Remain neutral, otherwise we will lose a valuable force for checks and balance in society, says Tunku Zain Al-Abidin.
KUALA LUMPUR: Civil society members were cautioned today against becoming part of the government, at the risk of losing their credibility by doing so.
Tunku Zain Al-Abidin Tuanku Mukhriz, founding president of IDEAS, said that after Pakatan Harapan had come to power, many civil society members had sought government positions.
He noted that both IDEAS and Bersih 2.0 had lost people to politics and the government.
The think tank’s chief exeuctive, Wan Saiful Wan Jan, had joined PPBM as the party’s deputy chief strategist, while Bersih 2.0 chair and Maria Chin Abdullah was elected MP for Petaling Jaya, contesting under the PKR banner.
Tunku Zain said such a trend would be dangerous to society: “If this continues, we will lose a valuable force for checks and balance in society.
“You (members of civil society organisations) might lose credibility because you’ll be complicit if the government does a lot of horrible things and goes back into authoritarian mode,” he said at a forum on “The Importance of a Strong Opposition for a Vibrant Democracy”, organised by the Bar Council.
Civil society should retain good individuals and not clamour to join the government, he said.
‘Dugus with doctorates’
Universiti Malaya associate professor Azmi Sharom criticised some civil society organisations which had changed their tune after Pakatan Harapan won power in the federal government and many states.
Prior to the May 9 elections, the National Council of Professors was full of praise for prime minister Najib Razak, saying he was steering the country in the right direction.
But after Pakatan Harapan took over, the council began to speak about change being good for the country.
“There are real ‘dungus’ (idiots) in civil society and most of them have doctorates,” noted Azmi, a popular public speaker and newspaper columnist who himself has a PhD.
Azmi said members of civil society should stand by their convictions, no matter who formed the government of the day, adding he found it hilarious to see some players in civil society “blow with the wind”. -FMT
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