LETTER | Not everything is politics, principles and ethics count

LETTER | I think Malaysians are anxious and frustrated but they are unclear who is culpable.

There is a general yearning for stability of the good old days, but they are not able to discern the causes of present instability.

There is a general yearning for better governance, better policies and better delivery of government services, but they are not sure who is responsible.

People are being propagandised and whoever can shout the loudest will get their voice heard. It appears that principles, morality, ethics and competency do not count much nowadays. Everything is raw politics and so-called pragmatism.

If we continue supporting leaders and parties who stole from us, it must mean that theft, corruption and embezzlement do not matter much anymore.

Some argued issues concerning livelihood are more important than corruption at high places. But has it ever occurred to us that a ringgit stolen is a ringgit less for schools, hospitals, price subsidies, flood mitigation and road and bridge repairs?

How do we come to this conclusion that corruption and embezzlement do not matter when our living environment is so much affected by it?

If we continue supporting leaders and parties who blatantly betrayed principles and trust, it must mean that honesty does not count much. Why then do we continue teaching our kids honesty while at the same time tolerating betrayal and dishonesty at the top echelon of our national leadership?

Please don’t argue this is all politics and pragmatism. No, it does not make sense to me. If the fundamentals are not right, how can we expect goodness emanating from our system of governance?

If we continue supporting leaders and parties who do nothing but indulge in endless polemics on race and religion, it must mean that we do not value competency, knowledge and ability much.

We just support leaders based on their ability to talk and instigate, not their ability to add value and bring this country forward.

We, the people, must ask ourselves. Have we not been supporting leaders who are highly corrupt? Have we not been supporting leaders who betrayed our trust? Have we not been supporting leaders who just know how to talk and instigate but do not have an iota of ideas to provide the new impetus for this nation?

On the other hand, based on current trends, have we not been blaming politicians and political parties for the current instability when in actual fact they were the ones who have been betrayed and sabotaged by others? Simply put, we blame the wrong guys and support those who we are supposed to blame.

If we have been doing the above again and again, how can we ever expect a better livelihood for ourselves and our children?

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.