What the devil we know should know
The government while promising transformation and boasting about attaining the status of "the world's best democracy" appears to be wavering as Malaysians see it heading in the opposite direction with the latest denunciation of dissent.
The fightback against the stifling of public expression by the authorities will see a watershed election in GE13 and it will be a match between the incumbent government and the Opposition as much as a tussle between democracy and 'devilcracy'.
A 'devilcracy' alludes to the power of the devil and pertains to the notion of self-vested and self-seeking power in contradiction to the ideal of a people-centric democracy.
So we should not be surprised if a country run by the 'devil' (even if we're only using a metaphor), is riddled with diabolical plots when the script is inspired by the devil. Behind every sickening power structure of injustice and evil, be sure the devil works through it.
How else can we explain the incessant gruesome killings? How do we explain the deeds of darkness such as lying, cheating, rape, murder, thieving, corruption, plunder, slander, and other acts of the sinful nature?
Where there is chaos usually there is a chaos-maker – the conspirator – but after evil has run its course, the conspirator is exposed, shamed and even punished.
Whatever our hypothesis, the truth remains that when evil is allowed to reign and power abused, the people suffer. We may not agree on the cause but we agree on its effects that evil is bad for democracy.
But things may get worse before they get better. We are not to fear evildoers but to be wary of their schemes for if our lives are governed by fear then evil has total control over us.
The wrath of Khan
Imran Khan, the famous ex-Pakistani cricketer has set out to change the status quo in his country because he does not fear political retribution even his own death. This remarkable man has single-handedly – being the only elected representative of his fledgling political party in parliament – changed the face of Pakistani politics.
He vows to bring corruption under control in 90 days if he becomes Pakistan's next leader in elections in 2013.
Undaunted by the real prospect of being assassinated he leaves his fate in God's hands. He proved his convictions by holding a rally where thousands gathered to hear him in the country's most dangerous region, run by corrupt feudal lords that he blamed as a leftover from colonial times.
Once thought of as politically inconsequential, Imran Khan's anti-US foreign policy and anti-corruption is the bright star of Pakistani politics. Even the powerful feudal politicians who were once ministers have joined his march to power.
If Malaysians feel a sense of déjà vu, it is because they are familiar with the story of the rise of their own opposition politicians, Anwar Ibrahim's political resurrection, and the determination of reform-minded citizens from both sides of politics to save their country.
'Devilry' reflects moral failure
Just as there are degrees of democracy there are degrees of 'devilcracy' and greed. Some may consider Mahathir's 'devil' comment as a gaffe but it can also be like a Rosetta Stone that unlocks the mystery why a democracy like Malaysia is seen displaying signs of a 'devilcracy.' It explains why some politicians in power think they are untouchable and can get away even with murder.
It was never meant that any democratic government should become the enemy of the people through acts of injustice and abuses of power and skulduggery not to mention abject moral failure unless it has fallen into a state of 'devilcracy.'
Mahathir is now playing radical dissident. However, it was he who once broadcast that Malaysians were living in a dysfunctional "police state". Not content with that he even boycotted the political party that made him premier for 22 years.
So is Mahathir a traitor for damning the government and not being coy about his hatred for some of his former colleagues? And I hope we haven't forgotten that when the mainstream media put an embargo on his prolific views, he turned to Malaysiakini. The news portal was viewed as the 'devil' to the government then and still is.
If being a dissident is being a traitor, many perhaps even including Mahathir, must be proud to be one because who wants to be a patriot who sells out his country to foreign illegals? Who goes abroad to badmouth his own government? And who bastardizes every public institution in the country?
The point is when a government calls anyone a traitor who speaks the truth, who is outspoken in his conviction against corruption, and who is prepared to stake his life in what he believes, then such a government must be afraid of the truth and be unworthy of holding the office.
When the devilcracy has turned our world upside down and calls good evil and evil good then "traitor" is a good word. We are not to join the crowds in doing wrong, and a dissident is a concerned citizen performing a national service. This answering a nation's call is just like the time Malayans of all races united to boycott the British who called them "traitors" in the unforgettable day of Hartal 10 years before 1957.
History is on the side of the 'traitor' when a country is overrun by a bully.
The famous American Mark Twain wrote:
"Each must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, and which course is patriotic and which isn't.You cannot shirk this and be a man."
Make me a dissident for I am no coward, make me a traitor for I am no fool, make me a believer for I am no infidel, and make me a citizen of change for I am the watchman over my country and I will not surrender it to the thieves while I am on watch."
That ought to be the cry of those who want to see a better country under a better government.
And the traitor is the one who destroys the democracy born out of nationhood for once we were serfs of another nation but we shouldn't be serfs to anyone anymore especially to your own people. The traitor plunders his nation and slanders its citizens and wants to transform them into serfs while they hold power.
The 'devilcracy' demonizes every public-spirited entity – Tenanganita, Hindraf, Bersih, Suaram, and a host of other civic-minded NGOs and individuals. Thus the government faces a gathering storm of more and more Malaysians who want to exorcise their country of demons.
He or she is no traitor who acts against a corrupt government but the traitor is the corrupt government that acts against the people.
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