As children we, the Merdeka Generation, all learned the Humpty Dumpty Poem. It was an egg-shaped figure that sat on the wall and one day had a great fall and the refrain is: “all the King’s Horses and all the King’s Men could not put Humpty Dumpty together again!” Why so?

The question why, is to me the most important question in the world, for any human being taught to think. Inability to think rationally about any matter is what I have called the Death of Common Sense in my previous column.

I have chosen to deploy this poem to talk and challenge all middle moderate Malaysians who adopted an English-based culture of learning as to why we consequently allow and tolerate the death of Mathematics 101 or Logic 101? I have also chosen to give it an American dimension with their new Humpty Dumpty in the White House.

The objective spirit world

The Bible, as also do other Abrahamic Scriptures, declares the creation account that God breathed life into a lump of clay and Man was created! The breath of life was in fact framed with the breath of God. The Malay word ‘roh’ captures that reality too.

Premised upon that ‘faith view’, life was given an objective existence, quite independent of the Creator, and life on earth was expressed for human beings as the image-bearers of God. Male and female he made them. They ‘became one’ and humankind was consequently birthed. Life could breathe new life.

My rhetorical and scientific-spirit-filled question is: “does not the spirit world then also have an objective existence outside of the objective-material world of modern science?”

In my worldview argument (referred to in a previous column), ‘idiocrats’ are like Humpty Dumpty who sat on a wall, but when their egg-shaped worldview fails and breaks into pieces, no one, including their religious teachers, or media moguls, or their “emperors or kings” can put them to together again.

My consequential question: why then could not all the King’s resources put Humpty Dumpty together again? In my faith language, humankind too had a great fall. That fall has condemned us into selfish self-interested defined ways to winning always. That is today’s Humpty Trumpty (Donald Trump) worldview.

The Christian Story is, however, an alternative one about a servant-king who chose to sacrifice his life for the sake of mankind and for the sake of being able “to put Humpty Dumpty and the King’s worldview together again”. The King of the Universe, namely God Almighty, in fact objectively and scientifically put Humpty Dumpty together again. That proof was called the Good Friday’s death of Jesus on that Roman Cross.

Let me restate it even more accurately - even the president of China today cannot rebuild the Great Wall of China, or even the pyramid of Egypt, for that matter. Neither can any president of the USA ever build such a border wall in one term.

But, there are no such limits to the true and real King of the Universe, God Almighty. That is my personal Christian faith statement and I personally question how ‘Christian’ Trump really is. Lying or making false promises is never a Christian value; even for a non-politician.

The Malay fall

Humpty Trumpty with all his White House resources has failed to put together a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare, which he promised if he did win the presidential election. But it now looks like he either lied or did not know what he was promising. I call it ignorance and arrogance in the public policy field of knowledge and wisdom.

If I have to put my finger on “the pulse that is not beating”, to quote former prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein: it is the weaknesses within Trumpty’s worldview construct. His is a rather simplistic worldview of cement and concrete. There are apparently material limits within such a worldview. So, he continues to promise about building the Border Wall. He is simply lying or making false promises.

If we, the Merdeka Generation Malaysians, are not careful and buy fully into such fake or false worldviews, whether that of Donald Trump’s, or the Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin’s, or that of Abdul Hadi Awang; then we run into the same risk of a great fall like Humpty Dumpty of our poetic fame.

Our only true alternative is to speak up and speak out! My good friend and senior Anwar Fazal sent me a write-up by Royal Professor Ungku Abdul Aziz Ungku Abdul Hamid (it has been making the rounds) which questions this very great fall of the Malay modern culture in Malaysia after 60 years of existence. The clearest answer to me, is this poem written by a retired and decorated army veteran, as listed below:

Ballad of the Dedak Addicts

Kamaruddin Mohd Jamal

I can get what I want all very easily
I ignore all past lessons too quickly
I uncaringly pass judgment willy-nilly
And I can hold grudges unforgivingly

I voice my opinions unthinkingly
I say one thing and then act differently
I all too readily praise or condemn
I take side but easily switch side

I silently envy with fierce emotion
I scheme adroitly with such passion
I embellish the stray stories with skill
The more outrageous, the better still

I make promises with light intention
Change my mind to suit the occasion
I take short cuts to seek quick gains
I wheel and deal dropping names
I do not both much with details
Excellence, quality, or what they entail
As long as I keep on doing what I do
Success is mine and it will continue
I also measure success very simply
By position or flaunted wealth mainly
Not character, ability, correctness
Or the means, ethics, or worthiness

These are things I‘ve been doing well
They have worked for me you can tell
When now in glorious plenty I bask
Why must I change my ways I ask?

LAST WEEK: Part 1 - ‘Abusive’ public officials

KJ JOHN, PhD, was in public service for 32 years having served as a researcher, trainer, and policy adviser to the International Trade and Industry Ministry and the National IT Council (NITC) of the government of Malaysia. The views expressed here are his personal views and not those of any institution he is involved with. Write to him at [email protected] with any feedback or views.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.