Perak MB's ouster - are we supposed to be thrilled?

 

The news that Ahmad Faizal Azumu lost a vote of confidence in the state assembly took most Perakians by surprise. 

There have been rumours at almost every state assembly sitting during his term as head of the Perak Pakatan Harapan government that he might be toppled. But nothing happened then. On Friday, however, he lost a confidence motion against him by 48 to 10.

Several community leaders whom PSM has been working with called to discuss the matter. Is this beneficial to us? They wanted my opinion. I replied to them with a question - was Faizal implementing a policy that was beneficial to you? 

The B40 group in Sg Siput has been asking since BN times for a rent-to-own housing scheme. Their appeals have not elicited a positive response from BN, Pakatan Harapan and Perikatan Nasional (PN) governments. 

The Orang Asli communities in Pos Piah and Jalong Tinggi (both in Sg Siput) have been appealing to the government to intervene and stop logging near their kampungs. Faizal had told the press how much he cares for the Orang Asli while continuing to approve new areas for logging. 

Small vegetable farmers in Perak have appealed to him to intervene and stop their impending eviction - but to no avail. Despite a couple of dozen letters, Faizal hasn’t once met any of these farmers’ groups. 

It is clear that he hasn’t been a great supporter of these groups in need. But is there any reason for us to rejoice? Will Faizal's replacement, who will probably come from Umno ranks, be more receptive to the people's requests? 

Will the new menteri besar use his vast powers over land matters to offer land to the federal Housing Ministry to build rent-to-own houses for Perak's B40? Or to approve the gazetting of 300 acres of land for each Orang Asli village in Perak? 

Or to ensure that all farmers involved in food production be given security of tenure in the form of long term leases that enjoin them to use the land only for food production? 

The new MB could do all of this, as according to our Federal Constitution, land is the prerogative of the state government. But will he?

Up till now, the political elite at the state level has used their power over land to enrich themselves and receive huge kickbacks from loggers, property developers and industrialists who require permits or grants to land. 

There is no mechanism within the National Land Code that acts as an effective check-and-balance mechanism to the menteri besar’s overwhelming power. As it now stands, the MB together with the land office and director of forestry do not have to answer to anyone regarding their decisions concerning land.

Will the incoming MB be any different? Will he put the interests of the B40, the Orang Asli and the small farmers above his need to amass a huge war chest for the impending general elections? 

Or will Harapan save the day by pledging support for an Umno MB in return for promises to seriously address the problems of all these groups in need?

Optimism is a positive trait but not when it leads to foolishly unrealistic expectations. Power will concede only when challenged - when the people forge a multi-ethnic grassroots movement that puts social justice and inclusion as its first priorities. 

Good policies have to be “bottom-up”! The ordinary citizen cannot just rely on the magnanimity of the elite. Unfortunately for Malaysia, we have drifted away from the goal of building a multi-ethnic grassroots movement ever since May 2018.

There is really no reason for ordinary Perak citizens to be enthused about the disposal of Faizal. On the other hand, there is much to fear. It is quite possible that no one can put Humpty Dumpty together again and form a state government that has majority support. 

In that case, the Perak Sultan might have no choice but to dissolve the state assembly which would mean that an election date has to be announced within 60 days. 

We all saw how the Sabah elections fanned the Covid-19 epidemic. Most Perakians do not want that re-enacted here. Not only will many get sick, but the economy will again be crippled by lockdown measures and many will suffer economic loss.

And if state elections are held, will the main contenders - BN, Harapan, PAS and Bersatu play fair and use rational arguments, or will they leverage existing ethnic apprehensions and misgivings to paint the other side as an evil threat? 

That would take us even further away from building a multi-ethnic political movement - the only movement that has the potential to heal the wounds we have inflicted upon ourselves and build the cross-ethnic, cross-religious consensus that we need to steer this country towards greater harmony, justice and inclusiveness.

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DR JEYAKUMAR DEVARAJ is PSM national chairperson. - Mkini

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.