Anger and Hatred
We are now at a point where it is so easy to accuse people of wrongdoings. In fact, we no longer accuse. We have already believed.
Evidences, secondary. Sentiments, primary.
Fikri Fisal
Heartbreak. Death of Democracy. Anger. Disappointment. Hatred.
I felt disappointed after Barisan Nasional was announced to have won simple majority in the parliament.
Not from the results, but from the reactions.
I see accusations flying from left to right, freely and guiltless.
I see a nation of anger and hatred.
This was what I feared.
This is what I fear.
Apparently everyone has gone black now. To voice out their anger towards the clear and visible fraud occurring in the elections.
But really? How clear and visible were the frauds?
-“My friend said he saw 23 trucks of ballot boxes coming in after the blackout”.
-A picture of Bangladeshis (assuming they are Bangladeshis) queuing up.
– and a lot more of “my friend said that…”
I agree the Election Commission should have clarified some important things, such as the properties of the indelible ink. But that does not give us permission to lambast them blindly over stuff that are not true.
But what is the truth?
Exactly. Nobody knows. Unless you were the person who was involved yourself in these frauds, your statement is as valuable as a Zimbabwean dollar. For in Islam, “Slander is a greater sin than murder”.
But that’s not the case now, isn’t it?
As long as there’s a picture with a caption that says something about the picture, that is the truth already.
Hell, even an FB status is accepted as the truth.
The truth is, everyone wants their version of the truth to be the truth.
I’m not saying that the frauds did not happen. I’m not saying they happened either. But the fact that many people simplistically took these as their truth bothers me.
Are we that gullible?
The press conference held by our new Prime Minister was possibly the most troubling moment.
Didn’t we subscribe to a system of democracy? Did we not agree that our say would be translated to electoral votes? And once the results are out we have to honor it?
But what I saw was a defeatist mentality amongst the masses. A victim’s state of mind.
It is so easy to accept that the election was full of fraud to serve the ruling coalition but is it so hard to accept that the majority still wishes for the ruling coalition to be in power?
We didn’t honor the results. We prefer to live by our truth. If this mentality is not eradicated, even a thousand clean elections will never satisfy us.
But that’s the point of democracy, isn’t it?
A system to satisfy the wishes of the majority. It can never satisfy everyone.
“But why should I honor the results if the election itself was rigged?”
Well to that, I respond with an example:
If the referee of a soccer match is biased, do the players stop playing and start whining? Think about it.
I have no qualms over the Opposition Leader’s decision to push for an investigation of the election results. In fact, it is a commendable move for the betterment of the nation.
But let’s remind ourselves to do it in an honorable way.
And not through mindless portrayal of irrationality and insensibility.
We now don’t even give a damn about our sovereignty. As long as we get what we want, we’ll be more than happy to invite foreign powers to intrude.
Just like how the foolish Malay Sultans of old happily invited them to solidify their power.
I guess George Santayana’s “Those who cannot remember from the past are condemned to repeat it” is true after all.
Don’t take the law into your own hands, leave it be to the right people.
Don’t volunteer yourselves to be the blind pawns of politicians. We’re better than that.
I just hope you remember before doing anything,
Does it serve the nation? Or does it serve others?
We are now at a point where it is so easy to accuse people of wrongdoings. In fact, we no longer accuse. We have already believed.
Evidences, secondary. Sentiments, primary.
We believe people who volunteered to help the EC in the name of the country as people who are willing to perform unrighteous deeds for money.
We believe people who voluntarily sacrificed their private life for a public life as Menteris, to be people who only care to accumulate wealth and don’t care at all for the people.
We believe honorable judges of the courts as money-crazy people who care naught for justice.
We believe people who voluntarily chose to live a dangerous, modest life as a policeman are no better than an “anjing kerajaan”.
We believe that people who do not share our beliefs, are people who are embracing injustice and are contributors of electoral fraud.
We believe that democracy is a just system unless the results do not concur with our wishes.
And that ladies and gentlemen, is the death of democracy.
Even without the blackouts and the phantom voters,
Democracy is already dead.
PS: “What we see in people is just a reflection of ourselves”
So, are we any better?
