Not knowing is not an option

Just finished reading Zewt's "Can we really “not be part of it”?" blog entry and it really shows how many of us in the current generation are still in the "tidak apa" attitude - some call it don't know, don't care.

During my university days in the UK, it's rare that someone would start a conversation that touches on our country's current affairs. Students then mostly complained about the pegged Ringgit and its effects on university fees being inappropriately high. And then there was always the lingering discontent about Malay students getting scholarships and grants to do medicine courses - while that same opportunity is lost to equally eligible non-Bumi students.

And yet, even with so much to complain about, most non-Bumi students are politically apathetic. Looking at how they were brought up - I mean those in the 70s and 80s; and I'm one of them - it's hard to blame them for not caring. The education system in Malaysia has been designed to bully and scare its students into toeing the line. Non-Bumis are constantly reminded of the May 13 tragedy and slowly we have been brainwashed into not wanting to care nor participate.

I have a friend who told me - quite a few times - that she doesn't like politics, and so don't quite get it nor care about it. And this friend of mine is a law student. At that time I found it quite amusing because to me politics - i.e. policy making and governance - and the study of law is inseparable.

I said to my friend that she doesn't need to like politics, much less love it, though she needs to know it. This is especially true for minorities in a multi ethnic and multi religious country such as Malaysia - particularly when it's divided by racial politics. Each race, each group, each party are out to protect his or her own rights - ONLY.

For example, we have Malay parties fighting for their so-called agenda on one corner. On another side, we have the Chinese fighting desperately for the need to maintain education in Chinese, less their identity be lost through assimilation. And then we have all the other race-based political parties. Even the opposition political parties are racially biased, if not religiously biased.

My point is that if the minorities themselves do not stand up for their own rights, then there is a high chance that these rights will slowly be trampled over by the so-called majority. And this has been happening to the minorities in Malaysia ever since May 13, 1969.

One has to realized that there is no escape from politics. From the moment you wake up in the morning, everything - from the water you use for washing your face, to the bread you eat for breakfast are affected by the policies that your government is making. How much does your car cost? How much do you need to repay your loan interest? How much do you need to pay for fuel? How much do you need to pay for toll? How much do you pay for a bowl of noodles? All these and much more are touched either directly or indirectly by the very policies that our elected - some appointed - politicians make on our behalf.

Not knowing politics is not an option. Not knowing and not participating ensures the lost of your ability to act (i.e. vote) correctly. And in the end, there isn't much point to complain about injustices since you didn't quite care in the first place, no?