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So apparently, civil servants have been told to stay away from the Turun Anwar rally. Why? Because according to Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, it’s inappropriate and inconsistent with the principle of loyalty to the country as enshrined in the Rukun Negara.
Hah. Cute.
Now, I don’t know which version of the Rukun Negara this people are reading, but I’m pretty sure the original one doesn’t say:
“Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan, Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan kerajaan semasa yang tengah trending.”
Let’s be honest. This idea that public servants must zip their lips, keep their heads down, and clap loyally no matter how high the temperature gets in this pressure cooker - it's getting old. Real old. Like, “stapler with no more bullets” old.
You see, there's a big difference between being loyal to the country and being loyal to the government. The country is your home. The government is just the tenant who happens to be renting the master bedroom at the moment. And let’s be real, tenants come and go. Some stay long, some don’t even clean the toilet before moving out.
Imagine telling the abang who works at a restaurant that he cannot complain about the kitchen hygiene because he works there. “Eh, be loyal lah. Cannot say the food is undercooked.” What rubbish is that? If the chicken is still clucking on the plate, you have to say something!
Or telling a student not to tell their parents that Cikgu throws markers at people. “Eh, be loyal to the school.” Hah? You want loyalty or trauma?
This same twisted loyalty logic is now being fed to our civil servants - the same people who keep the country running while politicians are busy rubbing each other every other week. Public servants are the ones who sit in traffic, makan nasi bungkus for lunch, and still do their job whether there’s a change of PM or just a change in printer toner supplier.
Telling them that participating in a peaceful rally is against the spirit of Rukun Negara is like telling Malaysians not to queue for free food - it is unnatural, suspicious, and a sign something is very wrong.
Let’s be very clear: Loyalty doesn’t mean blind obedience. That’s not loyalty, that’s jadi pak turut. Don’t insult our intelligence by wrapping it up and calling it patriotism. Please lah.
A real patriot asks questions. A real patriot points out flaws so we can improve. A real patriot is not someone who stands quietly while the ship sinks, but it’s someone who yells, “Oi, ada lubang kat sini!” before everyone starts finding ways to tutup the damn lubang.
Our civil servants shouldn’t be coerced into playing cheerleader for whichever government happens to be in power. They should be respected as professionals who serve Malaysia, not Ministers.
So let’s not confuse loyalty with fear. Let’s not pretend silence is golden when it's actually a sign of suppression. And let’s not treat the Rukun Negara like a license to shut people up. It was meant to unite us, not police our opinions.
Because if loyalty means staying quiet while the rakyat struggles, then maybe it’s time we rethink what we’re really loyal to.
Fa Abdul (fa.abdul.my@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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