This Merdeka We Must Really Value Peace and Decency
By batsman
Every year the mass media goes on a campaign that compares our situation with those of war-torn or famine-stricken countries and smoothly coos the message of valuing our prosperity and stability. If only the people in power who pay for these campaigns or who weak-mindedly support the campaigns really believed their own message.
These campaigns always link violence and famine to the fault of ordinary people for creating trouble even if it is to struggle for justice. Never do they link violence and famine to bad government or corrupt and greedy leaders. The message is that if only the people are obedient and servile to those who hold power, then and only then can peace and prosperity be assured.
But when Zionists steal the land of the Palestinians or kidnap and harvest the body parts and organs of Palestinian teenagers for sale, then retaliatory violence results. When people are kept oppressed for generations, some retaliation results.
It is time to rethink what it is that creates violence, strife and famine.
In my view, internal violence comes from 2 sources – bad government and greed, while wealth and prosperity is created by the people – those who grow food and who conduct productive trade and industry.
Greed means those who have wealth and power and who want more. The fastest way to get more and more of these is to use wealth and power to fool people and/or use violence (including the law) to tax, rob and cheat from those who grow food or who engage in productive work or trade and industry.
Retaliatory violence results from justice denied or unending oppression and suffering. Bad government results in justice denied or unending oppression.
The initiative or starting point for violence is always greed, corruption and bad government. So in order to really value peace and stability, it is necessary to be in full knowledge of what is it that creates violence and strife in our country and to then to act accordingly and appropriately to reduce these factors.
Bad government usually blames the people for all the trouble and problems the country faces including how intolerant and fanatical the people are. Hence the US and their Zionist allies always blame the Palestinians for all the trouble and strife in Palestine and label Palestinians as fanatics and terrorists.
In our own country we have symptoms of these problems emerging – when children go missing or are kidnapped, the authorities blame parents for not looking after their own children, when crime is uncontrolled, the authorities blame ordinary people for being careless and not looking after themselves properly, when H1N1 is let into the country because of lax controls at the ports of entry, the authorities blame the people for not wearing masks and thus allowing H1N1 to spread. There are many such instances of the authorities blaming people for problems, including traffic accidents.
When motor cycles are identified as being involved in the most accidents, the authorities blame the motorcyclists. They even insist on motorcycles keeping their headlights on during the daytime. When the incidence of accidents are not reduced or even increase in spite of such silly measures, nothing is done to withdraw the ruling on keeping headlights on during the daytime, making Malaysia unique in blaming lack of motorcycle headlights during daytime for most traffic accidents.
In keeping with the same mentality, the authorities insist on back seat passengers in cars wearing safety belts. They treat people like children who cannot think for themselves and who must be punished if they do not follow rules, but when there is a problem, the people are blamed. There is no real effort to study and identify the real source of the problem. This is a symptom of bad government.
Similarly, servicemen who fought a real bombs and bullets campaign during the 50’s and 60’s were not entitled to pensions while those who joined up during peacetime in the 80’s and 90’s and who obediently follow all the rules and conditions laid down are given full pensions. It seems only those who follow rules are rewarded while those who did all the real fighting and sacrifices are ignored on technicalities. In a way justice is being denied. This is a symptom of bad government.
So during this Merdeka, while we remember and honour those who died and sacrificed for us, we must also value peace and decency that they fought for. Let us not blindly chase prosperity and sacrifice decency allowing injustice, abuse of power, sin, corruption, incompetence and bad government to rule our lives.
By sacrificing decency, we are encouraging violence, corruption and crime. We may even be encouraging our policemen to sleep with triad gangs. By tolerating bad government, we are encouraging instability. We may even be encouraging racism and master race complex. So please value peace and decency and resolve to do something about it this Merdeka.
