That former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob is the fifth out of six of of our living prime minister that is being investigated by the authorities for alleged corruption and money laundering is a clear sign that most of our elders, especially those who have achieved success in the past, are just not worth respecting.
Most of us tend to believe that Malaysia is riddled with corruption, cronyism, kleptocracy and nepotism, and the rot started during Mahathir’s 22 years of reign.
If we believe so, then logically, we must also believe that the majority of the people who became successful and rose to high positions during Mahathir's era, must have done so because of corruption, kleptocracy, nepotism and cronyism.
What other explanation is there?
If we don’t think so, then we can’t think of Mahathir’s reign as one that is riddled with corruption and other depravities. If we think that Mahathir’s reign is riddled with corruption and depravities, then we have to assume that the majority of those who became successful during Mahathir's era are simply not worthy of their success – they simply became successful because of corruption, nepotism, cronyism or kleptocracy.
The fact that most of the people who became successful during Mahathir's era are today in their late 60s or 70s or 80s, and thus should be considered as a elderly person worthy of respect, is immaterial.
By right, respect is properly only given to someone according to their beliefs and practices.
If you believe in having a sense of dignity, have a record of upholding your integrity even under duress and are the sort of person that will not tell a lie for all the gold in the world, you are worthy of respect, even if you are young.
On the other hand, if you are the sort that will sell your soul for ringgit and cents, don’t mind humiliating yourself before another person in order to rise up in life and who is such a habitual liar that you no longer can tell the difference between what is true and false, what is there to be respected about you, even if you are 100 years old.
The evidence that our elders are unworthy of respect, adulation, admiration or honour is overwhelming.
That 5 out of 6 of our living prime ministers have been implicated or suspected of wrongdoing is a damning proof that our elders, especially those who are successful, are not worthy of emulation or respect.
If even up to the prime minister level, 5 out of 6 have a dodgy track record, the rot in our country is so deep that it is likely that everyone from the older generation who has risen to a high position, in possession of a great wealth and is seen to be achieved a great achievement, is likely someone who did so through corruption, nepotism, cronyism or kleptocracy.
We must remember that we will become like the people we respect and admire.
If we keep respecting the people who became successful in the heydays of corruption, nepotism and cronyism, just because they are now old, we will never cleanse ourselves of our past degeneracy and depravities.
To prevent ourselves for being infected with the same depravaties as our elders, as a rule, we should start preventing our elders, especially the ones that have risen to a high position or accumulated great powers or wealth, from influence us, by giving them the opportunities to speak in any forums, podcasts or any functions.
Instead, we need to tell them that they need to prove to us that they did not rise through cronyism, kleptocracy, corruption or nepotism, and we should really scrutinise the proof they present to us, because the reality is clearly telling us that the vast majority of our elders who were successful in the past are clearly not worthy of their success.
If our elders can’t prove that deserve their success and achievement or if they are not confident that they can prove it, then we should start urging them to just fade into the background, because by default, we should be given to see their success as a product of depravities and debaucheries that are worth being condemned rather than respected.
That a person deserves their success and achievement is not difficult to prove. The life of a person of integrity is the proof of their integrity. If a person has dedicated their life to accumulate knowledge or expertise, it can be determined upfront from the ability and expressions, and it will stand the test of investigation.
If our elders cannot prove it, or if they do not wish their achievements or life history to be subject to history, then it more likely than not, means that their success is not deserved.
It is not our fault that our elders are not worth respecting. It is theirs.
They should start to realise that, and do something to rehabilitate their image, rather than expect us to continue to live a lie, and treat them with respect and admiration, when it should be as clear as daylight that most of them might not be deserving of the respect and admiration they expect from us.
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