Digest on Malaysian News

UMNO, the party that can't seem to do well in elections lately scores its first "victory" in a long while.

No wonder politics has such a dirty name. The overwrought drama taking place in Perak boasts everything people find distasteful in politics.

Alleged buying over of elected officials. Outright lies told with straight faces. People suddenly disappearing before reappearing to make incoherent press statements. Backroom manoeuvrings, party hopping and re-hopping a few days later.




From The MalaysiaInsider

A new low in Malaysian politics

FEB 5 — So, the party that can't seem to do well in elections lately scores its first "victory" in a long while.

No wonder politics has such a dirty name. The overwrought drama taking place in Perak boasts everything people find distasteful in politics.

Alleged buying over of elected officials. Outright lies told with straight faces. People suddenly disappearing before reappearing to make incoherent press statements. Backroom manoeuvrings, party hopping and, in a feat that surely deserves to be recognised by the Malaysia Book of Records, re-hopping a few days later.

If March 8 is considered a big leap forward for Malaysian democracy, then yesterday's events signal a new low. The only consolation to be hoped for is the end of the political careers of the four Perak assemblypersons involved.

Of course, the orchestrated fall of a state government has been done before. As many would no doubt bring up, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim himself is known to have orchestrated a similar coup in Sabah in 1994.

And no doubt, many would bring up the PKR leader's Sept 16 attempt, which would have been a far larger operation, involving more than 30 MPs crossing over to form a new federal government.

Which naturally begs the question, if one side can do it, why can't the other? All's fair in love, war and politics, and if our laws and constitution allow for these political moves, then Malaysians shouldn't be outraged, right?

But let's not be fooled by false equivalencies, which I certainly expect BN leaders and the mainstream media to propagate.

Consider what has just happened:

A reasonably popular menteri besar and state government are being replaced not because of any failure on their part nor because of the people's wishes, but rather, to benefit politicians from a party that is evidently unpopular. Not one person so far has even bothered to convince the public that Datuk Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin's administration was in any way unfit to govern nor was Datuk Ngeh Hoo Kam accused of sodomy. In other words, there's little pretence that this wasn't a power grab for the sake of power alone.

Two of the crossover assemblypersons are facing corruption charges. Surely this is a huge red flag. If the two walk, deservedly or otherwise, it would be more than enough proof for the public that their exoneration was part of the deal. And if they are found guilty, then what does that say about BN's standards when it is willing to tolerate corruption just to gain power?

An inclusive state government that is conscious of Perak's diversity and also appointed the state's first Indian speaker and first female deputy speaker will have to give way to one that will be overwhelmingly Malay and male. This does not necessarily prevent them from serving all Perak folk, but is surely a step backwards.

Should a new state government be formed by BN, it will also not enjoy a significant majority over the opposition. So all this jumping around doesn't change the precarious balance of Perak politics, nor does it prevent a reversal of fortune several months down the line. Which could mean more tiresome drama.

At a time of great uncertainty, particularly in the economy, the last thing the people of Perak needed was political games to distract from getting the job done. And that was exactly what they got.

Until we change the laws, party hopping remains a legal move, albeit one considered by many as unethical. Regardless of your opinion on Pakatan Rakyat's attempt to secure the federal government via crossovers, it's important to look at the overall picture when comparing it with the Perak coup. We cannot be misled to thinking that they are equal, only that Datuk Seri Najib Razak succeeded where Anwar didn't.

At a time of such global change and uncertainty, it's certainly sad and unfortunate that the incoming Prime Minister would put Malaysians through all of this. Instead of convincing Malaysians that he will make a good Prime Minister, Najib has curiously chosen to score short-term partisan points by orchestrating the downfall of a legitimately elected government. Whatever the outcome of this Perak fiasco, one thing is certain: it will be yet another blow to the public perception of Umno and BN.


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