Leaders unite, not fuel fires

WHAT does Merdeka mean to most of us? The end of the British dominion? Street celebrations? Or just a holiday?

As a boy back in Penang, Merdeka Day for me was largely about football. There would be many tournaments for all age groups during that period. And all the players would be inspired by the biggie – the now almost extinct Merdeka Tournament.

There was the Ramakrishna Cup for those below 12 or under-15, played at the Ramakrisha Ashrama. And then there was the far more hotly-contested Pak Ya Cup.

Players of all races from all over the island and the mainland would converge on Kampung Melayu. My friends from Kebun Nyior – Indians and Malays – led by the legendary Isa Bakar, won the title twice in a row in the 80s.

The tournament was organised by Pak Ya, a local player from Kampung Melayu. He was a political party’s youth leader and the tournament was organised by the party, too.

That, you see, is what the youth wings of political parties did back then – organise sports and social events that brought communities together.

Not anymore. Now, the wings still organise events, but it’s not about sports or multiculturalism. Instead, they organise protests, marches and boycotts. They preach hate, stoke anger and promote division.

Some of them are easily incensed, especially when someone from another race commits a perceived mistake.

It is immediately blown up into a huge problem, and the baying for blood begins.

Of course, another youth group then jumps in to defend the so-called “offender”, and a full-scale battle is launched.

Any excuse will do – a misspelt word, bad Bahasa, a too-large sign in the wrong language, socks... anything. Most recently, the national flag – the ensign behind which the nation should unite – has become the weapon of hate.

It has come to a point where many now fear flying the flag, lest some overzealous self-proclaimed patriot comes charging at them shouting “treason”.

It all started because a man held up a pole with an upside down flag for about 15 seconds.

Yes, it was an act that should be criticised. The man should even face action, but that is a matter for the police and the courts. People make mistakes. And the rest of us need to move on.

Raising a hue and cry, taking to the streets and making it an “us versus them” fight is of little benefit, especially as we prepare to celebrate our independence day.

Our founding father, Tunku Abdul Rahman, often talked about what Merdeka meant to him. His vision of independence was a united, harmonious and prosperous nation built on the principles of democracy, secularism and respect for diversity.

“No matter who you are, live in harmony in this glorious land of ours,” he famously said.

Those who wish to divide the nation should remember those words. And they should realise that the flag is not really the big issue that they should be worrying about. Just look around.

A 13-year-old child died of bullying, her bruised body found in a drain after a fall from high up; a 10-year-old cancer patient is in hospital after being assaulted by his peers – in two different schools.

In Melaka, there is an alleged bullying incident involving more than 20 Form Three female students with several victims suffering swollen and blistered feet.

Meanwhile, young girls are selling nude pictures of themselves and making more money than their parents combined.

Where is the outrage, the anger, the protests to ensure the bullying stops and that the animals who pay to see young girls in the buff are brought to book?

A former madrasah principal in Johor has been jailed for 112 years after admitting that he sexually assaulted six male students. He is not unique. We have heard similar cases in Kangar, Kuching and Seremban.

Again, no outrage.

Youths are also finding it difficult to get jobs. The highest percentage of unemployed are those aged below 24. Some 70,000 people are working as delivery riders in the country, 98% of them aged below 30. These are all youths.

Even access to education is a problem. Malaysia is ranked third lowest in Asean – ahead of only Brunei and Laos – in education rights, according to a recent report. We scored lower than countries like Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam, never mind Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand.

These are all youth issues. So, why are our youth leaders not concerned? And let’s not even get started about corruption, insolvencies among youths, bikers dying en route to government-sponsored motorcyle gatherings, and high-ranked people in uniforms who are in cahoots with smugglers.

There’s another trait missing among today’s youth leaders – respect.

Back in the day, respect for authority was ingrained. We listened, we obeyed and we tried to emulate our heroes. We believed the elders knew better. Not today.

Instead, we have youth leaders who cock a snook at elders, and use derogatory words on older people.

Even the police seem to get no respect. When they tell these recalcitrant leaders not to do something, they go ahead and do it anyway.

Now, even the Prime Minister has had enough. He has ordered the authorities to take action against such leaders. It’s about time.

We can’t have such big-headed, uncouth youth leaders. Instead, we need more like Pak Ya, the man behind that football tournament in Penang.

He was a local council worker who part-timed as a wedding photographer, a decent man with not much of an education. He was certainly not a contractor, businessman, lawyer or even a doctor.

But he embraced Malaysians of all races and brought youths together through the tournament. I daresay that the local youth leader was a far better one than many of the supposedly highly educated national-level leaders of today.