SWAT!

Any right-minded person, looking at the current stage of the prevailing political state of affairs in Malaysia would be inclined to conclude, that mass democracy is moribund. It is on the way to the mortuary.

Every day when we get up from our slumber, we hope against hope to face a new revelation. But contrary to our hope, we are compelled to face each new dawn with more disgusting news, which only casts the impression that the politicians who are supposed to serve our interests are only serving the cause of their interests.

The information and news comes in various forms. It depends on our station in life. The ones from the lower rank of the social ladder become aware of the acts and conduct of the men in charge of all our established institutions by gossip in the market place, coffee shops or at discussions held at their place of work and sometimes, maybe, from the Internet.

The middle-class have more readily available options. They can obtain their news and information from diverse sources. This is the present global communication network.

The domestic mainstream print media and all the local television networks are only concerned with and propagate news which concerns matters relating to the political will of their political masters.

Hence, the opposition party politicians are more often than not, not consigned much news coverage. This situation has given rise to the use of the alternate media by a news-starved population to secure news and information of public interest.

It is now of common knowledge that every domestic print media and television network only gives great prominence to the acts and conduct of the BN politicians and the men who act for and on behalf of the established institutions. Why is this so?

In the first place, most of the politicians on the BN side, with the exception of a few, are charlatans (the opposition parties have charlatans too). Then they engage the services of spin doctors to help them improve upon and display their public relations, hopefully in a way acceptable to the public at large.

This is done to gain the control of the minds of the people. What they fail to realise is that with today’s global communication network, the domestic print media and the television networks cannot control and have a monopoly over the minds of the people whose ‘first love’ in this society, is freedom and liberty.

The situation of having a monopoly over the minds of the people, did work when the BN government had a two-thirds majority in the political arena. They did at that stage represent a mass semocracy. But now, the BN does not represent a mass democracy.

What we have before us is a political scenario where there is unfurling a highly-changing and a fast-moving picture or a pattern which is interpolated with diverse issues such as apartheid, religion, racial identity and equality, economic equality, education in English, no restriction on entry to higher education, recognition of meritocracy in government institutions, liberty, freedom of speech, choice and assembly, marginalisation and discrimination, health and the worst of all, judicial impropriety and abuse of the powers by the executive.

The above causes have given rise to the formation of various new political parties. Each claim to represent some cause or another.

As such, since March 8 of 2008 there is no way whatsoever that the BN government can ever claim that they represent a mass democracy. If there is no mass democracy, then what do we have?

Well, based on the change of the mind set of the people, and since the word, ‘race’ has almost become defunct for all with the exception of the BN parties, we can at best describe the prevailing political stage of consisting of a mosaic democracy.

The rise of the mosaic democracy has brought about a drastic change in how our economy functions. There were five state governments that were ruled by a coalition of opposition parties.

Najib has by his unethical and diabolical acts and conduct, taken back Perak. The people of the state are now in a state of limbo. So Najib, what is the meaning of ‘1Malaysia’ or that you are the ‘people’s prime minister? Shame on you.

The change in the demography of the political structure has resulted in a new stage of politics. The people are no longer concerned about ‘Malay Supremacy’ which stands for apartheid.

They have now assimilated into various multi-ethnic political parties. They are more concerned with meritocracy and shun mediocrity which is the keystone of Umno’s survival.

There was a time when the people who went to the polls were blind. In the current stage, we have a more enlightened and educated populace. The multi-ethnic political parties should find this as an opportunity to win over the confidence of the masses by providing them an alternative which is premised on the principle of good governance and equality without discrimination.

The Malaysian people have travelled a long and difficult journey. They are now in a position to make choices. They are a discernable people in a diverse but unified society.

All politicians should make no mistake about it. We are your masters. We do not want to govern but elect you to carry out the task of the government.

Never again shall any politician lord over the people. Here is the birth of a new opportunity for all those who aspire to serve the people’s interest.

(Article written by Bosco Anthony & published in Malaysiakini on June 5 2009)