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SundayTimes (Used by permission)
by Tunku Abdul Aziz
IT had to come sooner or later.
The fact that many have waited some 50 years, patiently in
hope and faith, to witness and welcome the orderly change in the political
landscape brought about by the "neutral power" of the ballot box and not,
mercifully, the barrel of a gun (as happens so regularly in many so–called
democratic republics around the world) has made the waiting game all the more
rewarding.
Fifty years of political domination, although legitimised and sanctified by the
electoral process, has led inevitably to the development of decidedly unhealthy,
careless attitudes on the part of the government as well as society at large.
It was only months before that fateful day of March 8 that Malaysians decided
that they had it within their power to decide the future direction of their
country in social, economic and political terms by the simple expedient of using
democracy's most potent gift –– the vote.
Overnight, we have transformed ourselves from being a nation of whingers and
whiners into mature, responsible citizens exercising our rights and
responsibilities, to decide what is good for us and our country.
From being a people brought up to respect authority
unquestioningly, and, therefore, naturally prone to being overawed by the
trappings of political office, we have come to realise that there ought to be
reciprocity for our consent, through the electoral process, to be governed by
our parliamentary representatives.
Of fundamental importance is an unwritten and unspoken contract, that while not
possessing the force of legal sanctions behind it, is morally binding as this
relationship has mutual trust as its core value.
I will not be drawn, on a Sunday morning, into inflicting a blow by blow account
on my readers of what went wrong with Barisan Nasional (BN) at all levels in the
run–up to the mother of elections.
Suffice it to say that 50 years in the comfort zone of unadulterated power could
turn the best of us into political zombies, believing quite sincerely, though
mistakenly, that the silence of the herd grazing in the field was a sign of
contentment, and it would be best to let it be while we concentrate on other
more important matters of government. There is no need to put them in the
picture; they are happy as they are.
Silence in this instance, unfortunately for the ruling party, translated itself
into a deafening roar of disapproval at polling stations up and down the
country.
I have no doubt that all concerned have learned some useful lessons from this
unhappy episode, and BN, with its many records of achievements, to be fair, will
rise from the ashes wiser, I hope, to occupy their rightful place as may be
determined by a politically more aware and, therefore, by definition, a more
demanding and difficult country.
The transition for parties such as the Democratic Action Party (DAP), fed on a
diet of street skirmishes and boycotts at the drop of a hat, to running a state
government cannot be easy.
We should not judge the father–and–son double act too hastily and harshly. Given
time they will learn a hard fact that after the giddy first flush and taste of
power, reality sets in, and, what at first seems like a winning formula is
often, upon further, more mature consideration, not such a clever idea after
all. I write this as a friend of both Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng in a spirit
of helpfulness.
I have shared the platform with them on many occasions over the years to promote
issues of shared concerns such as corruption, the need for good governance, an
open public procurement process, national integration, equal opportunity and the
New Development Policy, that we would like to see driven by the highest ethical
standards and values.
Guan Eng has made it clear where he is coming from on good governance, for which
he will get my support and assistance at any time because he represents values I
have worked for these many years.
My advice, always gratuitous, is that the DAP leadership must now demonstrate
that it is a party for all Malaysians and not a narrow–minded, unashamedly
chauvinistic Chinese party in spirit, notwithstanding its protestations to the
contrary.
Your role now as chief minister of Penang is to convince the Malays and Indians,
in particular, that your own ethnicity is purely an accident of birth, but your
heart is in the right place.
You are indeed there to protect the legitimate interests of all the people for
whom you carry a responsibility. It is a heavy responsibility that you have
chosen to carry.
No one had forced you into this situation. The only ideology that you need to
carry with you to the 26th floor of Komtar is service in the public interest.
Your party has in the past argued for fairness and fair play. The present state
of political play, requiring you to work with other parties out of necessity, is
being closely watched and monitored.
Your party's attempt to ride roughshod over your partners in the matter of the
composition of the Perak executive council a few days ago, demanding eight
places for DAP, has exposed your true colours.
Surely the idea of developing a coalition is to seek a convergence of interests
in support of a larger, longer–term sustainable objective.
The political landscape you and other former opposition parties have created
needs to be nurtured by your complete sincerity, ability to give and take, and a
desire to develop and implement sound, non–partisan, people– and race–friendly
policies based on equality of opportunity for all.
Fighting corruption and poverty must be the main item on your action plan
because corruption distorts your decision–making processes and denies the poor
the benefits that should accrue to them. All this applies to all parties running
state administrations as well as the central government.
The pressure is now on to see how well or badly you are going to perform. We
will all be watching, with great interest, whether the new state governments
will honour their pledges that they so loudly proclaimed during their campaigns
for votes.
To use a cliche, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I hope there will
not be too unpleasant a taste in too many mouths in the process.
I wish all politicians well in their work in the public interest.
The writer is a former special adviser to the United Nations
secretary–general on ethics. He can be contacted at
[email protected]