New Straits Times group editor-in-chief Kalimullah Hassan wrote an excellent treatise in his Sunday column (Oct 16, 2005) on the God-given dignity of human beings, as not reflected in the August house of power that we call the Malaysian Parliament.

Malu is a four-letter Malay word. Tak malu is a seven-letter Malay curse! \’Shame\’ is an old English word that lost its value in modern times.

Within the institutionalised concepts of modern parliamentary democracy, apart from the so-called independence of Parliament or the Legislature, is the concept of parliamentary privileges. This protocol allows the members of the House to \”speak freely and without encumbrances\”.

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Therefore, whatever is stated or spoken in Parliament is given immunity from the courts of law, or from the other arm of governance, the judiciary. But parliamentary privileges are not the framework to vent personal anger or demonstrate lack of self-control.

While all of us can accept some extent of political theatrics, the lack of depth in such a demeanor will be amply visible to all listeners, especially the media – unless demonstrated by an accomplished orator on a Shakespearean stage.

So I agree with Kalimullah\’s thesis that \”decency begets decency\” and that privileges in the House cannot be used to deny the dignity of other human beings, especially of fellow citizens, regardless of race or religious background.

That is the God-given premise of human dignity; every human has dignity and it should be equally protected by the majority in the name of equity. Instead, we see the less-than-August house becoming the framework for abuse of others.

Time to choose

I say tak malu (shame) on our Parliamentarians who cakap kosong (indulge in empty chatter). Why do you all not take on more substantive issues and subjects? Why not say \’hoi\’ to the former federal territories minister who has denied our precious cultural concept of malu ? Why not ask Rafidah, tak malu-kah ?

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Why not ask Samy Velu to close his party given that after 50 years, the average Indian family has lost relatively more than it has gained? He is not even sensitive enough to defend Indian honour and demand an apology for the keling slur.

Why are MPs\’ voices so weak on substantive issues but so loud on small issues? Are you only an empty vessel or a clanging cymbal? OK, maybe with one exception, when during the session that you all rose to the occasion and supported Shahrir Abdul Samad in his motion to revive the Parliamentary Services Act and spoke so convincingly. Well done!

Maybe it is time for Malaysians to reflect on the nature of the democracy we really want for the next generation. Do we really need a Parliament of elected representatives who more often than not indulge in cakap kosong than represent our interests?

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Why is there so little talk about the issue of corruption at local governance levels, as highlighted by your able colleague? Why is there no talk about the abuse of power at all levels, and the resultant miserable life of ordinary citizens in bureaucratic bungling? Why does police abuse continue after the work done by the Royal Commission on the Police?

Did we all not read the personal testimony of abuse of a citizen after he was wrongly detained and accused, only to be released without even a letter of release? Did we all not read of case after case being thrown out of the courts because the prosecution failed to make the case? Whither justice in Malaysia?

On a more personal level, why did so many of you accept the political \’bribe\’ of an Approved Permit when you are acutely aware that no such privilege is even given to even public servants who have served 30 years? I say shame and tak malu!

Recover values

Let us recover our traditional kampong and Eastern values, wherein we accept that – when we have let the people down – we resign without being told or forced out. Why is this Eastern value not respected and practised, without having to visit Japan on another Look East Policy?

Perhaps former economics professor KS Jomo was right after all, when he launched the counter-thesis of his book on the Look East Policy, called The Sun also Sets.

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Maybe it is time for us to focus on kamikaze skills as a Malaysian-type of hara-kiri which PM Pak Lah has called the real j ihad . Shame on us Malaysians that we allow thousands to die on the roads without due care or concern! We are going to witness such voluntary death again this balik kampung season.

Shame on us Malaysians when we allow incest in our midst without any sense of malu and blame photographers and the media establishment who try to defend this concept of shame. Tak malu Malaysians when a fouryear-old is battered to death by foster parents and the parents do not even know what is happening!

Shame on us Malaysians, when Irene Fernandez raised the issue of abuse in immigration detention centres and instead of declaring the truth, accuse her of false declarations. Shame on us Malaysians when we harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi (are unworthy of trust). Shame on us Malaysians when the Islamic bank in Malaysia declares loses of RM700 million and the new leadership goes back to the shareholders to get more investments, including the non-Muslim Employees Provident Fund.

Shame on us Malaysians just because there was a media suggestion that Tabung Haji lists its subsidiaries and the voice of progressive Islam is deafened by puny argument that non-Muslims should not hold Islamic shares. If Tabung Haji is all that Islamic, why then the lack of proper prudence?

Why not instead argue for righteous Muslims to run Tabung Haji and not allow it to reach the stage where their returns on investment are lower than those of other unit trusts? Come on, come on, the so-called Malaysian house of power and its members! Whither real democracy in Malaysia?

Please remember, you are all voted for a season. Unlike human dignity, your office is not a God-given right. It is only a privilege of office that our multi-racial political system of compromise allows, because you were nominated by your party. Please serve well and responsibly with accountability.

Pease say, saya yang tanggungawab . Please have your tanggung hisab Report Cards ready so that the PM can reappoint you the next time. We, the people, who gave Pak Lah a 90 percent mandate, are waiting to judge even the Pak Lah Government if there is compromise. But, you are his representatives, not really ours.

Please do not ignore the edict of your leader to serve with dignity, responsibility and accountability. The next elections are not too far off and two more years are not too far to go in the affairs of a nation. So, please get off your power-station band wagons and get on the horses because, by the time of the next election, I believe that more than 50 percent of the voters are going to be less than 40 years old.

And they are colour blind on some issues of fundamental rights and liberties, as the Malaysian Idol contest has clearly shown, and as the Mawi phenomenon demonstrated even within the heartland of Islamic fundamentalism in this country.

To conclude, let me quote Lord Acton who said \’power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely\’. Equally, if you think yours is a house of power, you too will become morally corrupt. Review that mindset and make it a house of influence, wherein you are mandated by your party to represent the interests of the people who elected you, but for God\’s sake represent their interests and not just your egos.

I say this also to all other false houses of power, that you are accountable and responsible for work done and not done; of commission and omission. The recent high court ruling is a clear verification of this principle. The scriptures say all houses must be built on solid rock and not shifting sand.

And as Shahrir said, the parliamentary power of the people resides in the House and does not belong to individuals – not even the government of Malaysia, aka the Executive!