The challenges facing the MCLM

Those elected into office are people’s representatives or wakil rakyat. That means they work for the rakyat or people and are paid salaries from our tax money. Politicians tend to forget this. And the MCLM will keep bugging them to ensure that they remember this.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) is not going to face an easy road ahead. Even before it can take over there will be attempts to shoot it down. Will the MCLM be bombed even as it is still taxiing on the runaway and before it can take off?

That would be a scenario we must be prepared for and it will not surprise me one bit if that happens.

Politicians by nature are very selfish and extremely protective of their turf. If the MCLM is seen as a competitor then expect very little cooperation from the political parties. No one likes to share power. And why should the politicians share power if they think they can attain power on their very own without any second or third parties crowding the field?

At best the MCLM will be seen as a pressure group, constantly telling the politicians how the country should be run. And it will be worse if the MCLM is seen as a player that will be vying for the same votes that the political parties need to get into office.

Either way the MCLM will be viewed as a nuisance that the politicians do can without.

Why should the politicians ‘take orders’ from another group of people? And that is how they will perceive it -- another group of people who are going to dictate what they can and cannot do, a pressure group that is going to constantly bug them on how the affairs of the nation should be managed.

In a business organisation there are checks and balances. The CEO or managing director can’t run the business any old how he or she wishes. There will be a board of directors, shareholders’ meetings, annual reports to be published, accounts to be audited, and external auditors who will go through the account books with a fine-tooth comb and come out with their auditor's reports with their opinion on how the financial matters of the business has been managed.

In spite of these many layers of checks and balances mismanagement and fraud still exists. Some get caught and face the long arm of the law. Many go undetected and no one is the wiser.

It will be nice if one owns a sole proprietorship. Then you are not accountable to anyone and can run the business the way you wish. But when you are managing a public-owned organisation and have stakeholders to answer to, then you can’t manage the organisation as if it is, as Malaysians would say, your grandfather’s business.

Unfortunately, in Malaysia the concept of a public organisation or public-owned company is not yet fully understood. They may be public companies listed on the stock exchange. But many, if not most, are run as if they are private limited companies or sole proprietorships.

And this is partly the fault of the stakeholders. They do not know their rights or understand how public companies should be managed. So they allow the directors of public companies to run these businesses as if they are family concerns or sole proprietorships.

This same culture exists in politics. Those who head political parties have the impression that ‘this is my party’. So they run the parties the way they would a sundry shop that is accountable to no one other than the man who owns it entirely.

A lot of reorientation and re-education is required. We talk about good governance, transparency and accountability. But many do not grasp the meaning of these concepts. Worse still, many do not see the value of all this and feel that these are not important. What is important is that the Barisan Nasional hegemony is broken and we get to change the federal government.

Yes, I agree, that is what we want to do. That is what we must do. But no one is able to offer any suggestions as to how to do that.

While I do not dispute what must be done, I would rather focus on how it is going to be done. No one wants to talk about that. They simplify the argument by saying that let us just focus on getting Barisan Nasional out and send Pakatan Rakyat to Putrajaya.

Well and fine. I am okay with that. In fact, I agree that this is our aim. But can someone explain to me how that is going to be done?

Simple, the argument goes, just make sure that there are no three-corner fights. Just make sure that Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat engage in straight fights. That will ensure Pakatan Rakyat gets to form the next federal government.

If it is that easy and if that is all it takes then why has Barisan Nasional (and the Alliance Party before that) managed to hold on to power for 53 years? There were many straight fights over the last 53 years (with some three-corner fights here and there). But still Barisan Nasional swept in.

Of course, making sure that there are no three-corner fights and only straight fights is crucial. But that is only one requirement. It is not the only requirement. Many more things are required to ensure that we see a change of federal government in the next election.

The recent Galas by-election was a straight fight. Yet the opposition lost what was originally an opposition seat. There was no MCLM or third force in the Batu Sapi by-election. Yet there was a three-corner fight. And the Barisan Nasional share of the votes was larger than the combined votes of both the opposing candidates. So even if there was no three-corner fight Barisan Nasional would have still won.

The political parties focus on winning the elections. That is not the main concern of the MCLM. Of course, we would like to see a change of government, just like you. But we will allow the voters to decide what type of government they want. What the MCLM will instead focus on will be what happens AFTER the general election.

Yes, that is what we want to talk about. You, the voters, and the political parties, go settle whom you want as the new government. When that new government is formed will be when the work of the MCLM starts. The MCLM will let the voters decide on the government. The MCLM will then ensure that the government delivers it election promises.

Call us the auditor if you wish. Maybe that is a better word than third force, which makes many people nervous. The stakeholders choose their board of directors. We will audit the board of directors to make sure they don’t cheat the stakeholders.

But we can’t sit back and just wait. We can’t play a hands-off role and wait to spring into action only after the voters have made their decision. The work has to start now. We have to make sure that even as the business is being mooted we get the right people to sit on the board as directors.

We must teach the politicians that election promises are not made just to entice the voters to vote for them, after which they can forget about all these promises once the election is over. We must teach the politicians that election promises are going to be carved in stone and that we shall hold them accountable if they fail to deliver on these promises.

Those elected into office are people’s representatives or wakil rakyat. That means they work for the rakyat or people and are paid salaries from our tax money. Politicians tend to forget this. And the MCLM will keep bugging them to ensure that they remember this.

And this will mean the MCLM will be a most unwelcome addition to the Malaysian political scene. And we shall face a lot of resistance because of it. But we shall have to face this resistance and push back hard.

Let the MCLM be seen as the enemy of the politicians if it has to come to that. Never mind, we shall not concern ourselves with that minor obstacle. After all, which board of directors love their auditors? Auditors are a nuisance whom pry into matters which they should keep their noses out of. But without the necessary evil of the auditors the organisation would be run into the ground at the expense of the stakeholders.

No, I do not expect the MCLM to be welcomed with open arms. But this is not a popularity contest and we are not concerned one bit whether the politicians love us or hate us -- and hate us they most likely will.

But when we eventually do see a change of government the voters will need the MCLM to keep the new powers-that-be in check and ensure that power does not go to their heads. And if we do not see a change of government then it would not matter anyway. Then we can continue to play the role we have been playing these last three decades by being a thorn in the side of Barisan Nasional.