Wednesday, April 28, 2010

People, Power & Politics

The people have power collectively as a society. The power of the people is that they can all together what they want their society to be like.

In Malaysia today, the people want a fair society where everybody has equal opportunity to economic wellbeing. Nobody should be prevented from access to the mainstream economy. Many obstacles exist but the last one should be health and education - and these the government should work hard to remove. The last thing that you want a government to do is to create artificial barriers imposed forever.

Politics come in when a handful of people want to monopolise the power franchised by the people meant for the collective good. The focus of the political system should be the collective good, not the perpectuation of the power of the elite.

It is clear in the recent by-election that there is a group of people who value the system more dearly than the specific ad hoc short-term economic benefits that have been offered them. These people have the courage to sacrific their immediate economic benefits in order to fight for the long-term improvement of a system that will be beneficial not for themselves but for their children.

That was a close fight between the power of wisdom and the power of money. Very enlightening.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Etheorist,

Just to paraphrase what U have written;

It is clear in the recent by-election that there is a group of people who value the specific ad hoc short-term economic benefits that have been offered them more dearly than the futuristic fairer system. These people have the courage to canvass for their immediate economic benefits in order to sacrifice for the long-term improvement of a system that will be beneficial not for themselves but for their children.

So, we have two extreme dichotomous thinking here! One continuously day-dream about the feudalistic past, while the other work double-hard to out-prank the oppressive political settings for the future of their off-springs.

How to reconcile these two polemics for the good of M'sia?

Which group is far-sighted while the other enjoy the in-situ good time while the onslaught fire is burning vigorously at the edge!

Talking about future! What future indeed!!!!