JULY 22 — Malay culture is complex and advanced. It is a high-cultured way of life, which instills values that promote respect, moral values, and integrity. Such values are integrated into daily life in households all across our rakyat. Peer into a typical Malay household today and one will see children stooping down with one hand in front of them when crossing their parents and the elderly and neighbors sending each other small samples of home-cooked dishes in a gesture of goodwill during the blessed month of Ramadan. When talking with others, one should talk softly and before stepping into another’s home, greetings of peace by Islamic custom must be given, and shoes taken off. These are values that date back to generations before Merdeka, to the days of Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat and have even been codified in our Rukun Negara and the Constitution. This is testament to Malaysia’s Founding Fathers’ vision of conduct, with which our society would operate, from shop lots to Parliament.
And yet at the very heart of the rakyat’s institutions this culture appears foreign to some of the very figures we have elected. I’m talking about Parliament. I have never personally attended a session. But I don’t need to attend one to see how a lot of our MPs shamefully act. In a YouTube video dated March 13, 2012, Parliament breaks down into chaos with MPs yelling over each other in rough, street language-style tones and slangs while debating the functions of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet; for a minute, an MP repeatedly insults another by repeating “sakit otak” for one minute, while snickering like a schoolboy in elementary school. If that’s not so recent enough, in another dated June 19, 2014, the Speaker takes nine minutes to bring order to the house, before the MP on the floor could resume his point on debating MP N. Surendran’s suspension.
Is this the type of example we expect from our MPs? They are supposed to be a living, breathing representation of our Constitution and our moral values everyday they step in the most privileged space of the public service sphere. This is not to say that there can’t be a little flare in debate or that a little political maneuvering is to be thrown out the window. But respect seems to be obsolete, the Malay culture tainted by the gang-like manner in which a lot, not all, of our MPs carry out their duties. I hope during this holy month of Ramadan our MPs will reflect upon the values of our sterling culture, so that respect and integrity will be brought back to our Parliament. If it truly does take 30 days to change a man (or woman), then I hope our MPs have not put to waste these 30 days of Ramadan to better themselves not only as civil servants, but also human beings. I know I didn’t.
* Hezril Azmin is the American Political Secretary of Kelab Umno US East Coast.
** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
