Hung Parliament not all bad, says ‘Third Force’ rep
(The Malaysian Insider) – Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar sought to challenge views that a “third force” would cause a damaging hung Parliament, and told a forum yesterday such a scenario was not necessarily “a bad thing”.
He also insists that a “third force” was needed to push forward the reform agenda because the existing factions were too busy politicking.
The civil rights activist who has offered to stand in the coming elections was rebutting the view that a “third force” is harmful in a two-party system because it may lead parliamentary deadlock.
A constitutional law expert had remarked to The Malaysian Insider yesterday that a civil movement that adopts a centrist approach would likely appeal to the middle-ground.
But Phillip Koh also warned that a free-floating group of 20 to 30 independents could cause disorder in Parliament unless they were “institutionalised”.
“Why is a hung Parliament necessarily a bad thing?” Malik replied when asked to comment.
“Other than that it might undermine the efficacy of government? Yes, I can see that because ultimately the government may not be a stable one,” he rushed to add.
But he stressed that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) were not giving enough attention to discussing important issues such as the administration of government and the deteriorating race relations in the country, especially in making clear Article 153 of the Federal Constitution that protects the “special position” of the Malay and Bumiputera communities.
Malik said a non-partisan group of lawmakers would be able to fill that role better.
The 40-year-old was defending his stand to contest on a Pakatan Rakyat (PR) party ticket as an independent so his “objectivity would not be compromised”.
“I don’t think being a member of a party is an acid test,” he said when asked why he refused to join any of the PR parties where he would be compelled to toe the party line and be subject to discipline.
“Logically, I don’t see why Pakatan and the independent candidate initiative will be at loggerheads,” Malik added.
He highlighted that the Barisan Rakyat independent candidate initiative had been formed in 2007 and had been the precursor to the PR opposition pact.
He also pointed out Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) lawmakers, like Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj who ran and won on a PKR ticket in Election 2008, had the freedom to maintain their independence in Parliament.
PSM secretary-general, S. Arutchelvan, seemed sceptical when asked his views on the Barisan Rakyat independent candidate initiative.
“For the time being, we do not see any ‘third force’,” he said The Malaysian Insider.
Echoing Koh, he noted that if the group wanted to be taken seriously as a “force”, they should take steps to be formally recognised as one because then they would have a common stand.
Also a civil rights activist, he explained that PSM delegates had voted to stay a “Pakatan Rakyat-friendly” party at its convention in June this year.
Arutchelvan said the reason they were holding back from joining the PR fold was because the pact had yet to come out with a shared consensus programme.
Among the top criticisms levelled at the pact is that the three partner parties gave priority to different issues: The secular DAP to communalism, the Islamist PAS to making Malaysia a religious state and PKR to its de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, whose ongoing sodomy trial had distracted its focus from reform measures.
“PSM’s position is that we are working to consolidate Pakatan as the best way to beat BN in the next elections. That’s our primary goal,” Arutchelvan said.
He elaborated that in Parliament, its party representative would support PR as long as it was capable of denying BN more power.
