ONE of the things about living in a small town is that almost everyone knows each other and it’s for better and for worse.

It reminds me of the TV sitcom Cheers where everybody knows your name. People greet each other on the streets with simple pleasantries and with no hesitation as if they have known each other a lifetime.

In such places, the best place to know what people on the ground are talking about is to sit at a local coffee shop, listen to the conversations around you and if you have a friendly face, you will get pulled into the conversation seamlessly.

I found myself in such a situation recently while having breakfast in a small coffee shop away from the city. Soon after my teh-si-kosong and kaya toasts were served, I could not help but hear that the conversation around me was about politics and the new government.

My ears perked up, wanting to know what people living away from the hustle and bustle of city life thought about this new government. It was a little like being in Parliament as people from across tables were joining in the conversation… the only difference was that there were no YBs present.

The conversation that day was about how a government institution had not invited the current assemblyman but the previous Barisan Nasional-linked rep to their event.

Many there were incensed that the current assemblyman, who is non-Malay, was not invited but the previous Malay assemblyman was invited. The conversation went on for a while and soon one of them looked at me and asked what I thought. I guess I had a friendly face after all.

The following day in another conversation elsewhere, a civil servant told me that despite the chief secretary to the government issuing a circular permitting Christians to go on unrecorded leave for Good Friday, she was given a tough time for wanting to take the day off for Good Friday.

She was grilled with questions like why she needs for take the day off, where is it stated on the MyKad that you are Christian, and why do you need to go to Church on Good Friday?

Both conversations made me realise two things: first, despite having a new government that is trying to put things right and to write a new narrative, the “resistance” on the ground is very real. Years of enjoying the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” phenomenon and of misguided indoctrination, these people strive to derail much of the good work that this new government is trying to achieve.

Second, the mistrust sown over the years and the sense of supremacy have permeated into the lives of those on the ground in such a way that it is going to take many years to undo this.

In a news report recently, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad said there is no sabotage but rather civil servants have yet to grasp the Pakatan Harapan government’s direction. It makes me wonder if the resistance is intended or just old habits.

I recall hearing a friend from Penang saying something similar when in 2008 the DAP formed the state government, civil servants defied their “new bosses” so as to make it difficult for reform to take place.

The minster may be right in saying that civil servants have yet to grasp the new direction but do not discount that there are those who wilfully seek to unhinge whatever that is being done.

Many of these civils servants are products of the Biro Tata Negara (BTN) and most of us know what took place there. The people in small coffee shops are making their own conclusions and if this government does not quickly change the minds of these civil servants and set clear directions, all the good that is intended may just go down the drain.

Speaking to the media at a Merdeka Day celebration event last year, Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh said that changing the mindset of Malaysians to rebuild a new inclusive Malaysia is difficult and that is why she wants to start with the civil service.

She said there were enough good people in the government who would continue to be a voice for all Malaysians. Perhaps the time has come for these few good men and women to stand up and be counted. – April 29, 2019. 

* Dr Clarence Devadass is a Catholic priest and director of the Catholic Research Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Moral education is an issue close to his heart. He focuses on paving resourceful ways to promote virtues for living in a multireligious society, for a significant life together.

* 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.