By Hassanal Noor Rashid
I refer to the article by TK Chua on Jan 12 titled “We can’t talk ourselves to national unity”.
There are elements in it that need serious reflection, especially given the casual presumptions it trumpets.
If this is the attitude which reflects Malaysians’ mentality when it comes to how we engage in political discourse, the outlook for a more harmonious society looks bleaker than ever, especially when we can so easily excuse potential future leaders from even stating their commitment to something as “natural” and “implicit” as national unity.
For Pakatan Harapan (PH) to not even state its commitment to national unity reflects rather negatively on it. It points not only to its lack of commitment to national unity, but to the possibility that it is driven by the desperate rush to seize power from the ruling government. Any meaningful benefits to the progress of national unity and societal harmony are secondary.
Such a brazen lack of commitment ultimately indicates what kind of policies, programmes and actions this potential ruling government is willing to enforce. This should be something that we as concerned citizens hold it accountable for so that it lives up to the standard which we have set for it.
To simply brush it off and say that unity is a “natural goal” and “implicit in all government actions” is an extremely erroneous and frankly irresponsible position to take on the matter.
If such things were truly implicit for governments, then why should governments bother making any outward commitment to issues such as combating corruption, as that too is implicit in a government’s responsibility towards the people.
The PH manifesto does pledge to fight corruption. Such a pledge becomes all the more important precisely because there is corruption at all levels and within all sectors of society. Likewise, it is precisely because there is a lack of unity in society and polarisation is getting worse that it is critical to commit one’s coalition to national unity.
When serious challenges arise in society, those already in power and those seeking to attain power have the responsibility to state what their intentions and commitments are. Can you truly trust a government that does not even bother to pen down its commitments within its manifesto, but simply depends on its implicit goodwill and adherence to some natural goal to fulfil its obligation to the people? That is simply ridiculous.
Now, more than ever, we need to make a stand as Malaysians that the call for unity is paramount to the integrity and order of Malaysian society. We should demand that our elected leaders take this issue seriously and state their commitment to it, both in their principles and in their actions.
We should also support efforts to empower the Rukun Negara as it provides the most grounded basis for ensuring the supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law. This goes far above and beyond any single political party or government institution, and is a greater driving force for unity and social cohesion.
One only has to look at our counterparts in Indonesia and see how the Pancasila has served as the focal point for unifying the various segments within Indonesian society. Why can we not achieve the same with our own Rukun Negara?
Divisive forces both within and without threaten to break this fabric of unity for their own agendas and selfish gains, and we have a responsibility, at the very least, to keep our own leaders accountable.
This is why it does matter that PH has not explicitly included the goal of national unity in its manifesto because it potentially reflects on what its intended policies, programmes and actions may be, should it come to power. If it does not even commit to national unity in words, what action can we expect from it?
Hassanal Noor Rashid is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
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