RECENTLY, a friend enquired about a photo of me playing football in a muddy padi field with kampung folk. The image had gone viral.
Among the comments received for the photo was: “bila dah nak dekat pilihanraya” (when the general election is around the corner).
That cynic’s comment implied that such photos can be seen only during an election campaign. It suggested that as the general election is getting closer, leaders tend to do unusual things such as picking up garbage, cycling from home to office, using a school bus, meeting old folk, embracing ordinary people, and on and on.
Of course, that cynic was seeing things through a political prism. Since the actors are politicians, everything is being judged from political angles.
The paradox of cynics is that they always portray ruling politicians as the products of elites belonging only to the exclusive political circle and their family, thus detaching themselves from the pulse of the people. So, when they see ruling politicians act inclusively and mingle with people of different backgrounds, they laugh cynically.
I was one of those being laughed at and criticised, particularly by the DAP-brand of politicians.
In the current state assembly, for example, some chided my move calling for “Perak Yang Bersih” ( a clean Perak) as a publicity and political stunt.
Meeting the people, playing football with kampung folk, staying overnight at small district areas, cycling with hundreds if not thousands of youths in these areas, picking up rubbish, getting public toilets cleaned and many more activities have been done by us in Perak even before the 2013 general election.
Although basic and tedious to some, these activities bring me closer to the people. Thus I have never stopped doing it, even after winning the election.
It was not a one-off exercise. I was not only trying to create awareness but also to develop good habits and perhaps a good culture among the people of Perak.
Some of my activities were reported in the media, most were not. Perhaps since I have been doing it so often, such activities are no longer news and the media feel such events need not be highlighted.
But, the people of Perak know what we have been doing all these years. The civil servants also know and continue to be actively involved in touch- base programmes.
So when asked, honestly, I have to admit that I’m not troubled by those critiques. I believe those who wrote such comments are in fact agitated and annoyed as more and more people in their constituencies have begun to realise the truth about their (opposition) wakil rakyat and what they have been doing all this while.
Some persuadable voters even responded to me, saying that they were in fact, fed up with the daily tweets and messages from the opposition leaders, ridiculing the ruling government.
Instead, they want to see these wakil rakyat play a more constructive role in addressing local issues through informed decision-making.
As the governing party, we must be consistent in our efforts to touch the hearts and minds of the people.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has continuously reminded all of us, the wakil rakyat, to be exemplary in serving the people. He has set the example all these years by visiting the poor, meeting and joining the people, especially old folk, for simple breakfasts at roadside stalls. He goes out of his way to bring a smile to the less fortunate and fulfil the last wishes of terminally-ill patients.
Despite the continuous pessimism and cynical remarks from the opposition, I believe the people know best and can make their own judgment on which political party serves them best. The people know which of their voted representatives are ever willing to roll up their sleeves and get involved in mundane and menial tasks and activities, and those who merely pay lip service and make empty promises.
In some areas we have even heard of members of parliament and assemblymen from the opposition parties, when approached by their constituents, simply giving excuses that they could not do anything because they are not the government so they could not make financial contributions to their constituencies. But, to the people, it is not the financial assistance alone; instead what is more important to them are the presence and caring attitude of their wakil rakyat. To make matters worse, some of these wakil rakyat do not even live or are not from the areas they represent.
Worse still, during the debate sessions of the state assembly sittings these wakil rakyat fail to bring up pertinent issues and problems in their constituencies.
They pretend to be the most effective wakil rakyat by relying heavily on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, seemingly showing their presence at many functions. Yet, when wakil rakyat from Barisan Nasional do the same in social media, they sneer and say the wakil rakyat are just showing off and that the acts are not genuine.
This kind of dystopian politics, stemming from an imaginary world where the state is full of unpleasantness, badness, deprivation, totalitarianism, kleptocracy and oppression, is intended to make people believe the propaganda that the government is frightening and undesirable. The ultimate aim is to grab power and form what they believe will be a “better government” despite their own internal incoherence.
To BN wakil rakyat, I will say that we must not be distracted by the opposition’s unfounded allegations. We should instead strengthen our resolve to serve the people.
In reality, the criticism hurled by the opposition at BN wakil rakyat shows that our activities with the people annoy them and make them feel uneasy. Let us carry on with these activities and never distance ourselves from the people.
Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir is Perak menteri besar