By Joe Fernandez
THE sultanates, states and one territory in Malaysia are preparing for the reconvening of their legislative assemblies some time soon.
In Sarawak, the Government’s tenure ended in that territory on June 7, 2021. The Emergency, declared on Jan 12, has pushed the Dissolution to Aug 1, and territorial polls will be held at the latest by Sept 30.
Still, Parliament can reconvene either before or after the flurry of legislative assembly sittings in the territory of Sabah, and the states and sultanates in Malaya.
Parliament would most probably reconvene later, not “as soon as possible”, as advised in two Istana statements on June 16, 2021.
The “delay” would be unlikely to go down well with the Agong and brother sultans.
How they show their “displeasure”, if any, remains to be seen.
Parliament, or no parliament, the Malays and Orang Asal continue to be divided among many race-based parties on both sides of the political divide.
Of course, these parties come together before elections, and certainly when forming the Government in Putrajaya, and in the legislative assemblies. The Orang Asal, plagued by the frogging phenomenon, throw their lot with whoever forms the Government, whether Federal or in the territories of Sabah and Sarawak.
Patently, after sixty-odd years, Malaysia should get away from race and religion in politics, but the prognosis does not look good.
The betting is that the Orang Asal and Malays, whether united or divided, do not offer much prospects for political change in the country.
I would be the happiest person on both sides of the South China Sea, if proven wrong. The jury is not out on whether Malays and Orang Asal can bring political change in Malaysia.
Their positions are too entrenched, for want of a better term, to allow for the possibility of any political change in the country.
If we digress from the formation of the Government, the question that arises: where would change come from every election?
The thesis statement may be that Indians and Chinese, voters may offer the best hope for change every election if they realise the value of X Power and get their votes right.
Votes of the Indians and Chinese are no longer “locked” as in the years before GE14 when the Barisan Nasional (BN) ensured Umno’s continued dominance in power.
Indian and Chinese, voters may be persuaded to reject political personality cults, race-based parties, party politics, signing up as hardcore card-carrying political party members, and subscribing to new forms of tribalism and feudalism a la political parties under the guise of democracy.
If they get their votes right, these two communities would immediately benefit. They can no longer be pigeon-holed and stereotyped, reduced to tokenism, window-dressing and crumbs as evident in the current Administration in Putrajaya.
The focus should be on issues beyond race and religion, common interests and shared values.
Democracy cannot be about voting once in five years and then going home and sleeping, for want of a better analogy. Democracy, which means people power, cannot be left to politicians alone.
Democracy, it’s said, only works if the people participate.
Between elections, the people should make movements on every issue and hold the Government and politicians accountable. In many countries, matters of public concern and public interest even make their way through the courts.
In India, for example, politicians are even dragged to court by the people, and sometimes jailed. Interestingly, the law in India allows jailed politicians to contest elections, and even campaign from behind bars. The supreme court of India and the elections commission are formidable institutions.
Victory, however, does not mean immediate release, or even early release.
In Malaysia, of course, a RM2,000 fine would suffice to immediately disqualify a lawmaker from holding a seat in the legislature, and for a further five years commencing from the next election. – June 26, 2021
Joe Fernandez is a contributor for FocusM.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
