HOW do we harness the power of a bad situation? Instead of looking at something as bad, try calling it challenging as a substitute and you will instantly feel differently, and there could be positive vibes.
My friends and colleagues say that I am positivity personified and yet I do get on the wrong side of things sometimes, and this simply goes to show that I am fallible, just like any of us.
We all make mistakes but when we continue to justify the wrongs with deceit, things can get out of hand and as they say, “one cannot fool everyone all the time”.
I had decided to consciously not touch on politics when I started writing this column but I kept hitting the wall and made several U-turns only to return to the old familiar cul-de-sac. Can I be blamed?
Everyone is talking, screaming and dreaming politics, particularly after the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, and everything else seems either insignificant or not sexy enough.
There is so much fighting and mud-slinging going on in the open, leaving the rakyat exasperated and bewildered.
They say ethics and politics are in clear contradiction and that they cannot exist together, yet politics is an essential human activity indispensable in building societies and communities based on rules, laws and a balance of conflicting interests.
Having said that, politics is complex and difficult, and it requires a high level of responsibility and commitment from citizens, political parties, parliamentarians, government executives, the judiciary, media, businesses, non-governmental organisations and religious and educational institutions.
But polls across the globe on confidence show that people do not place much trust in politics and politicians.
They are often seen as selfish and corrupt power-players, defending special interests instead of the common good and different parts of the populations.
Hence, ethics in politics seems to many a contradiction in terms.
Trust and respect in politics and politicians is vital for communities and societies to co-exist harmoniously.
When this important ingredient is missing, we have other tendencies setting in, which pushes a country further into the doldrums.
How will the history of Malaysia be written in decades to come when addressing corruption?
Would it be presented as an acceptable norm for politicians?
And what kind of lesson or bad example would that set for our children and their children?
The mere thought is revolting.
The rural folk and those who have no access to digital information will believe just about anything that the wind carries to them and they will, once again, be the innocent voters who would have grave injustice done to them and the nation.
In the 14th General Election, the people woke up and decided that an alternative was needed, and they voted with fervent
hope that things would be different, but the newbies let us down and this may not be forgotten easily.
What choice are we left with?
With the weather sirens blaring daily from every corner, it has become too much to handle for the ordinary people.
Meanwhile, prices of essentials are on an uphill trend, and what we see in the news is not what we get on the ground in terms of bargains, but who is checking and who cares?
It looks like “every man is for himself” as they say.
Politics is not a philosophy but practice.
It is not enough to specify political goals that satisfy an ethical political vision.
The vision must be in the interest of the nation and its people.
Politicians are not leaders if they do not have a vision for the future generation, and they should not be working towards their own personal gain.
The point is, the inevitable is approaching, and we have to put our best foot forward to show what people power can attain.
Let us do the right thing.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
