When the Selangor gov't comes under 'friendly fire'

Listening non-stop to the Selangor state assembly proceedings afforded a number of observations.

The first few concern a brief comparison between the current (Pakatan Rakyat) and the last (BN) state government.

In 2004, there were only two non-BN representatives in the House - one of whom is now the speaker, and the other who is still its most animated member. This should serve as a reminder to all as to how quickly political fortunes can change.

In those days, the longest sitting was four days. The shortest? Half a day.

While I confess that such an arrangement benefits those of us who have to cover every proceeding, it cannot possibly be very good for a functioning democracy.

Most of the full two weeks used in this most recent sitting was given to representatives questioning the government.

In Parliament, we see the opposition playing their role to ask these unrelenting questions and providing a merciless check and balance.

My friend and former colleague, the member from Seri Setia, accurately noted however that in the Selangor legislature, it is the Pakatan backbenchers who do the most rigorous grilling of the state government.

Many issues were raised by these hardworking representatives. A number of them were very local in nature.

I think the number of answers posed to the exco member in charge of local government speaks to how close those issues are to the people.

This emphasised to me the importance of bringing back local elections, so that local councillors can be better empowered and held accountable for issues surrounding local government.

Without local elections, the state assembly is almost the only place where democratically elected representatives can bring the concerns of the people to a larger, public forum.

Of course, this is not the original purpose of a legislative assembly. That purpose is to enact laws, not attend to drains, roads and monkeys (a very earnest debate about the latter was one of the more memorable, if hard to believe, moments).

Less one-upmanship, please

Another phenomenon that seems to take a lot of time is representatives asking for more allocations for this or for that.

I’m not sure if this is productive. Firstly because it doesn’t seem entirely within the purview of the intended function of the legislature. Secondly, and more importantly (albeit possibly only relevant to this particular administration), I don’t think these requests really seem to be entertained in the least.

Like many other (long, detailed, and again, long) things said, it sometimes feels like representatives only say things to have it on public record and to be able to say that they said it.

I cannot help but feel that the general public would not be too interested in the large majority of what goes on in the House. Even the reporters are probably hard pressed to find something interesting to write at times.

I have long felt that many of today’s political structures are outdated and do not reflect well the social realities of the day.

As one of very few democratic public spaces, perhaps there can be ways to make the discourse within the legislature more relevant to the public.

Perhaps the House can also become a place where - without sacrificing the check and balance nature of the legislature - the large collection of talented minds can be collaboratively tapped to jointly find solutions to public problems.

Such pursuits strike me as more productive than constant political one-upmanship.

Of course to truly institute such reforms would require significant overhaul of the concept and structure of the Westminster system - the details of which while are of great personal interest, clearly lie beyond the scope of the article.

Colourful insiders

I would like to include a brief, indulgent section for the edification of assembly representatives and ‘insiders’ - those who like me had to endure nearly every second of the entire ordeal.

There are clearly a few ‘nerds’, and I use the term most affectionately. By this I mean people who take the proceedings extremely seriously.

This attitude - while sometimes costing us greatly in terms of time - has its own endearing qualities.

The five best examples of this I term the Furious Five: Bangi, Hulu Kelang, Kajang, Kampung Tunku, and our very own Dragon Warrior, Sekinchan (right).

I like all these five individuals. I also daresay not 15 minutes will pass in the House without one of them standing to comment.

There are plenty of other representatives who are also eminently active, but I posit that these five - between them intellectuals, academics, nitpickers, cross-cultural activists and so on - are a cut above.

Without them, the sitting would have probably concluded in approximately half the time.

A precious few BN representatives demonstrated actual substance, though in varying amounts. Some of them I met and seemed nice.

Some representatives displayed less class than can be found in a local truck driver or durian seller.

The representative from Batang Kali was officially reprimanded for saying to Bukit Lanjan something like “Baik you jaga hutan you sendiri”, a statement that was found to be sexist.

Speaker Teng Chang Khim was mercilessly strict as usual - some would say his headmaster persona was on occasion needlessly cruel, but there is no doubt the House is run as a tight ship.

The last day of the sitting proceeded in similar fashion as the last day of the Dewan Rakyat sitting, where representatives milled about like students on their last day of school, taking photos and being sentimental.

Clearly there was a palpable camaraderie among this community of individuals and this somewhat insular process they went through a few times a year - a process that was far from hidden, yet still seldom seen, experienced or understood by others outside the circle.

Nevertheless, the sincere among them continued to try and make the best of the process they could, and took comfort in the company of one another.

While we hope that every public institution, including this one, will improve in quality over time, I’m sure many will always remember the ‘good old days’ of the first ever non-BN Selangor state assembly.