A political stage show for General Election

The timing is perfect. With national polls around the corner, the only way to win back the support and trust of the people is to remove some of the draconian laws that have ruined so many lives and brought so much suffering, agony and misery to the victims and their families. This was a calculated move plainly designed to soften the blows that had been raining down on the people these many decades. This time the signs are bad for those commanding the heights of political power. They can feel the winds of popular anger hitting them in the face because of all the dirty things they have committed with their badge of authority. People want to be freed of this “beast” that has been roaming the land and tearing apart the fabric of liberty unchallenged. The walk for democracy stopped the brute in its track and marked a turning point in the long fight for justice.

The rot must stop and so the premier captain has no choice but to listen to the groundswell of discontent against the excesses and abuses of his government. The people are waiting to deliver a knock-out blow as the golden opportunity has arrived to ditch a ruling party which has over-stayed its welcome. Realising this overwhelming truth, the need to mollify the voters became a rush. Time is running out and there is no way the popular tide, when whipped to frenzy, can be stopped. This is extremely dangerous for the young leader who must show he can gain the mandate to govern on his own steam. Otherwise he will write his name into history as the last prime minister who oversaw the dismantling of a once proud party. The writing is on the wall and what better way to reclaim lost ground than to wave the magic wand and immediately consign all those dreaded laws to the dustbin of history.

But the tide of public opinion may not suddenly turn in favour of the government just because the light of justice has at last penetrated through the thick skulls. Long used to turning a deaf ear to the cry for fair rules these many long years, the keepers of the public trust must not assume that an abrupt change of conduct will do the trick. People are not going to fall on their knees and give thanks for a deliverance that has all the markings of hypocrisy and deceit. There is a catch to all those promises of change and it is none other than the prime minister himself who revealed it: “The government will live up to the expectations of the people if it comes back to power.” If it comes back to power, it will behave like a good obedient boy. If it comes back again, corruption will disappear. If it returns to its old seat, democracy will be the permanent lodestar in the political firmament. In short, the fruits of reforms can only be tasted once all the ballot papers are cast for the ruling incumbents. This is political hogwash. It will not work because if the government is voted out of power, it is good riddance. All want a fresh beginning.

The whole exercise proves a point – getting rid of some of the obnoxious instruments of state terror is a political stage show. It is politics and not a genuine concern for the welfare of the people that drove the wobbly government to alter its direction. It is political consideration that dictated the rules of the game: to cling on to power, it must appease the voters. It is political imperatives that caused a drastic change of policy. Every single move is made under the menacing cloud of a general election in which the fate of the government is hanging by a thin thread. Noble sentiments were not the reason for the change of heart. An oppressive government cannot become a caring government overnight. All these so-called brave moves is not to ensure the survival of the country but to prolong the lifespan of the “sick patient”.

Will the people swallow the bait? Unlikely. Indeed, why should they succumb to the siren voices seeking their votes? The government could have done wonders for the country but did not care to do so. As it consolidated its power, its insufferable arrogance grew. As a result, national life took a turn for the worse as unrestrained greed, open hostility, poisonous suspicion, overt hate, hardened intolerance flow unhindered. The consequences were pernicious to nation-building. Unity morphed into a mirage. Liberty became an illusion. Justice a chimera. Press freedom a phoney. Development a byword for corruption. Yet the government chose to ignore the festering social illnesses and continued its high-handed ways. The massive rally for democracy at home – and the rapid collapse of old regimes and political fogies abroad – were the shots that finally brought the government several notches down and made the case for change compelling.

The rally for democracy at home – and the rapid collapse of old regimes abroad – were the shots that finally made the case for change compelling