Speaking truth to power is an expression for courageously confronting an authority, calling out some injustice, and asking for change. As you speak your truth, inadvertently you inspire and motivate others to do the same.

In Malaysia though, to speak truth to power is a terribly volatile and perilous thing to do.

Ask all the people who get hauled up by the authorities, when they unearth some misdemeanour, or call out a powerful person. They will attest to how dangerous it is to do something like this.

Things tend to quickly escalate, and often the person highlighting an injustice perpetrated by someone in a position of authority will find themselves skating on thin ice and coming under scrutiny, instead.

The way that they are dealt with, acts as a deterrent to others from speaking up. Most people in our country, even when they know the truth, will simply bury their heads in the sand, akin to an ostrich, and let things go.

Doesn’t this sound like a fairly accurate assessment about how things work here? It’s what I term the Malaysian malady.

In the corporate world, I know that employees in an organisation need to feel comfortable and safe enough to alert their leaders to any wrongdoing. But only when the environment is conducive, and the leaders have a track-record of not victimising the person giving feedback, will an employee actually come forward to speak up.

I also know that in corporations where openness is nurtured, there is a tremendous possibility for radical and ground-breaking ideas to germinate and come to fruition from the people who work there.

So, do we as Malaysians feel comfortable and safe enough to come out to give our honest feedback to those in power or authority? And, do we even know how giving constructive feedback works?

At school, at college, and early on in our careers, the philosophy of putting our head down, being deferential, and listening explicitly to our teachers, lecturers or bosses is hammered home, isn’t it?

How many times did you want to speak out against something, or bring something up with your boss, but thought it best to remain silent and not court trouble?

As people get older and bolder, many think that if they tacitly reject the rigid command-and-control leadership prevalent in Malaysia, and start looking for more empowering and collaborative jobs or vote for mature and inclusive politicians, things will get better.

But it is a fallacy and quite simplistic to think if someone says “my door is always open for you” or “vote for me as I will truly represent your interests”, it is enough to encourage people to speak up for justice.

Things are more complex than that. The vast majority of Malaysians have for years, accepted the might of powerful people as being their anointed right.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory is a tool developed as a framework used to understand the differences in cultures across countries, and to discern the ways that business is done there.

One of the dimensions of the Hofstede Theory is the measurement of power distance in a nation. It measures the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organisations actually expect and accept that power is naturally distributed unequally.

Looking at Malaysia in the context of this theory illustrates what often happens here.

Malaysia, unsurprisingly scores very high on this dimension – a score of 100. This means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has their place and which needs no further justification.

For comparison and for ease of understanding, if we look at a country like Austria, where my wife comes from, the score is just 11.

This means Austrians, as far as power distance is concerned, are fiercely independent, demand equal rights, and hierarchy is seen for convenience only. At work, employees expect to be consulted and dislike being placed under control, and their communication style is direct and participative.

On a personal side note, this explains a lot about my relationship with my wife.

So, if we accept the widely regarded Hofstede Theory, it seems that being deferential and accepting that people in power are entitled to do what they want, is quite simply ingrained in the Malaysian psyche.

Herein lies our quandary, because speaking truth to power doesn’t fit into our mindset.

However, as complicated as it may be, surely, we need to break this mindset if we do not want the country to fail.

I believe courage of conviction is the starting point. We have to believe in the value of our opinions.

People in power must be taught to appreciate the opinions of others. They must be made aware that they fail to acknowledge this at their peril. Because ultimately, everyone has a breaking point.

Malaysians also need to stop being so risk averse.

We must have a realistic understanding of the risks we will be taking when we speak truth to power. But we cannot cower and tremble because we are afraid. Many worry that something might be done to them, or that they might be inconvenienced.

But we have to push ourselves to be willing to do more for the betterment of our people. Because if we back off, this will invariably lead to the powerful continuing to abuse their positions of authority.

So, isn’t it high time to speak truth to power, unless we want to keep spiralling on a downward trajectory in our quest to be a modern and progressive nation?

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.