Totalitarian attitude of political party supporters

Many, though not all, supporters of political parties are inclined to develop a totalitarian attitude.

Look up the definitions of totalitarian and see if it applies to the way supporters of political parties behave these days: complete subservience; intolerance of differing opinion; bullying; exercising control over the freedom, will or thought of others.

Take the curious case of Syed Saddiq, the man who frequently appeared on news as “Asia’s top debater”.

Some of my girlfriends are huge fans of him. Maybe because he is intelligent and handsome... never mind.

Syed Saddiq burst into prominence among the Malaysian public with his viral Facebook post slamming the daughter of a very high-ranked politician, who ridiculed Bersih 4 participants as “stupid”.

Coming to the defence of Bersih supporters, Syed Saddiq said every citizen has the right to free speech, not just a privileged few like her.

His stance is popular among those who follows the alternative media. So much so that his subsequent Facebook posts usually attract reporters who turned them into news articles.

Malaysiakini even interviewed him and ran a piece titled “Meet Syed Saddiq, your freedom of speech crusader”.

But last week, Syed Saddiq was on the receiving end of vicious remarks by the same crowd who once adored him. What did he do?

He criticised Tony Pua for his “half-hearted debate challenge”.

Supporters of the opposition party rushed to throw all sorts of labels and disparaging remarks about Syed Saddiq.

You know, the usual drills e.g. “He is a macai”, “Paid by the government”, “No brain”, “May be good in debate but knows next to nothing when it comes to politics”.

His debate calibre was once seen as a shining exemplar of young and intelligent chaps. Now, since his latest remark is not in sync with the beliefs of these people, they ridiculed him.

If we pay close attention, notice how similar these remarks are to that of the government supporters. That students are not mature enough, that vocal university students are puppets and are being used by the opposition to create troubles, et cetera.

These were the same people who roared in approval when Syed Saddiq called the prime minister “a national disgrace”. It seems as if only when a person says something we like, he is intelligent. When he says something we don’t like, he is an idiot.

Having been on the receiving end of verbal tirades from both camps, I don’t have any doubt that supporters of political parties can be vicious when it comes to defending their party.

They will lament that others lack critical thinking and don’t see all the failures of their rival parties, but when it comes to their own party, they seldom reflect critically and would blame others for not seeing things the way they do.

It’s like some teachers who want their students to practise critical thinking. But if the students reach a conclusion which is not exactly what the teacher wants, then the teacher says the students have not been critical enough.

It’s easy to point fingers at others, but sometimes one ought to take a good look at the mirror.

After all the post-GE13 fiascos, if one still cannot see the pathetic failures of the both the government and opposition parties, all of them, one must be either blind or overtly-religious.

I’m not saying that a political party must be perfect. Of course, they aren’t. But what irks me is that their supporters refuse to even acknowledge their shortcomings and mistakes, let alone fixing them.

Leadership made up of mostly one race? Nah, it’s okay. It’s not about race. Feudal politics and thuggish warlords? Nah, the other side is worse. Millions and billions of corruption? Nah, it’s better than having the side (or kafirs) rule the country.

There is a term for something which the majority of supporters of political parties engages in. It is called denial syndrome.

Maybe it’s about political loyalty and one may argue that supporters and members of a political party ought to defend the party. But when it happens to the other side, we say they are akin to guide dogs for the blind.

Like backdoor appointment and party hopping. It’s okay when we do it, but it’s not okay when others do it.

Looking at this behaviour, I don’t see much difference between overtly partisan opposition supporters and government supporters. If they are not able to tolerate criticism (tak boleh ditegur) before they take power, do you think it will get any better once they are in power?

When will we learn that two persons having different or opposing views do not entail that we have to engage in bitter and acrimonious mudslinging?

There is no need to stoop so low and disparage those who you disagree with. After all, if one is so confident in his/her version of the truth, there is no need to launch into all sorts of accusations and verbal tirade at all.

I have friends from both camps. When I am with friends who are pro-government, I try to be pro-opposition. When I am with friends who are pro-opposition, I try to be pro-government.

It’s not about being the devil’s advocate per se. It’s about being the one who questions those who simply jump on the bandwagon, and checking your friends to make them a better politician (if they wish to become one) or a better political activist. If it’s just any cybertrooper or keyboard warrior, I don’t care.

So the next time you are with your bunch of friends who are into politics, instead of boosting their egos, you will do them a favor by examining their position.

Question them, “tegur” them, make them confront the not-so-pretty reality of their own political party (that’s where they can most likely make a change after all), and check their advance towards developing a totalitarian attitude.

If they are not “tegur-able”, at least you will discover early on about their true nature. – November 7, 2015.

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