How Do You Tell Your Grandchildren That It Was During Your Watch That You Allowed Irresponsible Politicians to Plunder Freely And Indebted the Entire Nation for Generations to Come?

How Do You Tell Your Grandchildren That It Was During Your Watch That You Allowed Irresponsible Politicians to Plunder Freely And Indebted the Entire Nation for generations to come?
By Mihar Dias
(C) Copyright February 2022

Finally, I mustered enough courage to share with you this question that I have posted so many times to those in their 60s, 70s and 80s who have grandchildren and some who were about to have one of their own shortly.

I have been asking the same question long before the 1MDB debacle. It started as a casual exercise during every encounter with the elderly. I did it just out of curiosity but since Najib’s and Zahid’s cases took centre stage this question has been foremost on my mind daily. I sensed that the old folks have their dissatisfaction with the past few governments but they did not have an audience to share their views. So, I asked. They talked and I listened.

Of late my exploration had become more of an obsession. Over morning coffee, lunch and dinner with the aged I could not resist being almost impertinent, at times, posing the question to the same cohorts who had stood by passively while politicians roamed the countryside justifying their actions as champions of the masses. They were lining their own pockets as part of their so-called “struggle without end” they claimed, to champion the cause for the poor and deserving rakyat.

Once I even asked an old man who was about to be discharged from IJN much to the displeasure of his children. But he obliged saying that he had been bothered by the same question for some time because he felt really bad for not doing anything to stop the evil politicians from destroying the country.

Like many in his cohort, he had time to reflect on the question while recuperating from his surgery in the hospital. His heart was aching but his mind was not. So, the moment he was out he wanted to share what he had been thinking while stretched out on the hospital bed.

In sum, the feeling was consistent irrespective of ethnicity, previous occupation or social status of those old Malaysians. All expressed anger, frustration, guilt, regret and helplessness.

One senior gentleman, a self-made man of Chinese origin who was more Kelantanese than any Malay from the state that I have ever met and still loved the country without exception, told me, “I have been bothered by this question for a long time. Darn it. I always feel guilty for not doing anything and now I am more frustrated than ever” probably because he was already too old to do anything to stop the rot.

He was 86 when we last met. I was surely being a perfect gentleman, he would one day soon before he passed on, apologise to his children and grandchildren for standing by passively and did not take any action to stop the plunderers when he was younger.

Another response came from a former judge who was well known for his uncompromising stance on unscrupulous politicians, “Millions in our generation feel helpless!” He too felt helpless and frustrated because he could not do anything to stop the politicians from harming the nation.

As a judge, he faced some of these plunderers in his court over the years and meted out judgments commensurate with their crimes.

However, being on the bench all he could do was penalised the guilty party for their crimes following the law with the hope that once they completed their sentence they would be back in society, reformed.

“Best be dead. We can’t face them because we have failed them!” replied another when I posed the same question. He had a few grandchildren himself who were of school-going age but all were still too young to understand politics.

But that answer, I told him was a real “cop-out”.

He was merely avoiding what he should have done as a responsible citizen but did not. In any case, being dead was a better option than offering lame excuses to the next generation for not challenging the corrupt.

On the other hand, my instinct told me it was more like an expression of regret for not doing what he should stop the politicians. I knew he could have gone into politics and fought against the corrupt and untrustworthy politicians if he wanted to but he “chickened out” when he had an opportunity to be a candidate.

At a lunch soon after Najib’s appeal was rejected another expressed a feeling of total alienation from the rest of society because he was so disappointed with politicians who later became parliamentarians and even ministers that took office only to help themselves to state coffers. He did think of migrating to another country once but there was too much at stake to walk away.

So, I asked him how was he swayed by all the politicians that he failed to raise even a finger to stop them?

Why didn’t he write or speak up and say anything to chastise them for their wrongdoing when he had the chance?

To the first question, one elderly citizen said “We’re complacent. We’re busy with our noses to the grindstones, putting food on the table and watching our brood. We’re lulled by them with promises after promises not realising that they were plundering the nation!”.

To the second question, another former civil servant replied, “Are you crazy? Write? Speak up? And risked everything you had. Even Zunar the cartoonist took off with his sketches to Europe to avoid arrest. Do you know what country this is? Stop belittling me. I could write well, I spoke eloquently but on subjects that were allowed by the powers that be. I had been to Kamunting where they kept the political prisoners. The ISA kept you behind bars until you were ready to accept the propaganda. So, don’t tell me I did not talk or write when I had a chance!”.

Now I know why those born in the 40s and 50s or 60s did not say a word when the plunderers ruled the day and whacked our coffers.

Next time your grandchildren asked you the same question tell them “our mouths were sealed our hands were tied” the way robbers did when they ransacked your house for your belongings.

Your eyes watched their every move but you were helpless, only able to pray in silence, hoping that they would spare your life and the lives of your loved ones!

Mihar Dias is a content writer under Headliner by Newswav, a programme where content creators get to tell their unique stories through articles and at the same time monetize their content within the Newswav app.
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