What is a ‘unity govt’? Will it unite Malaysia?
Are you talking about an non-partisan unity government because you truly believe in it, or because that’s the only lifeline available to you now that may result in you staying in power?
Nathaniel Tan, The Star
Breaking days of silence in which he kept millions of Malaysians in suspense, interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad finally addressed the nation and gave some hint as to what political future he was trying to build.
In his speech, Dr Mahathir proposed the concept of what people seem to be calling a ‘unity government’. This term is not new, but it is not particularly well understood or fleshed out – a state of affairs that Dr Mahathir’s short speech did little to change.
It should be noted however, that Dr Mahathir did not technically use the term ‘kerajaan perpaduan’ in his speech; the words he used were ‘pemerintahan yang tidak memihak kepada mana-mana parti’, which may make ‘non-partisan government’ a more accurate term. Nevertheless, the term ‘unity government’ appears to be the one currently dominating public discourse.
To quote Dr Mahathir:“Politicians and political parties prioritise politics too much until they forget about the country, which is facing economic and health problems.
If I am given permission, this is what I will try.”
To be perfectly honest, these three paragraphs, taken out of the present context, in many ways represents exactly the type of sociopolitical innovation I have been writing about repeatedly for weeks and months now.
The depoliticisation of democracy is something needed not just in Malaysia, but throughout the world.
Shouldn’t those like me thus be rejoicing at Dr Mahathir’s speech?
While Dr Mahathir said many of the right things, the context in which he said them raises many serious concerns – four in particular, specifically.
The first problem concerns the timing of Dr Mahathir’s proposal.
If Dr Mahathir put forward these ideas weeks or months ago, when he was unquestioningly in control, and after carefully laying the foundational groundwork for such a concept, I think the effort would be seen as considerably more sincere.
