‘Humble ministers’ – is there such a concept in Malaysia?

 

­­A few days ago, Khairy Jamaludin or KJ accused current government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil of behaving just like an Umno minister. Ironically, KJ was himself an Umno minister. But he now argues that the communications minister is acting like a minister from his former party.

KJ says that the current minister comes from the reformist PKR party, which fights for justice, but he’s no longer the person he was in opposition. If memory serves me right, Umno ministers also used to claim that their DNA was all about the struggle of their people, or the “perjuangan untuk bangsa dan negara”.

For decades, the electorate returned Umno as the largest party in the ruling coalition, and in parliament. Based on this alone, one could argue that Malaysian voters rated the Umno candidates highly. Only when the mother of all scandals erupted, did the citizenry think it was the right moment to give Umno a “time-out.” And that scandal was essentially caused by one man, and his fiendish sidekicks.

So, what does it mean to act like an Umno minister?

Is KJ talking about ministers being bull-headed, bullying those who question them, skilfully ignoring the facts, cherry-picking anecdotal narratives from the past that support their current stand, as well as using race and religion to scaremonger, divide, and rule?

If he is, let’s be frank, this tactic is not the exclusive purview of Umno ministers. Erstwhile ministers from MCA and MIC did this too, with excellent results for themselves.

Current ministers in this so-called reformist unity government are just continuing where BN left off. PKR ministers seem to do this, and “fighting for the people” ministers from DAP have joined the bandwagon. Heck, this is just a “politician’s disease” that affects everyone in the “business.”

They all start off idealistic and principled, don’t they? Then along the way, they are seduced by self-interest. I see many of these types in my home state of Penang. Community organisers and local councillors get down to the ground and work their socks off. But tacitly, they compete for the plum state assembly seats. Next, they will aim for upward political mobility, and a coveted parliamentary seat. This is their goal with the ultimate reward of a ministerial appointment.

The system is stacked in such a way that you can only progress if you are ambitiously loyal to your party, with the requisite “cables,” as a friend who is a DAP-MP, calls it.

Therefore, once they get to the top, it’s only about preserving their own position, followed by sustaining their party in power. How will they then be “humble?”

Naturally, answers to hard questions will be defensive. Malaysian politics is a zero-sum game. You cannot speak out against your political masters or party, and expect to retain your place.

KJ knows this well. He is now an outlier, just like that other champion agitator, P Ramasamy. KJ and Ramasamy went for it and decided to whack their respective parties. They decided to question their leaders and party policies. And consequently, both got booted out. KJ got sacked, and Ramasamy got dropped, so he resigned abruptly.

All politicians are idealistic and principled only when they are in opposition. They speak their mind, use social and new media, like podcasts, to influence a wide audience. They agitate, they challenge, and they champion the rights of everyday folks. But things change when they are in power.

In Malaysia, because of our political landscape, no single party ever gets into power to run the government. A patchwork coalition is always necessary. Umno needed MCA, MIC, and East Malaysian parties to form the government for decades. Today, PH needs Umno.

So, principles are quickly jettisoned out the nearest window, to form unions with strange new bedfellows, just to remain in power! Power is so seductive.

Look at DAP. Currently the party has the largest number of parliamentary seats, yet, they do not get a proportionate share of ministerial jobs. The party has had its wings clipped. They cannot take on their traditional causes because they will get accused of being “puppet-masters” and in turn, alienate the already suspicious Malay voters.

In the past, DAP used to mock and ridicule MCA. The tables have now turned, and it’s their turn to get mocked. But what to do? If they want to stay in government, they have to accept it.

It is the same as everything else in Malaysia. Non-Malay students need to work harder and achieve higher grades, on account of our quota system, for sought-after university places. DAP has to work harder and accept whatever it’s given, if it wants to stay in power. That’s just race politics in Malaysia.

In some ways, KJ is right though. Umno ministers always had a peculiar style and arrogance about them. But that posturing came from the knowledge that they had full support.

Naturally, we want our ministers to be level-headed, show humility, and act in our best interests. But that will not happen while we still practise race-based politics, and “cable” determined appointments. - FMT

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