In the old days people never bothered about what others did, so long as they were free to do what they liked themselves. Today, one cannot sneeze without being corrected, let alone enjoy oneself. That's what politics have done to our society
Interpretation
The quote reflects on how people's freedoms to enjoy life have been curtailed by today's scrutiny and political correctness.
Tunku Abdul Rahman's quote highlights a shift in societal attitudes from a time when individuals were unconcerned with the actions of others, as long as they themselves had the freedom to live as they wished. In contrast, he observes that contemporary social dynamics have resulted in an environment where every action is subject to judgment and correction, leading to a reduction in genuine enjoyment and personal freedom due to the pervasive influence of politics.
In practice
During a speech about the importance of free expression, one might use this quote to emphasize the value of personal freedom.
All talk on Islamic States is just an empty dream. No man in his right sense would accept a nation which bases its political administration on religion, and in a country like Malaysia with its multiracial and multireligious people, there is no room for an Islamic State.
We are all Malaysians. This is the bond that unites us. Let us always remember that unity is our fundamental strength as a people and as a nation.
We usually forget that apart from making a living on this earth, human beings live in societies and these societies have cultures. It is only through having cultures that mankind on this earth has an ordered and meaningful life. Music and drama are two of the many important manifestation of a culture. They are important because they represent the expressions emanating from the power of human artistic creativity
Every Senator in this Chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This Chamber reeks of blood.
Government ought to be all outside and no inside. . . . Everybody knows that corruption thrives in secret places, and avoids public places, and we believe it a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety.
Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear - kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor - with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant funds demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.
It is one of history's ironies that Communism, advertised as a classless society, tended to breed a privileged class of feudal proportions.
When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.
Foreign policy is an explicitly amoral enterprise.
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