The Government and The State
There is a stark difference between the Government and the State. First is the spelling. Government has 10 letters and it starts with G while the State has only 5 letters and it does not start with the letter G.
These two terms have been around for a very very long time. So long until the commoners, yes I am referring to all of you and myself of course, use them in an identical sense when the same government stayed in power for the longest time. Even the not-so-commoner King Louis XVI who once got delusional and said “I am the State”, and the price he paid was his head on the ground (or in a basket?).
It is easy for common people to get confused what government and the State are. That’s exactly what the government wants! Not knowing is better than knowing! Just imagine, a sheep farm will be a very different place if all sheep share the same IQ scores as the shepherd. Right?
The cut the long story short, the State has 4 elements. Namely:
1. A Permanent Population: consist of everybody living together as “a” community, not “Malay”, “Chinese”, “Indian” and “Dan Lain-lain” communities.
2. A defined Territory: we all stay in a geographical area with a national boundary.
3. A Government: we pick the people to administer the State every few years, using the Constitution as the guiding light to keep the population happy.
4. Sovereignty: this means we have the authority over our territory. We have the power to make laws and we have the right to self-determination.
Think of it this way: the State is the body, we are the cells, the government is like the brain that runs the body. Government is part of the State, not the other way or to confused them to be the same entity. The only good thing about it is, you can’t change your brain for your body but you can change your government for your State.
If you still cannot notice the difference… I have no more words for you.