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Malaysians are funny people. We can be very firm about right and wrong, until the person doing something wrong happens to be one of our own.
Then, suddenly, we need to see both sides.
“Maybe he was misunderstood.”
“Maybe people are out to get him.”
“Maybe there is a political agenda.”
And if nothing else works, we can always say he is defending our race, our religion or our community.
Never mind what he did. The important thing is that he is one of us.
Welcome to tribalism, where right and wrong depend on which side you are on.
We see this in politics all the time. If a politician from the other camp makes a mistake, we are ready to condemn him. But when our own politician does the same thing, suddenly we become lawyers, detectives and experts in human behaviour. We examine his intentions, question his accusers and look for reasons to defend him.
Funny, isn't it? The same people who demand justice from others can become very forgiving when it comes to their own.
The recent court ruling involving Umno's Akmal Saleh and DAP's Teresa Kok is a case worth thinking about. The court ruled against Akmal in the defamation case and ordered him to pay damages. Yet, for some supporters, this may not change how they see him. He can still be the person standing up for the Malays and Islam.
And that is the problem.
When we are too busy protecting our own, we can end up treating accountability as an attack on our community. A politician is held responsible for his actions, but somehow, we turn him into the victim.
To be fair, a court decision can be questioned through the proper channels. Nobody is saying we must agree with every judgment without thinking. But there is a difference between questioning a court's decision and refusing to accept it simply because we do not like the outcome.
One is about justice. The other is about loyalty.
And this is not just a Malay problem. It happens across races, religions and political parties. We see it in our workplaces, families and even among friends. When someone we like does something wrong, we find excuses. When someone we dislike does the same thing, we have no problem calling a spade a spade.
Our principles seem to have a very convenient switch.
Politicians understand this behaviour better than we think. They know that if they can convince us they are fighting for our race or religion, we may be willing to overlook their shortcomings. They know that criticism can be turned into an attack on the very community they claim to represent.
And once that happens, we no longer ask the important question, “Was he right or wrong?”
Instead, we end up arguing about who is attacking whom.
This is how politicians get away with things. Not necessarily because they are clever, but because we make it easy for them. If they know we will defend them regardless of what they do, why should they bother changing? All they need to do is remind us that they are one of us.
And we happily do the rest.
The irony is that we often claim to be protecting our community. But what exactly are we protecting when we defend a politician who refuses to take responsibility for his actions?
If we care about the Malays, should we not want Malay politicians to have integrity?
If we care about Islam, should we not expect Muslim politicians to practise the values they speak about?
And if we care about Malaysia, should we not demand the same standards from every politician, regardless of race, religion or party?
Why should our own be given a free pass?
In fact, shouldn't we be more demanding of the people who claim to represent us? They speak in our name. They ask for our votes. They promise to protect our interests. The least we can ask is that they behave responsibly.
A politician is not our family member whom we must defend at every kenduri, even when we know he is wrong. So why do we treat politicians differently?
Supporting someone does not mean agreeing with everything they say or do. Sometimes, supporting them means telling them they are wrong. That is not betrayal. It is common sense.
Of course, I understand why people want someone to stand up for their community. Many feel that their race, religion or interests have been overlooked. They want politicians who will speak for them, and there is nothing wrong with that.
But there is a difference between protecting your community and protecting every politician who claims to speak for it.
One is about caring for the people. The other is about protecting the politician.
We need to know the difference.
We cannot keep demanding good governance while giving bad behaviour a discount because the person responsible is one of our own. We cannot preach about integrity and morality, then abandon both when our favourite politician gets into trouble.
If we do that, we are not defending our principles. We are only defending our side.
Our politicians will continue to test our loyalty as long as they know we are willing to put loyalty above good judgment. We can keep cheering for them, defending them and making excuses for them. But when they fail us, we are the ones who have to live with the consequences.
So the next time someone tells you to support your own at all costs, ask yourself one simple question - at whose cost?
Because a politician who gets away with wrongdoing thanks to our loyalty may not be protecting our community at all.
He may simply have learnt that, as long as he waves the right flag, we will look the other way. And that, my fellow Malaysians, is a very expensive price to pay for loyalty.
Fa Abdul (fa.abdul.penang@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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