Understanding the 2004 Election Understanding the 2004

PP3739/12/2004 ISSN 0127 - 5127 / RM3.00 / 2004:Vol.24No.3 UnderstandingUnderstandingUnderstanding thethethe 200420042004 ElectionElectionElection Aliran Monthly : Vol.24(3) Page 1 COVER STORY A Brave New World? Worrying implications for democracy by Philip Khoo on’t be so ulu” was once “D“D“D the phobia of cultured Malaysians. Some time in the course of the 1990s and especially since the turn of the millennium, the ultimate fear factor became to be “third world”, as we dreamt of Vision 2020 and of a developed, “first world” Ma- laysia. Recall the number of times in the recent past we have been exhorted not to be, oh, so “third world”. Unfortunately, this peculiarly Malaysian “fear factor” became painful reality on 21 March – and yet another institution bit the dust on our way to a promised brave new Malaysia. Despite numerous complaints and the evident biases of the electoral process, never before had the Election Commission’s oversight of elections themselves and the ac- tual act of polling been so tar- nished as to bring into question the validity of the elections. Com- plaints related more to the length of the campaign period, the bias of the media, the use of government machinery, and just plain money politics. Even in 1999, at a time of great upheaval and uncertainty, the ac- tual polling process itself was not seriously doubted, bar an instance here and there. Aliran Monthly : Vol.24(3) Page 2 EDITOR'S NOTE This is a special issue on the 2004 General Election. In the lead story, Philip Khoo probes how a brave CONTENTS new era of accountability and of ëxcellence, glory and distinction” is to be achieved when the BN so overwhelmingly dominates Parliament. Where is the ELECTION SPECIAL counterweight? ••• A Brave New World 222 ••• Understanding The 2004 The back cover story by Wong Kok Keong discusses the Pak Lah factor, the carefully cultivated image of Election Results 888 a caring and concerned leader. While agreeing that ••• An Election Day Under the Pak Lah factor is significant, Francis Loh re- Guardian Angels 131313 minds us of the Mahathir legacy of coercive laws, a ••• All That Glitters Is Not Gold 151515 compromised SPR and the courts as well as developmentalism. ••• An Open Letter To Prime Minister 191919 ••• From The Back Seat Of The This election was marred by numerous irregulari- Calon's Car 212121 ties and even disorder. Ramdas Tikamdas scruti- ••• “Witch-Hunting”: nises the flawed performance of the SPR. Un-Democratic Behaviour 242424 G Lim discusses the elections in Sabah, which the ••• Retaining The State Seat Of BN won hands down. A Semenanjung-style of coa- Machang Bubuk 262626 lition politics dominated by UMNO has replaced ••• Back To The Future? 292929 the frequent changes in government of the past. ••• Views From The Public 313131 Raja Petra Kamarudin says Keadilan has to do more ••• The Pak Lah Factor 404040 than just dream if it wants to achieve its ambition of coming into power. REGULARS Toh Kin Woon shares insights on why he succeeded ••• Current Concerns 343434 in retaining his Machang Bubuk seat under a BN ticket. On the other hand, Passenger shares her bit- OTHERSOTHERSOTHERS ter-sweet campaign experiences for the opposition ••• Subscription Form 181818 in the much-watched Sungai Siput contest. In the aftermath of the election, Charles Hector re- minds us that elected representatives should remem- ber that they now represent all Malaysians. Andrew Aeria, touched by the love between the PM and his wife, Endon, calls on him to think also of the spouses Published by of those still detained or jailed. Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) 103, Medan Penaga, 11600 Jelutong, ALIRANALIRANALIRAN is a Reform Movement dedicated to Penang, Malaysia. Justice, Freedom & Solidarity and listed on the Tel : (04) 658 5251 Fax : (04) 658 5197 roster of the Economic and Social Council of the 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 Percetakan Tujuh Lapan Enam Sdn. Bhd. No. 16, Lengkangan Brunei, 55100 Pudu, Kuala Lumpur. Aliran Monthly : Vol.24(3) Page 3 Unlike the situation in tin-pot dic- “developed” status. More, they tatorships, at no time in the past undermine a fundamental key to fifty years have Malaysian elec- long-term political stability and tions looked as bad as they did peace. this time around, a time when the outcome was never in doubt, Up till now, and despite its nu- whatever the speculation about merous, even justified, complains, the extent of the ruling party’s vic- the political opposition in this tory. Previously, a case could be country has believed in elections made against the Election Com- and has participated in them with mission’s bias in constituency de- much vigour, if with relatively lit- lineations, its inefficiency in voter tle success. Any serious under- registration, its favouring the rul- mining of this faith sows the ing party in setting the length of seeds of instability. the campaign period, and the personal biases on the part of polling It matters little that it may serve officers. However, there was little the interests of some of the lead- questioning of the Election Com- ers of the opposition parties to mission’s conduct of the elections claim electoral fraud. What mat- itself. This time around the Elec- Constituted as a rubber stamp? ters is that enough happened to tions Commission looked more voting hours in one state, with lend such claims a measure of like a partisan participant than a at least one instance where a credibility. neutral referee. chief polling officer was threat- ened by a police officer for re- A Brave New World… Just consider some of the incon- fusing to break the seals of Going Where? trovertible facts: sealed ballot boxes without clear instructions from the Turning to the outcome, 80 per • three sets of electoral rolls were Election Commission; cent of the electorate turned out delivered, with names and vot- and delivered over 90 per cent of ing locations differently as- • the results posted on the Elec- the seats to the ruling party. signed, available in one and tion Commission’s website in- missing in another, with dead dicating that thousands of bal- Such results, in most other con- persons such as the late James lot papers had been issued but texts, would be greeted with a Puthucheary on them, with not returned, that different knowing snigger. Here, it was persons who claimed never to numbers of ballot papers had hailed as a glorious victory, a vin- have registered on them, with been issued for a state seat and dication of our democratic proc- up to over a hundred voters lo- the parliamentary seat within ess – and not only by local pun- cated at a single address, etc. which it was located, and then dits, but by the “western” media. Indeed, in at least one voting the “correction” of these re- district (daerah mengundi) ad- sults without so much as an Shouldn’t there have been some dresses with 10 or more voters explanation. It was likely that discussion of a system that deliv- accounted for one-quarter of the discrepancies were largely ers such results, a system in the total electorate; clerical errors; however, results which a party garners 64 per cent on official sites cannot be of the popular vote, but over 90 • a last minute abrogation of its changed without acknowl- per cent of the seats? own rules disallowing “can- edgement and explanation. vassing” booths, after it was But most emblematic, perhaps, evident that the ruling party Sadly, these incontrovertible facts was the vote in the national capi- had constructed such booths; undermine the legitimacy of a key tal, Putrajaya, with a turnout of institution in a democracy, par- over 95% with 99% of the vote go- • the last minute extension of ticularly one with aspirations to ing to the candidate from the rul- Aliran Monthly : Vol.24(3) Page 4 ing party. It used to be that a result such as Putrajaya’s could only happen with postal ballots under circumstances that hardly allowed for voluntary consent. Yet, perhaps the voters of Putrajaya, mostly civil servants, understood that discretion was the better part of valour – an understanding more than amply “justified” by the current un- seemly purge in Terengganu. No one, with any personal knowl- edge of civil servants, would be- lieve that their voting behaviour represented their sentiments – an outcome of 70-30 in favour of the ruling party, perhaps, but 99-1? tion by an astute correspondent ously, we accepted that parlia- to MalaysiaKini that the cabinet ment was in fact a rubber stamp The voting behaviour of the citi- comprises about half of the Mem- for the executive. However, with zens of our brave new capital does bers of Parliament. the new regime, parliament has not provide much grounds for been constituted as a rubber optimism in our march to devel- In our parliamentary system, there stamp to the executive: every min- oped status. isn’t an unambiguous divide be- ister, deputy minister and parlia- tween executive and legislative, mentary secretary is duty bound In the developed understanding since the members of the execu- to go along with the decisions of of a democracy, civil servants do tive are selected from among the the executive of which he or she is not have to be political soul mates members of the legislative. Still, a part. or lackeys of the party in power. there is a division of functions, In normal circumstances, they with the legislative available, in Moreover, at a time when there simply have to serve the govern- principle, to provide some coun- have been unannounced cut- ment of the day, regardless of their ter-weight to the executive.

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