End the monkey business – Tariq Ismail

We have barely ushered in the Chinese New Year, yet Malaysia’s political quagmire has caused a feeling of fear among its citizens.

Fear about Malaysia’s political shortcomings and lack of faith in our institutions that has resulted in a fog of cynicism which will surely cause a ship to travel through dangerous waters to be lost.

As we all know, a ship lost at sea, with no clear direction will either crash into a rock that will sink it or, eventually, clear open water.

All it will take to bring us down is one group introducing some kind of shock therapy, thinking that it is a means to an end. But such action only shows the group’s own shallow shortcomings.

Both sides of the political divide as well as their far right components and their so-called “moderate” opponents must bear the blame.

Some “moderates” have turned out to be as intolerant and divisive as their far right nemeses. The year of the Fire Monkey should not become an opportunity to turn cheekiness into foolhardiness.

We must constantly remind ourselves that in 1957, this nation had imposed a mandate upon all of us that were born in this land, to support and to defend it at all costs.

This mandate is the basic foundation upon which Malaysians can unite and build our nation, our Federal Constitution. Independence was and is only the prelude for this nation to continue the struggle, for us to acquire the right to conduct our own economic and social affairs.

Today, I see this foundation being discarded and thrown to the corner while men and women with megalomaniac tendencies further divide and exploit our people.

Rule of law has become rule by law, and governance structures have been corrupted into mechanisms that alienate the people. No sporadic act nor pious resolution can address the present problems that our beloved country faces. These have become deeply embedded and endemic.

We must decide today, now, whether we wish to sink or swim together, whether this nation reaches independent adulthood or fades into failed nationhood. Constant rhetoric and debates on religion and adjectives to label this nation will not solve the socio-economic issues that threaten to tear this country apart.

But it is also important to be aware that, faced with issues that plague a people, and where seems to be no hope or beacon for help, a community will turn to religion which offers hope and personal salvation. Criticising the conduct of a religious institution does not give anyone the licence to attack a dogma or a community’s culture.

Therefore, I would like to ask these very groups from the far right to the so-called moderates like the G25, does the displacement of one person’s personal salvation simply to satisfy another group’s personal “salivations” solve anything?

Can these paths of personal “salivations” bring the institutional reforms that are needed to enable us to concentrate on the socio economic issues?

Do we want to build bridges and find common grounds for saving ourselves or do we want to continue to dig our own trenches and graves?

I would like to remind everyone that this nation is on the nexus of change, about to embark on a path that either brings us economic advancement or regression (regression, only if we continue to carry on with this lunacy and disregard social costs).

If we ignore this looming reality and carry on as we are doing, disregarding the social costs and the roles that each and every one of us has to play, then we are doomed.

But if we wake up and do the right things, we could save ourselves.

The question is, are we ready? I think not.

Our national destiny requires us to work and move as one, and the Federal Constitution is this foundation. To gain our economic independence, we must have the political will and combine our strengths to work towards economic and educational equality.

Equality does not mean one community trumping over another nor does it mean that, because one community is handicapped by poor political decisions, we can further exploit them to achieve political goals.

Equality in the Malaysian socio-economic concept must mean recognising and accepting each other and lending our strengths to help the weak.

The social and economic development of Malaysia will only come with the right politics in place. We cannot demand social and economic change before the politics are corrected.

Deep concerns over the rising cost of living and the bearish nature of the financial markets have created an intense sense of insecurity. And these insecurities are the backdrop against which the bogeymen of race and religion are being thrown.

I had once said that the rise of the far right and its mirror in the so-called moderate movement is due to a lack of political will and leadership.

The right leadership can inspire the people to work for a common and greater cause. But in the absence of such leadership, the shouts of extreme voices are heard most clearly and bring us down the path of self destruction.

GST may be a burden to many, especially the consumer. We have seen costs of goods rise to almost 10-15%. It has hit the SMEs and small holders harder in terms of balance sheet and their bottom line. The cartels and monopolies continue to maximise their profits by charging the SME and small holder who in turn have to face the wrath of the consumer.

Whilst GST is a burden, it is needed in light of Malaysia’s market liberalisation. Otherwise, the government will lose key revenues in the drop/abolishment of key tariffs that also protect our local industry.

However, GST will come to naught if incentives are not given back to the SME, small holders and consumers. We must promote and spur our domestic workforce to work and fight for the introduction of minimum wage.

The cartels, monopolies and foreign multi-national companies will fight hard against this. We must argue back, that we the Malaysian people are not slaves nor shall we be beholden to their predatory pricing mechanisms.

The SMEs and small holding businessmen are the future of this nation, and we hope they can become the economic ambassadors for our nation.

We also cannot ignore the plight of our future generations – the youth. Our education system and the teaching approach leave much to be desired.

We must demand that our children are allowed to become conversant in English. This means the promotion of English does not only occur within the confines of our schools. It must happen at home and within our respective communities. Those who seek to use and improve their language skills must be encouraged and not disparaged.

No longer should the Malays feel threatened with the loss of our national language. It will always remain, but if we do not improve as a united progressive community, the fruits of the economy will pass us by.

Instead of plucking the best fruits, we will only receive rotten droppings. We should not want our race to be dominated by mat rempits and snatch thieves. To be competitive, we must produce the best and to be the best we must have, at the very least, a basic command in English.

We must also stress on encouraging and promoting our cottage industries. New breeds of entrepreneurs can flourish and rise, especially in the rural areas. This is where, if we return to our basics and rediscover our culture, can we truly maximise the potential that is available.

We can do so much to help those that feel disenfranchised, by giving them hope and encouragement so that they believe they are useful and beneficial to the future of our nation.

It is this potential growth in our rural heartlands that will lend itself to supporting the drive for our nation’s economy to become self sustaining.

We must strive and work hard for this, because a nation with a weak cottage industry is a nation that will eventually implode under the weight of our own economic burdens.

Independence has taught us that much. We are an independent nation capable of holding ourselves up to the world. We should be proud of this.

We have the basic foundations and resources, but it is up to us, the common people, to demand that we return to basics. Then we can marshal these resources in active service for our fellow Malaysians.

Unless we do this with our concerted effort within the framework of a unified common goal, we shall not progress at the pace demanded by today’s economic climate.

Without a concerted effort we will further alienate people and further separate the islands we have created amongst ourselves. The symptoms of our troubles will grow and become a more chronic disease with no cure.

We have been very busy nursing our egos and megalomania, to the point where we are convinced by our delusions that the problems are all external – someone else’s fault.

Groups have mushroomed and rooted themselves in selfish purpose and pointless endeavour, stressing on deluded bogeymen and equally deluded cultural threats such as Arabisation. These unions gather round and ritually masturbate over the objects of their own fantasies, ignoring the fundamental issues, thus proving they are nothing but a sham.

Thus, to the people of Malaysia, I implore you to take charge of your own affairs as your affairs are the same as everyone else. We do not need self flagellating masturbatory groups to lead us!

You yourselves are your own leaders. If these groups wish to form bridges, then yes, let us work with them to build common consensus and work for a common goal. The people of this nation are the motor that helps run it.

Thus, to the members of the G25 and other moderates, and to the far right groups, are you willing to meet on opposite sides of the river and, together, build the bridge towards each other?

We cannot think of only today. We must plan for tomorrow, the next year and even the next decade.

Are you willing to drop all pretences and megalomaniac fantasies, and come down to the ground to help lead this nation? – February 11, 2016.

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