GOOGLE “moderation” and you will find that among its synonyms are “self-restraint”, “self-discipline”, “self-control” and a few other definitions, majority of which start with “self-…”.

Yet, while we claim to be a moderate country, we often look to the sometimes questionable wisdom of our leaders, often driven by political convenience over their desire to do the right thing. 

If recent exchanges in various media, social or otherwise, between politicians, community leaders of the various racial and religious groups, and the common rakyat is any yardstick to go by, Malaysia would appear to be more divided along increasingly radical positions, as compared to the comfortable, relatively stable middle ground of yesteryear.

Why is this happening? Well, for starters, our world is far more connected today than it ever has been. The speed, convenience and relative anonymity of social media allows users to point their cameras at something they deem not right with the world, it goes viral and in a mere matter of minutes, tens of thousands of Internet users would have had their say on it.

In an already sensitive world of political and social ideology, in countries like Malaysia, the racial and religious dimension of issues only serves to fuel the divide.

While there are genuine issues to be tackled comprehensively, more often than not, some issues aren’t even religious or racial in nature, but are made out to be.

The few steering lock rage incidents, an increasingly common phenomenon in our country lately, have managed to take on a racial slant. People questioning PPSMI, the government’s flip-flop policy on the teaching of Math and Science in English, has been spun into a racially-charged debate involving the British granting of citizenships, national type schools and the Constitution.

There are even certain quarters painting attacks on 1MDB and the government as unholy attempts to bring down an Islamic administration. 

That is where politicians should come in, to guide the narrative and prevent the dialogue from becoming overtly racial or religious. But sadly, more often than not, the only time they do come into the discourse is to gain some cheap political mileage, before quietly slipping away safely behind the sedition line, while their ardent followers continue going at it.

This can even be seen with issues that have an actual racial and religious undertone, like the cancelled beer festival or temple demolitions, or the laundromat in Muar with the “Muslims-Only” sign.

As community leadership in Malaysia is drawn along racial and political lines, even in non-race-based parties, each political leader unofficially doubles up as a custodian of his or her own ethnic group. As such, these leaders can play a role in firstly, identifying actual issues that affect these communities against for example, business gimmicks that don’t and subsequently, encouraging and promoting dialogue between the parties concerned or the parties with concern.

The reality is, Malaysia is evolving, in both directions – conservative as well as liberal – creating many different ideas based on ideology and race along each side.

As  these ideas grow, the competition for the same space, the same resources and the same followers would lead to clashes of opinion on what constitutes private and public morals, what the state can and cannot govern, what would be deemed offensive or not.

Striking a balance between these various groups, to maintain both fairness and social order, is what the government is supposed to do.

Perhaps we could start with us. Instead of asserting our viewpoint rudely, we could strive as much as possible to genuinely understand the other parties’ concerns and address them, while we put forth our own grievances that we would like addressing in a polite but honest way.

In engaging, rather than attacking, an angry outburst can become a meaningful dialogue. Even if no conclusion is derived from it, if anything, you would go away understanding a bit more why the other party feels the way they feel on a particular issue.

Sometimes, moderation requires a moderator, but sometimes it doesn’t. It just requires common courtesy and some common sense. – September 26, 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.