I've been coming across a lot of posts online and offline about how the current government of Malaysia is somehow abusing its power and suppressing the people's right to many things. I've been following closely on the political development of Malaysia since the Bersih 3.0 protest. From that protest onwards, there's a huge cry for the current government to submit to the people. The argument? The people are the ones who are supposed to be in power. The government is there to SERVE the people. And by server, they kinda mean do what's asked of them from the citizens.
At Bersih 3.0, when the 'people' wanted to use the Dataran Merdeka to hold their protest, the government didn't give approval. Even the DYMMYDP Agong gave an order to use the stadium instead. The protesters were stubborn and demanded the government to let them use the Dataran Merdeka because it's the Dataran belongs to the people. A question, did they get 2/3 majority of the Malaysian population to sign a petition that says the protestors should be let enter the Dataran Merdeka to hold their protest? That petition doesn't seem to exist. So, how can anyone claim that the citizens in general have demanded to use the space? By far, it's only the small fraction of the citizens who were making that demand. And there's no proof at all that that small fraction spoke for the rest of the country's population.
This crazy claim of the people have the right to make demands and the government MUST meet them is really quite a joke. The opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has led his supporters into believing that their requests cannot be questioned! This is where the issue lies. If the citizens can make demands just like that, is it really democracy? NO! That's plain anarchy! I do what I want cause I believe it's right! A government is there not to serve but to GOVERN! That's why the body is called government!
If the opposition's argument is to be followed, then can all the Mat Rempits in Malaysia gather together and demand that they be allowed to ride their bikes anyway they like? Just cause it's they demand (they are part of the people too)? Can all the loan sharks be allowed to do their 'business' because it is their right to do business? Can all the street racers be allowed to drive as fast as they want because they demanded for it? Can the drift drivers drift on the streets cause they demanded for it?
Oh, what? Those are against the law? Then what about requiring a permission to hold a gathering of huge number of people? I'm pretty sure the organizers of Bersih 3.0 DID NOT get a permission to use the Dataran Merdeka. And without permission, it's unlawful to gather that many people! It's already against the law to gather outside the Dataran Merdeka in the first place. What more after breaking the barriers?
If the argument is there's nothing wrong with 'peaceful' gathering, but driving fast, drifting, etc, is unlawful, then I guess the government should be arresting the stuntmen drifting their cars on the street during the production of Drift. They were drifting on the streets. And also they should put out an arrest or summons to Michael Schumacher for that time in Malaysia when he drove the Proton Pert at over 200km/h...
Then comes the argument how the current government is creating the racial barrier in Malaysia. Really now. Is the government the cause of it? I've talked to a number of Malaysians. From each that I asked quite a few that if the government were to abolish the law that states all Malays are to be Muslims, would they be ready to renounce their current race and join as one race, Malay in Malaysia? The response I got was negative in every sense. The common reply I got was, 'No, we cannot forget where we came from!' Hmmm... is this type of thinking the result of needing to fill in the race column in official forms? Also, did the government play a role in instilling the general acceptance that chinese are gamblers who get into trouble with loan sharks, indians are drunkards who come home late and beat up their wives and malays are drug addicts who steal and rape? I wonder how the government could have done anything to instill that. Those notions don't appear in ANY printed media that the government oversees, neither is that stated in ANY syllabus of national schools, colleges or other higher education providers. In the end, it's still just the general public who are unwilling to get rid of their racial claims as chinese, indians, malays, etc. If a community is unwilling to 'forget where we came from', he/she can never truly achieve a non-racial ruled community.
It's quite a silly argument about how the people should have their demands met by the government. It's even sillier to comment that it's wrong for the government to disapprove something the government deem inappropriate simple because a portion of the citizens demand for it. Though the opposition seem to be gaining grounds by upscaling the wrong of the current government has done and downplaying the right the government has done, it's up to the people to see the truth about the big picture. Hope the people of Malaysia are smart enough to stop focusing only on the small things fueled by emotions and look at the whole picture with their logic.
