COMMENT | Hose the sludge off the floor of Parliament
COMMENT | Finger-pointing bungling bureaucrats without the foggiest idea of emergency communications, disaster relief and rescue. Gross incompetency and bad governance by an over-staffed cabinet of kelam-kabut.
That is the picture the commentariat have painted of the government’s delayed response to the flash floods. Which is hardly surprising.
Which is a complete contrast to what I am used to seeing in New South Wales where I live – the State Emergency Services first responders, all volunteers, in orange and blue out on the streets when and where freak thunderstorms strike, uproot trees, flood the roads, destroy homes and, unavoidably, take a few lives.
On our home front, the media have reported year after year of similar deluge in flood-prone areas, this time of greater expanse and destruction to people and property.
Yet, the government remains as woefully unprepared as...
COMMENT | Finger-pointing bungling bureaucrats without the foggiest idea of emergency communications, disaster relief and rescue. Gross incompetency and bad governance by an over-staffed cabinet of kelam-kabut.
That is the picture the commentariat have painted of the government’s delayed response to the flash floods. Which is hardly surprising.
Which is a complete contrast to what I am used to seeing in New South Wales where I live – the State Emergency Services first responders, all volunteers, in orange and blue out on the streets when and where freak thunderstorms strike, uproot trees, flood the roads, destroy homes and, unavoidably, take a few lives.
On our home front, the media have reported year after year of similar deluge in flood-prone areas, this time of greater expanse and destruction to people and property.
Yet, the government remains as woefully unprepared as in previous decades, evident in the dire lack of first responders, poor coordination and minimal proactive emergency flood relief plan and rescue equipment.
After the deluge when things return to near normal amidst creeping Covid-19 cases, kopi tiam chats will still be grappling with a familiar question: what will it take to purge the system of demonstrably bumbling ministers and expert "advisers"?
A radical regime change - that is what it will take to wash off the sludge on the floor of Parliament. Time to hose off the unelected Sheraton-movers and party hoppers.
Time to place in office those who will unfailingly march to the beat of serving the people rather than stashing their own pockets.
I wrote on March 11, 2010, that “a plausible regime change hinges on a cohesive opposition alliance, which unfortunately is falling apart with the PAS theocratic leadership severing its ties with the nascent multi-racial party DAP… a change in government, if it happens in my lifetime, will be just another variation of what we’ve been used to under Umno”.
Eight years later, on March 14, I wrote: “The final collapse of the Umno hegemon and the long-awaited regime change does not necessarily imply a clean break from the past. We will see shades of ideological, organisational and institutional continuities in the form of political patronage arising from past loyalties and kinship ties, and the jostling for appointments to powerful portfolios.”
Those are the realities today. The tenets of governing for the people’s welfare, and innovating for technological advancement and economic growth across all sectors still escape the cognition of many sitting ministers, and opposing politicians.
Their public utterances, much of them bordering on bumbling idiocy, show them to be chronic political miscreants.
Well, just as the sun naturally rises the next day, a light does pry through the political detritus.
The people, the NGOs, and volunteers from different faiths - all did rise up. They reached out to save, serve and comfort – which the government had failed to do.
Valued Malaysian trait
The pandemonium from the flash floods shows how cooperative collectivism eventually trumps selfish individualism. Religion and race don’t matter when disaster strikes where it hurts.
I believe we are living in harmony despite what the right-wing demagogues would have us think otherwise. We still celebrate Kongsi Raya, Christmas and Deepavali as one community despite the odd zealous nincompoops’ political attempts to throw mud at any public act of grace and generosity.
What makes a nation great, besides its economic wealth, natural resources, technological advancements and military power, is its social capital – the people, their moral character and attitude, their drive and capacity to help their neighbours.
That’s our valued Malaysian trait.
Great nations need great citizens who expect their political leaders to act accordingly, leaders that the people, in particular, can trust, respect and honour. Love, even.
In my recollection, such a breed of statesmen is rare in our political history with the exception of Tunku Abdul Rahman and, perhaps Hussein Onn.
Many have lost loved ones and treasured possessions. This, I hope, may ease with time as we step into the New Year with a fresh perspective on what really matters in life. As resilient Malaysians, we will rebuild - and “build back better”.
We value community and a sense of belonging regardless of ethnicities.
We are still actively engaged in public affairs, evident in the commitment of civil societies and activist groups to a greater cause. The hanya pandai cakap sahaja (clever to talk only) mentality may become a thing of the past.
We value participatory democracy and are sufficiently bold to post on social media with our byline, and march in solidarity for what we believe is worth risking for.
We no longer see government officials as datuks and yang berhormats to be revered but to be treated as servants of the people, held accountable for what they do and say.
Hence, a younger generation of more politically engaged social media users, the new bloc of first-time voters, will be a pivotal force.
That is my New Year wish – a radical regime change come the next general election.
ERIC LOO is the founding editor of the academic journal Asia Pacific Media Educator.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
