A THIRD FORCE – An Enquiry
Khoo Kay Peng
Of late, the political scene has become dirtier and messy. It is undeniable that we need to usher in a new era of responsible and accountable politics and leadership. But post 2008, we have seen a greater use and manipulation of race and religion by politicians and political parties to advance their interest.
Elected representatives have shown their true colour too. A host of them had betrayed the trust and mandate of the people by deserting their political platform. Their action had caused a collapsed of a democratically elected government and made elected representatives as pawns which can be bought over at the right price. This had worsened corruption and democratic reform in the country.
At the same time, Malaysians are left to wrest with a host of critical socio-economic issues and challenges. World economy is expected to go through a tough recovery although a light at the end of the tunnel is not yet visible.
The federal government has announced a host of initiatives but two ingredients were missing from these plans – Confidence & Trust. Without confidence, there is very little hope that the plans will be successful. Local investors and brains will not invest their money and skills in the country.
The government can announce grand numbers and ambitious plans but these plans will turn cynical if it is obvious that there is no capacity and mechanism to implement them.
We need a Third Force and we need to build a new platform to convey our voices and concerns to the political parties. We need to push the political parties to put better people in the next general election. We need them to focus on issues and challenges faced by all instead of certain sectarian interests and senseless politicking or power struggle.
We need a Third Force to discuss:
1) Workforce empowerment and skills enhancement
2) Education system overhaul
3) Democratisation and respect for constitutional rights
4) Rule of law and restoring the credibility of public institutions
5) End of racism and sectarian politics
6) Fight corruption and end abuse of public resources
7) National competitive revival and others
I would like to hear your thoughts on the emergence of a third force and greater civil society’s participation in the public discourse. Remember, we choose the government we deserve. It is time for the stakeholders/voters to be more involved.
