Sajakkini

Democracy is a nice concept on paper, but unfortunately it doesn’t work. And quite frankly, I don’t see how it can ever work in the real world. Because for democracy to work, we need thinking masses. And that, as history has shown us time and again, ain’t gonna happen.

The brutal truth is that the mainstream will always be blinkered with prejudices. If it’s not about religion, race, gender or social class, you can bet your freezing grandmother’s last hot water bottle that they will think of something else as a way to exclude people. That alone defeats the lofty ambitions of democracy - people simply cannot be trusted to vote for what is good for everyone involved.

And - snrkkk - liberty and equality for all? They forgot to say, “Only if you can afford it, brader”. Frankly, it’s ridiculous - what kind of fair system calls for you to be a multi-millionaire before you can even have a shot at wresting the reins of power?

(US Democratic Senator Howard Dean was, and still is, lauded by some as the best hope America never had. Unfortunately for the world, the Senator had to pull out mid-way through the political race: he didn’t have enough money. In the so-called modern democratic system, you need about US$100 million just to count a serious campaign. To keep things in perspective: amount spent by USAID to buy food for the entire country of Liberia last year? US$35 million.)

RUHAYAT X’s anthology Wilayah Kutu is out. Get it at Silverfish Books, or fine bookstores. Alternately, visit his website Neohikayat Publishing. It costs only RM20 and features writers like Jerome Kugan, Dhojee, Danny Lim, Nizam Zakaria and more.

I’m a pussycat. Really

The laudable ideal of democracy is that even a farmer’s son from Kansas could run for presidency. But it beggars belief to think that farmers being held to ransom by genetically-modified crops in Mid-Western America would ever have millions of lemons stashed in their rifle cabinet somewhere. Which means, all pretensions aside, this sanctified system is really still all about keeping the interests of the elite, well, elite.

But, yeah, give people the illusion of power and freedom, let them wave about tiny party flags once every four years, and they’ll lap up whatever else you’re serving in their troughs with nary a grunt. Just as long as they feel they have a say in how things are run, they won’t rebel. Smoke and mirrors are the ultimate pacifier. Fidel Castro should wise up to that; even the Saudi government is, for God’s sake.

No, I’m not anti-democratic. Nor am I a Marxist/Leninist/Socialist/[insert suitably trendy populist label here]. I am a member of the human race. Who happens to be a Muslim. And I have lost faith in the political process long ago. Democratic, autocratic, mullah-cratic, whatever. They are all the same to me: elaborately-constructed organised corruption.

(The Islamists want me to believe that rule by divinely-sanctioned ulama is the only way to go. Vote ‘em in and all the hurt will be magicked away, God’s promise. Ha. Looking at the way Muslim banks and corporations conduct themselves in today’s world, I’d say pull the other one, guys; you’ll be just as bad - if not worse - than the last emperor.)

That doesn’t mean I scooped my eyes out with a spoon and pretended the world doesn’t exist. You can’t run away from politics. It’s right there breathing down your neck each time you leave your home to join the throbbing crowd. It’s with you *before* you even leave your home. So when you’re all alone and the TV is off, don’t think for a minute that you have succeeded in seceding yourself from the political animal.

As long as you live within a political construct, you are bound by the rules of the body politic. Any thoughts of escape is, frankly, delusional. (Go ahead: try and find a cave that does not fall under anyone’s jurisdiction and see how far you get.)

So how, then? I say bugger the adherence to specific systems. Stop being a champion of anything, and be a champion of everything. Just use whatever works. Create patchworks of whatever systems and structures you want to suit a job and then, once the job is done or time moves on, disassemble it. More importantly, we have to take the power back (cue Rage Against the Machine soundtrack).

It’s a short piece today

I fear we invest too much in the political parties, give away too much power to them in the vain hope that they will put things right. They never do. Modern political parties exist for their own sake, anyway; collective wanking at its pearly best. Who cares if they live or die?

Besides, centralised government can only be effective to a point (what right do they have to intrude beyond that, anyway?). The last mile, to borrow an IT term, must be the responsibility of the people.

The principles of democracy, yes, those are values I still hold in great esteem. They are, after all, the Quranic ideal. I believe in equality for all. I believe in getting only what you have worked for. These things can only make you stronger. If the Malays or the Muslims are stupid, then I believe they deserve to have their arses kicked. I have no hang-ups about that.

(Of course, while I believe in the principle of to the victor the spoils, I also believe it behooves the victor to act magnaminously. But silly little idealistic me: how many magnanimous victors are there left in the world today, anyhoo?)

God wills, but the only saviour for humankind is humans themselves. I’m not much of an activist at all, but I do believe that the only people who can change our collective destiny is ourselves. If there is dearth of talent in this land, and you’re not the one who’s going to change it, then who else will?

Progressive anarchy is the way forward. An organically-evolving social organism that exists for too brief a time for anyone to corrupt or control. It comes together for a purpose and then disperses. That’s what we need.

What we need, folks, is a return to the gotong-royong spirit. Forget the Malay Mail Hotline, yo. Time to wade in and declog your own longkang for a change, metaphorically speaking.