“THE Coverage” carried an article on January 7, 2020, titled “Zahid Hamidi: Chinese community are wealthy but ungrateful, arrogant, biadap and kurang ajar. Malays are now paying the price for being kind”. It served as an unpleasant reminder of what really motivates Umno chief Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He made a speech in late May 2014 in the run-up to the Teluk Intan by-elections, where he accused the Chinese of being wealthy but ungrateful for their success.

In this article, Zahid blamed non-Muslims for becoming increasingly arrogant and that Malays are now paying the price for being kind to them. Have Malaysians forgotten that he actually took this stand? Zahid opted to divide and rule to remain relevant instead of uniting Malaysians by giving them a hope and a future through a common vision where all Malaysians could have a respectable place under the sun.

It is therefore ironic that Zahid as a key proponent of “Maruah Melayu” is now at odds with Bersatu. It is clear that he is fearful of the long-term irrelevance of Umno as a dominant Malay political party. Has Zahid come to the realisation that he actually needs the support of all Malaysians regardless of ethnicity or religious persuasion to remain relevant in the run-up to the next general election? I think not. A leopard never changes its spots, even if it sings a different song.

Malaysian politicians have been excellent students of the British and have become experts in the art of divide and rule, and have used this method to retain power for decades. The patronage system of politics that emerged under Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s 22-year “rule” laid the foundations for politicians to create wealth without honest hard work or even a decent education through a systematic “dumbing down” of large segments of the Malaysian population. 

Loyalty to a political leader is handsomely rewarded. We have witnessed the progressive decline of critical thinking since the mid-1970s, resulting in many Malaysians becoming blinded to the consequences of this patronage politics. The absence of critical thinking has created the national divide we see today, and politicians love it. Hate becomes an extremely powerful tool for acquiring power and wealth. 

Time has come for the introduction of hate speech laws that impose severe penalties on the propagation of speech and ideologies that aim to divide Malaysians along the lines of race and religion. It is also timely for parliament to consider amending laws to restrict the tenure of MPs and assemblymen to a maximum of three terms before they do too much damage. Similarly, federal and deputy ministers, menteris besar, chief ministers, excos and prime ministers should be restricted to a maximum of two terms in order to discourage career politics. 

There is then the issue of pensions. The typical civil servant will have to work for 25 years before being eligible for 50% of their last drawn salary as their pension. Ironically, elected representatives receive 50% of their last drawn emolument only after six years of service. The question arises as to whether elected representatives even deserve any form of pension.

After all, recent disclosures at court hearings reveal that certain elected representatives abused the trust placed on them by the people and became very wealthy in the process. Is this acceptable to Malaysians who are struggling to make ends meet and livelihoods of ordinary citizens that are being eroded? Shouldn’t elected representatives face the consequences of the laws and policies that they introduced? This can happen only if elected representatives return to normal civilians on completion of their services to the nation and are no longer entitled to enjoy any semblance of VIP status or privileges that are not extended to ordinary citizens.

I must conclude by asking Malaysians what they think of our elected representatives. Have they been making a mess for too long? Should they be answerable for the hate messages they spout? Do they really deserve pensions at the expense of the taxpayers for all the troubles they have caused? – October 13, 2022. 

* Ravee Suntheralingam 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.