Everyone knows of similar communal conflagrates that follow till today. Who is the final beneficiary?
Over the last 3 decades, the power people in Malaysia have emerged from mostly faceless people writing star out of people. Which in a way says it all – media stars were not faces, and as a result, they lacked the popular adulation It kind of evolved over time, especially with the proliferation of news channels, where newsreaders started getting delusions of grandeur, and soon felt that they were the news, and they made the news, of which they did a damn good job too, and so faces became more important than content. The new behind the scenes puppet masters, whose faces seldom if ever come up on the screen directly, were no longer the editors, it was the era of the perception managers – now vying for space and control with the lobbyists As things stand now,
Enough is clearly enough. The anger we saw spill out on the streets of Delhi was an organic act of intensely felt outrage. A spontaneous movement without any leaders or political affiliation, it is a sign that something has finally given way. The idea of living in constant fear, and having to make do with the platitudes of those in charge is no longer going to be met with stoic indifference.Can an election ever throw up the right candidate? Or to put it more moderately, is an election the mechanism best suited to throw up representatives that will strive to work for their constituents and attempt to better their life? Are there in-built into the electoral process, a set of imperatives that help pre-determine one kind of outcome, irrespective of the quality of the candidates?
The reaction of the state reveals the poverty of its perspective. To stop a largely non-violent protest several times and then to clamp down prohibitory orders to prevent the protests from taking place is an act of violent suppression, and comes from an ingrained instinct to convert the protest into the problem by the Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor .Emergency type controls or chaos pretty much spells out the extreme range of options, and the fear of blackmail by and on these faces looms large.Or does it? Party over at Federal Territories Ministry given that in any crisis, good, clear and honest communication has a far better chance of convincing people than taking Najib to the Road to Disaster The election of 2018 will be about the future of the stomach. Since we live in overriding virtually every other attribute, this week’s sordid scandal … Read more
Here’s a song that spells it out. Do they have, that’s the word, respect?Increasingly, it would seem that what it takes to win an election is not only very different from what it takes to govern, but might well be at odds with the idea of providing governance. The privileging of representativeness in our democracy, with an emphasis on race and religion, has meant that electable candidates are chosen with a view to who has the biggest electoral draw in terms representing the interests of a community rather than select those that have a view on issues of policy or administration. At one level, democracy does not require its practitioners to come equipped with a track record, and representativeness is perhaps the most vital element in the idea of democracy, but over a period of time, what representativeness has come to mean identity rather than action; the leader resembles his or her constituents, speaks for them and on the occasion that he or she acts on their behalf, it is often through the same narrow lens of community. Under these circumstances, the election abets the process of weeding out those that see their role in more secular terms, and focuses its attention narrowly on those with more sectarian agendas. Ku Nan drinking toddy in Sentul Naked vs nude on poverty Advice is likely to ignore Change is a mist which floats through events, often obscured by the daily cloudburst of facts. It is noticed least by those it affects most. Tengku Adnan Tengku Manso have a sharper eye than they are given credit for, but they can … Read more
Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia was merely in the line of disruptive manoeuvres that we have seen being employed., having achieved little. Behind the perennially noisy scenes in Parliament lurks a deeper silence. It is as if our legislators no longer find too much relevance in the institution of the Parliament and use it for effect rather than action.That is not to say that the opposition had no reason to communicate their anger. When a state institution like the CAG points fingers at the government and alleges a loss to the exchequer of such enormous scale, the opposition is well within its rights to seek appropriate redress. It is also true that in recent times, it is difficult to think of an administration which has governed as incoherently and inefficiently as the present regime has. The number of scams and scandals too has been unprecedented and it is therefore natural that the opposition has reason to attack the government with everything it has on almost continuous basis.The most pressing need before the country is to ensure Letting Parliament function is the responsibility that comes with all the rights that our MPs In a democracy should the Speaker sit in give judgment Does the government not have faith in the ability of our Parliamentarians to examine an issue and make realistic and appropriate … Read more
Zulkifli Noordin tells his ex-boss that he already has one foot in the grave and should quit politics, as he vowed before GE13.readmore‘Retire, Anwar, and prepare to meet angel of death’
12-Point Strategy as Blueprint for Pakatan Rakyat to capture federal power in Putrajaya in 14GE
readmore12-Point Strategy as Blueprint for Pakatan Rakyat to capture federal power in Putrajaya in 14GE
The frequent use of party whips makes the idea of parliamentary discussion largely irrelevant as the role of the individual legislator gets marginalised. In effect, the idea of a debate gets rendered meaningless if all legislation gets seen only through the lens of the party and its position on the subject. Particularly when these positions get taken not so much on the basis of ideology or a vision for the nation’s progress, but on the basis of narrow and immediate political advantage, the Parliament becomes a prolonged exercise in arm-wrestling, with every new issue becoming an excuse to flex muscle rather than use it productively. emptiness of this ritual points to a larger vacuum in the workings of our political system. The role of legislative action in articulating and directing energies of the state towards the task of securing a better future for its citizens is increasingly being buried under a culture of political expediency. Postures in Parliament have much more to do with short-term political jockeying rather than long term legislative action. Much of this political manoeuvring does not translate into material political gain, but it is nevertheless privileged over taking a more long-term view. The fact that all legislators, no matter what political affiliation they hold are conjoined together for a larger purpose is now barely discernible in the actions that we see in the Parliament. The political class shares responsibility for a common task- of formulating policy and keeping the nation going that overrides whatever differences they might have. This responsibility becomes a particularly onerous one, when a coalition government is in power, for the state cannot use its majority to keep the wheels in motion; it needs a degree of collective co-operation. It is interesting that this underlying spirit of unity cutting across party lines was seen in evidence during the discussion , when the political class came together and collaborated to stymie the effort to create an independent watchdog. It is an irony of our times that the only time that the Parliament acted as the single organism that it is meant to be, was when it came together to protect its members from greater accountability to the people.
Lim Kit Siang said Pakatan Rakyat could rise to the challenge to decide the political future not only of Sabah and Sarawak but the whole of Malaysia in the 14GE.The opposition chose this as its most opportune momentStrategy as Blueprint for Pakatan Rakyat to capture federal power in Putrajaya in 14GE thinktank felt compelled to throw its most obvious card right away. Other aspects of the reasoning could have been to get its flock together. The party still holds a sizeable number of states and some sort of party unity had to be shown. Further dithering on an obvious candidate would have frittered away the enthusiasm of the grassroots worker. By embracing some of the ways of politics while rejecting many others it has arguably given itself a chance while dimming its righteous glow. Given that the future looks equally coalition-ridden, the inability of the political system to find a mechanism by which the business of the nation can go on even as political differences get an arena where they can be played out, is likely to be have a crippling impact on governance. In a larger sense we have reduced the idea of democracy to that of elections, the idea of governance to that of power and the rent extraction it enables and the idea of Parliament to an arena for scoring dubious political points. The nosiness of the Parliament is a testimony to the fact that there is nothing worthwhile left to say; all that matter is the loudness with which one screams. Content has been replaced by scale; and the act of disrupting the house is nothing but a sign of the clarity that prevails in the political class about how redundant it has become. Winning elections requires a peculiar kind of race and community arithmetic, multiplied by financial resources and propped up by on-ground muscle. The reason why the incidence of criminality in politics has been such a visible presence is partly due to the fact there are great similarities between the two skill sets. It is easier for a local tough to become a politician than it is for a local schoolteacher, to use a crude stereotype, not only because it easier for the former to mobilise resources and numbers far more easily but also because the electorate sees more advantages in being represented by someone who can thump the table on their behalf rather than someone who is not seen to have a realistic chance of winning.
The new voters for all idealism, lives in the real world of politics, and on the whole, that is good news. meets with will potentially open the doors for other efforts of this kind. For voters i, for once there is a real choice on offer. It might not be perfect, but there is a third way. what it appears to be- a brave new force with its heart in the right place, that they are trying out an experiment in participative democracy. It brims over with untidy energy and self-justifying righteousness. In terms of the solutions they proposes, they are somewhat simplistic and depend largely on the power of good people with good intentions. At all level, it is disappointing that LIM KIT SIANG has chosen a campaigning style that if anything lowers the bar in terms of the level of political discourse. But perhaps, that is what allows it to escape the fate of other well meaning efforts to clean up politics. Much like LIM KIT SIANG ’s photograph in the posters put up by his own party, the campaign is sweaty, untidy, heartfelt and angry. It is consumed by self-belief, with no time for appearances or niceties. In some ways, it is a mirror to the inchoate anger and frustration felt against the political establishment by the urban middle class.The prospect of winnability makes unsuitable choices rational, for it is seen to be smarter to align with those that could win rather than root for those that might act on one’s behalf much more usefully if elected, but are seen with little real chance of doing so. Money is the other reason why only those that already have the ability or are able to generate it, are found suitable to be offered as candidates. The political system wards off change at the point of entry itself, by making the entry level conditions unsuitable for anyone but those that toe the existing line and play by the rules already laid down.
The election requires that a large number of people exercise their preference for one candidate over the others on the basis of some knowledge and familiarity with the individual’s previous track record, the party that he or she represents, the promises made, and the overall feeling of empathy and trust generated by the individual. Given the sizes of constituencies and the scale of the geographies involved, it is difficult for someone who is already not a visible presence in at least part of the constituency to mobilise adequate support. Chances are that the choices will veer towards those that already enjoy a measure of prominence and power in the area- superannuated student leaders, local toughs, successful lawyers, families of politicians, wealthy landlords, caste and community leaders and the like.
The underlying assumption of elections is that every individual takes a personal decision, on the basis of the inputs received, to choose the person deemed suitable to represent his or her interests. The truth is in the Malaysian social construct, the individual does not necessarily act as a singular entity and is often inclined to act as part of a larger collective. This is true not only of elections, but of many other walks of life. The election is in some ways almost asking for people to find their own appropriate collective and to cobble together enough numbers so as to increase the bargaining power at their disposal. It is rational to do so, for otherwise every individual feels virtually no ability to influence the outcome.
The middle class distrust of politicians is in part a sense of frustration with the electoral process. Part of the reason why visible outrage does not automatically translate into higher voting percentages is because the idea is laced with a sense of presumptive futility. It is also the reason why movements like Zulkifli Noordin Perkasa chief the one led get traction; the apolitical nature of the struggle is found not valuable. The disenchantment with the movement is in part due to its involvement in electoral politics; the paradox being that the impetus for change cannot succeed unless it becomes a variable in the elections but the very act of getting involved with anything to do with elections is seen as an act of contamination.
Electoral reforms will help. But too much has to change before reforms by themselves can be effective. As a structure, elections cannot create intent; that must exist in the system. Without intent, the structure merely re-inforces and perhaps amplifies all that is already wrong. Even when elections are not rigged, in some ways they always are. If not by design, then by definition.
