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CONSPIRATORIAL MISRULE

by Ong Kok Bin

There is certainly a conspiracy going on in this country. It is not 'conspiracies' but 'conspiracy'. All the statutory declarations (and declarations to withdraw declarations), all the reports of dalliances (homo- or hetero-), all the allegations of monetary or power corruption and all the posturing of no-confidences are but ONE big conspiracy to misrule or to misrule by default.

There cannot be anything else. When the country is beset with so many major problematic fronts and all that the politicians are bent on doing is to power-grab, to plot and to counterplot, there is very little space and opportunity for real governing. By right, in democracies, after an election, the duly-elected party (or, coalition of parties), having been given the mandate by the people, settles down to govern and carry out its policies to the general good of the populace. It had been so in the past, but it is not the case this time round.

Since the March 8 election, the government (especially its principal officer, and more recently, its second principal officer) has been more preoccupied with putting out political fires than with any real governing (wit the flip-flops on fixing the problem of rising fuel prices).

Politicking is very much an integral part of a democracy. Practised with integrity and an even tone, it provides the necessary check and balance to rein in the evils of corruption and misuse of power. But when practised with wanton recklessness and especially with self-serving ambitions, it can only contribute to the country's detriment and eventual decline.

We are living at a most pivotal time. The March 8 election promised a true flowering of democratic and parliamentary politics. But the post-March 8 period has only engulfed us with too many uncertainties. The political scene is in a flux; still swirling and turning and throwing up shocks and 'revelations'. This may be a necessary evil to an ultimate good. But while it swirls and turns and throws, the conspiracy continues. We, as ordinary citizens, can only wait and watch from the sidelines. The sandiwara may be entertaining; but make no mistake about it: how it plays out has significant and even severe implications for each of us. We do not waht the country to turn into a Philippines or a Thailand; much less, a Zimbabwe or a Myanmar.

And so we can only wait. But we can hope too. And pray too. Let each one of us offer our prayers to God on behalf of our 'kings and all those in authority' that they will truly love good, hate evil and embrace justice - to the end that we may enjoy 'peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness' (see 1 Timothy 2:1-2; cf. Micah 3:1-3).

Short-Takes
1. Conspiratorial Misrule
2. Redeeming the Time
3. It's an Oily Business
4. Lifting Holy Hands in Prayer
5. A Gracious People
6. Words, Words and Words
7. I Know Whom I Have Believed
8. Of Oddballs and Heroic Fights
9. The People Delivered a Tsunami
10. Joy in Troubled Times

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