WE are facing a political crisis and a leadership vacuum. Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah is wading through this minefield and doing his utmost in attempting to bring a resolution to the present crisis.

The roots of which can be traced to the formation of a backdoor racially based government. In the end, after nearly 18 months they have stabbed each other in the back and we are back to square one: facing another crisis.

As I said previously, nothing good will emerge from a government that was formed on the basis of expediency, not principles.

It was money-centred and held together with positions and goodies. A motley crew of politicians held together as they sought power, position and money.

Facing such a situation now, how can the ordinary citizen evaluate in a fair and just manner, and hold those in the public space to the standards expected?

One such common document is the Rukunegara – A Testament of Hope. This applies to all, from the royalty to the ordinary citizen. 

If we were to take each of the significant principles chartered so that we achieve national unity, and evaluate the behaviour and conduct of our present politicians, we can be aware of the great gaps that are so visible.

These decades old politicians have held power and blocked renewal.

Belief in God. I venture to suggest that all politicians in the Muhyiddin government and those now vying in Ismail Sabri’s camp will whole heartedly support this principle.

However, what is the value of belief if it does not reflect in the conduct and behaviour of these politicians?

Belief is the gateway to convictions and a commitment to God. What is the use of a belief if this is not reflected in the conduct and behavior of the individuals who are supposed to be role models?

Will those who sincerely belief in God break promises they have made to the voter? Are kleptocrats, corrupts politicians and those who break promises to hand over power to individuals whom we can trust let alone gain the mercy of God.

Beliefs in themselves do not change the price of cheese. Monkey sees, monkey does. Beliefs are like pie cakes made to be broken.

It is OK everyone does it then becomes the norm and this exemplifies the character of those with weak ‘beliefs’.

Our leadership has been unable to translate their ‘beliefs’ into convictions and  commitment. What are the transcending values that they stand for and champion?

Is this justice, fairness, honesty, integrity or is it purely race, religion and royalty. The latter are identity issues and as they are not committed to significant values they are so divided, be it Bersatu, Umno or even PAS.

They are all people of the same race and religion. They cannot blame DAP for this failure on their part. In the final analysis they just lack character

The second principle is loyalty to king and country. Those who have cheated the nation of billions of ringgit, who have betrayed their oath of office seem to be glamourised.

It is as if what they have done has been so great for the nation. Today these same groups that speak about royalty are embarrassing the royalty and showing such disrespect.

How do we trust the Ismail Sabri combine? It is at best old wine in new bottles. Two major groups have given them conditional support only.

Upholding the constitution. All these MPs take an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. What is the value of their oath of office?

Power has the capacity to obliterate and rationalise your convictions to such an extent that greed, self-interest and lust takes over.

Education alone is not enough, for if this were the case we would witness greater wisdom at play.

Rule of law. This is a principle under attack. For a prime minister to say that he had to resign because he could not give in to ‘kleptocrats’ who wanted him to compromise on issues of law reflect where we are today and the reality of the challenge we face.

We had the instance of more than 40 charges being dropped by the attorney-general, which then led to the Sabah election.

We have a senior Court of Appeal judge who has been silenced because powerful forces were fearful of his testimony. When the powers that be are corrupt what can the ordinary man do?

We read about it, witness the happenings and just say what is happening to our nation. The core of our corruption and lack of trust lies with the executive.

A corrupt executive and infected both the Judiciary and the legislature. We do not have towering Malaysians but war lords and selfish leaders who are just interested in power money and self-enrichment.

These are people who will use the Inland Revenue Board or the Registrar of Societies to further their cause. The civil service has become their tool.

The last principle is good behaviour and morality. Do we see this exemplified by our politicians who are supposed to be role models in society?

We have one warlord who is still an MP but was charged with outraging the modesty of a young girl. He got away with it as the charges were dropped. There are cases after cases of embarrassment.      

Even in nations that do not subscribe to an official religion, there seems to be better standards that in our county.

This is not to say that the opposition is in any way better. Nevertheless, the opposition is definitely better in that they have a plan for the nation.

Their cause is for reform and change and not a focus on divisive politics based on race religion and royalty.

We pray that the king would, in these difficult circumstances, provide a leadership that ensures that the future of our nation is in the hands of people with the capacity to make a difference, attract foreign investments as well enhance national unity and deal with corruption which has reached pandemic levels.

Political warlords and ‘kleptocrats’ who embarrass the nation must be held to account. This will make a difference.

Brand Malaysia has suffered enormously in the global arena and we need a leader who has international visibility and the capacity to articulate a role both within Malaysia as well as abroad.

May our royalty be blessed to make the right decision at this critical stage.

* K. Haridas 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.