Taming the unelected
By Wong Chin Huat (The Nut Graph)
AS we celebrate the first anniversary of the historic 8 March 2008 general election, our democratic institutions are now in danger of being attacked by unelected institutions. These include the palace, the bureaucracy, the police, the judiciary, and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
And if the last and the most powerful of the unelected institutions, the military, steps into politics too, the country would really go to the dogs. You only need to look at neighbouring Thailand to understand the perils of military involvement in politics.
In functioning democracies, the elected political class will work together to ensure that the unelected institutions will serve — rather than be served by — a democratic government.
In contrast, the fragmented elected political class in democratising societies is usually keen to seize or hold on to power at all costs, which makes unelected institutions the ultimate power-brokers.
In the case of Perak, the unelected institutions that have attacked the elected Pakatan Rakyat (PR) state government were either co-operating with or instructed by the elected Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government. After all, those in unelected institutions might depend on the powerful federal government to sustain their livelihoods or lifestyles. Naturally, few will defend democracy at their own peril.
So, what can we do?
Read more at: http://www.thenutgraph.com/taming-the-unelected
