We are our only hope.

Unlike our brothers and sisters in some parts of our world there is not much hunger, not much poverty, no wars or much civil unrests, no religious schism that warrants our immediate attention, no racial Armageddon that is about to burst onto our midst, no clamour for same sex marriage that could lead to a lapse of all moral values that we have hold in reverence (ahem…..so they say!) and certainly there is an abundance of goodwill and tolerance that has allowed our people to lived together since time immemorial (with some minor hiccup here and there!) in Malaysia.      

All that we have to endure is corruption, avarice and the arrogance of our political leaders! Surely we should be grateful for so little of life’s misfortunes?

You may think so. Barisan Nasional may think so. Pakatan Rakyat grudgingly can be taken to the water of such misfortunes but will not drink from it! In truth our people may by now even become immune to the culture of corruption, avarice and corruption that our politicians are mired in - so much so that these politicians have now adopted this is their ‘new normal’!

Imagine a politician who is not corrupt or arrogant! Surely you jest! Think of it…would you want your daughter to marry a politician? These politicians they are so deep in the abyss of politics that they are unable to discern the need to adhere to a level of decency and honesty that we mortals try to emulate – though never too successfully!

My own level of what is right and wrong is conveniently tacked to what is important and what is relevant to me. There is no consideration of race, religion or national needs in what I do  - only self and my family. And I am sure for many of you that would also be the case.

And yet we do not measure our leader by the same standards. We want them to be better than us.

If we want arrogance and avarice there are plenty of that amongst us. I do not want that in my leader.

If I want liars – there are plenty of them amongst us- they too I do not want as my leader.

Those without family values will certainly be dismissed by any of us – even those of us who partake in carnal pleasure outside marriage!

Neither do I want back stabbers and those who profess to want to tell us the truth about those that have come after them when in fact what they are doing is merely to serve their own selfish interest and agenda.

We are wise to all this. We will no longer put up with these charades.

That is why I say that our hope is in ourselves. While we know our failings we also know that our leaders must be better than us. So all you leaders that have been lying, fornicating, slandering, stealing, cheating…..do come down to the padang and join us. We know enough about human weaknesses in ourselves and in others to not want the same of our leaders.

And if you seek to lead us then you will certainly need our consent to do so. And that consent will be given only because you are a better person that us!

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent.


Abraham Lincoln

What hope is there then for our nation and its future? The hope I see comes not from our leaders but from its people. We are rational enough to not want leaders who are no better than us! It is time that these leaders understand that to govern they must be better than the governed. We insist that only the best amongst us shall lead us!

That is why I say that we are our only hope!

There are rare exceptions to this ‘new normal’ amongst politicians. And I know that for some of us that exception is Nurrul Izzah..for some Ku Li and I am sure that there will be others who will, through their deeds and vision, cause us to have faith and belief again in the goodness of our fellow human beings. For now these exceptions are rare but we live in hope.

I wish I could say that the goings on in KL no longer fazes me but I cannot. As has been said before genius has it limits but stupidity does not! The roll call of these stupid ‘celebrities junkies’ (for want of a better term!) continues to meander leisurely through the ranks of Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat – more of the former than the latter but it is still to close to call. But the wonder of it all is why do they insists on doing these stupid things too themselves again and again?

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."   

Surely our leaders are sane?

Am I the insane one unable to understand this ‘new normal’ where cheating, corruption and arrogance are the norm? Maybe I am and maybe I am not. All that I know is that I am insulated from all this ‘new normal’ by the tyranny of distance – and thank God for that! And if you ask me what I think of most of our politicians today who think they are better than us because like PDRM there have the authority to tell us what to do? Look below!