Seeking renewed hope for 2017
THE deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds within two days have added to the list of celebrity deaths across many professions in 2016, including David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Harper Lee, Nancy Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Prince, Muhammad Ali and George Michael.
The demise of an influential or well-known person often triggers headlines in newspapers and tributes on social media platforms, an occurrence explained by the fact that such individuals have inspired, impacted and contributed something significant to so many people.
It also enables a shared public commemoration of the deceased, which depending on one’s cultural outlook can either be considered to provide greater succour to those who most feel the loss, or to be a rather undignified and even self- gratifying act, particularly if those closest to the deceased prefer to grieve in private. ( The reactions to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 famously contrasted the two concepts.)
Upon hearing about many of these deaths I found myself thinking about how these individuals influenced my life: whether through watching them create legendary characters on the big screen, reading their novels, listening to their songs or contemplating the political and ideological causes they championed. However, the death of a family member triggers reflection on a completely different scale, as I discovered when my younger brother passed away in January. I will always be grateful to readers who expressed their condolences.
Though the human mind can be so affected by the death of a single person, the deaths of hundreds of thousands caught up in conflicts around the world are often thought of as little more than statistics entirely devoid of emotion. Even if one tried to empathise with those involved, it would be impossible to imagine the individual, let alone collective, grief of those who have lost family members, homes, livelihoods, even their own culture - as so many Syrians and Rohingya have. Despite the best efforts of aid and rescue agencies and intrepid journalists (who must surely count among unsung heroes) to expose unwelcome truths, the focus of policymakers remains the geopolitics: the pursuit of influence over country’s leaders, control over resources, land and sea for the stationing of military assets to further national - some would say imperial - interests. Of course, they argue that if their side wins, more peace and stability would result.
Motivating or constraining these ambitions are national institutions, and the trust people have in them. This was another casualty of 2016, seen abundantly in the expressions of anger and sadness - reminiscent of mourning - among some sections of the population following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union and the electoral victory of Donald Trump in the USA. These results have been a wake-up call to those living in bubbles - urban, liberal, educated, elite - who hitherto assumed that everyone else broadly thought like them, a situation accentuated by a contradiction of the supposedly omniscient internet, where people seek interactions that only perpetuate their own biases. Even those not politically invested will have observed the anger around them and understand that societies need to have mechanisms for people to disagree peacefully, lest violence break out.
Fortunately, unlike human beings, institutions can really be resurrected. It is possible to cleanse their corruption, to correct power imbalances, for truly inspiring leaders to champion them. Unfortunately, the history of the world shows that such successful renewals usually happen after wars or catastrophes, when the impact of failed institutions is so destructive that those who have survived agree to attempt designing a settlement that will prevent similar mistakes in the future. The challenge for us today is to create that impetus for renewal without waiting for a disaster to happen first.
It is pointed out that broader trends show that humans are on average healthier and wealthier than ever before, yet across the planet much of humanity cannot see how their lives will be better in 2017 than in 2016 as a result of institutional failure.
Contrasted against that backdrop, the various problems we face in Malaysia might seem trivial. Once upon a time though, that was the feeling in many countries that also seemed stable, optimistic and prosperous, before the collapse of their institutions ultimately descended in bloody conflict. So we should never take our luck for granted, and remind fellow citizens - especially our leaders - that we all must respect constitutional and moral duties and limits lest we trigger a deadly chain reaction of discontent and violence.
That would be our best patriotic duty in a world where trust and legitimacy seem to be increasingly precious resources. Happy New Year. Tunku Zain Al-’Abidin Founding President of IDEAS is