COMMENT Those who occupy high public positions must realise that it is not just fame or prestige that go along with these, but the perils associated with them.

In other words, high and exalted public positions carry with them a high degree of accountability and responsibility towards the public.

When King Dionysius offered his position to Damocles, he also said that he would arrange a huge sword to hang above the throne in case the latter misrules the country.

Damocles, having realised that along with high position goes huge responsibility, he begged the King that he be spared this appointment.

The moral anecdote, ‘The Sword of Damocles’, in the modern age is used to denote perils faced by those in power.

In other words, if those in power abuse their positions for personal or family gains, then they will have to contend with ‘The Sword of Damocles’.

It is a warning to those in power to conduct themselves properly so that they can provide the best possible form of governance to the people who chose or elected them.

Any deviance from this expected role would be checkmated by ‘The Sword of Damocles.’

This moral anecdote seems rather appropriate to Malaysia, where persons in high public positions have failed to provide the best form of governance as expected by the people.

More than this, the high public positions have been used to amass wealth and power for these individuals, family members and their cronies.

The case of 1MDB is a classic example of how a country’s investment arm has been abused to the extent where the Malaysian public has lost funds amounting to RM42 billion.

Related to this 1MDB is a colossal nature of corruption, how certain individuals had made huge profits and how public funds were squandered in overseas investments ventures.

Sheer wastage of public funds

It looks like that in Malaysia projects for the benefit of the people cannot be implemented without a portion of public funds been siphoned off for non-productive activities.

Sheer wastage of public funds into non-productive activities has meant that the country's foreign debt is mounting and our economic reserves are declining, day by day.

A direct result of this economic mismanagement is that the value of the ringgit is plummeting down.

We are paying more and more for the imports of goods and services from foreign companies and individuals.

Yet, our ministers and public servants are continuing to remind Malaysians that all is well on the economic front.

Politically, the country is in shatters. Umno seems to have lost his legitimacy to govern.

The grand coalition - BN - is merely trotting about aimlessly without an idea how to solve the myriad political and social problems resulting from the economic and financial management of the country.

Unable to face growing economic and political problems, the leaders of this country are contributing, directly or indirectly, to the flaring up of cultural and religious sensitive issues.

The attempt to impose a "dress code" or a kind of Islamic policing is already unsettling non-Muslims and moderate Muslims in the country.

The "urine" penultimate incident in a school in Kedah seems to have sent a message to non-Muslims about the devious nature of creeping Islamic conservatism in the country.

UMNO is seriously divided

The BN regime, which ostensibly seems to promote a moderate Malaysia, is rather silent on issues that are impinging on the lives of non-Muslims.

By not containing  these negative developments, a wrong message is being sent saying that the BN is endorsing these developments.

With the mounting economic, political, social and cultural problems, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is in a beleaguered position. He seems to have little support in the country.

As the prime minister, Najib seems to have lost his mandate to provide the best possible form of governance, appearing more as an ethnic leader than a leader for all Malaysians.

Najib is weak and indecisive. By his inaction he is sending the wrong signals to Malaysians. How long he will last in this post could be anybody’s speculation!

Perhaps he realises that assuming the Number 1 position in the country is merely one side of the coin.

The other side of the coin is the ever-present danger of ‘The Sword of Damocles’ that his hovering over his head!

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the assemblyperson for Perai.