For Justice, Freedom & Solidarity
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For Justice, Freedom & Solidarity PP3739/12/2008(007145) ISSN 0127 - 5127 RM4.00 2008:Vol.28No.3 Aliran Monthly : Vol.28(3) Page 1 COVER STORY A New Dawn? Not quite, but a liberation all the same by Philip Khoo arch 8, 2008 exorcised by oppositions but lost by govern- MM the demons of May 13, ing parties. MMM 1969. The quiet euphoria that swept At last, the country took the first much of the nation, even those steps to becoming a normal elec- who voted for BN, was under- toral democracy where govern- standable. We realised how much ments can change, and be formed we had achieved against the with simple majorities. A stifling odds. And we were proud, not choke-hold was broken. The coun- only on the night of March 8 it- try heaved a collective sigh of re- self, but more so as the transitions lief and allowed itself a yelp of joy, in state governments proceeded as despite a small flurry of some smoothly as could be reasonably worried SMSs. expected. There was one glaring abnormal- It was euphoria that did not wish ity, a holdover from the old order to be dissipated. – the shared sense that the party which won the most seats had We could feel that when so many lost. were dismayed, even outraged, by the newly triumphant Lim Kit That was because the party had Siang’s threat to boycott the Perak always, and abnormally so, in- state government’s swearing-in sisted on gaining a two-thirds ceremony. Kit Siang was forced to majority or better in Parliament, retract the threat; the country was and a sweep of every state. Indeed, finally coming into maturity, even some of its leaders had set them- if it still needed nurturing. selves the autocratic target of zero opposition. In the event, the party Meluat was almost relegated to be the then and now opposition, with many believing it would have been so if not for In the most developed and pros- electoral fraud. perous part of the country, in two of its poorest states, and to a lesser Padan muka extent elsewhere, the people voted in an outpouring of disgust, or Thus, padan muka (‘serves them meluat – at the sleaze and ex- right’), as many felt, because the cesses, the concupiscence and March 8 polls exemplified the old greed, and the arrogance of the adage that elections are not won incumbent ruling party. Aliran Monthly : Vol.28(3) Page 2 EDITOR'S NOTE In our cover story, Philip Khoo analyses the results of the general election. It wasn’t quite a new dawn CONTENTS but it was a liberation all the same, he said. We now need to rise above pursuing mere economic effi- ciency; we must promote a more holistic understand- COVER STORY ing of social solidarity to reduce inequalities and ••• A New Dawn? 222 enhance capacities. ••• How The BN Bullied, Bluffed And Bribed Their Way To Victory Abang Benet then goes on to describe how the BN In Sarawak 888 bullied, bluffed and bribed their way to victory in Sarawak. For democrats in Sarawak, it was a missed ••• Sabah: The More Things Stay opportunity to push forward the agenda of political The Same, The More They Change... 121212 and economic reform in a state saturated with po- ••• Time Running Out For Abdullah 141414 litical abuse and corruption. Over in neighbouring Sabah, G Lim observes that FEATURES the more things stay the same, the more they change. ••• 1988 Judicial Crisis: Remove Their For the first time, national rather than Sabah-only Burden And Set Them Free 242424 parties have shown that they can constitute a cred- ••• Dangerous Cargo Transpotation: ible opposition force in the state. How Serious Are We? 262626 The 12th general election has certainly opened the ••• Empowered Penangites Make eyes of the people. And time is running out for Their Voices Heard 404040 Abdullah Badawi, warns K George. Can the PM push through meaningful reforms before he is shown REGULARS the door? ••• LettersLettersLetters 171717 Many Malaysians feel empowered by the outcome ••• Thinking Allowed 212121 of the general election and sense that they can actu- ••• Current Concerns 292929 ally make a difference. Anil Netto reports on the Penang Forum, at which activists and other con- OTHERSOTHERSOTHERS cerned Penangites agreed on a declaration outlin- ing key areas of concern and proposals for submis- ••• Subscription Form 383838 sion to the state government. On a different note, players in the shipping indus- try are puzzled at the Port Klang Authority’s about- Published by turn in liberalising the issuance of Container Pack- Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara ing Certificates. Sarajun Hoda Abdul Hassan won- (ALIRAN)(ALIRAN)(ALIRAN) ders how serious port authorities are in ensuring 103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong, the safety of dangerous cargo transportation. Penang, Malaysia. Tel: (04) 658 5251 Fax: (04) 658 5197 Email (Letters to Editor): ALIRANALIRANALIRAN is a Reform Movement dedicated to [email protected] Justice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on the [email protected] roster of the Economic and Social Council of the Email (General): [email protected] United Nations. Founded in 1977, Aliran welcomes Homepage : http://www.aliran.com all Malaysians above 21 to be members. Contact the Hon. Secretary or visit our webpage. Printed by Konway Industries Sdn. Bhd. Plot 78, Lebuhraya Kampung Jawa, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang Aliran Monthly : Vol.28(3) Page 3 Table 1: Percentage of votes for opposition* candidates, Parliament, 1995–2008 State % opposition change 1995 1999 2004 2008 2004-2008 Perlis 31.5 43.8 36.3 39.9 +3.6 Kedah 35.3 44.2 40.2 53.2 +13.0 Kelantan 56.7 60.9 48.7 55.0 +6.3 Terengganu 45.4 58.7 43.6 44.7 +1.1 Penang 39.0 48.4 43.2 63.0 +19.8 Perak 31.7 44.1 40.5 53.3 +12.8 Pahang 28.4 42.6 32.3 40.5 +8.2 Selangor 24.7 44.8 34.0 55.4 +21.4 KL 41.1 49.4 41.2 62.0 +20.8 Putrajaya – – 11.7 24.4 +12.7 N. Sembilan 29.7 40.8 30.1 45.1 +15.0 Melaka 31.7 43.4 28.8 42.6 +13.8 Johor 20.5 27.1 20.4 34.7 +14.3 Pen Malaysia 33.433.433.4 44.444.444.4 36.236.236.2 50.250.250.2 +14.0+14.0+14.0 *Excluding independents The old order was stood on its ing been misled and betrayed. rogance of a minister caught with head, as if the long-forgotten slo- his pants down, the violence gan of a generation ago, “Enough There had been soft sweet talk of meted out to peaceful demonstra- is enough!”, had echoed with re- a gentler, kinder, fairer Malaysia, tors. doubled force (see Table 1). only the actions pointed to some- thing else. There was the pantang dicabar (‘I Bread-and-butter issues alone won’t be challenged’) of one who cannot account for the breadth One Mentri Besar declared there claimed he was all ears and in- and depth of the revolt. would be no Bangsa Malaysia. The vited the nation to “work with me, Minister of Education and not for me”. And, of course, there In 1999, the disgust erupted when Pemuda UMNO chief raised his was the last-minute indelible ink Malay cultural sensibility was of- keris, not once but twice, and with- flip-flop that raised the spectre of fended by Anwar Ibrahim’s mal- out any rebuke. A son-in-law and electoral fraud. treatment. On March 8, the disgust wannabe prime minister stoked issued from an offended racial sentiment. Hard landing Malaysian sensibility. Other incidents followed: the Rarely has such arrogance and No action, talk only, flaunting of evidently ill-gotten incompetence been seen. remember? wealth, unseemly corpse-snatch- ing, foot-dragging over the crisis In less than four years, a party that It issued from a deep sense of hav- of the judiciary, the wounded ar- had crushed the opposition in Aliran Monthly : Vol.28(3) Page 4 2004 alienated almost every seg- continued with their spin. They Without the transformations ment of the population. Stun- blinded themselves and their po- wrought by the NEP, we would ningly, those in power were not litical masters to the truth, thus probably have pulled in opposite aware of the gulf that had opened contributing to the crushing dis- directions while pursuing our up between them and the people. missal of the UMNO-led BN. separate civil, political and eco- Right until the results shocked nomic rights – exactly as we did them into silence, they had as- The more the so-called main- 40 years ago. sumed they could count on the old stream media spun, the more bogeys, and coast on the presumed meluat people felt. The culmi- But on March 8, we ended the allegiance of Malays to offset de- nation was the muntah (vomit) curse of being trapped in contrary fections by the “others”. induced by the scorn and dirt motion. We moved in the same they tried to heap on the ‘irrel- direction, albeit at different paces. What, if not meluat, evant Anwar’ in the last few was at work? days of the campaign. Thus March 8 revealed the poten- tial, if not quite reality yet, of an Take Putrajaya, a cocooned com- How was it a shared Malaysian even more important transition: munity of loyal government serv- sensibility, and not just different the emergence of Pakatan Rakyat, ants who had recently enjoyed a sensibilities creating a shock out- a new, national electoral coalition salary rise.