Still suffering from growing pains
This sudden political engagement in itself tells us that Malaysia’s democracy is still suffering growing pains. It is far from mature and some would say that its growth is badly stunted, but it is nevertheless not frozen in time.
Ooi Kee Beng, Today Online
There are basically two related ways of understanding the year that has been since March 8, 2008.
One is to recognise the many dramatic events of the past 12 months as part and parcel of an accelerating upheaval which is seeing the monolithic structure of Barisan Nasional being replaced by a two-coalition system.
This turmoil challenges in concrete terms not only the symbiosis between ethnicity and political party, but also the balance of power, both between the federal government and the state governments, as well as between elected representatives and the aristocracy.
The second way is to view the past year as a litmus test for Malaysian democracy, through which its level of maturity can be ascertained.
Of course, the very fact that the upheaval mentioned above is taking place at all tells us that Malaysian democracy is at an impasse caused by nothing less than a decisive swing in voter sentiment throughout the northern states.
This sudden political engagement in itself tells us that Malaysia’s democracy is still suffering growing pains. It is far from mature and some would say that its growth is badly stunted, but it is nevertheless not frozen in time.
More and more showdowns between the two coalitions are to be expected in the coming months, most of which will be of a constitutional nature.
Democratic maturity is best observed in a number of ways, the most telling of which is how well those who are losing power live with that fact. Here, Malaysia has definitely shown that it has matured beyond the days of May 13, 1969. Angry and disappointed voices had to be expected, but no violence followed the BN’s defeats in the north. Voters on both the winning and losing sides are acting in much more civilised ways than before.
However, recent events in Perak show that the federal government is not above employing the grey margins of the Constitution to undermine and topple a popularly-elected state government that is not to its liking. BN’s ability to accept defeat is therefore not as could be expected in a mature democracy.
The political space now available to the aristocracy reflects the inability of the two camps to play by democratic rules.
The sodomy charge against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is seen by many as another case of politically motivated use of the law.
Another salient point to ponder is to what extent leaders of those parties that suffered substantial defeats were willing to take the blame for the results. No leader of any BN component party offered to resign immediately after March 8.
Changes since then have been most thorough in the MCA, following its party elections in October last year, with Datuk Ong Ka Ting resigning as president. At the same time, Gerakan’s leader, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, became party president that same month despite also having led his party to dismal results.
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who has been the leader most personally blamed for party defeats, seems certain to try to retain his position on April 12, when the party holds its elections.
Umno, the dominant factor in the BN, had earlier postponed its party elections until December last year. After the general elections, it chose to postpone them a further three months.
Its president, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, agreed to resign by the end of this month only after intense pressure was put on him by the party’s supreme council.
The maturity of most other actors in Malaysia’s democratic game is also in doubt. While the federal government has been accused of punishing states that dared vote against it, the many arms of the centrally-salaried civil service have shown a strong prejudice against the opposition-held state governments.
This has been most evident during the Perak constitutional crisis, when the police preferred to obey the state assembly secretary in locking out his boss the speaker — a member of the Pakatan Rakyat — from the assembly.
The new governments in the PR states, given their goal of reforming governance, have not done too badly, especially if one considers the hurdles they have had to face.
Personnel incompetence at various levels has dogged these governments. However, the personal popularity of new chief ministers such as Penang’s Lim Guan Eng and Perak’s Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin increased impressively over the last year.
At the same time, Anwar’s ill-advised attempt to topple the federal government through defections must be classed as democratic immaturity on the part of the parliamentary opposition.
But perhaps the clearest signs of maturity is found in voter behaviour. Despite the uncertainties affecting the country and the spate of by-elections since March 8, the Malaysian voter has behaved in an exemplary manner, and has continued to exercise his right to make his voice heard.
This empowerment occurs in tandem with the steady rise in magazine publications, citizen journalism and political blogging. The coming by-elections throughout the country cannot but feed this new fad even further.
