Speak out for good governance
By WAN MOHD AIMRAN
The ongoing controversy over Universiti Malaya’s ranking epitomises the deplorable conditions of our education system - thrusting its rotting self directly into the media. Sluggish and lukewarm response from government officials have made me wonder whether everyone is born with awareness and humility.
It is interesting to note that each time something major like this crops up, people follow certain patterns similar to actors in a play: they enter scenes at specific cues, recite their lines and perform their acts, bow and make their exit.
Therefore, once the media frenzy dies, this issue will be nothing but a distant memory in the minds of most Malaysians.
Malaysians are generally an easily excited lot – we complain, grumble and moan all we want during the height of such issues. But once we’ve had enough, we cast it aside. We have notoriously poor memories when it comes to these things.
By not being critical of government, we, citizens, are not encouraging good governance.
Whenever we blame or criticise the government for any problem, we need to remember that we are to blame as well. It is we who have been apathetic toward current affairs of the country.
We are reluctant to step out of our comfort zone, preferring to be the status quo.
We cannot expect things to be better as long as citizens remain oblivious to pertinent issues about the country.
As good citizens, we need to gather our thoughts and keep up with issues affecting our country. We need to promote a discussions about the state of our nation.
This is where the issue of loyalty crops up. Those who raise genuine concerns about such issues are often blatantly accused as traitors, Western puppets or mischief-makers who wish nothing but havoc to the country.
Some will even demand that these people leave the country. This is based on feudalistic reasoning.
I think it is important that people distinguish the difference between being patriotic and supporting political parties.
Loving Malaysia and being a good citizen does not equate to loving the country’s politics.
Political loyalty can easily be traded with money, gifts and patronage. But loyalty to one’s country cannot be bought.
Loyal citizens should speak up on all issues.
After all, silence means consent. And we should not be apathetic toward affairs of the state. Doing so would only promote bad governance.
We cannot afford to push aside all these issues and conveniently label them as “too political.” They will only return to haunt us.
We cannot ignore pertinent issues, and to leave it to the politicians.
It is about time that we shift the balance of power to the people.
—
WAN MOHD AIMRAN BIN WAN MOHD KAMIL is a staff writer for theCICAK.
He is currently a Physics and Theoretical Physics undergraduate at Imperial College London. Often accused by friends for being too politically correct, he continually seeks a fine balance between indulging himself in philosophical thoughts and leading a normal life as a Malaysian youth. Visit his site.
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Comment of the week
I defend my right as a Malaysian to talk about anything that concerns Malaysia.
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Governance is cyclical. It swings side to side from the pendulum. Evolution is they answer.
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When mainstream media stops covering an issue, joe public forgets. My guess is the majority in m’sia will NEVER be activist enough 2 pursue an issue beyond its media shelf life.
Thus, in a certain sense, as the sole deciders of what’s “hot” and what’s “not, the media in malaysia has a great responsibility of ensuring they cover an issue enough to see it to a satisfying wrap up.
But knowing local media, they are more pre-occupied with appeasing the ruling govt than with riling the public enough to see an improvement in the ruling govt.
Which explains the sometimes sudden abrupt death of dander-worthy issues in our media.
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THE ANSWER IS INDEPENDENT MEDIA!
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The current lack of viable opposition parties and the government’s ‘we-do-want-we-want attitude’ has further stifled the possibilities of real political change and development in our country.
Moreover, any form of thoughtful and valid criticisms of governmental policies is restricted and limited to a group of educated, middle-class, mostly either English-speaking people or urban/metropolitan dwellers, hence further curtailing the outreach to the grassroots and heartland areas of town or kampung Malaysians, to whom are falsely misled to believe the transparency and complete non-reproachability of the government.
Personally, without these two changes or development in our political landscape, nothing will really happen, and instead a centralisation and concentration of governmental power will take place.
Consequently, leading to a death of political dialogue and, not far further down, the death of us all.
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Many Malaysians still need to wake up. I am sure that there are many people who are pretty ignorant about this issue and many other issue that have been around for quite some time.
I agree with nikolai metalrage that in the near future, we are going to have a political evolution but unless the support for this evolution is strong enough, nothing is going to happen.
At least, we are taking our first step to keep ourselves aware and hopefully “enlighten” others as well.
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I agree with metalrage. None of the opposition parties are viable, except possibly the DAP, and even so the DAP really needs a lot of internal reform and needs to more proactively pursue Malay and heartland voters. Let’s not even talk about PAS, and PKR is just PAS Jr. - all their activities indicate they would prefer not to pursue the non-Malay/non-Muslim vote.
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ah…if you’re a politician making a statement like that, another politician will ask you to stop “politicising” the topic. Supposingly to preserve our peaceful multi racial country.
He is in effect asking you to shut up, or they’ll lock you up under ISA.
The mandane cycles of issue-investigate-forget have become the norm.
Forgoten issues are non-issues. You don’t even have to be senile to forget things
So what can we do as citizen? Vote for another government in the next election. I think that’s the least we can do.
Even if alternative parties are just as incompetant. But the current government deserves a lesson.
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Hear hear! It constantly amazes me how Malaysian youths cannot see the link between the source of their complaints, ie: difficulty in getting uni places, with politics. They moan, they curse, they bitch…. and then they vote for BN when they turn 21. Wth??? After that, they miraculously think that these BN leaders with suddenly start to ‘change’ purely out their good hearts. Ummnn… why in the world would they wanna that, since they just got 92% of the parliament seats, thanks to us?
They will construe that as meaning us voters agreeing with them on issues such as uni entry system, race relations, handling of police and schools, retainment of laws such as the ISA, UUCA, Printing Presses Act, etc.
BN: “Wow, 92% level of endorsement by the voters on our policies. Let’s keep doing those things then!”
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hey, yeah! that’s pretty true, cyrix - the so-hard-to-get-into-local-uni and but-still-loyal-BN-voter part. But I guess it’s primarily because we Malaysians tend to view change as something drastic especially when it evolves around politics. (ever wonder why Dr.M stayed right up there at the top of the pole for so long?… sheer proof. But he’s smart, too, I guess.lol.)
And the gov should seriously do something about the edu system. At the rate they’re altering stuff and implementing stuff and un-implementing stuff (and muddling the poor gov school kids in the whole process), we could have reached the moon ourselves or something. We students are not guinea pigs mean for experiments la!
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It is great to hear this from a YOUNG Malaysia, especially a YOUNG Malaysian MALAY. I hope you can keep this up and your views would not be affected when it comes to the money and “power” when you are in the politic. If you can keep that one, you will have my vote (I don’t care what party are u in or what race you are) and I believe people will be on your side.
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Actually, I’m Chinese.
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Of course some of the comments presented such as press freedom and stronger opposition party is only valid as a textbook theory so long the mentality of the government machinery i.e civil servants has not changed from their “tidak apa” attitude and the influence of politics in the governement machinery.
It is timely for the Government to adopt a private sector style of performance based evaluation. There should not be any more political appointed positions such as Cabinet posts and Secretary General positions. Instead, the positions should be filled based on one’s qualifications and constantly evaluated.
Corruption is another biggest issue which has not been addressed strongly. Just to deviate a bit, the AP and Proton issues are linked to the subject of corruption and now we can see how it impacted our car industry. It takes a very strong leader to clean this mess. Not sure the present administration can do it since it is facing strong oppositions within its own people.
Today our country has problem offering foreign investors a basis to set up business here. We lack of efficiency, transparency, flip flop policy, low quality workers.
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