Najib deserves better than this

It's one thing to criticise the PM on legitimate issues, another entirely to be distasteful about it.

COMMENT

I have always been an ardent critic of Prime Minister Najib Razak. The man in charge has let our peaceful and harmonious country slowly sink into racial and religious strife, and his initiatives commonly end in disaster, like the slowly sinking 1MDB. He may well be remembered more for his gaffes and failures than any positive policy or impact he may have on Malaysia, and could go down as the least popular Prime Minister in Malaysian history.

But a line must be drawn between constructive criticism and outright, distasteful, arrogant disrespect. Sure, some of you may argue that the PM should be disrespected, given the failures of his administration. It is a given that many of us do not see Najib as deserving of respect. But this does not rob him of the dignity a human being deserves. Creating a Photoshop depiction of a Taoist funeral with his portrait on the altar is the height of undignified behaviour.

The image has been making the rounds on Facebook and WhatsApp and an MCA member has rightly made a police report about it.

As a people, we should be better than this. We cannot stoop to the same depths as the monsters we hope to conquer, or else we become them, and even as we protest against wrongs done against us, we cannot become advocates of behaviour that robs other human beings of their dignity.

If we conduct ourselves with dignity and less like a bunch of 4chan trolls, the more likely it is that our voices will be heard by those who would otherwise ignore us. No revolution is ever won by employing the same dirty tactics used by those we wish to overthrow because it is proof that we will allow more of the same when we gain power.

More of the same cannot be our answer. What good does it do to gain everything but lose oneself to the same monsters we rail and complain against?

Like it or not, we are Malaysian and, at this time, Najib is our Prime Minister. But first and foremost, he deserves respect as a fellow human being. Depicting his last rites, and the last rites of a different religion than his at that, is simply the most distasteful thing to come out of any side of the fence in this long, protracted “battle for Putrajaya”.

Yes, even Najib – and for that matter, anyone – deserves better than to be shown his own funeral, especially in a way that he would not have wanted.

We must remember our humanity and consider what it is we are doing, and whether what we do is acceptable in a civilised society. If not, we are no better than those who speak about women’s “monthly leaking” or accuse an entire race of cheating in business.