Danger lurks behind closed doors
One private “affair” was exposed: a divisional leader of the all-powerful party was caught planning to ditch the Chinese and Indian voters for an all-conquering Malay electoral force. But many more subterranean stratagems (on how to secure total control) might have been mooted and had gone unnoticed and unreported.
Free Malaysia Today
No nation hiding behind closed doors is free, for it is imprisoned by its own fear. – Bill Clinton
When people cannot speak openly on sensitive issues, they can either sweep the thorns under the carpet or shut all the doors and give vent to their expletives. Either way the problems will not go away and the anger will continue to simmer. The country then becomes a tinderbox, ready to burst into flames once unbridled emotions break out. So far, Malaysia is a picture of seeming calm and harmony if only because there are tough laws to deal with those who overstep the boundary. Just run to the police if anyone dare touch some soft spots. In fact, this has become the norm: many reports have been lodged at the slightest drop of a racist remark or a hint of an attack on sacrosanct rights.
Still, every now and then some fires erupt, mostly emanating from the big mouths of overweening politicians. Some unkind observations made in public, deliberately or inadvertently, would spark a storm of protests. These could easily be checked because the whole world heard it and the speaker would bear the full brunt of public censure. But what if the speaker shuts the door and in private spews out his invective and tramples on hallowed ground? The outside world will never know about it and this is where the danger lies. One politician did exactly that: he made some unpalatable comments at a private function and for four months there was not a whisper of it.
There is nothing wrong if meetings are held behind closed doors. Politicians of various stripes here often do it. The government often does it. Closeted and shut out from the din of the common people, many issues can be thrashed out and perhaps solved. This is the innocuous part. The dark, alarming side is when politicians discuss plans to accumulate power at the expense of others. The menacing feature is when secret decisions are made to deprive others of their rights. The frightening aspect is when the cabal draws up a roadmap to total political dominance which answers only to the language of violence. Most cloak-and-dagger meetings are harbingers of bad news.
One private “affair” was exposed: a divisional leader of the all-powerful party was caught planning to ditch the Chinese and Indian voters for an all-conquering Malay electoral force. But many more subterranean stratagems (on how to secure total control) might have been mooted and had gone unnoticed and unreported. With more than three million members and over 20,000 branches nationwide, the scary possibility exists that the bruised, power-crazed party might have organised many closed-door meetings where the destiny of the country was charted. Perhaps, some divisional leaders might have floated the idea to dismantle the coalition and let the domineering, overbearing Umno be the paramount kingpin. All others can go to perdition. Maybe, some might have come up with a harebrained scheme to deport all Chinese and Indians. Perhaps, another madcap might have suggested that all non-Malay businesses be seized and given wholesale to the sons of the soil. Or maybe a diabolical plot might have been hatched to cleanse the land in an orgy of bloodletting. Only one race will stand tall.
