In life, no matter what we do, we are bound to meet challenges and problems. It could be in our work, in government and politics, in our business or in our personal life. I believe that everyone would agree that when we encounter such matters, what we need to do is to find solutions and solve it.
That is what I see in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), when they recently launched its Chinese-language website, which contains relevant information of the anti-corruption efforts. What I see is purely a method to help in fighting corruption.
The launch has drawn criticism from Bersatu Youth, Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), which claimed that the move sidelines Bahasa Malaysia’s constitutional position as the national language.
Although I may not know the exact reasons behind the launch of the Chinese-language website, I see it as a positive effort to educate many Malaysian Chinese or even foreigners who are probably working in our country. I definitely do not think that MACC is launching the website to promote Chinese language nor degrade the national language.
Whether we like it or not, we have to face the reality that there are still Malaysians who hardly use the national language. By having a website in an additional language does not hurt the national language. Furthermore, the MACC is not a government agency that functions to promote the national language. It functions to curb corruption, be it in the government sector or the corporate sector.
Malaysian Chinese or even foreigners who speak in Chinese, are one of the contributors to the economy of our country. When there are business and government dealings involved, they are bound to be open to the possibility of corruption. By allowing better understanding through different languages would create more awareness towards the corruption laws in Malaysia.
It wouldn’t be the major approach to curb corruption, but one of the ways to solve the problems is through awareness and education.
It is an irony that the youth wings of these political movements still need to use the racial cards to gain publicity and support. The young people who are involved in politics are supposed to portray young and fresh ideas, instead of keep using the old politics.
It seems as though that they are desperate to get support from their ethnic, and it seems that surviving politically in their own community is more important than curbing corruption.
And I wonder if those groups of youth see corruption as less important, compared to their political survival?
That is when I don’t see the possibility of Syed Saddiq growing his new political party, Muda, when especially it mainly targets only the young people. And it seems like some of the young ones are still practicing the old ways of politics. I have said before and would like to reiterate that a new political party cannot only involve a certain age group, ethnic or even gender. Malaysians have to work together and not to keep dividing each other.
Although we have seen changes in the government leadership at the federal level and state level in these two decades, I don’t see any signs of change in our political culture. Government may have changed, but it is still the same old political mentality that is running the country.
Perhaps, politics is not the way to really make a change for the country? Or maybe not in this era.
This article is published in Kwong Wah Yit Poh in Chinese dated 22 September 2020.