Right after DAP’s Sabah debacle, Anthony Loke announced that he would take “full responsibility” for the party’s total wipeout.
“As the Secretary-General of the party, I take full responsibility for the shortcomings and the failure of DAP to win any seats in the 17th Sabah State Election,” Loke said in a statement on Facebook right after the Sabah election results was announced.
Now, when a Westerner says they are taking full responsibility, you can usually expect a resignation letter the very next day.
When an East Asian—say a Japanese or Korean—declares it, the consequences may be even more severe. They might enter a room and never come out of it, and you will only learn that they have taken “full responsibility” from a letter that they left behind, if you what I mean.
When a Malaysian politician says it however, it probably just means that they might have heard the word uttered somewhere - maybe they read it an article or saw it in a TV drama, thought it was a nice phrase and assumed that saying it impress everyone, in the same way that the person who wrote the article or acted in the TV drama impressed them.
In honourable cultures, saying you take responsibility means carrying the weight of real consequences—careers end, reputations collapse, and sometimes, even lives will be snuffed.
In Malaysia, the phrase has never been more than just theatre. A noble person and an actor playing a noble person might look the same, but the difference between them is the difference between the earth and the sky.
As if to reinforce that his statement meant nothing, Anthony Loke returned with another hollow declaration—this time promising that DAP will “accelerate the reform agenda in the next six months.”
After an emergency CEC meeting, he proudly announced:
“After thorough reflection, we will compile all feedback received and work closely with the prime minister (Anwar Ibrahim) to accelerate the reform agenda over the next six months.”
Listening to Anthony loke reminded me of that Tamil movie Annamalai, staring Rajnikanth, where Rajnikanth will transform from a poor cowherd to a rich millionaire in the span of one song.
The movie is a Tamil movie, but I suspect that Anthony Loke might have seen it , because he seems to be inspired by it, because like the movie, he also seems to believe something that is difficult can be achieved in a very short time, just because the script demands it.
The Usain Bolt of Reformasi?
The way Anthony Loke is promising reform to be delivered in 6 months, you’d think he and Anwar Ibrahim are already paragons of reform—fully refined, fully reformed—and it’s the rest of us plebs holding them back.
Reform isn’t slow because the political elite lacks willpower or integrity, oh no.
Reform is slow because we plebs are slow, we can’t keep up with the political aristocrats, and that is why political aristocrats must graciously move at a slower pace just so that we can keep with the pace.
Now that Sabah voters have clearly told them they are dissatisfied with the pace of reform, Anthony seems to suggest he and Anwar will finally run at full speed—like they are the Usain Bolts of Reformasi, capable of sprinting ahead anytime they wanted to, but they simply choose not to, not because they cannot, but because they were being considerate towards us.
The delusion is stunning.
Listening to Anthony loke talk like this made me remember how me and my buddies used to prepare for our exams in university.
We will calculate that there are 6 chapters and 60 pages to study, assume that if we complete 1 chapter or 10 pages a day, all we will need to do is study 6 days before exam and we will be able pass our exams with flying colors.
Thinking in this manner is a sure recipe for failure.
The mindset that believes that you can cram reformation in 6 months is really no different from a mindset that believes that you can cram a semester of study in 6 days - it is not confidence, it is just self-deceiving stupidity.
Where This Delusion Comes From
This delusional attitude comes from three places:
1. Conceit – believing you’re far better than you really are.
2. Ignorance – being completely clueless about the true scale of the obstacles.
3. Disrespect – assuming successful nations reformed themselves through simple tricks you can imitate in half a year.
A person who thinks they can pass finals with a week of studying, or become a millionaire through gambling, usually ends up failing exams and owing Ah Longs.
Similarly, a politician who thinks they can “accelerate reform in 6 months” will not only almost certainly not achieve anything, they will probably make things worse than they already are.
My Prediction: 99.999% Failure
There is a very very small chance that Anthony Loke might succeed, for if Fortune favors you, nothing is impossible, but I otherwise, I am 99.999 percent sure, that in 6 months from now, nothing of substance would be reformed in the country.
Sure, they maybe there will be some cosmetic changes here and there – maybe like Anthony loke learning how to say “ I will take full responsibility” without requiring him or anyone suffering any consequences, we will also have some amendments here or some policy changes there without experiencing any real change in reality - but on the whole, I am 99.999 percent sure that the Malaysian experience - where foreign football players with no connection whatsoever to Malaysia can become citizen and represent the country in a matter of months or where you can escape corruption charges just by paying a compound if you are well connected person or where people can disappear in broad daylight, likely because the police themselves are involved in the kidnapping – will not only be the same, but likely get worse.
It will not change, or likely get worse, because when you put someone who thinks reform is a six-month cram session in charge, don’t expect sunrise.
Expect the night to get even darker.
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