Is a ‘no contest’ rule part of the Malaysian way?

From Nehru Sathiamoorthy

Umno has recently tested the Malaysian way by disallowing contests for the top two positions in the party. The decision is clearly against general democratic principles, but Umno’s argument is that it is not inconsistent with the Malaysian way.

To justify its claim, Umno will probably state that a no-contest decision had been implemented before, not only in Umno, but in parties such as PKR and DAP as well and that if Malaysians did not object to it then, then we have no grounds to object to it now.

The “no contest” culture is believed to have been introduced during the Mahathir Mohamad era.

Since then, it has gained widespread political acceptance. It is not uncommon for party leaders to seek a no-contest decision at the top, either formally or informally.

Anwar Ibrahim of PKR and Lim Guan Eng of DAP have never been challenged in their party elections. I doubt if Lim Kit Siang was ever challenged, either, while he reigned in DAP.

Some people seem to believe that this no-contest culture hearkens back to feudalistic times. I disagree.

The lords or kings in the feudal era were not challenged, because they were seen to be people made special by supernatural forces, from the time of their very birth.

I don’t think that we see Mahathir or Kit Siang as special people who were created superior by supernatural forces.

Rather, the “no contest” culture might have actually come about as a reaction against our feudal past. It is no coincidence that Mahathir was the first leader in the “no contest” era.

He was the first commoner to rule Malaysia. Previous prime ministers came from a royal or noble background, and trained at colonial institutions where they were probably inculcated with such virtues as gentlemanliness and being a good sport.

However, Mahathir the commoner was probably more accustomed to the ways of “riding the tiger”, by which a commoner with an ambition, vision or plan must go on a do-or-die mission. Defeat is not an option.

You will have to eliminate everybody who stands in your way by any means necessary. You can either be democratic, gentlemanly and sportsman-like, or you can have ambition, vision and plan. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.

“Riding the tiger” is part of the Malaysian cultural landscape. If we see a leader not acting gentlemanly, not being sportsman-like or democratic, it is not necessarily the case that we will view it negatively.

However, acceptance is not a blank cheque. We will abide by a leader’s adoption of a “no contest” rule if we see that the leader has a vision, ambition and a plan.

We abided by Mahathir for 22 years, and accepted Anwar and Guan Eng reigning uncontested in their parties only as long Mahathir displayed a vision, ambition and a plan for Malaysia.

Now that Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has invoked the rule, Umno members and Malaysians will surely be asking how Zahid plans to save Umno and Malaysia or take Umno and Malaysia forward?

Zahid cannot say that he has invoked the rule to reform Umno and eliminate the enemies of Umno from within. You ride the tiger to change the world, not change your own people.

If this is his plan and vision, then he must give room for Umno to exercise their democratic rights.

Perhaps that is why the Registrar of Societies is seeking a detailed explanation about Umno’s “no contest” decision. The RoS has never sought such a detailed explanation from any other party before.

If Zahid is able to explain how the rule is in line with his plan to save Malaysia and Umno, I am sure we and the RoS will be able to accept his decision.

If not, then I think the RoS will force Umno to hold a contest for its top positions. Or if not, then I think it is possible that Umno will be disbanded for the second time in its history. - FMT

Nehru Sathiamoorthy is an FMT reader.

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