LETTER | White flag movement, where to next?

LETTER | It was said that in times of chaos are also an opportunity for great changes. As for the case of the current lockdown (MCO 3.0) in Malaysia, the movement of raising white flags from homes that are in distress can be the beginning of a moment where the rakyat can seize this opportunity to re-empower themselves.

It is very clear that our politicians from both sides of the divide have been very busy playing the numbers game in trying to jostle for power throughout the pandemic.

If either the Parliament sitting resumes and the vote of no confidence on the current prime minister sails through or the Perikatan Nasional coalition collapse by itself, there is little chance of an agreement amongst politicians on the possibility of a cease-fire and focus on battling the pandemic.

The current crop of politicians that the rakyat has been voting in for the last 30 to 40 years are the kinds of people who have always been looking after their own self-interest, too many have shown to have little sympathy for the sufferings of the common people.

Even if there is a chance of a government of national unity is to be formed, more time is needed to settle the score to satisfy all parties involved in the new coalition. It is not as simple as substituting an opposition coalition in waiting with the current coalition. It requires horse-trading with many disparate political parties with diverse self-interest politicians and their internal factions.

Assuming there is a move to unseat the current government and assuming things are as muddle as the Sheraton Move, many citizens who are in distress now will be suffering from starvation by the time the new government is formed and be functional.

There is also an endemic mental health issue arising from the stresses of the long periods of lockdowns.

Looking at other global challenges that need immediate attention like climate change and the possible disruption of food security, the fourth industrial revolution where artificial intelligence is predicted to take over many manual jobs, it is high time for the masses to re-imagine another type of future. 

If we believe in all these potential upheavals on the future of humanity, then thinking and trialling some possible solutions is needed right now.

The current Covid-19 crisis is indeed a clarion call for us to re-imagine these new possibilities. If not now, when? Changes can only happen when the masses are desperate. With the current trend in the use of social media for social change, anything is possible. Mass movements like “me too”, “Black lives matter”, “the Arab Spring” are a few recent examples that can easily take off like wildfire.

I see there is an urgent need to start practicing something that is practical that can immediately address the white flag family in distress issue. If this idea is followed through, it potentially can provide the solution to tackle food security issues due to climate change and mental health issues due to the Covid-19 crisis and joblessness.

Reclaiming green public spaces like small arterial road-sides (not highways of course), pedestrian walking paths, the edge of parks, the ring around football fields or even rooftops are not new.

Cuba has successfully tried it in the nineties. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba was reliant on her cash crops like sugar cane/sugar as an export to mainly the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc. After the Soviet Union collapsed, the United States enforced a blockade on Cuba so they can’t find other buyers for their cash crops products. Cuba was on its knees. Luckily the leadership saw the potential of small scale self-sufficient urban organic farming as a way out. 

Today there are more than 250 farm cooperatives in Cuba with more than 50,000 farmers working. As for the current global Covid-19 crisis, Cuba managed to send doctors overseas to help to battle the pandemic.

This model of small scale farming can be easily duplicated and potentially solve the family in distress issue quickly. It’s just a matter of someone starting it and using social media as a tool and it can then immediately catches fire around the country. This is one of the simplest grassroots empowerment movement that can start right now.

During MCO, time is allowed for people to go out to exercise and there is a limit on one can travel. In the villages, public land are plenty. As for the urban areas with high rises, there are plenty of balconies, rooftops, spaces in between car parks and the fences, in between the fences and the drains or in between the fences and the roads. 

There are spaces in abandoned buildings in urban areas and public lands. If the messages are communicated orderly, one person at a time can start to work on the same plot of land and share the harvest forming a cooperative. Obviously, we have to leave the gotong-royong spirit for a later time.

In the pre-Covid era, there were frequent complaints on the rising food prices. If taken seriously, the reclaiming of the public green spaces can be a starting point to address these long term issues. It is well documented that working with soil can also help reduce depression and other mental health issues.

We do not know what the future holds, but if people start to carry out the task immediately, vegetable can be produced in a matter of few weeks. Short term crops like papaya, tapioca and banana in a matter of a few months.

Remember we have entered in a new period of uncertainty, not just because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The challenges of climate change will be bigger than the pandemic. 

Another big challenge is the substitution of human labour with the new development in information technologies. Just imagine driverless taxis, buses and trucks, robot chefs, robot fruit pickers, robot cleaners, self help counters with no cashiers are already here.

Adopting Cuban’s successful trial on small scale self sufficient organic farming cooperatives is one way out to tackle these multiple global challenges of our time.

Another possible side benefit of this type of cooperative farming is that it might resolve the country’s long term entrenched racial issues. The rakyat can reclaim the public lands now while the politicians are busy fighting amongst themselves and have not been putting fuel to the racial issue fires lately.

There is no other opportune time than now. Don’t waste your time in supporting any political parties. We can’t rely on the current crop of politicians to salvage a situation that can only get worse in the future.

Malaysia is blessed with rain, sunshine and warm weather all through the year. 

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