Malaysians do not ask for free food on their table. But they, as tax player, they pay tax and hence demand goods to be delivered. I do not think this demand is too much. At the same time, we are customer of our government. I think it is not so polite to ask their customer to shut up when they have not delivered good service.Observe most of the ministers especially when they are in an aggressive mood. Do they behave like elected representatives who are working for the people? NO. They talk down on us as if we don’t know any better. It’s like we owe them a living and not the other way round. Let’s have freedom and liberty…and food and drinks all round!Idealism of democracy does not augur well for current ruling party. Empowering people to think & liberating their minds is the last thing BN wants to do.
Freedom is self endowed by our creator, its the ruling class which suppresses us. Islam teaches man to liberate himself from all form of oppression and to teach his fellow man to think, feel & act in benevolence towards his fellow man.
The ruling politicians still have the mentality of society owes them some gratitude for the development they have brought using our money, coupled with the belief of certain parties that Malaysia is their right to rule.
The more oppression they conduct the more despicable they become. Soon they will perish
Generally man basic instinct is food and shelter before he could think of anything else like freedom and arts. So most farmers poor would always thought about food and shelter and for their love ones and for you to make assumption that Man is predispose to freedom of expression is wrong. Freedom of expressions or actions is manifest in many ways, for me, Man has the habit of building walls where there enjoy this freedom within. I came from a big family thus I have to create my own space for my privacy which again is part and parcel of human needs and rights! So as long as Man can find the freedom within their own 4 walls I think all is fine! So as long as the government of the day does not intrude in his private affairs he will enjoy his freedom of expression by himself and family. That is the reason why I am against Islamic private laws that infringe on personal rights as oppose to public rights. Democracy per say is good but for man to achieve the benefit of democratic freedom man must have the ability to ascertain, respect and understand other people’s right and to honour them. To argue and discourse without using fist but that in Malaysia and many Asian countries especially Islamic one is a rarity. For many of us violence is the result and rule of law is forgotten.
We have been independent for more than 53 years but we seem to lose the art to argue by not getting emotional about it. Our former leaders would argue but always level hardheadedness wins the day.
Human beings are born free. The moment he comes out from the womb, he is freed from the constraints of the womb and thrust into this world a free human being. The first thing which he tastes, apart from the air which he inhales, is freedom and not food or drink.
Freedom of expression is tasted early in his life outside the womb. The first cry which a human being give is an expression, which he is then free to demonstrate. And he moves, his eyes opening up, his limbs moving in no particular pattern and without any specific control. Freedom and liberty are not only what which dignify us as human beings but they are our divine rights.
However, in this day and age, when freedom and liberty are regarded as universal rights of human beings and when they are regarded as part of natural and divine rights, it is a measure of the sorry state that we are in that we are still arguing which is the more basic and primordial need, food and drink or freedom and liberty!
My question is, why can’t we have them all? Especially in a democracy, where we elect our so called leaders to look after our well being as members of a State?
I think in this day and age, it is downright insulting — and not to mention, pathetic — for any leader to say to the people that I will give you food on your table in abundance but you would have to shut up, toe the line and do as I say, all the time and under all circumstances.
For a leader to lay the blame on the people which he or she ruled — for not understanding the limits of democracy — as a reason for his or her failure to achieve development and progress does not speak much of his or her leadership.
A comparison was made with Singapore in one of the comments. It was pointed out Singapore did not have much of a democracy and they progress well. But that does not prove that Singapore progressed well because it was less democratic.
Hasn’t it occurred to any of us that Singapore progressed because of the mentality and work ethics of its leaders?
By the way, Malaysia, during the 22 year reign of DrM had identical benevolent absolutist regime with Singapore. Both Dr M and LKY were the staunchest apologists for what they termed as “Asian values”, which to me was nothing more than a self serving excuse for totalitarianism.
Malaysia had everything which Singapore had in terms of repressive legislation as well as actions. In fact history would show that Malaysia imposed more limits to democracy than Singapore did in the 22 years of Dr M’s rule.
So I am going to ask the obvious question. Why is it that Malaysia had failed to match Singapore’s progress and development during those 22 years? Both had untold limits on democracy. What happened? What were the differences between the two countries?
The thing is this. If we stripped all the deliberate cost overruns (I am being overly generous with my description here); all consultation, introduction and service fees; all middle men; all other “value-not-added services” from all of our projects all those years, I am sure this country would have enough finances and resources to do much more. The money being churned by Petronas alone would be more than enough.
And if only we had put in the right people — instead of some silver-spoon fed children, brothers in law, nephews and what-have-you of the people in power — here they were needed, I am sure this country would have equalled Singapore, if not overtaken it.
Whether we like it or not, we are a democratic country. Our leaders should stop asking for more and more powers and start delivering results with whatever powers they already have. Why can’t development and progress be achieved without trampling on the people’s freedom and liberty?
In this cyber age, the people are slowly being empowered. And they wish for emancipation. They wish for development and progress. And they do not wish to give more than they need to, particularly when it comes to their rights, freedom and liberty.
The people now have become an enlightened customers of the politicians. And they have become demanding customers. They want food and drink on their table. And they want their freedom and their liberties in the same breath. Their basic and fundamental rights as human beings. Those very things which give them human dignity and which differentiate them from other animals.
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