Temple of democracy under siege
Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily
Penang Umno Youth and the gang intruded into the state legislative assembly, acting wild and raucous, except that they did not make further advances to “occupy” the building.
I was instantly reminded of similar incidents taking place in Taiwan and Ukraine which turned the parliament buildings into ideal places for the mobsters to vent their frustration.
The young students in Taiwan were said to be protesting against a China trade deal, and I don’t know what had prompted them to make the uncanny decision of putting up a few nights at the legislature as if they were planing a field camping, while the horrified president Ma just gave in to whatever request they made.
In the meantime, the Russian-speaking Ukrainians suddenly had the fanciful idea of switching nationality as they got sick of being Ukrainians. So they picked up their AK47’s and snatched the parliament building.
The 200-year history of legislative democracy has made the legislature a solemn and inviolable temple of democratic politics. Unfortunately this temple has been reduced into a fun fair where anyone either happy or unhappy with something could storm in and make some noise there. If even that is not enough to satiate their unusual desire, they can always lie down on the lobby floor and spend a few nights as if they were having some fun in a motel.
Of course, Umno Youth et al were more creative than this. The Penang state legislative assembly was made into a place for showdown. In order to get RSN Rayer, they breached the iron gate and headed straight into the assembly hall, terrifying the elected reps sitting inside.
And this guy by the name of Rayer had indeed done something not so right, having said something bad that hurt some people’s feeling.
But even if you want to settle your problem with a person, it doesn’t automatically justify your intrusion into the state legislative assembly. The legislative assembly is not Rayer’s private residence nor a Roman Colosseum, so why making a big fuss there?
Democratic politics was born out of human realization of the inability of wars and violence to settle conflicts. The legislature was created so that people of differing political views and stands could come together under one roof to understand one another’s differences through friendly discussions.
If an accord could not be reached after a discussion, then the representatives would vote through a show of hands and a decision achieved this way must be accepted by all.
