MALAYSIA has been led by the same set of politicians for the last 30 years, with a few fresh faces thrown in during this period.

With the passing of each general election, the people still foolishly believe in the slogans and rhetoric spewed by the same politicians who have been dominating the political scene in this country in succession.

After almost 60 years, like musical chairs, those who don’t get to sit finally managed to snatch a seat, while those who always managed to get a seat are now left standing, waiting for the next song to play.

But the faces remain the same. Same faces, same political ideologies. All claiming to be doing it for the people when, in reality, both sides of the divide couldn’t care less about the people, and only for their own positions and the power that comes with it.

These same faces have cost the country billions in losses through countless acts and allegations of corruption and rent seeking. All of these acts, left unpunished, increase transaction costs across every facet of our daily lives. With every successive change in leader, the cost increases.

30 years ago, acts of corruption were perceived to be in the hundreds of thousands. It moved into the millions and, over the last 10 years, it has reached the billions.

Year in, year out, we read reports about acts of `compulsive buying disorder’ and failed projects by ministries and government agencies costing the country billions in losses cumulatively. And each year, all these were explained away as temporary lapses of judgment, nothing to investigate. No investigations or studies were done to determine the root cause for the continued disorder and why the projects consistently failed or incurred huge cost overruns.

Every time these were reported, nothing came out of it. This only emboldened the perpetrators further. They continued at yearly, increasing the quantum for the ‘buying disorder’. Not to forget, there are also those that were not reported.

These same faces have led the country into a debt spiral that would take a few generations to repay. Actions taken were only against a select few while the rest of the perpetrators are still walking amongst us. It is now said that all these acts have become systemic and endemic, that they coexist with the functioning of the rule of law in our country.

Some hope for a new generation of new leaders to lead us.

In 2018, Malaysians gave another group a chance to manage and lead the country. Even though they did not complete the full term we gave them, they did not, in those two years, show anything different in how they governed.

Everything remained status quo except the politicians. Claiming to be managing it on behalf and for the people, are different. The two years didn’t give us any glimmer of hope that a new generation would govern the country differently and honestly.

Not many countries in this world that elected a new generation of leaders demonstrated that they can bring their countries to a new beginning and new paradigm of new prosperity and increased growth. Failures outrun successes by miles.

We cannot hope and depend on politicians anymore to lead us out of this morass that the country is in now. Not now nor our future generations.

Many people now no longer believe that politicians will manage this country with honesty.

It has now come to a point where the people distrust the politicians completely. Be it Perikatan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan.

Collectively, Malaysians came together and helped each other in the face of calamity and hardship.

When the country’s debt spiralled to a stratospheric level, it was ordinary Malaysians who unquestioningly rose and offered whatever assistance needed to help pull the country from its debt.

When Malaysians can pull together in times of hardship, we can also pull together to demand and insist on greater accountability in how our country is managed.

*FLK 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.