The Real Victory

I think the best thing that’s come out of the previous elections is the increased awareness on the the boundaries between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of our Federal Government.

The principle of separation of powers is something all of us learnt at school but years of rule by the same Government had blurred those lines so much so that it had become difficult to determine the extent of the Government’s powers.

Even the GLC I work for, for all its supposed proclamations of being a “private” entity underwent a bit of soul searching in the immediate aftermath of the elections.

It was only after a while that a new narrative emerged – that we serve the Government of the Day whoever they might be – even though that was how we were supposed to have been working all along.

In fact, the GOTD narrative was never once uttered in the seven years I was there.

It seems a bit funny now but I distinctly remember management repeating “we serve the GOTD” line over and over again like it was a mantra. I certainly got the impression they were trying to convince themselves more than us.

Can’t blame them though. The older generation (people like my bosses and my parents) are from an era where it was taboo to even have DAP stickers at home.

So yes, while we still live in a world where Latheefa Koya is MACC commissioner and Tommy Thomas is a poor man’s Apandi Ali, the real victory lies in the fact that government servants and GLC staff are now more aware of the fact that governments can and will change and this will (hopefully) think twice before even considering doing something they shouldn’t.

I’ll end this post be quoting Shadi Hamid. Democracy is feeling that you, as a citizen, can actually alter the course of your own country, and that your nation, at least in theory, believes that you matter enough to have that power.