WITH the National Day around the corner, it’s a good time to reflect on where we’ve taken steps forward, and where we’ve taken steps backwards.
The most Merdeka-relevant issue concerns flying the flag.
Of course, it is good for everyone who is flying the flag to fly it correctly. But when we look at the responses we’ve seen so far to incorrectly flown flags, can we honestly blame Malaysians for feeling like the risk of flying the flag is not at all worth it?
The most famous case currently is of course the shop owner in Penang who found himself the target of ire by Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh.
Imagine if you made an honest mistake and suddenly and unwittingly found yourself at the centre of some kind of racial storm, complete with protests, for no reason whatsoever.
I’m sure many would understandably welcome Dr Akmal being charged in court in relation to the protest he organised. I do not generally support charging people for expressing political opinions, but I do note that his actions (again) have certainly not contributed anything positive to the nation’s wellbeing.
More recently, in Johor, the Pontian Municipal Council apparently shut down a dental clinic for 30 days because they flew the flag upside down.
Again, if some very clear intent to disrespect the flag can be established, then maybe some kind of punitive action is reasonable. But to close a clinic and business down for 30 days does indeed seem heavy-handed and overly vindictive.
I imagine many Malaysians would feel it is better not to try and fly the flag at all. Why bother when an attempt to be patriotic could potentially make you a target of hatred and punishment?
By all means take the necessary steps to ensure that any flag flown wrongly is corrected. That is natural and reasonable. The authorities should be urged, however, not to be overly punitive as they take steps to rectify any mistakes.
On the topic of excessively punitive actions, it was disheartening this last week to witness the arrest of long time activist S. Arutchelvam, from Parti Sosialis Malaysia, over what seems to have been a minor incident at Parliament some weeks back.
One of the pleasures of my time in civil society is meeting some of the country’s best, most sincere people who have dedicated so much of their lives to trying to make Malaysia a better place. And if you ask around, many of the best of the best would only have admiring things to say about Arul because of his work and commitment to the cause.
It was thus very depressing for many of us to see him being arrested under this administration. We considered it par for the course in previous governments, but had higher hopes for this one. The good news is that he was released on police bail soon after the arrest; that said, we very much hope this is not the start of a disturbing trend.
The other recent horrifying incident that we very much want to avoid becoming a disturbing trend is the type of political violence we saw when former minister Rafizi Ramli’s son was assaulted by man in a mall, who injected him with a syringe. Rafizi has now named the person who was being discussed in the former’s meeting with a whistleblower.
Whatever the investigations eventually reveal, true independence must mean independence from all kinds of political violence.
It is not all glum, however, on the eve of this 68th Merdeka.
I think it is good for non-Malays to write about things from a Malay perspective, just as it is good for Malays to write about things from a non-Malay perspective. If I may today however, I want to give credit where credit is due with regards to two positive developments.
The first is the recent promotion of Mejar Jeneral Datuk Johnny Lim Eng Seng to the rank of Leftenan Jeneral in the Malay-sian Armed Forces, the first Chinese Malaysian to reach this rank. The second is the recent appointment of Comm Datuk M. Kumar to the position of Criminal Investigations Department director in the Royal Malaysia Police.
Non-Malays have long grappled with the feeling that their service was not welcome in many government institutions. There has always been a perception of a glass ceiling – where positions beyond a certain level were simply perceived to be reserved for certain groups alone.
It’s hard to overstate the emotional impact on Malaysians, both young and old, to see someone that looks like us be entrusted with vital duties in keeping the country safe – especially after decades of feeling like we were maybe unwanted or unwelcome.
I am certain that the weight and significance of these appointments will motivate these two gentlemen to work even harder to prove that service to nation is blind to narrow parochial interests, and do their level best to show their dedication not to their ethnic tribe, but to the nation as a whole.
From this example, more Malaysians, regardless of their background, might be inspired to volunteer to serve their nation – and feel welcomed to do so.
Unsurprisingly, there were those who sought to paint these appointments as an erosion of Malay power – and in doing so, sought to dial the clock backwards and keep our country stuck in the days of racial division
Let us counter those voices not with the anger that comes from trying to fight over who gets bigger slices of the pie but with a reaffirmation of our belief that all Malaysians who want to serve their country should always be welcome.
It was heartening that in the case of Comm Kumar, no less than the Prime Minister himself stood up to declare that this was the spirit of this current government – something that might have been impossible in previous governments.
He rightly stated that these developments do not at all signify any kind of “erosion” of Malay power. Instead, they can mark the beginning of an era where there is recognition even at the highest levels of that simple truth: that Malaysians will always be stronger together.
Nathaniel Tan is a strategic communications consultant. He can be reached at nat@engage.my. The views expressed here are solely the writer’s own.
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