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1990Vol10no.7 Iethia puUa•eatuv democracy? FOR THE SAKE OF ......... STABILITY? Facing the general election with jus*- in mind • Is this p.Jiamentary democracy? ...6; Eleetioa W...-Dr M•s fmlet ...9; Letten... ll; Prayen from 41ift'ennt tractitioDS ••. I9; The may faeel of potaq ..lO.IIofhas (of Sri Laab) speM. out!...23; Solidarity for justice and peace ... l4; ReJaious double IIUMards? ... 25; Corruption... l7; Piliban raya umum alwl dataJ18 ••• 30; Cummt conc:enas .• .34; CREDIBIUI'Y - amuat for commonwealth ~en-t=r team ••• 37; Established studards of election-watdaiaa allllllt.. .39 FORTHE SAKE OF STABILITY ? Facing the general election with justice in mind tability is going to be the A just government rather than SQUABBLES Barisan Nasional's campaign a dominant one should be the theme in the coming general What is equally disturbing is that goal of every voter in the relations between and among BN election. In order to maintain sta­ coming election. bility, the BN wants an overwhelm­ parties are not as harmonious as ing majority in Parliament and the they should be. Let us not forget State Assemblies. BN chairman, that it was mainly because of the Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad Some of the other BN parties . ugly communal squabble between would prefer nothing less than the are also tormented by factional sections of the MCA and groups massive four-fifths majority he politics. lo the Gerakan in Penang. within UMNO in 1987 that the obtained in the 1986 parliamentary there are the Lim Keng Yaik ethnic temperature in the country election. loyalists, as opposed to the Lim shot up just before the October There are two questions that Chong Eu faithfuls. ll was a clampdown. ln fact, the differen- emerge from the Barisan's desire tussle for Influence and authority to obtain a huge electoral mandate between the pre~dent and deputy for the sake of political and econo­ pre~dent of the Parti Bersatu ling Uong Sik and Samy Velu head mic stability. One, is the BN Sabah (PBS) which led to the major S.risan component panies really capable of maintaining sta­ birth of a splinter party called Akar rife with factional politics: Stability bility? Two, even if it is, does the under Mark Koding. nevenheless7 BN deserVe another gigantic endorsement from the rakyat? CRISES AND FACTIONS One wonders how the BN will be able to maintain the sort of sta­ bility that Dr Mahathir always brags about, when almost everyone of its component parties has experienced some form of crisis wltich invaria­ bly creates instability within the organization concerned. The MCA, for instance, is now going through a serious leadership crisis which threatens to divide the party into two contending factions. Factional politics is as rife as ever within the MIC. It is an open secret that within UMNO there is intense political rivalry among a few leaders who are playing for big stakes. As a result, cliques and factions have emerged around these leaders, both at State and Federal levels. 2 be wrong to as~umc that M.1hathir '~ Barisan is as capable as Tun Razak's or Tun Hu\Sein's Bansan of con­ tnbuting towards stab1hty. For Mahatlur's Barisan is different from tus predecessors' BariSan. The late Tun RaLak gave the Barisan a real role. be provided the Barisan with a genuine pre­ sence. in Malaysian politics. The Barisan Supreme Council met often and discussed issues. Tun Hussein continued wJth that pracuce. In­ deed, Tun Hussein was deeply committed to the Barisan as an mstitutJOn. He used the Barisan as a mechanism for resolving some senous ethruc controvemes over education and the Uke. SELF-INTE REST Dr Mahathu. on the other hand, ignores the BN - except when u Tun Razak and Tun Hussein were deeply committed to the Barisan suits his convenience. There are no as an institution for resolving some serious ethnic issues. regular, frequent Barisan meetings. In major political cnses, hke the ces between UMNO and the MCA was hardly any consultation within Constituuon cnsis of 1983 or on ethnic iSSues in particular have the Coalition. The Coalition seldom Operation Lallang of 1987, Dr become more and more apparent met as an entity. There were no Mahathir has not bothered to bnng in the last few years. Look at the discussions on policy matter~. When together the component parties of way they quarrelled over the a maJOr controversy broke out or the BN. The only time when he Selangor Islam1c enactment contro· when a crisis occured, the Barisan hastily convened a Bansan Council versy a few months ago! Nasional Council was not called meeting was m the midst of the Likewise, the MCA and Gerakan into session. UMNO de-registration cnsts in are not on the best of terms - to It was partly because of the 1988 The Barisan was used to say the least - in Penang. In farcical state of afffairs withm Jegjtim1ze the birth of UMNO Sabah, the PBS and Lhe United the BN . that the MCA president Baru and to validate his position Sabah National OrganiL.ation hunself. Datu!. Sen Dr Ltng U ong as prestdent of the new party and {USXO), also a Barisan partner, Sik, registered h1s quiet protest as chairman of the Coalition. It are political adversaries. In Sara­ lil late November 1988 b} gomg was a blatant example of crude wale, the Parti Ban!>a Dayak Sara­ away on leave for SIX weeks. He self-interest overnding everything wak (PBDS). though a Barisan too hmted that there were no else. consultations wnhin the Bansan on mem~er at the Federal level, is very much opposed to the Parti irnportJnt nattonaltssues. Bur.uipo,rtTa Bersatu (PBB), the How can such a Coalitton which Sar:M"ak National Party (SNAP) does not practise consultation, and other Barisan components of wh.tch lacks the spmt of genume the S:u •ak State government. cooperation, ensure national ~ta­ It must also be noted that in the btltty? Of course. Dr Mahathir will last four years, three Bansan parttes argue that m spue of everything, have quit the Coaliuon - Berjaya the Bansan, and before that, the (from S.ibah), Hamtm and Berja~ Alliance, have brought about peace (from Peninsular Malaysia). This and stability. There tS no reason does not speak well of the Bari­ why it cannot continue to guaran­ san leadership at all. tee poli ucal and econormc stabill ty. A number of factors - and no t CONSULTATIONS JUst the presence of the Alliance or the Barisan - explain Malaysia's I n fact, when Harnim and Ber­ stability. Nonetheless, even if we jasa left the Bansan to JOin Se­ acknowledge that the ruling Coah­ mangat 46, they alleged that there tton is one of the factors, 1t would Mahathir: No consultation. 3 or course, just before elections, acknowledge that our economic try in the West and Japan. Our the Barisan comes alive. It is a recovery since the middle of electronic products found their convenient vehicle for prescrvmg 1987 has been fuelled to a great place in the world market. The the power of certain individuals extent by developments in the upturn in Ute prices of our primary and groups. ln between elections. region and in the international commodities in 1988 - rubber, it is a small clique with Dr Mahalhlr economy. There has been a tremen­ palm-oil, tin and petroleum - was Mohamad at the helm which runs dous flow of investments into the also a contributing factor. the country. country primarily from Truwart, Though there has been an econo­ Dr Mahathir's auitudc to the flung Kong and Singapore, but also mic recovery, marty serious econo­ Barisan is one of the main causes of from South Korea and Japan. mic problems remain. Unemploy­ its decline as an effective Coali­ This investment tlow is only ment has been reduced only sligh tJy tion of different ethnic. regional partly due to the sort of incentives in the last two years. There is still and group interests. It is this we offer foreign investors and to some graduate unemployment. Coalition which he has rendered our O\\n economic management. A lnilation has still not been brought impotent that Dr Mahathir is now much more Important factor is the under control. The ringgit is still trotting out as a force for stability. dynamism or those export-oriented weak compared to the Singapore H ow can a Coalition comprising econonues whose rate of capital doHar and various o[her inter­ faction-ridden parties bring about accumulation has been so rapid that national currencies. Our total ex­ political stability? How can a Ulelf money just has to find exter­ leiillll debts are still quite high, Coalition consisting of parties nal outlets. although our repayment rate is which are often at loggerheads Malaysia was also helped by the quite good. Nonetheless debt servic­ with one another, ensure national time!) recovery, and subsequent ing swallows up 21 sen of every cohesion and national solidarity? expansion of U1e electroni.:s indus- ringgit spent. A BIG VOTE'? More. important, even if one concedes that the Barisan is still ..- c necessary as a Coalition govern­ ·- ment, does it follow that it should be given a big vote in the coming polls? This is an important ques­ tion which each and every Malay­ sian voter should ponder upon. Before one votes. one should ask: what has the Barisan govern­ ment done with the four-fifths majority it obtained ln the 1986 election'! What has been its track­ record in the last four years'! We are not talking of Alliance and Barisar. 1ule in the last 33 years.
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