Proud Malaysians once and hopefully, once more – Ku Ali

It gives me no pleasure at all writing this, but it has to be written.

A former prime minister has expressed he is no longer proud to be a Malaysian. And for that, he was lambasted by quite a few mediocre politicians, too eager to please their master.

To them, the former prime minister is disloyal, unbecoming, irrelevant and desperate for attention.

These spineless echoes fail to understand that love for country is greater than any individual, whoever he is.

Patriotism is not only about boasting greatness (real or otherwise), while drowning out dissenting voices.

Patriotism is not only about declaring undying love for the Great Leader, while forgetting that he is human too, and may not be perfect. That is how most despotic regimes express patriotism.

More importantly, patriotism is about making the nation a better place for everyone. It is about realising that the state is not perfect, and her problems need to be addressed.

It is about being brave enough to admit that there are serious problems, and taking necessary steps towards rectifying them, before it is too late.

Many Malaysians are doing this every day, despite the risks involved.

Anyway, why must the opinions and actions of a 91-year old make the current government so jumpy?

If they had really done a lot for the people and country, they would not have to worry at all, would they?

Unless they have so far been full of talk, and not enough walk. This seems the only obvious explanation to their very peculiar reaction.

We are proud that Malaysia once had some backbone. We are proud that we used to speak up against the injustices of the world. We are proud that we used to be a model for others to follow. We were a proud nation.

However, we must be realistic. Being delusional had never helped any nation to progress.

We refuse to be proud of the fact that the outcome of the 13th general election was bought using foreign, Saudi money.

We refuse to be proud that the current man in Putrajaya, and those around him see nothing wrong with this, when he revealed that foreign interference decided a Malaysian election.

We refuse to be proud that quite a number of politicians and top civil servants chose to defend this obvious slander to our sovereignty and independence.

We refuse to be proud that on the very next day after the attorney-general announced the man in Putrajaya’s innocence in accepting the so-called donation, Saudi released a statement that it was not a donation, but an investment.

What shady deals are being concluded without our knowledge, in Malaysia’s name?

We can never be proud that the top leaders of the country is dragging Malaysia’s name through the mud.

We can never be proud that Malaysia is being humiliated internationally because of a few, toxic individuals.

Civil servants, have some pride in what you do. Your main duty is to protect and manage the country.

Do it well, with courage and integrity. Do not let yourselves be bullied by politicians. It is beneath you to clean up after any individual’s screw-ups.

Why should you be saddled with the private problems of politicians? Remember, your duty is to protect the nation, not individuals.

Democracy is built upon the foundations of voice and choice. It is quite interesting that in the current government, which insists it is democratic, neither voice nor choice is respected.

Those who offer dissenting views are quickly removed from office, while nodding heads are promoted to important positions.

Those who choose a different path are labelled selfish, disloyal and destructive. While those who choose to prop up a failing leader are hailed as heroes.

Malaysians, we must focus our efforts on particular individuals who are responsible for the rot. It is neither fair nor useful to condemn a whole party, because of the faults of individuals.

Firstly, as we have discussed, choice is an important component of democracy. We must respect individual choices, however nonsensical it may seem to us.

Secondly, general punishment will only alienate other Malaysians from the cause, in a time when we should be united. Collective punishment is never the answer for private sins.

We must be fair in our judgement of the Ruling Party. The Ruling Party is a non-living entity. Individuals in it shape the party.

Like all parties, there are good and bad leaders. Unfortunately for the Ruling Party, the intelligent, sensible leaders have been pushed to the sidelines, while sweet-mouth flatterers with self-serving agendas have been raised up.

Umno members, if you truly love your party, please grow some spine and stand up to those individuals who are actually destroying the party. Remember, blind loyalty is cancerous.

We believe we must give credit when credit is due. And for that, we must applaud the prime minister, for achieving what most of us thought impossible – reconciling Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Indeed, we must acknowledge his great ability to unite people from various backgrounds and convictions – united against him.

For those seeking reform, we suggest you identify a leader fast. Offer Malaysians a viable alternative, so that at the very least, we will be clear whom to support.

If a particular Bugis is replaced by a certain Javanese – both with unsavoury reputations – all will be for naught.

And before anyone start barking at us to leave the country if we don’t like how things are, we’d like to remind them that under the constitution, citizenship could not be revoked.

Only the individual can decide whether to remain Malaysian or not, and that choice is totally, exclusively up to them. So stop being unconstitutional.

To conclude, let’s not kid ourselves any more. This country of ours is in peril. She was a great nation – but her glory is fading fast.

Unless we start defending her from individuals who are plundering her without a second thought, the situation may be irreversible.

For our actions – or inactions – history will judge us accordingly.

We were once proud. Hopefully, once more. – March 8, 2016.

* Ku Ali reads The Malaysian Insider.

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