After
a very long wait, finally Parliament was dissolved on 3rd April and
the dates for nomination are on 20th April and polling on
5th May, 2013 respectively for the 13th general elections. Christians would
have preferred a Saturday rather than a Sunday as the polling day.
In
view of communication problems and the lower literacy rate, Sabahans and
Sarawakians would prefer a longer campaign period. In any case, political
activities immediately intensified and shifted to a higher gear.
Malaysia
has chosen a democratic system of government based on and inherited from the
British model. One of the main features of a democratic system of government is
that the people are given the opportunity to change the government at regular
interval, although Malaysians from the Peninsula have only known the same
federal government for the last 56 years and those in Sabah and Sarawak for 50
years, a very long time indeed, by any standard. However, elections have been
held at regular interval. But democracy goes far beyond this, especially during
the period between general elections as well as how they are conducted.
Human rights & Democratic Values
Respect
for human rights is very much part of democratic values. Human rights imply
treating political opponents in a humane way. It involves human decency and
observance of the golden rule, namely ‘do unto others what you would like
others do unto you.’ Politicians vying for political office should refrain from
mudslinging behavior and activities. They should focus on issues and avoid
inventing imaginary events designed to destroy the personal reputation of
political opponents. Politicians operate within the framework of established
democratic institutions which I regard as part of the guiding framework. To
what extent they are followed and respected depends on the people in the
position of authority and influence as well as the public at large. Their
maturity, literacy standard and awareness of democratic principles are
important influencing factors.
Human
rights also require the observance of good governance. Human rights, good
governance and democracy are complimentary to one another. Governance is the
process of decision making and how decisions are implemented or not
implemented. The main characteristics of good governance include that it should
be participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive,
effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.
Good governance helps to ensure that corruption is minimized, if not
eliminated, minority views are taken into account and the voice of the
vulnerable groups are heard and considered in decision making. It is responsive
to the present and future needs of society. Democracy requires clean electoral
rolls, free and equal access to the media, a level playing field, clean free
and fair elections, no abuse of government funds, machinery and assets, absence
of money politics, no abuse of power, amongst others.
13th General Elections &
Two-party system
The
13th general elections will be the most hotly and tightly contested
elections the country has seen so far. It could be referred to as the mother of
all general elections. Before the 12th general elections it was
fairly easy for the incumbent to win with two-third majority. Things changed
drastically during the 12th general elections on 8th
March, 2008 in which the BN government failed to obtain the usual two-third
majority and the opposition captured five states. Perak was subsequently lost
to the BN amidst a lot of controversies.
I feel
sad and disappointed to see the federal government always appearing to belittle
the good and sincere efforts of the state governments which are under the
control of the opposition. At least it should give credit where credit is due.
The
12th general election results indicate a move towards the
development of a two-party system in the country. This is a step in the right
direction and a refreshing change from the political culture dominated by
racial and religious sentiments for far too long. It has polarized the country
like never before and not conducive to the creation and maintenance of genuine
national unity and integration so vital for a plural society.
Now
we see much more multi-racialism in the membership of political parties. We
also see PAS, an Islamic party, fielding a non-Malay and non-Muslim as a
parliamentary candidate. This was unthinkable before. These are all very
healthy political development and present a brighter future for the country and
its people. At the same time the people especially in the Peninsula are getting
more sophisticated in terms of educational standard and computer literacy and
other modern means of communications. Their expectations are also higher. Unlike
in the past it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the government to hide
the truth. They are now in a better position to assess the performance of the
government more objectively. Sabah and Sarawak are slowly catching up.
Therefore
the government cannot afford to ignore these changes failing which it will be
changed instead. With a much stronger opposition, at least the conduct of a
care taker government is now being discussed which was unheard of in the past.
This is another indication of positive and welcome development.
I
notice people are generally upbeat and feel that for the first time in the
country’s political history, there is real possibility of changing of the guard
taking place. It is felt that the probability is greater if there is clean,
free and fair elections. Generally people wish to see change taking place, not
change for its own sake, but change for the better. Human nature is such that
too much of the same thing for a very, very long time tends to make people hope
for a change. After all, variety is the spice of life. If an actor performs too
long on the stage, the audience tends to get bored and look forward to the next
performer. It is the same with the government. If the new one is no better than
the previous one or worse, it can always be changed at the next elections. This
will be truly democracy in action in which the power really is in the hands of
the people and this could be a pattern for the future.
Understanding the Role of the Government
& OppositionNow that the 13th general elections are only days away, it is very important for members of the public to understand and to be aware of the main functions and role of the government as well as the opposition particularly in Sabah and Sarawak where the literacy standard is still very much lower.
People
must realize that the government is merely the trustees of the people. It is
duty bound to take care and not abuse government fund and assets. That is why
there are so many rules and regulations involved in the management and
administration of public fund. They are meant to minimize, if not eliminate,
abuses and irregularities. It is the duty and responsibility of the government
to bring development to all parts of the country, irrespective of whether they
are represented by government or opposition representatives.
It
is not the duty of the opposition to formulate and implement development
projects because it has no access to public fund, only the government has. I
often hear politicians from the government side telling people that there is no
point electing the opposition because it cannot bring development. To the
illiterate rural people this makes sense. Thus, they must be made aware that
the function of the opposition is to provide constructive criticisms to keep
the government on its toes. It provides the necessary checks and balance. The
opposition provides an alternative government for the people. This is the
essence of democracy. The opposition has an important role to play in a
democratic system of government.
Political Situation in Sabah
Let
me briefly say something about the political situation in Sabah. The presence
of the unusually large number of illegal immigrants has permanently changed the
economic, social, cultural and political landscape of the state. They are now
considered the mother of all problems in Sabah and represent a very sensitive
issue especially during election time. It is alleged that hundreds of thousands
of them have been granted citizenship status as well as the right to vote in
return for votes for the BN government.
Ironically,
many local Sabahans who possess no proper documents are stateless yet they have
never left the place where they were born. This indicates a very cruel and
uncaring attitude towards the interest and welfare of genuine Malaysians of
Sabah origin. This is very hurting, to say the least. This is the Malaysia I
never expected.
The
invasion in Lahad Datu was something which was only waiting to happen. I am
quite surprised it did not happen earlier. This problem will not go away
overnight for the simple reason that there are already hundreds of thousands of
Tausugs in the state at the courtesy of the government. There is no way of
knowing with certainty where their loyalty lies. Their people have been
fighting against the Philippine government for more than 40 years. Fighting is
in their blood. Being Muslim did not prevent the invaders from killing members
of the Malaysian security force who were all Muslims except one. After killing
them they continued to mutilate their bodies. It was an inhuman act of cruelty.
It appears that the government was caught off guard. The invasion indicates how
vulnerable Sabah is from outside forces.
The
actions taken by the security forces consequential to the incident may be
perceived as harassment on their community. Such perception could be imagined
or real. This being the case the so called fixed deposit may not necessarily be
kept in the same bank.
Barring
last minute change, it appears that the 13th general elections in
Sabah will see a free for all contests among BN, PR, SAPP, STAR, KITA,
independents etc. It will be a crowded field. However I still do not rule out
the possibility of 1 to 1 contest, at least not until nomination day. I also
notice a number of leaders changing party allegiance. Such incidents always
appear to take place just before the poll. It is alleged that money is involved
associated with party hopping. Another reason could be failure to be nominated
as a candidate. Money politics appears to be the order of the day. A friend
told me that he knew of someone who attended a BN political gathering and he
was given a BN t-shirt and a sum of RM 250.00.
There
are also reports of in-fighting within political parties. Some are more intense
than others. I believe this is due to the demand to become candidates. There
are so many hopefuls compared to the availability of constituencies. Sabah has
25 parliamentary constituencies and Labuan one. It has 60 state seats.
Generally the incumbents want to be retained. Those who did not get the
opportunity in the past are more than keen to replace them. It is very common
for many hopefuls to change political allegiance once their wish is not
fulfilled. This is quite typical behavior of so called political leaders.
What
the situation indicates is they entered politics with personal and vested
interests in mind more than public interest. Publicly they often declare that
they entered politics to serve the people as if there is no other way of
serving them other than through politics. I have involved in several charitable
organizations in my life and I have yet to meet a politician interested in
them.
Let me stop here. I will be delighted to respond to questions, views, comments
and suggestions during the question and answer session. I thank you for your
kind attention.
-----------------------------Paper presented at the Proham RTD on GE 13 & Human Rights on April 17, 2013
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