An Emergency that tolls the death knell for Vision 2020

 

I was one of those who applauded when Dr Mahathir Mohamad unveiled Vision 2020 – his trailblazing charter for a better, brighter Malaysia – on Feb 28, 1991.

The year 2020 seemed far away then, but the goals contained in Vision 2020 energised Malaysians, or, at the very least, the promises offered optimism for a bright future.

We are now at the tail end of 2020, but even a few years ago most Malaysians knew the vision had vanished. Over the last few years, things have gotten worse. For one, racial and religious differences have widened, causing immense tension. For another, the income gap between the rich and the poor has widened greatly.

In addition, corruption has hit an all time high, with a former prime minister convicted of graft and several other former leaders facing trial. The perception of double standards in the way politicians and ordinary people are treated has skyrocketed.

The political sphere is the most troubled. We saw the fall of one government and the formation of another via the back-door as the opposition calls it. We have seen MPs unashamedly jumping from one party to another for personal interest, and state governments changing hands due to this. We have a political climate in which many politicians care more for their profit than the wellbeing of their voters.

Now, unfolding events are making many Malaysians wonder if the country can sink lower than this.

There is talk that an Emergency will be declared, which many believe to stem from the self-interested games of politicians rather than a health or economic threat. What a shame!

We were supposed to be a developed country in 2020. Mahathir, in putting forth his vision for Malaysia that fateful day in 1991, laid down nine strategic challenges facing the nation.

In his words, “By the year 2020, Malaysia can be a united nation, with a confident Malaysian society, infused by strong moral and ethical values, living in a society that is democratic, liberal and tolerant, caring, economically just and equitable, progressive and prosperous, and in full possession of an economy that is competitive, dynamic, robust and resilient.”

Death knell for Vision 2020

How many of these have we achieved? Are we a developed nation now? Are we a confident society? Do we have a truly united Malaysia? Are we a nation of people practicing strong morals? Do we have an economically just and equitable society?

Don’t laugh.

And don’t weep either.

Save the tears for what is likely to come. The vision of a society that is democratic and liberal, which lost its shine years ago, now looks likely to be buried under an Emergency.

Reports say Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has proposed to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that His Majesty proclaim a state of emergency to enable the government to effectively tackle the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic tumult.

Muhyiddin, who heads the Perikatan Nasional government which is desperately trying to keep its head up in political quicksand, has not denied making such a request. Neither has any member of his Cabinet.

Should it come about, it will be the final death knell for Vision 2020 as a state of emergency will drastically impact our economy, our democracy and our rights.

Mahathir himself admitted in January this year that Vision 2020 had not been achieved, although, he said, Malaysia had made much progress since 1991.

True, there has been progress, one of which is the creation of a large middle class. I won’t go into the details about the failure here as it will take up too much space.

Let me say, though, that Mahathir went on to blame his two successors for the failure, especially their “approaches” over the past 10 years. From what I’ve heard and read, many Malaysians lay a major portion of the blame for the failure of Vision 2020 and our present predicament on him.

How Mahathir destroyed his own Vision

I have to agree with his former deputy both in government and in Umno, Musa Hitam, who said as early as February 2016 that Mahathir was both the creator and destroyer of Vision 2020.

Musa, who was deputy prime minister from 1981 to 1986, made a cogent comment: “Brilliant as he was, he forgot that in order to succeed, he needed to train leaders at all levels, but most importantly, political leaders.

“His personal leadership record shows that he did away with all potential leaders and retained and trained followers. It is mostly these trained followers that had taken over the leadership of the country.”

We know that Muhyiddin was Mahathir’s trusted ally in PPBM, until the former decided to break ranks and form the Perikatan Nasional government by teaming up with Umno and PAS.

Mahathir has now joined the outpouring of protest against the possible declaration of an Emergency. Those against it note that there is no security threat to the nation nor its economy and that existing laws are more than adequate to handle the situation.

Muhyiddin has been heavily criticised for taking this path, with some saying it shows up his government’s failure to handle the Covid-19 situation and others suggesting that if he can’t handle it, he should just hand power over to someone who can.

Umno veteran Tenku Razaleigh Hamzah warns: “If the prime minister were to get his way in imposing the proposed state of emergency, as an economist and the former minister of finance and former minister of international trade and industry (and former chairman of the World Bank and IMF), I can say with some certainty that it may be the ‘final nail in the coffin’ of our already battered economy.”

Many non-political upstanding citizens, including Zainur Zakaria, Sheriff Kassim, Ambiga Sreenevasan, Kuthubul Zaman, Lim Chee Wee and Ragunath Kesavan, have expressed concern too,

What will the King and Rulers do?

The palace has issued a statement saying the King will discuss the proposals from Muhyiddin with the Malay rulers soon.

What is interesting is this sentence in the statement: “(The rulers) will discuss and refine the proposals presented by Tan Sri Muhyiddin.”

You can look at it in several ways, one of which is that the King is not going to accept wholesale the proposal put forth by Muhyiddin.

I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve read reports quoting people learned in the law as saying that the King is obliged to listen to the advice of the prime minister. This appears to limit what the King can do.

Whatever it is, I’m sure the King and the Malay rulers will thoroughly examine the need for Muhyiddin’s proposal – no matter what name it is given and in whatever form – to handle the Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant economic damage.

We have a wise King, a compassionate person, and I believe he – and the Malay rulers – will take into consideration the interest of the people and the long-term effect of any decision made.

In the debate on such a significant issue with wide ramifications, I would appeal to His Majesty and the rulers to listen to the voices of the Sheriff Kassims and Zainur Zakarias, and not that of the Makcik Kiahs.- FMT

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.