THE CACOPHONY OF POLITICS

[1] Reliable historians of ancient and medieval political thought (800 BCE – 1515 CE), the early modern period (1515 -1848), right up to post-War politics (1945-present) have meticulously chronicled the essential attributes of politics, namely, power, authority, control, obedience and punishment. Religious texts written by the Ancients and the rise of religion have provided comfort and solace to people facing social, economic, moral and political challenges. The well-being and advancement of human values are a cacophony of debate and discourse between religion, government, law and philosophy wrapped in utter deception.

[2] Mathematics, for example, is a bad joke. As children we were taught the intricacies of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. The first three are easy to understand and accept. Multiplication is problematical because it describes and denotes increase: 2 x 2 is 4, 3 x3 is 9, 4 x 4 is 16, and so on. But 1 x 1 is 1!! You see an increase? That is the reason politics has absolutely no mathematical method or meaning because it is deliberately secretive and purposefully mysterious. It never fails to redden the face of written constitutions labeled as the “supreme law of the land.”

[3] Quantum physics talks about black holes in the universe and goes on to discuss the multiverse. Black holes are nothing but educated guesses that make sense. It’s like proof and evidence of three dimensions and none whatsoever about other dimensions. “They can see us but we can’t see them” is the final answer for the sincere seeker and the dedicated inquirer. Politics is in a particular dimension that defies description and definition. The black hole in politics is always there as a safe haven for the Deep State magicians and their machinations.

[4] The only method and means of fathoming politics is to study the clash of ideologies. Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) dared the question: “If the end justifies the means, what justifies the end.” Therein lies a clue about going the extra mile to fathom and understand but never to accept politics. Strange that Trotsky’s communist theory and practice took root in America during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency when he introduced the New Deal, initiating an era of government intervention and regulation of the economy under the guise of capitalism. Socialism is the equal distribution of poverty, whereas capitalism is the unequal distribution of wealth. The cacophonly sings praises to this chaos.

[5] Scandals, scams and political crucifictions (my preference for “crucifixion”) left Malaysia’s first three prime ministers unscathed if not unblemished. But the period 1979-1983 witnessed infamous debacles and disasters like Bumiputra Malaysia Finance Bhd, Maminco-Makuwasa (1981), Perwaja Steel Project (1982-1995), the Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (1975-1989), Maika Holdings Bhd (1984), Promet Bhd (1984), right up to 1 MDB. The prime (pun intended) cause of this chaos is the black hole that protects politics and politicians. The Deep State is the only god of politics.

[6] The constant cacophony in Malaysian politics is usually evident in the false start-up of prosecutions involving prominent politicians and connected elites. The use of the adage “when the constable bungles, the criminal walks free” is most prevalent and applicable in the pathos of Malaysian prosecutions. But here there is deliberate bungling of prosecutions with unreliable witnesses to boot that justifies the ubiquitous DNAA and the ultimate NFA. Case closed. The Judiciary, articulating Article 162(6) Federal Constitution, can and should overrule Article145(3) Federal Constitution (power and authority, of the Attorney General) that hovers in the realms of shock and awe. Note:The High Court of Malaysia exercises unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, with authority to review the constitutionality of laws and acts of public authorities. Looks promising and reassuring in writing only.

[7] Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) wrote a powerful essay in 1967 - Truth and Politics - where she showcased the distortion and politization of historical facts to the general public. Read some Malaysian newspapers where presstitutes extol, exalt and heap praises on the great job the government is doing for the well-being and advancement of all Malaysians. Arendt was right when she wrote that “every known and established fact can be denied.” And it is being denied to Malaysians today by putrid Putrajaya. Forget about the stench and stink of Denmark.

[8] The only precision in politics, if it can be gauged, assessed and measured is outright compulsion. It is the sine qua non of politics. It’s the touchstone of that which makes politicians tick. Compulsion is the lifeline to do every reprehensible act imaginable in the name of discipline, power, authority and the rule of law. Compulsive laws are promulgated as an escape strategy for certain petty issues like compulsory auto liability insurance, unfair court-ordered medical examinations, suspect subpoenas, compulsory education laws, mandatory reporting laws, contractual obligations under duress and taxation. The German company Giesecke-Devrient located in Shal Alam is tasked with printing our Ringgits. Keep on printing while taxation is outlawed and abolished. More savings, more money to spend – the economy booms. Hullo?

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[9] Article 13 Federal Constitution (property rights) is never taken sincerely and honestly. The phrase “save in accordance with law” is the wild card in the poker of politics played diligently by career politicians who consider their advanced years as an inconvenient truth like the Federal Constitution which they assiduously ignore and toss aside when summoned to answer a constitutional question of law and fact. The individual, who Max Weber (1864-1920) described as a “single cog in an ever-moving mechanism,” is only called upon during the voting season with promises of reform and change.

[10] Historical traditions of Malaya have been relegated to the trash bins of antiquity. We seem to revel in imported laws and rebel with our adat that has served us extremely well before European contact. The cacophony of politics must not stop the Federal Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of religion that includes religious institutions – Article 11(3)(b) – enough to inspire and encourage Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians, Taoists, Jains, and others to have their very own religious courts like sharia courts. Alas, British common law and selective legislation rule the roost while enjoying a monopoly in one of its previous colonies.

[11] Between liberalism and conservatism the populist pendulum swings within a limited claustrophobic arc. Pacifists and appeasers emerge like champions ensuring and assuring peace. Man does not decide peace. If man does nothing, there will be everlasting peace. Winston Churchill captured the essence that “an appeaser is one who feeds the crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” The appeaser believes he is not strong enough to unseat and defeat a tyrant. The cacophony in politics proves that the appeaser will make concessions that will make him weaker and the tyrant stronger. M K Ghandi paid the price for being a false prophet of peace and non-violence when the crocodile devoured him in January 1948.

[12] Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) saw it clearly and correctly postulated that the privileged man is a man depraved in his intellect and heart because he tends to run state institutions that become corrupt and the masses are unwittingly enslaved. Therefore, this advocate of anarchy wrote that to be free and fulfilled all authority must be rejected. Simply put, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, as the historian Lord Acton declared in 1887.

[13] If morals, honesty, decency and integrity mean anything to career politicians, they must take serious must cognizance of the exhortations of Robert Nozick (1938-2002) who posited that “the state should provide basic rights such as protecting its people against force, theft, fraud, enforcement of contracts, and so on. Thus, no state more extensive than the minimal state can be justified.” Understandably, politics and government are deemed necessary evils.

[14] Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) argued that any law is a restriction on human freedom and human happiness. So, any law is evil. Government has but a choice of evils. But a law may produce more good than harm. This means that a good law is a necessary evil. Ultimately, if government is the end of the beginning, then politics herald the beginning of the end.

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