Who likes CSAs?

 

Another confidence and supply agreement (CSA) has been signed between the government and 13 opposition and independent MPs.

The MPs are from Bersatu, including party president Muhyiddin Yassin, several former Bersatu lawmakers, and Muda’s Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

A CSA is an agreement between the government and MPs who aren’t necessarily in the same party or coalition to support each other.

Many people I’ve spoken to in Malaysia seem to have a negative perception of CSAs because they think that those who sign them are somehow selling out their support to the government of the day.

However, I beg to differ. I think a CSA is a perfect way for a government or country to move forward in a more centrist way instead of being too partisan.

In fact, our current government, which came into power in 2022, was formed with a CSA (even though everyone calls it a unity government).

Here, the signing MPs agree to support the current administration till 2027. In return, the administration promises to fulfil three things: tabling two constitutional amendments (limiting the PM’s term and separating the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor), and receiving equal constituency development funds.

CSA doesn't mean blind support

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim needs the support of as many MPs as he can get if he wants his administration to remain in power, at least till the next general election.

Remember, his administration is also formed with a CSA, and some other MPs have either resigned or pulled their support. So the situation is pretty fragile.

Now I would like all of you to think about it. When different MPs or political parties sign a CSA with the government, it isn’t just signing in to support blindly.

Firstly, they are not joining the winning party. They are still members of their own party and are autonomous. In the Bersatu MPs' case, they are all still in the opposition.

Secondly, because it is an agreement, both signatories bring their demands into the discussion.

As mentioned, the MPs want to limit the PM’s term, separate the AG and public prosecutor roles, and receive equal constituency funds, while the government wants their support for Budget 2027 and till the end of the current parliamentary term.

This is a compromise and a win-win situation in my eyes. Instead of the government being stalemated and the opposition just screaming into deaf ears without any action, things can start to move forward, at least as far as these issues are concerned.

Now do you see why I say that CSAs are the best method to achieve a centrist government?

Everyone plays nice

Even with the “unity government” we have right now, because Pakatan Harapan had to cooperate with other parties and coalitions (or else they couldn’t form the government), everything becomes a compromise.

All sides had to bring their issues to the table and negotiate which to push for and which needs to stay on the back burner.

I agree that this means certain reforms could take longer to implement (I too have had to deal with my frustrations on certain issues), but it still promises progress.

It may take a bit of a slow crawl to move forward, but we are moving forward. And if we want to be optimistic about it, a slow move towards progress is better than a sudden shock.

CSAs are not an unusual thing in democracy. In fact, many mature democracies use them much more regularly than Malaysia.

Some countries like Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, New Zealand, and more form governments utilising CSAs after almost every election. Some countries even have two presidents, like Switzerland.

When a government enters into a CSA, it should do so by valuing civil discussions and negotiations to come to a compromise for the people instead of holding on to power.

A CSA government allows this to happen because it also means that a government will only stay in power if everyone holds on to what has been agreed.

If any party decides to renege on what they signed on for, the whole government will fail to move forward, or even crumble. So everyone has to remain in a very give-and-take mentality, which bodes well for centrism.

In a way, everyone is in there as a check and balance because they all need each other to push their agendas.

Sign of maturity

So I like seeing CSAs being formed within the system. I take it as our country slowly maturing in the way we govern ourselves.

There are no longer a handful of big personalities who dictate everything because everyone has to listen to everyone (at least the number of these people is reducing!). When this happens, issues will be the driver instead of personalities.

Will there still be problems and challenges? Of course! We will never achieve perfection because that is impossible.

All we want is that we continue to progress and mature, and continuously learn to do so. One slow step forward after another is better than not moving forward at all, or worse, remaining stagnant. - Mkini

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ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.

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