“WE decide what is right. Never mind what the people think.”

That was what was said by Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew on prime-time television at the republic’s National Day rally in August 1987.

That was how hard-nosed and paternalistic Lee was. He wasn’t even remorseful – not in the slightest. https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19870420-1.2.26.13

Indeed Lee believed that he needed to tell the people what was right and make the right decision, which justified his paternalistic and all-pervasive rule.

A year later in 1988 Lee’s son, Hsien Loong, defended the hard-nosed approach. 

He said: “We should know what is right and we should try to persuade people that what we want to do and what we believe is right is in fact right.”

So, at least he believed in trying to persuade the people that what is right is in fact right.

But, can that be said of the government’s “no Parliament sitting” as a significant number of lawmakers “are senior citizens who are considered Covid-19 high-risk cases.”

“A bulk of our MPs belong to the high-risk group. We do not want our MPs to be exposed because we have to be in a confined area,” law minister Takiyuddin Hassan said.

New paternalism? Or paternalism reborn?

In April 2009, when then prime minister Najib Razak pronounced that “the era where the government imposed excessive controls and adopted the attitude of ‘government knows best’ is over”, it indicated that the era for such thinking was over.

But it seems no.

It is no surprise that Takiyuddin’s reasons for not convening Parliament were criticised by Pakatan Harapan (PH) lawmakers.

This is not to say that the PH lawmakers are right.

Try persuading parliamentarians what is right is in fact right. Or better still, do what is enjoined by the Quran: “Keep consulting them in collective affairs; then once you have made up your mind, put your trust in Allah.” (Qur’an 3:159)

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.