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The fact is, time and again, we trust politicians even when something deep inside us tells us “don’t trust him/her.”
A. Katirathan, FMT
As I lay in bed with my eyes half closed, the face of Dr Mahathir Mohamad passed before my eyes, followed by Lim Guan Eng’s.
As I wondered why the image of these two upright men appeared in my mind as I lay down, I remembered a report I had read earlier.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said on June 26 that DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng’s claim that he threatened to sack Mahathir, who was finance minister in his cabinet in 2018, was a “blatant lie”.
Lim was responding to Lim’s assertion that Mahathir had threatened to sack him three times in front of other cabinet members because he insisted on implementing Pakatan Harapan’s election manifesto, including reducing North-South Expressway tolls by 18%.
Lim claimed that Mahathir also opposed his efforts to implement open tenders for government procurement and to provide development grants to MPs.
Of course, Mahathir would not sit still and, as expected, he launched a fierce attack on Lim Guan Eng.
The insult war began when Lim Kit Siang accused Mahathir of “selective memory”, saying he had been portrayed positively in a forthcoming book by a former aide to former Prime Minister Najib Razak and that his recollections were “riddled with half-truths”.
Mahathir criticised Lim, saying: “The Cabinet cannot be a rubber stamp even if promises are made in the manifesto.”
Conventional wisdom would have us believe that one of them must be lying and that politicians are habitual offenders.
But do politicians lie?
Mahathir and Lim were referring to campaign promises made by Pakatan Harapan ahead of the 2018 general election. Mahathir has publicly said they made those promises because they did not expect they would win.
Over the decades, our governments and political leaders who have served as prime ministers have made many promises and given beautiful slogans that reflect their commitments.
The latest slogan is “Malaysia Madani”, which encapsulates Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s commitment to ensure effective governance, good values, greater freedom, racial harmony and sustainable development.
Madani’s government has been criticised for failing to deliver on many of the campaign promises made by Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, now partners in the government, in the 2022 general election. The latest complaint is that free speech is shrinking.
Remember former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia slogan?
It is a promise to bring everyone together to build a united Malaysia regardless of race and religion.
But what happened? Didn’t the divide between race and religion grow even wider during that period? Aren’t there several Malaysias today?
Remember the slogan “People first, act now”? Do politicians’ policies and plans really put people first? Or do they put certain people or political parties first? Or do they put a family first?
Remember the “Cemerlang, Gemilang, Terbilang” (excellence, glory and distinction) promise of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the prime minister before Najib?
For example, has there been anything “pure, refined, unadulterated” about the behavior of our political leaders since 2018 or even earlier?
Remember Mahathir’s 1982 slogan “Bersih, Cekap, Amanah” (clean, efficient, trustworthy)? It promised a well-governed, progressive nation, and specifically targeted the civil service?
Are today’s politicians “clean, efficient and trustworthy”? Are they civil servants?
If they did, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission wouldn’t be so busy today, and the Auditor-General wouldn’t have so many things to say about inefficiencies and misuse of public funds.
If there really is “cleanliness, neatness and integrity”; if there really is “purity, splendor and perfection”; if there really is “One Malaysia”, then why do we still complain about the civil service, the education system, empty professors, nepotism, corruption, disunity and many other things?
Mahathir advocated the concept of a “Malaysian nation” where everyone considers themselves to be Malaysian first and the conflicting interests and cultures among the various races in Malaysia would be reconciled.
what happened?
How can we expect ordinary people to consider themselves Malaysians when our leaders call themselves Malays? How can we expect people to be proud to be Malaysians when they are discriminated against through various policies and programmes?
How can you expect all citizens to consider themselves Malaysians when those who promote a “Malaysian nation” as part of Vision 2020 are tirelessly spewing divisive rhetoric?
Mahathir has been constantly harping on about how the Malays have suffered losses. For example, in March 2023, he claimed that the Malays had “lost everything” after he resigned following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020.
Then in July 2023, he said that if the “Malay state” was destroyed and replaced by a multiracial Malaysia, the Malays risked not only losing their country but also being lost in the world.
In January 2024, Mahathir claimed that unless the Malays united, they could face extinction within the next decade.
“It’s like we (Malays) were conquered by other races without a war,” Mahathir was quoted as saying in the media.
So, are Mahathir’s “Malaysian people” and “efficiency, integrity and honesty” all lies?
Politicians know voters want them to make promises. So they tell voters what they want to hear. Would you say that’s lying?
We wanted to get rid of highway tolls, and they told us they would. We wanted political reform and free speech, and they told us they would. We wanted equal opportunities for our children, and they told us they would create a fair society where everyone has a place.
So, do politicians lie?
The fact is, we trust these politicians over and over again, even though there’s a voice deep inside us that whispers “don’t trust him/her.”
What does this mean? It means that, at our core, we are deceiving ourselves by wanting to believe their sweet words.
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