The Bigger Picture

When we were young, sometimes we fuss over little misfortunes, jump in petty rewards or bog ourselves down with small details. When the elderly see that, they would come and say, "Hey, don't be so short-sighted. Look at the bigger picture!" For example, when we failed an exam, we were often so devastated that we thought the world was going to end. But then someone would tell us, "Exam is not the only thing that matters in life. Look at the bigger picture!"

As we grow up, we gradually relinquish some of our nearsighted lenses, and learn to view the bigger picture in our lives. However, when it comes to socio-political decisions, lamentably some people continue to see the world through their small, aberrant lenses. Sometimes we can't help but to ask, "Why can't they look at the bigger picture?"

One of my friends' relatives went to the voting booth in one of the elections. They were the fence-sitters, or in other words they were undecided which candidate to vote for. When they arrived at the voting station, one of the MCA candidates were standing at the entrance, smiling, shaking everyone's hands, giving everyone a pat on their backs. Feeling surprised and flattered, their votes went to that candidate.

Why can't they look at the bigger picture?

Whenever there is a by-election, the ruling parties often inject millions of dollars into the "development" of that particular district right before the election day. Road surface is repaired and polished, drains are unclogged and bleached, temples permit that were shelved for twenty years is approved in a blink, and the dilapidated schools are given tons of funding from the government. Feeling overwhelmed and grateful, some people forgot about the decades of neglect and decided to vote for the government with the new-found generosity.

Why can't they look at the bigger picture?

2008 election is coming, and as usual, our taukeh-taukeh suddenly become very nice, friendly and warm. After some hubbub about the usage of the word "Allah" in a Malay-version Christian newspaper, the government reversed its earlier hostility and in the end approved the permit renewal of that paper. Meanwhile, chinese schools suddenly got a durian-runtuh ten-million funding from the Minister of Education. There was no price hike (yet) on petroleum despite the doubling of crude oil price in year 2007. Hishamnuddin suddenly loves his fairer and tanner friends again.

Despite the usual grunting and complaints on the non-election days, for some reasons the so-called election candies have always worked so well on the rakyat. In the election, the rakyat seem to support the corrupt and incompetent leaders again, trusting that the leaders have changed for the better because of their warm-and-fuzzy gestures before election.

Why can't they look at the bigger picture?

Some racial political parties strive hard to convince the rakyat that they are the stalwart for their race, and that they are the best hope for the people to ensure the continued prosperity. These parties provide supports for people to get into the civil service where racial prejudice often exists. They help you get scholarships. They give you free educational counseling.

However, they make hardly any mention about solving the irreconcilable racial divide in the country due to the divide-race-and-conquer policy. Instead of gearing towards the "bangsa Malaysia" championed by their former leader, they are forced to stick to the old "three big races" module, and believe that the "bertolak-ansur" and "cake-dividing" between races are going to be the way of future despite its failure everywhere in the world. Despite being forced to obey the more dominant racial party obsequiously on almost every single issue, they tell us [recommended reading - food for thought] that such a lopsided dacing is going to balance itself somehow.

Many people continue to give them full support through their wishful thinking that race-based politics is somehow going to work better one day. Or that "I love you, you love me, we are happy family" is going to work in a country where affirmative action is being abused by the rich and powerful.

Why can't they look at the bigger picture?

An interesting next step in the scale of bigger picture can be observed in religious parties like PAS. Don't bother with those worldly and secular policies, some of them tell us. If we obey every single command and enforce every single law from the One-True-Religion™, we would be better off, and also receive bountiful rewards in afterlife.* After all, they say, the afterlife should be the biggest picture for everyone regardless of the scale of the worldly matters.

It seems that they win at the biggest picture.


* Note: This is not targeted at Islam in particular. It's targeted at every single party with a church-state integration policy.
Image Credit: The Bigger Picture