When you have an efficient government, you have a dictatorship.
– Harry S. Truman, 33rd US President
Mindless, mournful and meaningless politics are brazenly signalling the atrophy of democracy. What if a kind and gentle dictatorship with stable, able, reliable, dependable and capable citizens controlling the control-freaks takes centre stage with a rock-solid independent and intellectually honest judiciary?
President Truman’s point was that government actors, actions and agencies must do things right to win the hearts and minds of the citizenry. Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew proved it. The dictatorship of unpopularity coupled with things done right with people-centric policies and programmes is the preferred coin of the realm.
It’s time to write the obituary for democracy and socialism. People are sick of the old tried and tested ways. New systems of governance must necessarily replace power-crazed politicians.
Abhijit Naskar observed that “all abuse power to climb the social ladder. Be the benevolent crook and use it as a social leveller.” Like a Robin Hood of politics. Rid the rich of their ill-gotten gains and help the commonfolk. “Benevolent crooks” who engineer creative and deterrent laws are preferred instead of kleptocrats and kakistocrats masquerading as plutocrats and autocrats.
How about a kind and gentle dictator for Malaysia? Here, I mean “dictator” with intellectual vigour and integrity in the sense that he or she dictates pragmatic deeds that propagate policies and programmes to keep everyone satisfied in terms of employment, just wages, education, affordable food, housing and clothing, never wanting, never wasting, never whining in an effort to attain contentment.
It’s not utopian to turn to a noocracy comprising wise decision-makers and experienced intellectuals to advise the benign and benevolent dictator. The sole role of governance should be aimed at the promotion of people-centric policies and programmes.
The ideal Malaysian benign dictator, probably serving a fixed-term of three years, will be an excellent facilitator advised by noocrats who understand the nuances of government and are able to apply the articles of good governance. Corruption, elections, money politics, wastage and cronyism will be a thing of the past with an unbiased, highly experienced and intellectually strong judiciary.
Property rights will take a different trajectory when everyone has an opportunity to buy land and build upon it. This is part and parcel of attaining contentment where no one is left behind in the appreciation and enjoyment of Malaysia’s rich natural resources which has always belonged to the people despite unjust and unconscionable imported laws and regulations.
Noocracy replacing parliamentary democracy will witness millions of ringgits representing savings in salaries, perks and allowances when legislatures become obsolete. Malaysians must start saying no to patronage and wastage to usher in the new where every citizen is a stakeholder.
Malaysians must start a revolution of ideas to destroy the dictatorship of the exploiters. Our Parliament has done little, as law-makers, to conduct investigations into wrongdoing when these investigations can lead to the passage of adequate legislation to catch lawbreakers. Parliamentary debates between the Proposition and the Opposition offer pitifully cheap entertainment which is not the reason, function, duty or purpose for legislatures.
The Conference of Rulers must lead the charge under the existing constitutional provisions as benevolent dictators to enforce equality to replace the recurring nightmare of current policies fraught with additives, sedatives, adjectives and expletives encountered when one analyses Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.
There’s true progress when the exploited masses become the voice and conscience of a nation’s well-being. They get to hire the best to govern them. They decide who gets to lead. They don’t need to be led to the polling stations with meaningless promises. The masses must become the promise-creators and the promise-keepers.
The dictatorship of greed must be permanently ejected in order for the benevolent dictator to become the key oath-keeper of and for the highest good if and when the Federal Constitution transforms itself into a sacred sacrament for the people, of the people and by the people. That would define the true calling of a benign dictator.
Several dozen Malaysian heavyweights certainly qualify to descend into the arena without clouding their vision with the dust of conflict while assuming their advisory roles with the benevolent dictator.
What have got to lose as the private sector continues to sow the seeds of progress for a continuous economic miracle that keeps every citizen contented without having to dabble in politics.
A benign dictatorship could very well be the ultimate experiment with social justice adding new strength and vigour to our general and specific well-being.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
