On GE13

Most of BN’s electoral promises can be found in their previous manifestoes for general elections since at least the 1980s. The BN solution to all of our problems is as follows: firstly, deny that there is a problem and crisis of confidence as to where we are heading as a nation; secondly, simply spend money that is not there to buy the peoples’ support and loyalty; and thirdly, maintain the status quo under an elaborate charade of reform. 

Gerard Lourdesamy 

The 13th general election is upon us in three weeks time. The 5th of May 2013 like the 31st of August 1957 is a defining moment in our nation’s history. After 56 years of near total domination of our political life first by the Alliance and then the Barisan Nasional (BN), the people of this great land have a historic opportunity to vote for change rather than piece-meal transformation and guarded reforms.

The nation’s institutions and economy are in tatters. The Constitutional checks and balances guaranteed and envisioned by our founding fathers lie in ruin thanks to innumerable amendments to our charter of liberty and freedom, by successive BN governments. These amendments were calculated to entrench power in the hands of an all-powerful and yet unaccountable Executive with a subservient and unrepresentative police force and state security apparatus to instil fear and carry out retribution against persons or organisations perceived to be a threat to the vested interests of the ruling elite. In the process the regulatory role of Parliament was relegated to a rubber stamp; the rulers rendered powerless; the courts were emasculated and the media subjugated and controlled to the point of insignificance. Credible journalism in this country predicated on fairness, impartiality and integrity is long dead.

Against this backdrop of institutional decline, we have seen our economy get less and less competitive amidst an environment of over-regulation and ineffective enforcement, endemic corruption, inefficiency and weaknesses; leakages arising from a lack of transparency and accountability; and a bloated civil service that is incapable of improving itself thanks to inbred inertia, the absence of integrity and the inability to remain impartial and impervious to political pressure and influence. Corruption is accepted as a reality and a guarantee of upward social mobility and entry to elite circles resplendent with an extravagant and impressive lifestyle that is the envy of many ordinary Malaysians.

Rather than tackle fundamental and institutional problems with our economy largely caused by the distortion of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and its successor policies; the lack of innovation and research; a moribund and unproductive workforce which lacks proper tertiary education and skills training; and the inability to compete with the emerging economies, that has caused us to be left behind in terms of direct foreign investment and is leading us into stagnation and a middle income wage trap despite the overly optimistic target of fully developed status by 2020, the BN has chosen to tinker with economic planning and policy simply to protect the interests of various competing groups within UMNO who have simply high-jacked the Malay agenda in order to enrich themselves, their families and cronies.

Very often the fear of being unable to achieve the questionable equity targets set by the NEP and the perception that economic power is still in the hands of the Chinese and foreigners, is used as an excuse to perpetuate a culture of mediocrity and malaise but with incessant demands for closed or negotiated tenders for mega projects valued at billons of ringgit at the expense of transparency and ability to perform and deliver. Mismanagement and wastage is swept under the carpet while corruption and abuse of power often goes unreported and unpunished.

It is this culture of patronage and political largesse that has caused us to lose tens of billions of ringgits in failed economic ventures and other projects including speculative trading in currency and commodities, that has not benefitted the people by any measure. Successive bail-outs of well connected personalities and cheap credit and loans to companies that are abject failures have not helped empower the Malays either economically or socially. The beneficiaries are simply extensions of the ruling elite in UMNO or the BN through ubiquitous front companies both on and off shore. The ordinary Malays and Bumiputera in the kampongs, fishing villages and rural areas have not benefitted from these so-called attempts to create a Malay super-rich entrepreneurial class with the ability to compete nationally and globally who would invariable help the poorer Malays and Bumiputera with business and employment opportunities.

While eradication of poverty is much touted by the BN, we still have a very long way to go thanks to the increasing income disparity between and within various ethnic groups in the country where a disproportionate number of Malays and East Malaysian natives followed by Indians and some Chinese live on meagre incomes and appalling living conditions.

Access to minimum standards of housing, proper sanitation and basic utilities is still lacking in many parts of the country and is shockingly bad in Sabah and Sarawak where the incidence of poverty is at its highest despite these two states being rich in natural resources like oil, gas and timber.

Our education system is in disarray where most of our local graduates thanks to an over regulated and controlled education system that discourages critical and analytical thinking, compounded by the total absence of academic freedom and integrity among a great many of our professors and lecturers who are appointed not on merit, ability, experience or academic excellence but rather on political affiliation, sympathy and unquestioning loyalty to the ruling party that is often confused with the government, are unable to perform and compete in the private sector and have to be assumed into the civil service to reduce unemployment and avoid a political backlash, where they invariably perform below par and cause innumerable problems within the service.

The poor command of the English language and the declining standards of learning in that language thanks to misguided nationalistic education policies in the 70s and 80s have caused our students and graduates to compare poorly to their counterparts even from non-traditional English speaking countries like Indonesia and Thailand.

These poor language skills are evident when communication with foreigners and foreign governments is impeded because of a lack of knowledge and confidence to speak, write and use good and proper English. Our diplomatic service is a clear example where apart from its unrepresentative character, our diplomats seem to keep to themselves and do the country a great disservice by failing to interact with their host governments, business community, think tanks and media to promote our national interests simply because they are not confident to speak in English or any other foreign language. Instead their role is limited to hosting receptions and celebrations for visiting dignitaries and their spouses and on national festive occasions.

Healthcare and health related services have become mired in a lack of qualified specialists in government hospitals, poor facilities, lack of beds, rising costs of care and medicines and the limited access to such facilities in rural areas. Instead of attempting to provide free universal healthcare or at least a system that will protect the lower income group from high medical costs while providing them with adequate access, the BN is more interested in privatisation and other absurd policies aimed at rationalisation but at the same time benefitting cronies of the government.

As a country rich in natural resources and talent despite the increasing brain-drain thanks to the BN’s deadwood policies since the 1970s, most Malaysians are still told to wait for an economic, social and political transformation that will propel us to greater heights and eventually developed country status in 2020, provided the BN remains in power, since it seems that only the BN has the monopoly over development, the ability to deliver on promises and guarantee peace, security and stability.

But this message of the BN that resonates throughout its unimpressive manifesto for the 13th general election is nothing new or transformative. It is nothing but a continuation of the slew of promises and handouts promised in the last four successive budgets under Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and also in the 10th Malaysia Plan approved by Parliament.

In fact most of BN’s electoral promises can be found in their previous manifestoes for general elections since at least the 1980s. The BN solution to all of our problems is as follows: firstly, deny that there is a problem and crisis of confidence as to where we are heading as a nation; secondly, simply spend money that is not there to buy the peoples’ support and loyalty; and thirdly, maintain the status quo under an elaborate charade of reform or transformation with a glitzy media campaign and creating numerous government linked bodies, agencies and companies to perpetuate the myth of change and reform.

While no one can begrudge Prime Minister Najib Razak’s efforts to tinker at a micro level with our fundamental economic, social and political demands and problems, he regrettably has failed to deliver on anything of substance at a macro level simply because he is beholden to vested interests and he is afraid of confronting the old guard in UMNO headed by the despotic former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir has proven time and again to be a master politician and tactician, far better than even Najib Razak or Anwar Ibrahim put together. He appeals to the base instincts of the Malays who fear a loss of political power if UMNO/BN loses the elections; the heightened demands of the Chinese and Indian minorities; and the overdependence on the natives of Sabah and Sarawak who are neither Malay nor Muslim. Mahathir’s only concern at present is his legacy and his multi-billion dollar worth children who undoubtedly benefitted from his 22 years in office. The nation comes a poor second and the people probably third in his scheme of things. He wants to perpetuate the myth of UMNO as the only saviour and defender of the Malays while pretending to fight for the Malay economic cause.

The reality is of course different. His duplicity is clear for all to see. While he berates the Chinese and Indians, he has and continues to favour his cronies from these communities. He plays the race and religion card like a puppet master with Malay nationalist NGOs like Perkasa and others backing him unreservedly and doing his bidding which directly and indirectly benefits UMNO and the BN to the detriment of race relations and Najib’s attempts to be more inclusive and embrace all ethnic groups under his 1 Malaysia campaign. And yet others like the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin are happy to undermine the Prime Minister at every turn with the blessing of Mahathir to perpetuate the narrow nationalistic, communalistic and at times racist ideology of Malay supremacy and dominance which has succeeded in alienating the non-Malays and also the East Malaysian natives to a large degree.

UMNO is incapable of reform as long as Mahathir and the old guard continue to pursue their own agenda within the party. UMNO’s domineering nature has weakened the BN and while the BN may have cohesion and discipline, the coalition members lack the freedom to disagree with and digress from the UMNO led agenda for nation building. Under the disguise of consensus and consociationalism, the BN component parties have become servile to UMNO even to the point of sacrificing the interests of the ethnic groups they represent in order to simply preserve their status, standing and benefits from being in government with UMNO.

There is at present a wide disconnect between the people and their leaders. BN has and will continue to practice a top down type of limited democracy where the people are the servants of their political masters and are expected to remain always loyal and grateful to the ruling elite for their leadership and benevolence. In fact the BN in the last three decades has established itself in the model of a neo-fascist regime where the cult of leaders is actively encouraged in a climate of fear and oppression with a subservient media whose only role is to perpetuate a culture of undying loyalty and gratitude to the ruling party.

The excesses and extravagance of the ruling elite has no limits. And this extends to their children and cronies as well. Despite claiming to be an Islamic country, UMNO pays scant regard to the key tenets of Islam which is moderation, piety, justice and fairness to Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Corruption and abuses of power are justified in the national interest and even religious scholars are roped in justify policies of the government that are not beneficial to the people as a whole and probably offensive to core Islamic values.

While I do not wish to trumpet the promises made by the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in their manifesto which like the BN is populist and short of facts, figures and reality, it at least offers a genuine promise of change and reform. While the PR may not be perfect and at times appears disunited and disjointed, which may be due to its component parties’ unique and competing ideologies and diverse interests, coupled with lack of experience in governance until 2008, they are at least making an attempt to restore sanity and normalcy to our national way of life by advocating greater democracy and freedom, respect for the rule of law and human rights, eliminating corruption, abuses, wastage and leakages in our economy and most importantly restoring social justice by way of a needs based approached as opposed to a race based one, which has failed the BN since the inception of the NEP.

While PR has to put up with constant criticism and bad press; divisions and infighting; listless leadership at times; and even poor handling of national issues amidst competing demands from ethic groups and core constituents, it has succeeded in creating a greater awareness among the people of our rights in a seemingly democratic society and our quest for economic and social justice, fairness and equitable treatment. People have become more responsive to national issues and have started to question, criticise and condemn. While at times there is a great deal of untruths and slander being bandied about by both sides of the political divide, people are less concerned about the sexual proclivities of our leaders but more about the direction and future of our country.

Not all in Malaysia is bad just as not all in Malaysia is good. The voters have to be discerning and wise in making their choice. The results must be respected by both sides provided the elections themselves are free and fair by minimum international standards. While we cannot depend entirely on so-called independent institutions like the Election Commission (EC), the police and the media to guarantee a free and fair poll, we must ourselves keep watch and guard over the electoral process to ensure that it is free from abuse and corruption. The voters must come out in high numbers and give a decisive victory to whichever coalition they feel is the right choice to govern and lead this country into our future.

The time has come to move away from old and decaying things and move towards something new, full of promise and dynamism that is guaranteed to provide us with an exciting and challenging five years ahead.