It’s okay not to know much about politics

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair once said, “The single hardest thing for a practising politician to understand is that most people, most of the time, don’t give politics a first thought all day long. Or if they do, it is with a sigh before going back to worrying about the kids, the parents, the mortgage, the boss, their friends, their weight, their health, sex and rock ‘n’ roll.”

However, when it comes to Malaysia (or the Malaysia that I see today), plenty of us spend our time discussing about politics – whether it is at a chill-out session at your favourite mamak or the last family reunion.  In fact, the moment politics is permitted as a table topic, an enormous amount of passion seems to be ignited in our blood.  Everyone seems to have something to comment or slander to the extent if one were to meet a person who is not as well versed in the current affairs of the country, he would be scandalized. The first three words that might come to mind are – shallow, bigoted idiot!

Political ignorance is considered a big issue and it is indeed, especially when a nation strives to achieve an optimally functioning democracy. In an ideal situation, democracy can only flourish when all citizens have sufficient knowledge to make informed decisions as voters. We need to be aware of how accountable our politicians are, their empty promises and how beneficial public policies might be to the country.  This requires a certain amount of interest and diligence in understanding the political situation of the country.

I was facing a rather irritating “writer’s block” and had no idea about what my next piece should be about – skirting around the usual issues that we see in the news today and then I thought to myself, perhaps I should ask what people would like to read that is not given enough importance. Some said homelessness, poverty, labour exploitation, the environment etc. but it was my best friend’s suggestion that really caught my interest – how do I justify the general disinterest in politics, as a politically inclined writer?

Truly enough after much consideration, I do agree that to a certain extent, it is okay not to know much about politics.

Whether you are Malaysian or not, it is alright to not be able to reiterate every single ridiculous press statement, or describe the entire flow chart of alleged illicit funds.

A lack of political knowledge does not make one ignorant, in my opinion. It does not mean that our society is experiencing, as the writer Isaac Asimov would put it, a “strain of anti-intellectualism” that is being “nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge'”.

Rather, I do think that there are many Malaysians who do not have the privilege of spare time to think about greater civil society participation besides electoral voting, because some others tend to live for one day to another, tending to our families and such other duties.

As quickly politics seems to bring Malaysians together like how food does, it can just as quickly bring us apart. Everyone may appear to have the same concepts that govern our thoughts, but it can also differentiate and aggressively conflict. So when it does, it makes you wonder how drastically it can defeat our purpose to unite society, to strive for improvements.

Perhaps it is more important for us to focus on how we can foster a stable fellowship by practicing our beliefs in facilitating interracial tolerance between our neighbours or contributing our share in community service to uplift the underprivileged.

This unhealthy obsession of “keeping up with the Macais” certainly reflects on how “anti-intellectual” political awareness can be, because more frequently, it may not translate into action as it is only mere ramblings about what is going on in the corridors of power. We are easily compelled to spend time and energy on expressing our dissatisfaction about the poor leadership we are subjected to when we are quite detached from exercising control because we have parliamentarians to represent our communities – so why take such overwhelming interest?

One cannot be truly aware of all the things that happen in this world, otherwise one would go crazy. While some are not interested in political affairs, we could be the ones that seem ignorant for overlooking matters of equal importance such as – illegal poaching, global warming, drone wars, LGBT rights, nuclear deals, prostitution and so on.

Malaysians are quick to judge and criticize every breath someone takes or every move he makes, but we need to remind ourselves that it is the least important because what truly matters are both collective and individual morality, our principles, values and actions to contribute to the nation’s health, regardless of what aspect.

It is okay to not know much about politics, but all citizens need to fulfil a certain criteria in order to achieve the shared aspiration of democracy.

To me, political awareness is when citizens are equipped with knowledge about their constitutional rights. So when some politician comes up with an incredibly stupid idea, we are readily empowered to contest and argue intelligently about why it goes against our vision of Malaysia, rather than the empty hue and cry as we see today. 

When we have a good understanding about the fundamental liberties we are entitled to, it develops a culture of the ideals we have endorsed since Merdeka – whether it is at home, the workplace or social activities. It is this profound consciousness of liberal secularism and civil society participation that promotes integrity, transparency and justice in our governance.

We ought to redefine politically awareness and what constitutes political ignorance because the truth is, one can only run away so far when mankind’s determination to coexist is inevitably political in nature. It is okay not to know much about politics, as long as we are aware of how we can be a part of saving the nation, whether it is on the local scale or more, and it most definitely, does not require us to be fixated with the absurdity that distracts us from making a change. – July 23, 2015.

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