked explanations about 1MDB’s colossal losses, or that we will ever get details into how Najib spent the billions that he took in his personal account.

Less and less people are also daring to believe in the idea that our country can one day actually boast a clean and transparent government, with leaders who do not spew inflammatory racial and religious rhetoric for political gain.

2016 has so far given us very little to cling on to, and may just be the year where many journey from hope to disappointment. – January 31, 2016.

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