
It is painful for a writer to describe transgressions of unimaginable proportions and the tragedies that have afflicted ordinary people, writes Dominic Damian.
I am a writer whose pen is neither exquisite nor eloquent; nor is it an intellectual sword. I am not one to recount tales of woes and wants.
In the solitude of writing, the writer says a humble prayer that the words on paper will not inflict injury but instead sensitively draw inspiration from within the writer’s conscience.
From the valleys of despair to the summit of conscience, the writer experiences a sense of brokenness, the writing most challenging and painful when confronted with the problems facing the nation.
The pen is never really the writer’s possession but the shared instrument of humanity. The writer remains a steward whose writing rightfully belongs to humanity.
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In our insecurities and frailty, the writer works with trepidation, with trembling hands, describing transgressions of unimaginable proportions and tragedies that have afflicted ordinary people and their families.
Deciphering the reasons for the existence of grief requires the writer to walk in the shoes of others. To be a holistic writer requires one to put the pen in the service of those:
- whose loved ones were incarcerated in the lock-ups of a system of justice only, in certain cases, to suffer further abuse and brutality.
- who were persecuted for their political affiliation, whose families, despite the impact this might have had on them, tend to have undiminished faith that justice would be dispensed – not for retribution but for meaningful restoration.
- whose innocent children suffer as a result of inequalities in education and employment.
- who suffer as homeless vagrants, migrants and refugees, or find themselves trapped as victims of human trafficking or in the flesh trade.
- who find themselves on the receiving end of the needless, heartless crushing of peaceful protests or of their assertion of simple rights.
- who find themselves trapped in shrivelled servitude to leaders of duplicity.
In the past, we tragically chose leaders or parties who failed to use their conscience. Instead, they wallowed in luxury while throwing stale morsels at us as a sign of their generosity. These scraps earned them applause, plaudits and titles.
But their credibility is now in tatters, unable to be recycled. Their respectability, if they had any, is totally shorn.
Their parties are in a comatose state; they are patients in the dying throes of an ICU ward, as far as public perception is concerned. Their only hope of recovery lies in acknowledging that they are terminally sick from a massive plague which has plunged them and their parties into a black hole. Not one person or institution can claim immunity or protest innocence that they never knew what was happening or were unable to prevent the unfolding evil.
Their theft was carried out without a modicum of stealth. Instead, they engaged in blatant shamelessness, arrogance and recklessness on the global stage – compelling evidence that they were emboldened to such audacious stupidity even as they enjoyed their immunity.
The culture of corruption, entrenched within Umno and other BN component parties, was an enabler of such degradation. How deep was the rampant greed that inflicted the grassroots? Who made it possible to ferret away incalculable amounts? How was it possible for this to reach global proportions?
The theft was unbelievably clumsy and unintelligent, its magnitude unprecedented in scale and volume.
Political parties transformed themselves into business conglomerates and discarded their real purpose for existence ie working towards progressive nation-building and protecting the weakest and most disadvantaged. They diced with the devil. These parties were transformed into cold business entities that needed profits to survive.
It is sad to witness the destruction of what was essentially a good party that originated from ordinary common folk – farmers, fisherfolk and teachers – but then lost its moral ground to opportunistic individuals.
With the ignominy of being unsuccessful in both politics and thievery, is anyone within the opposition raging against the dying light of decency? The wounds inflicted on the nation by a party of misfits have certainly left deep scars – which will not be forgotten soon.
Malaysians have already tasted the intoxicating breath of fresh air from a politics that is revealing a growing sense of freedom. This would surely mean that the polluters of the past with their toxic politics will never again be allowed to spread their ideas to society at large.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Tks sir.Many Msns fr diverse backgrounds wish well for OUR nation, for posterity.The new Msian govt is rooting out corruption.I humbly feel,I worked with many ‘little Napoleans’,that senior admin guys were working hand in glove with corrupt ‘leaders’.Hold them-‘kita memberlah’ racists accountable to law, ‘Rakyat’.
Today, OUR govt needs to search its soul to truly have a multicommunal public representation in all institutions that affect everyday public life.
Importantly,re-‘educate’ society with a committed focus on universal ethical values. No one can ‘truly’ claim my faith is the way. Others too feel will do the same. Then, we waste precious resources in conflict.Let’s intellectualise our hearts,souls please. Time is short…