Have Our Lives Changed? Part 2

It is terrifying if they find that the government they elected cannot protect them from a revengeful bureaucracy. The important question is – what will they decide to do next? 

By batsman

Of course things are more complicated than what I presented in my earlier write-up (Have Our Lives Changed Much Since the “Tsunami”?). So if your Malaysian education forces you to be obsessed with “correct” answers, you will unfortunately find none here. I hope you will not be too disappointed. 

What is apparent is that politics and money are inextricably intertwined. It is therefore to be expected that those who have their own business and make money for a living will find their lives much more affected than those who are merely employees by the events of the 12th GE. This has great consequences for places like Selangor – the richest state. 

Since a big bulk of the Chinese community have their own businesses, I expect that they find their lives and businesses much changed since the PR took over the state government. Even the ordinary hawker will find life difficult if licenses are difficult to renew and approvals suddenly become difficult to get or if the authorities become much stricter in enforcing bylaws and regulations. 

It is terrifying if they find that the government they elected cannot protect them from a revengeful bureaucracy. The important question is – what will they decide to do next? 

There are only 2 choices. Buckle down or hang on in the hope that things will improve. Here it becomes important whether one’s individual life is more important than one’s community life. There is no fight if life itself is at stake – the individual will take precedence. But what’s at stake here is whether one’s economic strength and assets can go the distance in the hope that the new government can get its act together in time to improve the social and economic climate and whether it is worth the sacrifice? Obviously the strength of one’s community spirit plays a big part in decision making. The MCA will probably bank on individual selfishness taking precedence in their great hopes to re-capture Selangor from the PR. 

Here a parallel with Hindraf may be made. There has been great criticism of Hindraf for putting priority on the Indian struggle and not coming under the discipline of a common struggle. Will the business community in Selangor now put priority on their own fortunes and not come under the discipline of the common struggle? Can accusations of hypocrisy and selfishness be leveled if they do? If you wish to do so, it is best to answer the question first – how much has your life changed in comparison with theirs? 

Still, we hope that they can hang on at least until the results of the next GE become apparent. There is no point in playing the blame game just as there is no point in pouring scorn on those eligible voters who don’t bother to vote. No point keeping the buck passing around. What the social and economic climate is like does not depend on a few but on the majority and if the majority do not wish to play the hero while their leaders have no talent, no will or no strength to change this, there is nothing much more we can do except not give up. I guess it will be like Hulu Selangor re-visited. 

Let us now consider whether the lives of the Malays have changed much since the 12th GE. There has been much hope that the Malays “can be brave for the sake of the country” and risk all in opting for an economic environment where competitiveness becomes primary. They are asked to give up their competitive advantage of political dominance to play by the rules of the competitive advantage of other communities. This is laughable. Why have the secularists become religious all of a sudden? Hoping to gain all just by prayer while protecting your own fortunes and businesses? 

Yet again things are not as simple as it looks. At least 50% of Malay voters now realize that blind support for unsavoury racist politicians can only mean that the social and economic environment will be characterized by corruption, sin and abuse of power. The blame for loss of Malay unity cannot be placed on Malays themselves but on corrupt leaders who look only after their own interests while mouthing Malay unity to strengthen their political base. Does this not sound familiar to the Chinese community as far as their own politicians are concerned? 

So it is that Malaysian communities suffer much the same problems within their own communities while facing a social and economic environment that is fast degenerating into one dominated by corruption, sin and abuse of power. 

It is not the 50% of Malays or 60% of Chinese or 40% of Indians who already realize this who are now critical for the next GE. It is the 50% of Malaysians who work as fishermen or padi planters or rubber tappers or manual workers in factories and offices who cannot see the advantage of a system where competitiveness is primary who need to be convinced. These people have been marginalized. They know they cannot or are unwilling to compete in a “cut throat” environment so why should they support a system that places priority on competitiveness? 

Like I said earlier – I offer no solutions or even try to come to any conclusions. However, I do know that things are never static, if political parties are unable to move the Malaysians who have been marginalized, the rest who are supposed to be clever and “in the know” may just decide that corruption, sin and abuse of power is the cost of doing business in Selangor or the cost of living a hopefully peaceful life in Malaysia and carefully avoiding all rapacious bullies and gangsters (even policemen and bureaucrats).