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| Mural by street artist Ernest Zacharevic |
"Political correctness" was born in the Untied States in the 1980s in a language standardization movement aimed at adopting "more neutral" words to fend off possible discrimination or harms against any individual. For example, "African American" has been adopted over "Black" while "intellectually challenged" is employed to describe someone who is actually mentally retarded.
But in modern day world, "political correctness" has been used to denote thinking and behaviors that meet the aspiration of majority of people. In a communist state, the fundamental connotation of "political correctness" is: The ideological nature of anything that is done (including political or non-political aspects) has to conform to the specifications laid out by the ruling party or the government..
As such, there are no specific criteria for political correctness, and often government officials make decisions in accordance with the presumed policies or thinking of the ruling party or government.
The removal of the wall painting by Lithuanian street painter Ernest Zacharevic in JB has not been carried out from the legal perspectives (that the wall painting was made without a permit), but the political ones.
If the wall painting is against the law, then why are the other two murals by the same artist in the city can be left untouched?
The statements by two state Exco members have proved that the removal of the wall painting was indeed done on political considerations. The Johor Tourism, Trade and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Keong slammed the wall painting for tarnishing the image of the city, and proposed that a "policeman" be added behind the picture of the robber to make it more acceptable (to the government). Meanwhile, the state Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Abd Latif Bandi pointed out that the wall painting was removed because it had imparted a negative image of the city.
Owing to political factors the authorities have not been bold enough to face or admit the reality of deteriorating public security. Lee Kuan Yew depicted JB as the "Cowboy Town" back in the 1990s, and the same sparked a furious round of demonstrations and protests from Umno members.
Over these years, our mentality has remained very much the same. The police continue to downplay the fact that crime rate is escalating, and have produced figures to prove otherwise.
More recently, the residences of our VIPs were broken in before our leaders were willing to nullify the statement that deteriorating public security was merely an "illusion."
"Denial syndrome" is also one kind of "political correctness" aimed at diverting the public's attention from real problems that could jeopardize the acceptance of the ruling coalition.
Removing the wall painting in Johor Bahru would probably receive the thumbs-up politically, but the same has triggered a powerful backlash among the people. While the government can obliterate the wall painting once and for all, it will never dilute the public's fear for crime as well as disgruntlement.
The murder-kidnap case in Semporna has made it very clear to all that the government must do something urgently to fix the security issue within the country, in addition to demanding "political correctness."
As for the selective recognition of only the academic qualifications from 9 Chinese and 18 Taiwanese universities by the Public Services Department (JPA), the only way we can explain such weird phenomenon is: political considerations.
To join the country's public services sector, an applicant needs to score at least a credit for Bahasa Malaysia. This government policy is an extension of the rigid and inflexible way of thinking among our government officials.
Now that the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) has acknowledged the academic qualifications from some 820 universities in China and 157 in Taiwan, it is unbecoming for the JPA to only recognize a small fraction of it.
For the sake of "political correctness," the government has dishonored its own pledge to lure overseas Malaysian talents to return to the country, and this will deal a severe blow on the confidence of Malaysians currently residing overseas.
In order to satisfy the political needs, the government has adopted a path that it is very certain will not lead the country anywhere, examples being the shelving of the New Economic Model, the implementation of bumi empowerment policy and retaining the unnecessarily bloated public services.
For the sake of political propaganda,. the minister has instructed GLCs to advertise on Malay newspapers. In addition, the government has also spent some RM7.22 billion on hiring of private consultancy firms.
To garner political support, the authorities have rationalized all kinds of ethnically-driven assistance measures.
Actions which are politically correct may not always meet the needs and interests of the nation and its people, as government polices could not be carried out efficiently and the country fails to transform itself.
Meeting the expectations of "majority of people" may not always be right. "Political correctness" only serves to promote conservatism that will bog down on the country's overall progress.
Comment by LIM SUE GOAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily
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