Returning the voice to the people of Penang

It's the rule of the people of Penang, not of the NGOs (6 February 2013)


Penang prides itself for being the birthplace of many influential Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The NGOs have done us a lot of good. In the past, they helped us become more conscious about our consumer rights, about the need to look after nature and our environment, and they taught us to appreciate our culture and heritage. Once upon a time we were intellectual infants. The NGOs came along and nurtured us.

Many NGOs sprouted in Penang with noble motives. In the past, they showed us our rights, reminded us of our place as citizens of this country. They took the lead in throwing the first stone, and often enough, everybody else followed.

But over time, we the citizen grew up. We became aware of our rights. We realize that NGOs exist to represent the voice of the people, and not the people represent the voice of the NGOs. We also realize that NGOs are composed of humans, with human failures, human points of view and human opinion. Not every opinion issuing from NGOs are of the best interest of the people. It is up to us to be vigilant, otherwise we will be brainwashed. The "Father Knows Best" approach that NGOs employed in the past doesn't work anymore in the present.

Remember this: state or federal, it is we the people who elect the government. When the people are unhappy with the government, they can trounce it in the election. But when the people are unhappy with the NGOs, there is little that they can do to dislodge them. So many of these NGOs just cruise along, continuing to throw stones as they please, often for their own benefit.

While we should support, and continue to support, the good work carried out by the NGOs, at the same time, our conscience dictates that we should speak up if any of them deviates from their true path, or is not playing the role we expect them to play. NGOs have done us a lot of good, but they have also done us a lot of damage.

If we meekly follow the NGOs' lead without any personal evaluation of issues, we risk becoming rubber stamps for the formation of Big Brothers within our society. These Big Brothers will dictate to us how to think, monopolize public opinion, and enforce their will as the will of the people.

NGOs exist for our benefit, and not we for theirs. Many a time, NGOs act as though it is their right for our Chief Minister to listen to their opinion. That is incorrect. We - everybody in Penang collectively - elected the Chief Minister. The NGOs do not represent us; it's the Chief Minister whom we elect who represent us.

It is therefore not the perogative of the Chief Minister to listen, let alone accept or even respond, to the opinion of any groups or individuals or me. If the Chief Minister cares to respond, he does so out of courtesy, not obligation. The Chief Minister is answerable only to the people collectively, not any particular individual. And we the people exercise our opinion via the ballot box.

It is wrong for any NGO to assume that it is more authoritative than the Chief Minister, simply because it has been in Penang longer than the Chief Minister. We did not elect the NGO, we elected the Chief Minister, and when we did so, we gave him the mandate to act on our behalf. We never gave any NGOs a mandate. If any NGO challenges the Chief Minister, it is indirectly challenging us the people.

I know it may sound strange coming from someone who is a member of a prominent NGO, and served for six years on the board, but you as general public have to know your own right versus the right of the NGO. The NGOs may have their opinion, but that isn't public opinion. I myself, though from Penang, cannot claim that my opinion is public opinion. Neither can any NGOs.

If the NGOs forgot to do their duty, we the public of Penang must take back that role, particularly if the action of the NGOs will cause the welfare of the least fortunate in our society to be trampled upon. Though we are not a structured organisation, we can nonetheless make our opinion felt through our network of friends in Facebook and other social media platforms. The NGOs must realise that we will only support them if their actions benefit us, the people. If the NGOs issue "Let Them Eat Cake" solutions that benefit only a segment of society - the affluent, themselves - we the public must object vehemently. Grateful we may be for their past action, we the public are not indebted to any particular NGO to blindly support them, now or in the future.

In the past, we have been quite willing to allow NGOs to play the role of caretakers of public opinion. But in this age of the Internet and Social Media connectivity, it is time we remind the NGOs of their place in society. Public opinion belongs to us, the people, not to NGOs. It's time NGOs realize they cannot force their opinion as public opinion. It is time they return the voice to the people.

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