YOURSAY | Stuck with the same old, but change can still happen

YOURSAY | ‘Don’t sit back and make it easy for the thieves and crooks.'

COMMENT | We look on helplessly because we let politics be a spectator sport

Newday: Well said, Malaysiakini associate editor Martin Vengadesan.

I have had enough of not-so-close friends stating all the negative things you highlighted, including “never vote again” and getting upset at the younger generation for taking their political passion to the streets.

Even the “walk” to the Parliament by opposition MPs received criticism from my Pakatan Harapan voting buddies. “Just a stunt, did nothing,” they stated. Yet, it was these MPs in suits facing off with the FRU, not them.

All I can do is express my feelings via forums like Malaysiakini and encourage political awareness among my children. One, in particular, is putting himself out there in that regard.

The Bersih rallies were not for nothing. We, unfortunately, ended up with a government incapable of making political change quick enough, with the wrong man in charge.

I do have some sympathy for Harapan though, as taking over after 60 years of the same is not going to be easy.

At this time, we are stuck with the same old, same old. There will be another election. There will be opportunity for change again. I just hope I am not dead before that happens.

Anonymous_15897060865429524: What can we do, Martin? Go march in the streets and risk Covid?

Many of us are old. I was at the few Bersih rallies. But my street marching days are over. So, I ask you, what can we do during this pandemic?

Where is the leadership by example? Harapan only knows how to complain and usually, they are outwitted by Perikatan Nasional (PN). Bersih, the Bar Council, etc, have fallen silent. Gone are the fiery leaders of the past, replaced by bureaucrats.

There is hope in Muda but they don’t seem to be doing much either except struggling with the Registrar of Societies.

AdeK: @Anonymous_15897060865429524, what a great question. What can we do? A few ideas, from another old person:

1. Throw your support behind those who are at the forefront of change. Support these journalists, artists, activists and young people.

Whether it's helping pay for their legal representation, sending them an "I support you" message on social media, being visible in your support and defending them against attacks by your inner circle (friends, family, co-workers, social media contacts), help keep them strong.

2. Support NGOs that are doing what our government isn't. There are many of them out there that ignore race, class, etc, in the work they do. Either volunteer or support them financially. Get better working conditions for migrants through Tenaganita and Yayasan Chow Kit.

Defend freedom of the press and put pressure on authorities who intimidate individuals who speak out through Amnesty International and Transparency International. Inform yourself on the arguments (including those based on religion) used to oppress women and other communities by following Sisters in Islam.

The problems that need to be solved in this country are huge, but the worst thing we can do is to sit back and make things even easier for the thieves and crooks.

OrangeKoala1303: I understand having the need to feel like one has control. But the reality is, there is only so much an ordinary rakyat has control over.

Are we able to enforce our will on the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC)? Can we change 40 years of BN gerrymandering? Did we pick Azhar Azizan Harun as our Dewan Rakyat speaker?

Did we have a say about Dr Mahathir Mohamad's scheme to back Azmin Ali instead of Anwar Ibrahim? Were we able to force our MPs to pass an anti-hopping law in the previous Harapan term as federal government? Can we make MACC accountable to Parliament?

Not everyone can be a dissident. That's a sure way to be a failed state. The fact about Malaysia is that our governance system has been weakened because of self-serving leadership over many decades. It's not suddenly going to be made right in one term.

It's grossly inaccurate to say that the fault is “yours and mine”, especially Malaysiakini readers who are more aware than most.

Dr Raman Letchumanan: Martin, the change should happen in Harapan itself - a drastic transformation. Many of us do our bit in our own way, not necessarily having to take to the streets.

You know where my preference lies. I was promoting Harapan through my family and network of friends. Sad to say, they have lost hope in Harapan. Me too. The reason is obvious. I have been saying this over the last one year, in my opinion pieces, comments, etc.

I will be promoting activists, youths, social workers, etc - those whose stories Malaysiakini has been carrying. We need to encourage and support them, let them know they can be an agent of change by being in power, not shouting from the outside. Harapan? Not again.

Vijay47: Your article, Martin, from beginning to end is full of doom and gloom. The sad reality is that you are fully justified in your pessimism and we must agree with you.

For too long, we have right-wing Malay males from racist parties calling the shots. For that right-wing Malay male, why should he change when he has been suckled at the breast from infancy to tomb?

When the choice is between Santa Claus and the stern headmaster, there is really no choice. Dignity and pride be damned and the best part of the deal is that there are others to toil for you.

Life is beautiful when you can have your cake and eat it too - icing, ikan bilis sambal and all. And religion is used to allay any breach of conscience that might sprout.

In your article, where you fault those who stand and watch, you are right and you are wrong. Like Raman mentioned earlier, some may contribute to the cause not by taking to the streets but in their own modest way. Perhaps by commenting in portals like Malaysiakini or contributing to legal fees for Malaysiakini. So they stand silently and serve.

There is another group, mainly the older generation like me who, having been brought up on heady diets of Special Branch attention and such, may decide that discretion is the better part of Kamunting.

At the end of the day, maybe the best response would be our vote.

AdeK: This was the article I needed to read. We have politicians who think of the country as their gilded litterbox for the rakyat to clean up. That's been true for too many decades. To me, what is far more heart-breaking are the people on the ground who not only do nothing but criticise those who do.

If you look carefully, changes are happening. Not the big ones we all hope for. Not yet. But small, critically important ones because of those who dare fight.

So, if you can do one small thing - even if it is reaching across racial lines, using your privilege (education, gender, wealth, whatever) to help someone with even less power than you think you have, or supporting brave and vocal organisations, agencies and NGOs (Malaysiakini, Tenaganita, Sisters in Islam, Amnesty International), do it.

The same goes for individuals. Tell those who feel so hopeless that the only thing they feel they can do is to go on hunger strike, "I am with you." Sign every petition that demands lawsuits against schoolgirls be dropped or that public servants be held accountable. My heart has been warmed by the number of people who offer to pay fines or bail for those unjustly targeted by police.

Small acts are huge. Keep doing them. More than the clueless, greedy people at the top, our perceived helplessness is our greatest enemy.