The Voice Of Conformity

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 14 )
January 31, 2013
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

When you're a ballerina in training, one is taught discipline through conformity. Uniformed leotards, peach-pink shoes, buns, belts, bars, tights and tutus are the same for everyone in class, no exceptions. Every movement is coordinated with the music to precise timing, and like the toys in the Nutcracker, the foundation of being a ballerina is meticulous, coordinated and exact.

Conformity makes it easier for those above to control us, but for the minions it provides two options, the first relinquishes us from the painful task of thinking and the second, it stops us knowing what we really want – it stops us from dreaming for more and demands a sense of contentment.

For many that fear of being put down stops them from standing up or speaking out against injustices, or sharing their opinions for change. And so a large majority go along this path of obey, listen and follow with the mantra – let's not rock the boat.

It sounds all too familiar because the alternatives are always either be grateful or if you don't like it here then leave. And that is exactly why we have so many qualified Malaysians who do not want to return home. So where is the platform for mature discourse?

In our country, conformity equates to unquestionable allegiance to a political party while solidarity means that we are cohesive based on race and religion, when really our political leanings should be based on tangible policies that will benefit the nation and its citizens, not just blindly following every claim and every promise.

What we lack is the space for political tolerance, a key principle of democracy (Personally, I am not a fan of the word tolerance, but for all intent and purposes, as I continue to quote social science research, I will conform and use the word tolerance).

Following Samuel A. Stouffer's famous study Communism, conformity, and civil liberties: a cross-section of the Nation speaks its mind, social scientist James L. Gibson writes, "Those who do not feel free to express themselves politically are more likely to be intolerant of others, to have less heterogeneous peer groups and less tolerant spouses and to live in less tolerant communities." What are the implications and consequences of such political intolerance?

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union which works in close cooperation with the United Nations, it is the lack of education and political participation, freedom of expression through open dialogue even with those of diverse political opinion and a pluralistic media that is allowed to present diverse and critical views.

Instead in Malaysia we have people who rally followers to burn Bibles, leaders who incite hate, politicians in deep trouble blaming the media for sensationalist reporting, when in fact their wrongdoings themselves have made even the dullest method of reporting look shockingly embellished. Shall we then just listen, obey and conform?

Perhaps what is most disturbing is that this mentality to conform is limiting those in our schools and universities. Being able to think critically and articulate an argument is met with put-downs and lectures on staying in line. How then do we groom future leaders, or maybe we only want to groom those who toe the line.

These are not skills they need for politics alone, it is skills we need as a nation wanting to progress in various fields. Our schools and universities should be building a generation of socially engaged, politically aware and highly educated people. We don't just need thinking people, we need thinking people who are vocal, speak sense and have the conviction to uphold their civic duties.

We aren't the only nation that suffers from political intolerance, but being an election year, our tolerance levels for accepting and respecting viewpoints that differ are noticeably below par.

Conformity allowed for the 1993 "Project IC" to happen. Clearly, 20 years on, it's not as easy to keep people silent. It's one thing to conform in a ballet class, but looking at history, it wasn't the conformists who are remembered but those who dared to speak their minds that made a difference.

Natalie likes Jim Hightower's quote "The opposite of courage is not cowardice, it is conformity. Even a dead fish can go with the flow".  

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

The Psychological Pulse Of a Nation

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 14 )
January 10, 2013
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

Measuring happiness or finding happiness seems to be the 'in' thing at the moment. While individuals declutter in the New Year, leaders seem to be venturing into measuring the happiness levels of their country. Of course, Bhutan has been doing this for many years when their 4th King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, decided to measure happiness through Gross National Happiness (GNH) as opposed to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

But how do you measure happiness? Bhutan uses a four pillar breakdown of GNH which includes economic self-reliance, a pristine environment, the preservation and promotion of the country's culture, and good governance in the form of democracy. In essence, their leader is concerned with the wellbeing of the people rather than economic numbers that translate little to the average citizen. Now, if we were to use these headings, how would we describe our country's GNH based on what is happening in Malaysia?

We seem to be on a thriving economic upward path, but how many Malaysians are benefiting from it? As salaries remain stagnant, prices of necessities continue to become more and more expensive, causing an increase in household debt. A country as blessed as ours should be more self-reliant on agriculture goods but somewhere along the planning process, we chose industrialisation over agriculture when it did not need to be an either-or choice. Investing in food security is essential and just plain common sense. We will always need food, so why not invest in making us a self-sufficient country?

Instead, we were a net importer of food in 2011 (RM34.5 billion) which loosely translates to higher prices. This was felt hard when Thailand flooded for weeks and the price of chillies skyrocketed. We still ignored the alarm bells. This is probably because the policy and decision makers are not the ones affected by the high price of vegetables or local fruit, while the people who are highly affected go on a forced diet.

We aren't doing so great in terms of the environment either. Air quality is left for wanting in many parts of the country and made worse during the months when we blame neighbouring countries for open-burning each year, while our lungs play host to the soot. Then there are issues like the controversial multiple hydropower dams of Sarawak, the rare earth plant from Australia, the multiple landslides and flooding that only increases in damage each year. It is one thing when natural disasters occur but at some point we have to start taking responsibility for the bad decision of overbuilding, over-logging and trading our natural resources for far less than it is worth. Instead of protecting our environment from destructive industries, we are welcoming many with open arms. Is this then our culture?

For a country with a patchwork heritage, instead of embracing our variety, we are using it as a crutch to fuel racism, which then mutates into a defence mechanism where each race dissimilates instead of integrating. It's not about giving up one's culture, but assimilating into the country we live in, yet there are so many people that get by without speaking the national language, ostracising themselves from interacting with people of different races and cultures. Religion is used to separate and create more fractions defying its purpose of creating unity.

All this then begs the question of how good is our governance? While on one hand the government comes up with projects to make us self-sufficient in food industries such as cultivating self-sufficiency in beef products, but such projects never see the light of day because corrupt practises are not dealt with seriously or swiftly enough. Our leaders are meant to be strengthening the state, yet when one looks at the Puspahanas worksite and the amount of money that will not be recovered, we wonder why these politicians are allowed to continue to undermine and rob the state. Where is the accountability?

Our country suffers in the hands of an elite layer of influential people who believe that he who dies with the most toys wins. This is a grave problem when we start to measure the psychological pulse of our nation. All this affects our morality and defines our ethos, corroding the core principles of this nation. It's time we start stacking sandbags against these practises to ensure our happiness even if we scored a B+ in the Malaysian Happiness Index.

Natalie would like to know where you would place Malaysia in the Happiness Index.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

What is the Malaysian dream?

By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia (pg 14 )
December 31, 2012
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/columns/onpointe

For centuries, people have gravitated towards the United States in the hopes of living in a freer land that accords “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as stated in the Declaration of Independence. This “anyone can make it” dream sells the belief that hard work pays off and the opportunities are limitless. It’s not just a dream about being able to afford fancy cars and big houses, but that success is attainable based on merit and hard work, not based on birth or standing.

Across the world, along the different latitudes, this concept of the American Dream has been a great export not because it sounds nice but because history has proven that it is a country that deliberately champions equality.

Although the US also has a deep record of discrimination and other failures, but for the most part it is doing a far better job than many other countries today. The American Dream has unwittingly caused us to also ponder and battle with the question of what is my dream, for myself in my country and for my Malaysia?

In the years leading to our 1957 Merdeka, the dream was about uniting for independence. Today, our dreams are clearly different. No more are we under the thumb of colonisation, but yet we find that we are under a different coloured thumb – one of greed and scattered by a hierarchical racial caste system that also mutates into class discrimination, not just between the races but also within races too.

The past year has been intense and too fast for many. Most of the year was spent with the shadow of a looming general election and the vile political campaigning that comes with it. Unfortunately for us, election dates are kept somewhat secret and for now, we know for sure it will be in 2013, and what a year it will be. But what came out of this year was a more intense sense of ownership and a vociferous rakyat which led to many unsavoury missteps by politicians reacting instead of understanding and responding proportionately.

Democracy it seems was challenged according to authorities with the call for election reforms, citing that people cannot strive for a just objective through illegal means. However, does a peaceful demonstration equate to illegal means?

The notion that many Malaysians show an amiable indifference was not the case on April 28 this year. Yet, change has been painfully slow.

Then there was Malaysia’s own green revolution protest of a rare earth plant setting up house in our country when former bedfellows were rejecting such an industry. Again, little has been done and critical long term factors such as waste disposal is only now being discussed, which shows a clear sign that important issues are not thought through well enough, and the lure of dollar signs outweighs rational sense. Then there were those student loan protests, used more for political leverage than for actually addressing the quality of education, fees structures and loan repayment schemes.

Perhaps these protests are a sign of what the present Malaysian dream strives for; a society where leaders are elected in a truly democratic manner, with a clean electoral roll, unbiased media coverage and reforms in postal voting, the use of indelible ink and very importantly, the strengthening of institutions.

If we were to analyse the deeper meaning of these protests, we will realise that this is a means of achieving the Malaysian dream. The mandate for equal opportunities, improving the education system, parallel access to jobs, housing, and rescuing the long list of areas tarnished and destroyed by corruption, starts from electoral reforms. Although there have been some reforms and transformational targets reached, but yet the achievements of the past year have fallen short and threaten the Malaysian dream further.

Perhaps the key to spark our fervour in pushing for a better country should start with thinking about “what if’s”. To simply put it, what if we could have recovered all the money that has been pocketed by corrupt politicians and their circles? How those billions alone would have bettered our country’s infrastructure. Think about that the next time you are stuck in traffic or waiting for public transport.

In the 1931 book The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams wrote that the American dream means “a better, richer and happier life for all our citizens of every rank”. For me personally, the Malaysian dream includes the word change.

Natalie believes in Reinhold Niebuhr’s dictum: “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Happy Holidays!

Comment: letters@thesundaily.com