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What needs to be uprooted is the patronage system

As the 1MDB scandal festers, more and more Malays and even Umno supporters are speaking up against the blatant corruption that is centered on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak. For a nation that is inured to various forms of corruption and accustomed to government’s mismanagement, that is saying a lot.

From Dr Mahathir Mohamad, to the Johor Royalty, to the former DPM, and now a Langkawi Wanita Umno member’s angry rant that went viral, all criticisms seem to narrowly focus on Najib. Unfortunately, all of them miss the forest for the trees.

If we ask ourselves honestly: will Malaysia suddenly turn a new leaf if Najib is deposed or resigned? I think in our heart of hearts, the answer is a resounding no. Removing Najib only creates a false sense of progress. It merely prolongs the continued downfall of Malaysian politics, and increasingly, the economic aspect as well.

Spurning Najib while supporting the regime that nurtures him will not save Umno or Malaysia. Najib is merely the biggest and most visible symptom of which the root cause is the patronage system practiced by all BN component parties. What needs to be uprooted is not just Najib, but the entire patronage system itself.

Political patronage is the cancer that is plaguing the country. This cancer has metastasised and spread to all branches of government. Like cancer, removing just the tip will not cure the disease.

Patronage system has become so deeply ingrained in our political system and the psyche of Umno supporters in particular, they view it as a right, rather than a curse. When, like cancer cells, they absorb disproportionate amount of nutrients to the detriment of the rest of the body, the body eventually dies of consumption. Malaysia is a resource-rich country, but it will not last forever.

Cynical as it may sound, I suspect, most criticisms of Najib are not based on high moral standards, but rather as a result of their branch of the patronage web being severed.

When blatant corruption is euphemistically explained away as ‘donation’ and taken as the norm, our ethical standard sinks a notch further into the abyss. If we keep shifting the goal posts whenever a scandal hits, eventually, we will be relegated to playing outside the stadium.

For the sake of future generations of Malaysians, we need to reset the standard back to the level we aspired to when we gained independence. By that standard, many of the people that criticise Najib are just as guilty.

As we reflect and ponder our achievements and foibles this coming National Day, we should bring back sane discussion and debate on how to end patronage system in Malaysian politics.

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