BN will be different, pleads Dr M to voters amid predictions of BN's fall

Everywhere I go, in Malaysia and in foreign countries, people ask me when the elections will be held.

I wish I know but the Prime Minister has not told me anything, and in practise only the Prime Minister can determine the date. Of course it cannot go beyond the 5-year term of Parliament.

The next question is whether the Barisan Nasional will win. My answer is that it will win. But the margin is important. Malaysia cannot afford a hung Parliament, nor can it afford a weak Government. Both would be bad for Malaysia as everyone would be focusing on politics and the economy and development would be largely neglected.

Many say that the Alliance/Barisan Nasional has been in power too long. I would agree. I believe in not overstaying one’s welcome. But I am not so sure now whether this should apply in every circumstance.

Anwar & PR is frightening

It is because the alternative to Barisan Nasional is frightening. It is led by a man who is obsessed with becoming Prime Minister, no matter how. I had wondered why he joined UMNO instead of PAS. Now I know. He would do anything at all to become Prime Minister. By joining UMNO instead of PAS, which had never produced a Prime Minister, he could become Prime Minister simply by climbing the ladder of its leadership. And so immediately upon joining UMNO he contested for the position of Chief of UMNO Youth. Then he went for the Vice Presidency and then the Deputy President’s post. The next move was to overthrow the President and become the Prime Minister. It was all very simple.

But the Prime Minister did not seem to want to go. And so he began an underground campaign to demonise the Prime Minister. The rest, as they say, is history.

Now he is leading the opposition and hopes to be installed in Putrajaya as Prime Minister after the next election. I honestly don’t think he would be good for the country. And neither would the hotchpotch collection of Pakatan incompatible partnership be good for the country. Apart from the “I want to become Prime Minister” party, it includes a racist party and a religious party. They will be quarrelling with each other at every turn. They are not a coalition. They only `pakat` (plot) to help each other win the election. Already they are quarrelling as to who should become PM. They don’t subscribe to the idea that the biggest party should lead.

Leaders in DAP & PAS also ageing

But it is true that the Barisan Nasional has been in power a long time. So has PAS in Kelantan. Nobody can deny that the extraordinary development and prosperity of the nation today were achieved during the period Barisan Nasional was in power. One cannot say the same about the achievements of PAS in Kelantan.

The aging leaders of PAS and DAP have not changed for far longer than the leaders of Barisan Nasional and its components. Six Prime Ministers have led the Barisan Nasional Governments but during that time the DAP chief remained in place and refuses to let go. And the son will take over from him. There is a dynasty in the making.

The leaders of PAS have not changed during the Premiership of 4 Barisan Nasional leaders.

The leader of Keadilan styles himself as Adviser but installed his wife as President, with his daughter as Vice President. His intimate companion is the deputy. There is no indication of any change in leadership. Certainly not through the leaders stepping down.

Change must be internal as well as external. An external change alone is just window dressing. During the premiership of the 6 UMNO leaders, the policies followed by each were quite different. The Governments they led cannot be regarded as the same. Certainly their politics and economic creeds deferred greatly. And so do their foreign policies. In fact one can say that despite the name being the same, the Government of each Prime Minister is totally different from the others.

BN will change

The Barisan Nasional which will contest the 13th General Elections will not be the same Barisan Nasional as those of the previous five. It will be a different Barisan Nasional. So there will be changes.

But still the Barisan Nasional keeps the same basic policies and principles. BN parties practise democracy within the party and in the country. BN believes in free trade and the initiatives of the private sector. BN believes in inter-racial cooperation and the sharing of power. BN believes in fair distribution of wealth between the races. BN is business-friendly without neglecting the interests of other members of society.

Then it keeps itself open to innovations and new ideas including responding to the expressed views of the people which have resulted in changes and transformations. Only the blind would fail to see the differences between the top leaders of BN Governments.

Parties in BN free to join & leave

This is not a one-party state. The Barisan Nasional itself is made up of fourteen different parties. They can join and they can leave. There have been numerous parties formed in Malaysia during the time the Alliance and Barisan’s rule of this country. Some survive to this day despite not joining the Government coalition. Some, like the Socialist, disappeared. Some made it to Parliament while others never managed to get their candidates elected to Parliament or State Assemblies.

The surviving opposition parties never fail to win at least a few seats in every election. PAS has retained Kelantan though numerous elections and won twice in Trengganu. An indigenous party defeated the Barisan Nasional to set up a Government in Sabah. Penang was won by the Gerakan Party, then an opposition party.

Elections in Malaysia have never been dull. In 1969 the Alliance very nearly lost and of course in 2008 the Barisan Nasional lost in five states, one federal territory, and could not get a two-third majority at the federal level. Elections in Malaysia never result in the 99% support for the incumbent party. Indeed the opposition parties always won a considerable number of seats in every legislative body at state and federal levels.

How anyone can claim that Malaysia is a one party state is quite incomprehensible. True, the Alliance and the Barisan Nasional have won all federal elections. But this is a democratic country and if the people chose to re-elect the Government it is their democratic right. Electing the opposition to govern does not make Malaysia any more democratic nor would it constitute proof that we are a two-party state. The suggestion that electing the opposition in the next election would create a 2 party system in Malaysia is baseless. The opposition parties do not constitute one party, not even a coalition. They are only going to help each other win elections. They would remain distinct, each with its own policy and agenda. They may form a coalition Government but it would be a loose coalition without a coherent single agenda.

Change

Barak Obama promised change when elected. But he couldn’t even close down Guantanamo Bay or pull out of Iraq or Afghanistan immediately. He had to implement the surge planned by his predecessor. By the time he steps down nothing would have changed in the United States.

In Japan a clamour for change resulted in the LDP being defeated. But now the LDP is back, after only one term by the Democratic Party of Japan. The change of government did not improve the performance of Japan.

The idea that change must always be for the better is not always true. Milton Obote was said to be a bad President of Uganda. So Idi Amin seized power. He was worse and had to be forcibly removed by a rebel army.

Iraq was ruled by Saddam Hussain as a dictatorship. He was said to be very cruel. The United States decided there should be a regime change. This involved killing 200,000 innocent Iraqis and destroying their country.

There is a new Government now but it is doubtful that it is any better than that of Saddam. Where there was no confrontation between Sunnis and Shia under Saddam, there is now violent confrontation between the two, each bombing and killing the other.

There are lots of examples of regime changes but mostly nothing changed when the change takes place. Very few indeed are the examples of a change giving better results. As the French say “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” (the more they change, the more things remain the same).

Not necessary to change govt

It is not necessary to change Government merely to establish a two-party system. Those who have a two-party system are not doing any better. They still have economic and financial crises, they still have recessions and they still face street demonstrations and strikes.

I have said before, better the devil you know than the angel you don’t. The Barisan Nasional is not exactly a devil. This country has developed very well under Barisan Nasional rule. And when it did not, it very quickly removed the failed leader.

The elections provide us with an opportunity to impress upon the ruling party the need for it to change within itself. The message will be delivered, the warning will be made, and there will be positive responses.

Don't gamble on the unknown & untried

But in this country don’t gamble on the unknown and untried. The few opportunities that the opposition have been given have exposed their lack of skill and judgement. Kelantan has certainly not done well. As for Penang the little good that may be acknowledged is overshadowed by the many failures.

Elections are meant for the people to choose the party which will govern the country. The assumption is that the people know what is good for them. But in reality the majority of the people do not know. They vote either for their race, or party because of the propaganda they are exposed to. Only a small minority understand the issues and the quality of the parties contesting.

As a result, elections can result in the wrong party being elected to form the Government.

It is important, therefore, for the electorate to be given as much good information on the parties and their policies and records as is possible so they will make educated decisions.

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