Countries worldwide are plagued by malfeasance and misfeasance of politicians who abuse their power without due regard for good accountable governance.
Notwithstanding, the politicians are elected to ensure governance of integrity and honesty that prioritise the well-being of the people.
But once elected, their perspective and orientation change to favour their political needs at the expense of the people despite taking the oath to serve the country and its people.
Due to their self-indulgence and self-serving nature, they have become detached from the realities of the common people, unconcerned about their dire living conditions. There is also a sizeable segment who are unable to grasp the social, economic, and educational problems faced by the people and can not articulate them cogently in Parliament.
The common man is left in the lurch because these politicians are not earning their keep nor discharging their duties; thus, the future is bleak not because of the lack of resources but mismanagement by these self-serving and opportunistic politicians and their cohorts.
As a result, most Malays in Malaysia are mired in poverty or hovering between the low-and middle-income segment.
There are also politicians who are trying to stay relevant and have no qualms about using the issue of Malay poverty to rally support for their political agenda.
This is currently happening in the Malaysian political scene.
Ex-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has suddenly become enamoured and passionate about saving the Malay race from being consigned to political wilderness and economic comatose through his Malay Proclamation agenda. He has become maudlin, unable to accept the reality of his political irrelevance.
After being spurned by existing Malay political parties, he now turns to his perennial nemesis – Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang of PAS, to arrest his impending political demise.
These two politicians have previously exploited race and religious issues. This time around, they are more explicit in blaming the non-Malays and Non-Muslims for the plight of the Malays.
Dr Mahathir had blamed the Chinese for squandering the country’s wealth at the expense of the Malays, who exist at their behest, while Abdul Hadi accused the non-Malays of all the corruption in this country.
They are trying to resurrect the notion of the past when Umno proclaimed themselves as the saviour of the Malay masses, especially the rural Malays.
Following independence, Umno initiated various programs to uplift the Malays from their poverty-stricken predicament.
There were some measures of respite from these initiatives, but not enough to lift the Malays from the morass of economic iniquity.
Instead, the ruling Malay politicians and their politically connected cohorts, including the privileged class, amassed vast wealth, further widening the chasms of economic and social inequality between the Malay masses and the privileged elites.
Ironically, these ultra-rich Malay elites are still advancing the struggling, exploited and handicapped Malay syndrome to dupe the Malay masses into supporting the cohorts responsible for their predicament.
But if race, religion, and the attitude of entitlement continue to cloud their mind, the Malays will forever be entrapped and duped by the charades perpetrated by the elites of their kind who indulge in the pretence of saving the Malays to serve their political agenda.
Thus, there is a need for a paradigm shift in the Malay mentality to discern the genuine from the spurious exhortations of the politicians and elites.
And take up the gauntlet to face challenges and avail the opportunities to better their lot and release themselves from the shackles of racial and religious entitlement.
This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of Twentytwo13.
