Electoral Reforms, Good Governance and Statesmanship
By batsman
Sometimes it is the small things that matter. When talking about big things like electoral reforms, good governance and statesmanship, the critical things are in the small details. Too often people do not grasp the details and therefore find it hard to express themselves well. They know something is wrong, but they are unable to pinpoint the problem.
Lets us discuss statesmanship. When our Prime Minister accuses an electoral reform grouping of threatening national security because it has given up hope of achieving free and fair elections through institutional channels and feel compelled to make their case through a public demonstration, the Prime Minister himself gives a fiery racially tinged speech to hysterical silat exponents on the eve of this public demonstration.
In terms of statesmanship, it is similar to a Hutu call to arms. It is very similar to lighting the fires of Hutu – Tutsi hatred in Rwanda that bypassed the police and army. Not only are ordinary Tutsis endangered by such incredibly retarded brinkmanship, the moderate Hutus are also threatened in the hundreds of thousands by the fires of racial genocide. As if control over the entire police force is not enough. As if control over the entire army, navy and air force is not enough. The Prime Minister seems to be trying to ensure his personal position by preparing hysterical silat exponents in reserve. Such a non-statesman then accuses an electoral reform group of being a threat to national security for planning a peaceful rally.
As a consequence the police force locks down the capital city causing grid locked traffic jams, and eventually tear gassing and water cannoning peaceful demonstrators calling for democratic electoral reforms. Such is the quality of statesmanship of our Prime Minister.
Instead of being more like King Mohammad VI of Morocco, the PM seems to be trying to be more like Gaddafi of Libya. Instead of being more like Mandela, our PM seems to be trying to be more like Netanyahu. Such is his quality of statesmanship. It all seems to be in the fine details of character and decision making.
Judge for yourself how much alike the treatment of Bersih 2.0’s peaceful struggle is to the treatment of Palestinians struggling for their rights – Put Palestinians on a Diet (Residents of KL are punished by a blockade of KL in order to blame Bersih 2.0 for threatening national security) and Discourse on Palestinian resistance(Israel’s use of violence is a constant just as Malaysia’s tear gassing of peaceful demonstrators is a constant). Of course the level and acuity of struggle is not the same but in principle, the suppression meted out to people struggling for their rights is very similar.
Somewhere in the articles in the Guardian and Al Jazeera linked above, there is mention that it is not possible for an oppressed people to initiate violence. This is an important detail which many people cannot express accurately. Bersih 2.0 is not the oppressor. How can it be the oppressor when the Prime Minister controls the police force with their tear gas, water cannons, batons, steel tipped boots and if needs be, rifles and guns? The Prime Minister also has control over the army which does not need tear gas and water cannons, but have high powered guns and real cannons in plenty. As if these are not enough, according to Bersih 2.0’s complaints, the Prime Minister also controls the judiciary, the civil service and the mass media which are all biased in a party political manner. On top of all these the Prime Minister also finds a willing and hysterical audience amongst silat exponents ready to back up the police and the military as the 3rd defence force in reserve.
Against all this raw brute power is tiny peaceful Bersih 2.0 headed by a frail woman from civil society and the PM accuses Bersih 2.0 of being a threat against national security. This is not only bad statesmanship but bad governance. If this is the quality of governance that comes from a bad statesman who whether competently or incompetently, consciously or subconsciously courts racial genocide, Malaysia it seems is heading for failed stateship.
Electoral reforms are a necessity for a truly united Malaysia as opposed to a Malaysia ruled by narrow racist Malay nationalism for the last half a century. All the institutions of the state have been compromised by racism and narrow Malay nationalism. Without free and fair elections, a free and fair media, a neutral civil service, police and judiciary which have no interest in which political party wins the elections, Malaysia cannot be a truly united country.
Suppression of electoral reforms is bad for the country, yet people who seek to suppress electoral reforms give themselves the appellation “Patriots”. This is really turning things on their egotistical heads. This is a classic example of bad governance made to look good by a compromised media controlled by the Prime Minister and his cronies. Malaysia seems to be a country ruled by dirty tricks and too much dirty tricks such that dirty tricks have now run riot and no one is able to control them any more – from dirty elections to dirty frogs to dirty sodomy charges to dirty videos to dirty TV stations, to dirty press to dirty judges and dirty policemen to dirty MACC officers to dirty EC officers, not least dirty politicians. Such small details need to be expressed and expressed well.
It is really sad to read reports of survivors of the Bersih 2.0 rally saying things like “we tried our best and gave it our best, but eventually it is the masses of people in the rural areas mind controlled by the media which is controlled by the cronies of the Prime Minister who will decide the future of the country”. Somewhere in this statement is the important realization that the struggle for electoral reforms is linked to a wider struggle for good governance and eventually to the struggle for a Malaysian leader who is a good statesman. This realization should bring hope, not sadness – so I am not going to be sad.
Somewhere in Bersih 2.0’s struggle for electoral reforms is the seed of a truly united, truly peaceful and dynamic Malaysia, not the Malaysia controlled by narrow racist Malay nationalism with people purposefully manipulated and divided by racial and religious hatreds. Malaysia will not be a Rwanda.
