Did you know there is a Tangkap Azam Baki secretariat ? Yes, there is an entire secretariat, that is backed by 32 entities including Bersih, that is dedicated to just bringing down one man.
It has been regularly organising anti-Azam Baki activities, and this April 25, it is organizing a “Tangkap Azam Baki” rally at Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur.
Now, I knew that the Azam Baki is embroiled in a “corporate mafia” scandal, but even knowing that, I must that I am quite surprised that Azam Baki has an entire secretariat, that is dedicated to pressure the government to arrest him.
I am surprised because I don't see what is so special about Azam Baki that he deserves such a special treatment.
Afterall, even if it is the case that Azam Baki is indeed corrupt, what is new. Who in Malaysia is not corrupt ?
In the way that I see it, Malaysians are not a people that will be outraged by corruption, because our entire economy is based on exploitation.
We tend to euphemistically refer to our economy as an economy that is “reliant on cheap labour,” but that is just a nice way of saying that our economy is based on exploitation.
Where there is exploitation there is almost certainly going to be corruption and supremacist ideologies, because it is impossible to be exploitative without having corruption and supremacist ideologies to enable the exploitation.
If you are going to exploit someone - or treat them worse than you would treat yourself or those you identify with - you have to develop a supremacist ideology, to differentiate yourself from those you exploit and to justify your exploitation.
You have convince yourself that treating others worse than you would treat yourself, is not unfair because 1) you are not mistreating them, you are actually taking care of them 2) that although the way you treat them is worse than how you would treat yourself or those you identify with, it is still better than the treatment that they deserve or are used to 3) that they are just intrinsically lazy, spoilt, wicked or stupid, while you are intrinsically smart, hardworking, selfless and good, and so you treating them worse than yourself is not only you keeping it real, but it is even good, because it is only if you treat them badly will you be able to wean them of their shortcomings and encourage them to be more like you or 4) because they are immigrants or foreigners, while you are natives or citizens, you obviously have more rights then them in your our own home than they do.
When you are on the receiving end of exploitation and racist ideologies, you in turn will almost certainly practice corruption in order to fight back or protect yourself against the desires of those who are trying to exploit or humiliate you.
Practicing corruption against those who are trying to exploit or humiliate you, in fact, not only won't feel wrong, it will likely feel right - it will feel as right as punching somebody who broke into your house and is trying to harm you and your family .
Yes punching people is wrong, but when they are trying to harm you, then punching them will feel right.
In the same way, yes, all Malaysians will say that corruption is wrong , but when they feel they are subject to exploitation and racism, then they won't feel that it is wrong.
And let us not kid ourselves - all Malaysians feel that they are subject to exploitation and racism, so all Malaysians will at some point of other feel that there is nothing wrong with practicing things like corruption or cronyism , to protect themselves and fight back against those who are trying to exploit or humiliate them through such practises as racism or religious bigotry.
As a non-Malay, I have lost count of the number of conversations I have had with non- Malays, as to how they feel that have been subjected to the corruption, discrimination and racism in Malaysia. .
At the same time, I am also aware that the Malays also feel that they have been subject to the corruption, cronyism, exploitation and racism too.
And although the non-Malays, as well as the Malays, tend to feel that they are subject to racism, exploitation and corruption, it doesn't mean that they are not going to subject the foreign workers here to the same racism, exploitation or discrimination that they are subjected to.
Considering that we have millions and millions and millions of foreign workers, I doubt that there is any Malaysian that is not a directly involved in corruption, exploitation, racism and discrimination, or indirectly enabling it.
Heck, right now as you are reading this, there might be a foreign worker working as a maid in your house - but I am quite sure that just because you would recoil at somebody treating you or somebody you identify with as how you treat your maid, it is not going to stop your from treating your maid the way that you treat them. As a matter of fact , I will go even so far as to say say that you most likely feel that you have treated your maid most excellently - like she is part of the family - although you would never in a hundred years treat anyone you identify with the same way.
Anyway , I think I have digressed enough .
Coming back to the the Azam Baki issue, my point here is that even if Azam Baki is corrupt, I am more than sure that no one in Malaysia is really that outraged enough about it, to form an entire secretariat and holding regular rallies to bring about his downfall, because corruption isn't exactly a rarity in Malaysia. .
Corruption is so rife in Malaysia. that just because we hear that Azam Baki is corrupt, and even if we do believe he is corrupt, it doesn't mean that we will believe that he is entirely a bad person.
Many Malaysians believe that the cops are corrupt, for example, but just because of that, it doesn't mean we don't think that the police won't catch murderers or rapist. In other words, just because many of us believe that someone is corrupt, it doesn't mean that we don't think they are good people in other ways.
If we label everybody we believe to be corrupt as a bad person, then we will also have to label ourselves as bad person for either being corrupt or enabling corruption, and none of will do that, because none of us want to see ourselves as a bad people.
That is why although we might outwardly express outrage at people who we believe are corrupt , but in our heart or hearts, we don't really denounce those who are corrupt, as say, how we would denounce a paedophile or a rapist.
Malaysians generally only denounce a person who is corrupt if they are excessive in their corruption, but even then, the basis of the denouncement is likely more envy then because we truly feel that a person who practises corruption is not like us, in the same way that we feel that a rapist or a paedophile is not like us .
Another reason why we denounce corruption is is when our relationship with the person or organisation who has been accused of as corrupt has become estranged.
As long as we have a good relationship with those who are corrupt, we are unlikely to see them as corrupt, even if they have billions in inexplicable wealth.
It is only when our relationship with then becomes estranged, that we will condemn them as corrupt, for having explicable wealth.
By that standard , I suppose we can take the response to the the anti Azam Baki rally scheduled later this week more as a referendum against Anwarband the Madani government than it is a testament as to whether Malaysians are truly outraged by such practises as corruption, and are truly in heart and spirit, fighting for reform.
If a huge crowd throngs the Tangkap Azam Baki rally next week, it means that a large number of Malaysians see their relationship with Anwar or the Madani government as estranged.
If not, then it is mostly going to be business as usual in Malaysia.
This is likely the only meaning that we can derive from the the Tangkap Azam Baki rally scheduled for later this week.
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