Skirting conflict in govt lands PM in conflict of interests

 

From Ibrahim M Ahmad

Rafizi Ramli’s defence of Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to keep the finance portfolio for himself should alarm discerning Malaysians.

At a press conference held after his appointment as economic affairs minister, the PKR deputy president said that while “ideally” the prime minister should not also hold the finance portfolio, Anwar was compelled to do so due to “extraordinary circumstances”.

He said Anwar named himself finance minister to prevent a “conflict” among the coalitions and parties within his unity government. Apparently, every one of them had eyes on the finance portfolio.

For starters, who is Rafizi trying to fool?

The finance portfolio was only ever going to be contested by the two biggest components of the unity government – Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN).

It also seems that Rafizi has not properly applied his mind to the matter at hand.

Going by what he said, the prime minister simply skirted a potential conflict between PH and BN by appointing himself finance minister. In doing so, however, he only succeeded in subjecting himself to a conflict of interests.

In a bid to explain this away, Rafizi, speaking at a ceramah in Kulim on Monday night, sought to assure Malaysians that Anwar will not abuse his position the way Najib Razak did, as apparently, the prime minister was of a “different character and upbringing”.

Rafizi’s message is a poor one, and Malaysians hoping for reform will be left disappointed.

For all his song and dance about accountability and transparency, it is clear that – despite the change of government – politics and governance in Malaysia continue to be centred around personalities, not principles.

Leadership gurus teach that governance premised on the personalities of its leaders brings about inconsistency, inequity and erratic behaviour. This in turn translates to a lack of trust, poor decision-making, and relationship issues.

On the other hand, principle-based governance generates a consistent way of getting things done and interacting with others. Personalities may come and go, but the principles on which the organisation is premised are firm and never waver.

When it won the general election in 2018, PH laid down a firm principle that the prime minister must not himself hold a portfolio.

Sticking to this principle, its then prime minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamed, was prevented by his own coalition colleagues from taking up the education portfolio he was eyeing.

Today, PH has chosen to abandon the very principle it introduced four years ago.

It goes without saying that the posts of prime minister and the finance minister are the two primary positions in any government.

This is clearly reflected in the UK by the fact that the holders of those two high offices occupy Nos. 10 and 11, Downing Street, respectively. No UK politician has ever occupied both units at the same time, and for good reason.

Good governance dictates that the prime minister ought not to be finance minister.

Chief among them is the threat that the holder of those two offices may find himself repeatedly burdened by conflicting interests.

Najib’s tenure in the dual role of premier and finance minister has clearly demonstrated that the powers of both those offices, when combined and vested in one man, are potent and prone to severe abuse.

Such a conflict of interests cannot be resolved simply by reference to the personality of the prime minister. Indeed, every prime minister would claim he has the correct disposition to hold both offices simultaneously. Najib would have been no different.

The cold, hard truth is that to avoid a conflict of interests, the prime minister cannot also under any circumstance hold the key to the treasury.

In the context of a unity government, the holders of these offices should also not belong to the same party and coalition.

Strict adherence allows for a higher level of checks and balances within government.

Anwar’s government must show that it has the conviction to govern according to sound principles. - FMT

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