The help quotient

Politics is not a game. It is an earnest business.
– Winston Churchill

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Changes in opinions or circumstances concerning government is best calibrated with the HELP (History, Economics, Law, Politics) quotient which gauges the past, present and the prophetic by employing uninspiring standards.

The HELP quotient can only survive if it is in the hands of the governed with hardy nerves. This prevents the government from becoming control-freaks. Government is merely a sojourner in the land of opportunity eking out a living in a fragile society.

‘History is mostly guessing; the rest is prejudice,’ observed Will Durant, as if referring to the creation of Malaysia and the horrid May 13, 1969 post-elections’ political convulsions. Draconian laws await the ardent researcher who, while belonging to the wrong camp, plans to expose the truth.

Educational institutions in most nations fail to teach the young the basics of economics, to wit: never spend money before you have it; spending is quick, earning is slow; a fool and his money are soon parted; creditors have better memories than debtors; rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt.

And when the young are ready to hold the reins of responsibility, they have no clue where to start, but spend precious time looking for third-rate guidance. The monkey-see-monkey-do factor becomes handy.

The core element in economics is that everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it. The amount of paper money in circulation is strictly a matter of top-notch secrecy and utmost uncertainty in most nations.

But debauching currency finds pre-eminence and prominence like a perfect panacea for not knowing what to do to shore, strengthen and stabilise currency.
Inflation, deflation, devaluation, stagflation and recession go unchecked, uncontrollable and unstoppable.

Our economists, meanwhile, are busy engaged in lectures and seminars, and writing books while others play advisory roles for the elites in the public and private sector.

Law, in the meantime, emerges as a measuring rod for controlling excessive thoughts of correcting the ills and wrongs of society. Thomas Hobbes laid the ground rules, framework and blueprint: ‘it is not wisdom but authority that makes a law.’ The masses simply yearn to be ruled by a minority of a tyrannical few while clamoring for ‘human rights.’

Law journals record the landmines and landmarks of the law based on ‘English common law’ that has pervaded and poisoned all legal systems. John Locke claimed that ‘the end of law is not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.’ Obviously, Locke was in the minority, and failed to check Hobbes’s notes.

The American lawyer Clarence Darrow made it uncomplicated: ‘laws should be like clothes. They should be made to fit the people they are meant to serve.’ If that could become a way of life, politics would be a great commission, a noble calling, and a pristine profession.

The French philosopher P. J. Proudhon discovered another trend when he realised that ‘the law does not generate justice; it is nothing but a declaration and application of what is already just.’ His seminal All Property is Theft is the penultimate manual for the HELP quotient.

‘The wounds given to the Constitution . . . are still bleeding,’ warned John Wilkes, a British MP in 1764 as he was being expelled from Parliament. But his warning is still relevant today to any government that swears an oath to protect, defend and uphold the written constitution conveniently dubbed ‘the supreme law of the land.’

Except for Bhutan where the Chief Executive is directly concerned with the happiness of his people, no other nation can boast that its politics and policies are people-friendly. Is there a secret formula? Can leaders of other nations emulate Bhutan? It may not boast skyscrapers, gigantic flags, potholed highways, national cars and crooked bridges, but its people are plainly happy.

Law and politics shape each other with history and economics as a back-up excuse, reason, purpose and explanation. If something is wrong today, blame history. You cannot punish or banish the past.

The ringgit’s value is shrinking, blame the basket of currencies. WRAP (willing, ready, available, paid) scapegoats are aplenty.
A great number of physicians in any community is a sign of illness and malady. A great number of laws in any nation is a great sign of weakness and tragedy. A state of emergency must be proclaimed.

The freedom to form associations in Article 10 Federal Constitution ought to attract top-notch technocrats to form a shadow cabinet against irresponsible decision-making in government. This is the only solution to a significant governance trajectory of people power, peace, progress and prosperity within the contours of guided and guarded morality.

Our elected leaders must not allow the blessings to be chased away by their intolerance for pragmatic wisdom. Listen to your constituents, your consciences, and always stay conscious and conscientious.

More government to fix every failure of government is like an alcoholic drinking to be sober. History, Economics, Law and Politics must be decided, dictated, directed and disseminated by the People for the People.

People yearn for refreshingly new developments, but not like the one where a young leader was recently convicted for financial crimes. HELP seemingly clashed with the facts of this case. There are two more hurdles for this young leader to see if the HELP quotient is utilitarian.

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.