Whither sehati, sejiwa?

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
My View - The Sun Daily
October 7, 2015

A DAY after Merdeka, this column wondered anxiously how long can “sehati, sejiwa” be sustained following what seemed to be a good start? It all depends very much on what the “politikus” will do next was the prediction! Specifically, if “politic(ian)s … prefer to continue wallowing in the stinking gutter” then “sehati, sejiwa” will be very short-lived!

Taking stock over just a month later, there is every indication that “sehati, sejiwa” is undergoing difficult times. How so?

It can be traced to a tit-for-tat reaction on the rights to an “illegal” assembly. Since the initial pre-Merdeka gathering was generally regarded as “peaceful” (albeit “illegal”), others are encouraged to do the same. It was, however, slated as “racial” when some incidents during the earlier rally were cited as one of the reasons to hold the second rally. Namely, the “stomping” of portraits of high-ranking politicians and the prime minister by young rally-goers who must have thought it was some kind of heroic act. The way they smiled to pose for photographs resembled that of a proud hunter posing with one foot on the defeated game. No doubt a snapshot to be displayed and cherished as a trophy of sorts.

While there were some remarks of disgust and claims that “this is not the Malaysian way”, by and large the issue was regarded as petty. The word “kebudak-budakan” was used by one of those concerned – a very dignified response of not wanting to lend credence to a child-like and culturally uncivilised (not just unMalaysian) behaviour. Police reports were lodged nevertheless but little is forthcoming, even until today, causing the issue to go on brewing. Even the media that makes “moderation” its sales pitch was rather quiet on this. No overt rebuttal by its poster persons unlike in many other previous instances.

Those unhappy about the “stomping” incident see this as an “extreme” behaviour and were determined to make their position known anyhow. Despite the same rhetoric used in trying to dissuade them from embarking on the rally, there was a discernible lack of firmness to take the bull by the horns when remarks like “do-it-at-own-risk” or “it’s the right of individual to decide” were meekly pronounced.

As expected when it eventually took place, there were those who labelled it as a “racist” gathering, while others said it is just a counter-rally to voice the counter-view with their counter demands, rightly or wrongly, all within the limits allowed by democracy. After all race-based parties have all along been championing their tainted brand of democracy too.

So it was at this juncture that the assault on the very essence of “sehati, sejiwa” becomes most apparent, notably when a foreign dignitary and his wife allegedly joined the foray.

Though touted as “an impromptu visit” by a tabloid (not theSun), it had no hesitation to front-page what seemed to be a staged photo somehow smacked of an agenda with extremely poor taste; making a mountain out of a molehill as it were.

Things would be quite different otherwise, but instead became worse taking into account what a Wisma Putra insider said of the foreign dignitary’s reported statements as “hard” and “uncalled for”.

The headline in the tabloid: “China envoy uplifts traders’ spirits in Chinatown”, implied that the envoy might have been overzealous to practise his “mooncake-diplomacy” oblivious of the context of which he is now called to account for.

But let us not heap the blame on the poor foreigner who may not be fully nuanced as to what is really going on, let alone the implications therein. Moreover, in his country of origin, the mooncake-diplomacy is applied selectively. Certainly not in resolving issues such as that of the Spratly Islands.

So it is back to the gullibility of our local “politikus” and the honesty to make “sehati, sejiwa” their real badge of honour. Only this time sans any “foreign help” because their involvement – impromptu or otherwise, may be construed as another form of “stomping”; especially when Wisma Putra noted what had happened “is not conventional practice and has irked many”.

Sadly, we wrongly thought that our political leaders are more mature and have long passed the phase of “kebudak-budakan” to know better. And that “sehati, sejiwa” is not just another polticised slogan.

It is therefore a big letdown when “sehati, sejiwa” is so quickly being shredded into “seribu hati, kosong jiwa” thanks to the child-like realpolitik of imbecility and immaturity.

If politicians are incapable of walking the talk the slogan of their own making, and live “sehati, sejiwa” in words and deeds, then they must not mislead the majority of rakyat who have long embraced “sehati, sejiwa” as part of their daily way of life as true Malaysians. Please spare them the shallow politics of deception and hypocrisy!