A TRAGIC death happened last week in Johor, where a young Singaporean fell victim to a hit-and-run incident. The victim was treated in a government hospital in Johor prior to his passing. The friends of the deceased then held a press conference, claiming among other things, that the ambulance took a long time to arrive, that the hospital demanded a payment before admission and that the medical personnel could not communicate much in English.

A day later, the Malaysian Health Ministry responded with a timeline that showed the ambulance arriving 13 minutes after the call was placed, and denying that any payment was demanded or that treatment was delayed. The victim’s kin also had him transferred back to Singapore at their own risk.

Perhaps sadder than the whole tragedy was the speed at which Malaysians chose to prosecute the hospital and its staff, joining their Singaporean neighbours who criticised everything from the lack of standards with local healthcare to the Malaysian civil service in general.

Even after the matter was clarified, some continued in their criticism, citing Bahasa Malaysia and the quota system and a hundred-and-one other things that were wrong with the country.

Almost no one questioned the possibility that the lack of faith in the Malaysian healthcare system could have worsened things in the first place. Even less called for action against the driver of the Proton Saga who hit the victim.

Part of the problem lies with many ill-informed Malaysians who find it difficult to stick their necks above their office cubicles and see the world outside their designer coffee, artisanal soap and social media circles. Whose point of view of government hospitals is probably shaped more by what they hear than what they experience or know as fact.

All doctors and pharmacists serve mandatory years with the government before earning their licenses to practise. Medical officers who go on to specialize, too, in some disciplines, will have to undergo their specialisation, also as a public officer. As such, a vast majority of practitioners in the private sector actually come from the government service. 

Could it be that anger against the government and race-based policies has blinded Malaysians to the point of not knowing who to be angry with anymore? Or has this utter lack of faith in one organ of government spread to the others?

And has the line between rightly justified dissatisfaction been blurred to include downright misplaced racism?

Also last week, a police officer in USJ lost his life. He was manning the police station alone when he was shot to death. Amidst the outpouring of sympathy for the victim, there was no shortage of people mocking the police force, making jokes about the reliability of the police and questioning the safety of police stations.

Whatever misgivings you may have about the national leadership, the vast majority of police officers do a relatively decent job keeping our streets safe. We recently saw several foiled terrorist cells and crackdown on violent crime and gangs. We also hosted a regional sporting event with no major untoward security incident.

Speaking about the SEA Games, remarks about flags and polo aside, some Malaysians on social media also appeared to join in the allegations of cheating and unfair play levelled by countries like Thailand against our local team.

Why? Malaysia is far from perfect, but sometimes she deserves support. You may not agree, like, or even stand the fact that you share the same air with her leaders, but every time you criticise her doctors, police officers, sportsmen and civil servants unfairly, you’re actually alienating more and more people from who you consider good enough to be what you consider to be Malaysian, and who, in return would want you to be considered Malaysian for the very same reason.

You end up alienating each other and drawing a line that should not be there in the first place.

It’s sad because more often than not, in the struggle for a better Malaysia, you’re often actually fighting on the same side and want the same things for the country. – September 5, 2017. 

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.