I am a politically neutral person. I do not choose to always support a given politician or a given party. Rather, I make the choice based on all the available information I have up to that point. I do not make bricks without clay, politically. This differs from, say, my support for the Boston Celtics where I don't really care how well the team plays or how good the players are or whatever - I just care that they're the Celtics and thus, they're my team. Politically though, my stance is open to change every single day, based on information that may change my Bayesian priors.
I have followed, with much interest, the ongoings in Malaysian politics leading up to Sunday's elections. I am quite excited by it. If anything, there should be drama. In terms of election results, the most unsatisfying thing, drama-wise, would be that the incumbent maintains the number of seats it holds. That would be a major anti-climax. But anyway, I have seen politicans lob grenades at one another, mudsling for shits and giggles, conjure up completely arbitrary explanations to weird-ass stories. I'm tired of all that stuff, fascinating though it may be. At some point, the marginal "look of haughty derision" feeling just diminishes to the point that it becomes numbing. Nothing really changes the priors now. And so, the mudslinging and whatever just bounces off me.
On the other hand, what I find a lot more fascinating is the reaction by Malaysian "civil society", which I broadly define her as the rakyat who are interested in the political process but are not running for office this Sunday. Naturally, most of my observations are from Facebook where many friends I have are now political analysts or economists, all of a sudden. Yes, that was a condescending remark. Yes, it was patronizing. But, it relates to a point I want to make later. And so, it has been very interesting reading what people say, watching the videos that people put up, checking out the articles that they bring up. It's a lot of fun to see how people think and how people analyze situations. Many people feel very strongly about the Malaysian elections, as well they should be. And when people feel very strongly about things, they tend to write very unabashedly about those things. It's been fun reading those things. I have actually got to learn a lot more about my friends, or at least my Facebook friends.
The list below is a list of 10 Things I wish Malaysian civil society would practice moving forward, based on my observations from Facebook or, embarrassingly, commenters on Malaysia Insider. They are by no means comprehensive, nor are they meant to blame or accuse. I am, myself, guilty of some of these things from time to time and I fully acknowledge it. So, this list is just a Wish List, in no particular order, crafted from fairly objective observations of the things that people post on Facebook that concern the elections.
1. I wish everybody cared as much throughout the 5-year term, not just during the elections.
Straightforward here. Civil engagement should occur on a constant basis, not just when election fever hits. There is a minority of people who are constantly engaged in the political discussions, but the majority of my Facebook friends much prefer to mention what restaurants they have been to or the type of holidays they had (Hint: The word 'awesome' appears way too often as a descriptor) during the 'lull' years. Only when it comes to the Election period that they suddenly take a bigger interest in politics. I wish that Malaysian civil society always takes a large interest in the political developments of the nation on a constant basis, not just once in 5 years.
2. I wish people would have more balanced and measured statements.
On Facebook, people usually either bash a given party excessively and unfairly or praise a given party excessively and unfairly. This is not appropriate. A given party is not ALWAYS and not ALL bad and neither is another given party ALWAYS and ALL good. The point is to consider all the available evidence and factor in caveats where necessary. Being selective about data points makes for a massively flawed argument.
3. I wish people would think in terms of ideals, not in terms of parties/trasngressions.
I believe very strongly in this one. When I select the type of government I want, it is based on the ideals that I believe a given society or even a given nation state should hold. I recognize that my ideals are not necessarily the same as others, but that's fine - I can still vote whoever based on my own conception of the required ideals for an ideal society. The French Revolution, for example, was built on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. That's what people rally around. I'd like to see civil society in Malaysia evolve into one that rallies around particular ideals, rather than one that rallies around a corruption scandal, or a hatred of crime, or a common hatred of some party. The latter ones are not ideals. They're not what defines society. I'd like to see the electorate vote based on some conception of society that they like.
4. I wish people would read more.
To have some conception of an 'ideal' society, one must think. And to think properly, one must read. And one must read far and wide. It's not just reading about corruption cases in Malaysia or police brutality or whatever. It's reading about what it means to be a citizen and what it means to have a nation-state and what the relationship is between those two entities. Hell, read whatever genre you like - Chick Lit, Economics, Urban Planning, Design, Horror, whatever. The point is, read, read, read. Reading opens up a whole new conception of what may be possible. Key readings I would recommend - George Orwell's 1984 (or anything George Orwell, in general), Watchmen, and Michael Sandel's Justice: What is the Right Thing to Do?. These are solid introductions towards thinking about society and what our role is in society as well as our role to our fellow citizens.
5. I wish people would think more.
I don't know how to say this without coming across as patronizing or condescending so I figured I'd just go with the way I said it in my head - I wish people would think more. I find most of the statements and arguments on Facebook to be overly simplistic. Like in Point 2, things generally aren't as straightforward as we think. Most things have nuances and caveats that require serious treatment when coming up with an opinion. I wish people would consider multiple perspectives on a given issue and think more seriously about the various unintended consequences that their particular methodology or policy suggestion may have. When thinking, I'd recommend following these guidelines - Prospero's Precepts.
6. I wish people would be more consistent and less hypocritical.
In this post, this person (Ren Chung Yu) is essentially explaining numbers 5 and 6 on this list for me but with an example. He addresses the topics of potential foreign voters in Malaysia, particularly those from Bangladesh and does a very nice job in explaining the various nuances that people may have missed out. One such nuance is the whole, "Bangladeshis are foreigners. They shouldn't be allowed to vote. Let's identify Bangladeshis on polling day and warn them about voting." Guys - racial profiling is bad. Stereotyping people based on their nationality is another form of arbitrary discrimination, which is the very same thing that most of the people who commit this sin are complaining about vis-a-vis a certain political party. If you don't want to be treated as a second class human being because your ancestors only arrived on the Peninsular after somebody else's ancestors, don't do the same to these Bangladeshis. As a friend of mine writes, "As you decry instituionalized, deep rooted racism in our midst, try not to move too easily to perpetuating racist language or inch loser to xenophobia yourself."
7. I wish people would rise above rather than sink to the levels of others.
Yes, I know there are unfair tactics going on. And there's a lot of cheating. And, quite frankly, some utterly ridiculous statements. BUT, that doesn't mean you people have to respond in kind. I wish Malaysian civil society would rise above such lowballing methods and show that they are better than that, because they are. Just because someone does something bad doesn't mean you should retaliate the same way. And, "But they started it" is a terrible excuse that should be left in the playground for primary school students. If you want to do something, do it right. It's better to lose with honor than to win with dishonor. I firmly believe that.
8. I wish people would accept that it's okay for people to have differing political stances.
The whole Michelle Yeoh supporting BN thing issue was so rubbish and highlights a distinct lack of maturity among my fellow Malaysians. If she wants to support BN, it's her bloody choice and it's her bloody opinion. To say that you want to boycott her movies or to call her a traitor is completely retarded and hypocritical. I mean, if someone says that you're an idiot and a traitor for supporting PR, you would argue, "It's my choice. My life. I decide." Bro, she has the same right to that as you. Just accept that people have differing opinions and it really should not affect her capability as an actor. Get over yourself. Let's be a society that tries to understand one another, rather than one that automatically repels one another based on differing beliefs. That's the exact same thing that you're saying the government is doing, by the way.
9. I wish people were more mature.
Slightly similar to point 7, but this one doesn't require sinking to someone's level. This is just the initial level itself. Criticizing some politician for being a lousy office-holder is fine. Condemning some policy as being stupid is fine. Putting up a death prayer token on somebody's picture? Not so fine. That is in poor taste and horribly childish. We should be over this kind of stuff.
10. I wish people would speak only of what they know, and ask what they do not know.
There's no harm in not knowing something and then asking to find out about that thing. That's normal. It's called learning. What is entirely rotten is speaking of things that one does not know. As Gandalf says, "The Wise speak only of what they know." Too often, we have armchair commentators on politics and, my favorite, on economics where they spew a bunch of nonsense but sound confident enough such that people buy into that nonsense. My favorite example is on Malaysian debt levels. Yes, we are at 54% or so, not including contingent liabilities and a lot of other fun stuff. But, most of the debt is domestic - the government can print money to buy mroe bonds and get more debt to repay the debt without suffering external repercussions. This caveat is often missing in the analysis.
That's my wish list. In essence, it's really a list of things that I believe will help turn myself and my fellow Malaysians into good and virtuous participants in civil society. It's a bit Aristotle-ian in concept. It aims to maximize the ability of people to participate in politics in the polis. To have cards on the table, Aristotle did make an argument for slavery, but still. That aside, I believe that one of the most crucial aspects of any developed nation - and here I'm using the word 'developed' in a more holistic manner - is that there is an engaged, well-informed and mature civil society. I hope Malaysia can get there one day.
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