Langkau ke kandungan utama

Practising the state of being impartial

dari ChangkatNingkeBTP


Brave New World
By AZMI SHAROM


Impartiality is a simple word and many of our problems can be solved by just appreciating and practising this term.
IMPARTIALITY is defined as being not biased for or against any party; free from favouritism or self interest.
It is a fairly simple concept, one which I think most people would be able to understand.
Of course, there are times when one is incapable of being impartial.
If you support a particular team, you will consider your team as the greatest, despite all evidence to the contrary.
Once I saw a banner at some dinky little football game with the words “Brighton Hove Albion: The Best Football Team in the World”. Really? Better than Barcelona? And where is Brighton Hove Albion anyway?
It sounds like a brand of bread. “A loaf of Brighton Hove Albion please”.


Having said that, I understand the impartiality of BHA fans, in fact I am equally guilty of being totally biased and prejudiced when it comes to supporting my football team.
But at the end of the day, this sort of blinkered attitude does no harm apart from the derisive laughter and taunting we get from far more successful clubs.
The same can’t be said about other situations however.
Impartiality, and perhaps even more important, the perception of impartiality is vital in some circumstances. Sometimes it just makes for a better end product.
A political debate for example must have an impartial moderator and preferable questions to the debaters ought to come from that moderator. Even questions from the floor should be directed through the moderator who can then choose the best ones.
That is why he is called the moderator. He moderates.
In academia, we are expected to be impartial. This is in order for a better quality of research to be produced and following from this better teaching.
Often I have been asked why I am critical of the Government especially since I work in a so-called government university.
Well, I think I work in a public university paid for by tax payers’ money and one of my responsibilities is to be critical of laws which I think are unjust; with academic reasoning, naturally.
If I don’t do that, then I will be perpetuating a wrong and I won’t be doing my job properly.
Those who work in the civil service however, have different responsibilities because they are directly answerable to the elected government and their job is to implement the policies.
In that sense, they have less freedom in their jobs compared to academics.
However, they still have to be impartial because their duties are to basically carry out the decisions of those who are currently their bosses. They are expected to be impartial regardless of their own political leanings.
If they think the policies are poor, they should have the right to voice their concerns but ultimately they have to do what is required of them. Besides, if their bosses are rubbish, they can be voted out, civil servants can’t.
In my last example, impartiality is absolutely imperative for without it, there can be no law and order. I am speaking of course of the police.
In the past few weeks there have been uncomfortable stories of thugs attacking people because they are saying things which they disagree with.
For some this is grist for the mill in their argument that public displays of political expressions must be controlled.
That is a spurious argument. The wrongdoers are those who disrupt the freedom of expression, not those who are simply practising their right. Any trouble will only be made worse if the police are not seen as impartial in their dealing with the situation.
Their job is to enforce the law equally, and not only for those who are deemed a threat to the current political masters.
This applies whoever the political masters may be. It is only where bias or prejudice is perceived, does real trouble erupt.
Impartiality is a simple concept. Perhaps our problems in this nation are not so intractable. Many can be solved by just appreciating and practising this simple little term.
It is only when we have lost faith that such a basic idea can be ignored, then we know that things are truly bad.
Label:

Ulasan

Catat Ulasan

Catatan popular daripada blog ini

The Personal Side of Ahmad Ibrahim by Mohamed Sidek Ahmad

dari ChangkatNingkeBTP A Artikel yang disertakan selapas coretan saya ini sebenarnya mengembalikan kenangan saya terhadap pensyarah saya yang sangat saya kasihi iaitu Allahyarham Tan Sri Ahmad Mohamed Ibrahim. Saya antara pelajar sains politik tahun akhir waktu itu di IIUM pada pertengahan tahun 1998 yang perlu mengambil subjek ITL atau Introduction to Law. Paling mengejutkan kumpulan kami ini adalah pensyarah yang akan mengendalikan kami adalah beliau yang memang sangat gah namanya waktu itu dan memegang jawatan besar di IIUM. Bagi kami ini satu penghormatan besar yang tidak tersangka terutama bagi saya secara peribadi dimana Allahyarham merupakan kenalan arwah bapa sewaktu beliau di Universiti Malaya. Malah, kumpulan tersebut merupakan yang pertama dan terakhir dari kalangan pelajar sains politik yang diajar dan dibimbing oleh Allahyarham Tan Sri. Jadual kuliah juga cukup menarik iaitu pada Isnin jam 7.30 pagi (Pada waktu itu jadual kuliah biasa adalah 9.00 pagi). Menariknya, ...
Catat Ulasan
Baca Lagi

DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE BY CHANGE OF RELIGION: AN OVERVIEW FROM MALAYSIAN PLURAL LEGAL SYSTEM

dari ChangkatNingkeBTP Muhamad Wazir Muslat; Shahrizat Said; Hamdan Dato’ Salleh; Shariful Kamaruddin; Shamshinor Abd Azzis Qalam Bestari UNISEL, CDFS, UNISEL 1.0 INTRODUCTION In the name of Allah the Most Compassionate and the Most Merciful The issues on change of religion used to be discussed and sometimes become a hot one. Even though issues pertaining to conversion from one religion to another is a sensitive ones, but it keeps on happening and being mentioned by the media, magazines, newspaper and public. In a multi racial and religious society like Malaysia, where Islam is the Federal religion , conversion to Islam is not a surprised as the majority of the citizens are Muslim-Malays and government also applied the right to freedom of religion.
Catat Ulasan
Baca Lagi

KERUNTUHAN INSTITUSI KEKELUARGAAN DI KALANGAN MASYARAKAT ISLAM SEMAKIN MERUNCING

dari ChangkatNingkeBTP Sumber: http://haziqinthehouse.blogspot.com/2010/11/keruntuhan-institusi-kekeluargaan-di.html Setiap keluarga mempunyai nilai dan maruah yang dipertahankan oleh ahli keluarganya sendiri. Keharmonian kekeluargaan dicapai melalui hubungan baik antara semua ahli keluarga. Perhubungan spiritual seperti agama, emosi seperti kasih sayang , sikap hormat – menghormati dan bertanggungjawab.  Oleh itu institusi kekeluargaan  adalah institusi yang terpenting dalam proses pembentukan individu yang sihat dari segi mental dan fizikal. Pada zaman yang serba moden ini kita sering mendengar dan terbaca di muka akhbar tentang permasalahan dan isu seperti  keruntuhan masyarakat . Sebagai contoh kes pebuangan anak luar nikah, kes penderaan kanak-kanak, kes penceraian dan sebagainya. Kekeluargaan merupakan salah satu aspek kehidupan manusia yang perlu diambil perhatian oleh syariat Islam. la dilihat sebagai wadah bagi lelaki dan wanita untuk mencari kedamaian da...
Catat Ulasan
Baca Lagi