Democracy and voice of rakyat

Caring for people’s voice

Most Malaysians would laud the action of the government in scraping the scenic bridge between Malaysia and Singapore.By doing so Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has demonstrated that he cares for the voices of the people.

This is a positive milestone in the political history of the nation, where a major project is shelved as a result of the people’s disapproval.

I was impressed with the prime minister’s statement, "It is the Government of the people, for the people, by the people. If they are not prepared to accept the conditions, there is no need to force. There are other issues that we should be giving attention to".

The prime minister has shown that the voice of the rakyat is the most important consideration in running of the country. We hope his example will be followed by other ministers and all leaders at every level of the administration.

He also rightly pointed out that there are other issues to be given attention. Some pressing issues are high accident and crime rates, rampant corruption, police abuse, racial polarization, increasing unhealthy lifestyle diseases, education system in disarray and so on.

Datuk Abdullah should go one step further to encourage the rakyat to freely give feedback on all the activities of the government without fear of reprisal. The people’s views, suggestions and sentiments on all the issues especially major projects must be seriously considered.

Listening to the voice of the rakyat is not a sign of weakness. In fact implementing the wishes of the rakyat for their benefit is what democracy is all about.

Dr.Chris Anthony
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