How to show our love for the ruling Malaysian government ...

Owh adj. black

(This entry is written in response to today's event. And the link is not from The Star. Hmm.)

Easy. We parade along Dataran Merdeka on Hari Kebangsaan. We belt out Negaraku. We choose Made-in-Malaysia products. We chant Malaysia Boleh at every conceivable opportunities. Right?

I don't think so.

Sisuahlai is not a political blog and it is not a voice for any party activist, but I can safely tell you that these are not the way to show our love for any government!

There is no such thing as a perfect government. There isn't any government in the world that has everything all sussed out. That is why we have the democratic process of eliminating politicians with weak ideas and replace them with people who have better plans. This is a healthy process because bad social and economic ideas should not persist.

Let's go back to my original question: how do we show our love for the ruling government? (This also applies to the Opposition.)

I have some suggestions.

(1) Allow us to praise YOU when you perform well and also allow us to criticize if you don't perform that well.

(2) Allow us to vote and replace politicians who underperform. Fairly.

(3) Allow us to write and speak openly on matters and ways to improve YOU as long as we don't harm others in the process. By harm, I mean we do not physically threaten, or intimidate and ridicule others. In sensitive Malaysia, criticisms are often interpreted as acts of ridiculing and embarrassing the criticized party. I think it's about time we mature and view criticisms as opportunities to grow and improve.

(4) Allow us to hear arguments from all political sides. Live telecast of political party conference is great, but live telecast of ONE political party conference is not so. The minority voice is equally significant.

(5) Malaysians are educated and intelligent people. We want to continue living harmoniously as ONE NATION despite our cultural plurality. This is what makes us GREAT. We understand certain issues are sensitive like those pertaining to religion and race. But NOT politics. Allow us to openly discuss politics, without fear of kena tangkap. And politics should not be hidden under the veil of religion and race. Politicians should not mix politics with those sensitive issues. Otherwise we do not know where politics end and those sensitive issues begin. POSITIVE politics should be about the NATION AS ONE, not a NATION fragmented into different cultural and faith groups.

(6) Allow us to wake YOU up from your dream. Politicians are politicians because they choose a way of life that puts the people first, whether these people agree or disagree with them. And not themselves, their families or friends FIRST. Until the Rakyat feel this, YOU are still trapped in a long slumber dreaming your sweet dream.

I am proud to be a Malaysian. I am proud to have friends from all creeds and cultural backgrounds. I want YOU to wake up from your dream so we can work together to make Malaysia a fair and better place for all!

And not a laughing stock of the world...

Today in Kuala Lumpur.

From CNN:

New York-based Human Rights Watch slammed the rally ban and urged the government to support free speech ahead of elections expected to be called early next year.

"If Malaysia wants to count itself a democracy, it can begin by upholding constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly. The way the system works now, only the ruling coalition can get its messages out," it said.