LETTER | An impressive way to help one another

LETTER | When I first heard the news that a campaign to help ease the movement control order-induced suffering of some families had organically sprung up in Malaysia, I was impressed.

Malaysians are nothing if not a creative lot, and using flags to signal distress and a willingness to accept help from strangers seemed brilliant. What better way for Malaysians to bond with their neighbours and step away momentarily from the digital world to experience life in the flesh.

I might quibble some about the colour chosen—white traditionally implies surrender and might be an awkward symbolism—but this is a minor criticism.

When I first heard that the ruling government seemed opposed to the campaign, I was initially puzzled, but not for long. For many decades now, Malaysian politicians have been working to make Malaysians more dependent on them, the government. This is where they derive nearly all of their power. 

When Malaysians begin to show signs that they are more than capable of relying on each other in times of need, alarms start sounding in the politicians’ heads.

The more Malaysians come to depend on the government to overcome hardship, the less neighbourly Malaysians become. The trend is clear. If you can’t see it yourself, ask your grandparents and great-grandparents if neighbourhoods are more or less connected than they were 60 or 70 years ago before stimulus programmes and special subsidies came about.

It’s not just the digital age that’s driven us indoors, isolated from one another. We don’t need each other as much as we used to. Asking your neighbour to borrow some cooking oil or a yard tool requires you to set aside your pride momentarily and be vulnerable with your fellow humans. But what’s the point of that when I’ll eventually get a cheque in the mail or my local MP’s staff may drop by with a bag of rice emblazoned with his image?

This pandemic is a time of intense learning for everyone. #BenderaPutih represents an opportunity to re-learn empathy, to re-connect with your neighbours, and to show the government that you need them a lot less than they need you. Onward, Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.