THE recently concluded state elections for six states in Peninsular Malaysia shows that Malaysia is heading down a dangerous path.
It’s not about the results, as there will always be winners and losers in any elections – be it candidates or political parties.
The political narrative being bandied about by certain quarters has resulted in there being a situation where there are no winners in the elections, just losers and bigger losers.
The ugly truth that Malaysians will have to face is that we have allowed the race and religion narrative to dominate our political discourse almost exclusively.
Reality is that the emotion-charged issues of race and religion are not real but imagined constructs used by morally unscrupulous politicians to gain and retain power, at the expense of the people of the country.
When race and religion become the dominant issues in the political culture, the real issues affecting people such as the state of the economy, education policies and attainment, social well-being and sporting excellence are ignored.
Malaysia is a resource-rich country, which is well complemented by the benefits of a diverse population like probably no other country in the world. Yet, there are people who are categorised as the B40 community who are facing an acute cost-of-living crisis.
This is the result of decades of corruption and political neglect. Corrupt politicians, most of whom are the perpetrators of using the race and religion card, played into the hands of selfish business leaders who were happy enriching themselves at the expense of the majority of Malaysians.
It has created a class of uber-rich Malaysian businessmen, a small minority, who lords over Malaysian society and in turn led to an ever growing wealth and income inequality. There are lessons in history to be learnt here – that it is unsustainable and will lead to a total breakdown in society.
What needs to be done immediately, to put it plainly, is to “catch the thieves”. Corrupt politicians and business leaders need to be dealt with as they should by the law, when they have been above the law for too long.
Let’s not focus on low-level crimes and concentrate on the big fishes. I am in no way condoning crimes of any sort, just that it is manifestly unjust to send to prison someone who steals two chickens whilst the ones that have swindled the country by the millions are flaunting their wealth in the face of those they have stolen from.
We live in a global village, where the country and her people need to be relevant globally. We have fallen behind in that regard, as too little time, resources and effort has been spent on the things that really matter to Malaysians and the future of the country.
The current government is on the right track, while having to fend off attacks by the corrupt who have lost the initiative after having lost political power.
The next four years should be spent by the government in bringing to justice those who have pillaged the country, and to engineer an economic and social system that raises productivity and living standards while at the same reducing inequities and instabilities. – August 14, 2023
Callistus Antony D’Angelus is Social Protection Contributors Advisory Association Malaysia international labour advisor.