Politically Corrected

This was an article that I wrote for an interactive bulletin back in April 2009 :)

Politically Corrected

By Muhammad Nazreen Zainudin

‘Siddiq’

The first ray of light. A welcoming sight for newborns. It paves the way to a journey of enlightenment. Still, the destined truth was never an easy grasp. Within the first few steps, we stumble and fumble…and stumble again a few times more. Then, a couple of wisdoms were gained. But they were never enough.

‘Air Mata Kucing’ is made of cats’ eyes. Sharpening both ends of a pencil can shorten one’s life. The middle side of the bed is a ghost-proof area.  And Smurfs live under white mushrooms’.

20 years ago, Imagination made it a challenge for a kid to distinct between fiction and reality. A mixture of both worlds made the kid aspire to be what he wanted to be as a profession; a real-life MacGyver who owns a Knight Rider car (With added flux capacitor for time travel).

Naivety was partly due to a disclosed affair with the stupid box.

Then, the inevitable happened. This rectangular electronic devise...an occasional trickster with comforting entertainment, slowly descends into something sinister…a darker personality. Images of happy families were replaced with dysfunctional ones. Conflicts and confrontations were made more appealing than peace and serenity. Real violence and bloodshed engulf what’s left of their fictionally-entertaining counterparts.

The end results; a mix of hyperboles and understatements. At given time, the world would slowly but surely become a letter full of distorted truths…and signed with ‘Yours truly’.

‘Amanah’

‘Kanak-Kanak Parlimen’ was a successful TV propaganda. It made each and every kid believe in one thing; politics is an epitome of pure and white. It goes well with some ad catchphrases on cleanliness; spotless, super clean, clean and clear, clean and white, whiter than white, and insanely white. Ironically, it was later revealed to the kid that politics…is a dirty game.

Literally, the kid assumed that the position of politics is something like football. Or fundamentally the same...like Care Bears and Gummy Bears...or Bujang Selamat and The Karate Kid. He wondered..is politics a game between two opposing teams, constantly trying to reign over a lifeless, inanimate ball? Would the players (In their elected positions) do anything to achieve their goals…even in dirt and sweat? Could honesty be a bigger challenge to achieve than the game itself (As it is not invincible from corruption and injustice)?

Perhaps his intuition was not far off from the truth. Perhaps it was a false judgement. In any case, it was just an honest opinion.

‘Tabligh’

In politics, truth hurts…especially to a kid’s fragile mind, as it is revealed in different versions; the fundamental truth…the ideally-perceived truth…the majority-decided truth…and the inconvenient truth (Made convenient by fabrication). The outcome; the ironic uncertainty of what’s real…like the Padini Authentic bags in Petaling Street, tourism ads, and dual-natured ‘individuals’ at Lorong Haji Taib.

The history subject; viewed as truthful and real.…informing about past mistakes and achievements. The headache starts when history is written and rewritten in different versions by different organisations and countries. The heroes and villains…the rights and wrongs...the good and the bad…would be determined according to conformity of policies, ideals and interests.

People would say that we learn from history...but which ones are we learning from?

 ‘Fatanah’

What’s an ideal image of a wise person?

Most would instantly picture a person with a lot of gray hair, plus other qualities; a philosopher, a thinker, an art lover, and a bookworm who reads intellectual books.

Ironically...those traits fit Adolf Hitler’s persona nicely.

Some would say that wisdom is reflected through titles…to be placed at both ends of a name. In Malaysia, the formal ones are given to anyone deemed deserving…including an Italian F1 Team Manager and a Bollywood actor. The titles follows a trend originated from an idea that longer is better. Some would contemplate deeper and say “It’s not the length that matters…but how you use it”.

Then again, wisdom and titles would eventually contradict each other …like coffee and tea…working and gossiping…or a perfectionist and a dictator.

In the end, some would eventually see…that religion propagates wisdom; a piece of clarity to show that wisdom is guided by faith. From this significant realization…it is clear that besides The Book, humans need to be guided by a man towards the right path…as what has been done since the beginning of humanity. Not celebrities…or political leaders…but by the most perfect individual. A perfect guide…with four praiseworthy behaviours:-

Siddiq…Amanah…Tabligh…Fatanah.