By: Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia (pg 19) October 31, 2013
Since the
early 90's there has been a debate of an East versus West value system. This
argument has been widely used to challenge the notion that human rights are
universal by promoting the view that human rights are culturally relative. The
argument entails that universality places western values over Asians and this
is not the right fit. Of course many Asian leaders were proponents of this
square peg, round hole argument and ran with it.
Our
leadership was quick to align the country with this reason supporting it by
coining the term "Asian Values". It suited the development argument,
which included the primacy of economic development over civil and political
rights.
For years,
we were part of this Asian values argument but of late, there seems to be a shift
away from Asian values towards Malaysian values.
Is this
because we no longer think that Asian values cuts it for us here, or has Asian
values moved forward while we take steps backwards – or are we the moral
compass that hasn't shifted? Perhaps we've just become more insular.
Recently, a
music concert was cancelled with one of the reasons being if the concert did
take place, it would touch on Malaysian values – and not in a good way of
course.
While not a
fan of the artist, I wondered though what exactly are these Malaysian values
that are becoming such a popular reason of late.
Are our
Malaysian values based on the Rukun Negara? They should be I'm guessing.
The Rukun
Negara was introduced in 1970 at the 13th Merdeka celebrations to strengthen
unity among the various ethnicities. It was also to maintain a democratic way
of life while creating a just society, where the wealth of the nation will be
equitably shared. It also states that the country is dedicated to ensuring a
liberal approach to the rich and diverse cultural traditions while building a
progressive society which will be oriented to modern science and technology.
So let's
look at the events in the month of October. Three important documents were
released – The AG's Report, Malaysia's Human Rights National Report at the
Universal Periodical Review and Budget 2014. Then there was the passing of the
revised Prevention of Crime Act (PCA), the controversial secrecy amendment to
the Penal Code and the Court of Appeal ruling against the Catholic Church using
the word Allah in its weekly publication.
There was a
hue and cry over the shocking abuse of public funds when the AG's Report was
released seven months from the time it was prepared. There were calls for
anti-corruption measures to be strengthened and for legal action to be taken
against the officers and leaders who pilfered public funds. It's the end of
October and still nothing has been done. The irony, however, is that on the day
the budget was released, there was an acquittal in one of the biggest
corruption cases the country has had – the sad thing is that none of the money
has been recovered – is there any telling that the billions will ever be
recovered?
While that's
happening, the people are being told that the price of sugar will increase with
the removal of sugar subsidies and the implementation of GST because the
government needs the money. So the people are told that we should reduce the
intake of sugar and add sweetness to our smiles. It's hard to add sweetness to
our smiles knowing that our bills are increasing while there is so much money
gone "missing". Yes, subsidies should be reduced and GST implemented
but the reason that the government needs money is not a good enough reason when
there is so much wastage of public funds. Is this what we call Malaysian
values?
With the
implementation of the secrecy amendment, one must wonder what next year's AG
report will look like.
The trust
deficit in this country is colossal and worsening by the day. So how does that
reflect or measure up to the pillars of the state and our Malaysian values?
Natalie
ponders if it's really about cultural values or political power.
Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
