Recently on a trip to visit family, I experienced a tense moment on the road caused by police outriders escorting a VIP. For whatever reason, the outriders had abruptly stopped the upcoming traffic on the other lane where I was on. I was at a fairly safe distance from the car in front of me, so I was able to immediately hit the brakes without any incident.
The car behind me and the one behind it however were at closer distances. I heard the car right behind me screeching to a halt and the one behind it had to urgently stop as well; its driver blasted the horn in shock and anger at the sudden halt. I was lucky the car behind me didn’t collide into me, yet I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘what about next time?’
Such actions by outriders to allow unimpeded passage for VIPs are highly risky and can all too easily result in accidents. Indeed, there have been near-accidents in Malaysia over the years caused by outriders stopping traffic for VIPs.
The government argues that outrider services are necessary to ensure the VIPs’ safety and to avoid any threats during their journey. This point however is weak since our ministers already have police escorts, and so there’s no justifiable need for additional outrider services beyond inflating our leaders’ egos.
Police outrider services also amplify the special treatment accorded to our political class, thus further widening the disconnect between them and the common people. Many of our leaders are unaware of the true extent of people’s daily hardships and burdens, and thus aren’t driven to urgently address them and implement necessary reforms.
Perhaps this is why bad traffic jams continue to persist daily in Malaysia as our leaders rarely experience the stress and frustration of being stuck in them! With outriders forcing other road users to stop and give way, they’re able to cut through jams without delaying their journey.
I’d argue that this culture of special treatment and double standards between the ruling class and the common people is a catalyst for the corrupting of our leaders. After regularly experiencing such treatment and perks, these politicians, rather than fulfilling their primary obligation to serve their constituents, turn greedy, entitled and arrogant. Politics is henceforth perceived as a great opportunity to become rich and receive unjustified special treatment. Funds and services that should be used for the good of society are unnecessarily wasted on such treatment.
It’s an affliction that’s deeply embedded in many countries worldwide as we’re all keenly aware by now…and it’s been a primary driver of our societies’ decay. The gap between the average people and their respective ruling classes has been ever widening; people’s socioeconomic statuses have been deteriorating while their leaders abandon their electoral responsibilities, all the while feeling entitled in doing so.
Let us reject this culture of special treatment and double standards. Let us speak out against and urge our authorities to dismantle this unfair, unhealthy aspect of our societies. We can start with more ground-level cases like abolishing outrider services for VIPs. The ruling class won’t do away with such treatment willingly, but if more and more of us speak out consistently, such pushback will eventually be too great to ignore.
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