Toxic assets in political parties

Barely a week before polling in the two Bukits and the one Batang by-elections on April 7, a minor earthquake shook the PKR chances in the form of the resignation of their Jerai division chief V Kalaivanar and his 500 supporters.

He alleged that Anwar and his PKR have not helped the Indian community. That is a strange sentiment that keeps popping up from Indian voices in the opposition camp once in a while.

The political, social, and economic problems plaguing the Indian community are so entrenched and complex that it will take a decade at least after the Pakatan Rakyat takes power at both the federal and state levels to see any real progress, if at all. Talk about the immature desire for instant satisfaction!

The real reason for his resignation could very well be that the PKR has bypassed him in their selection of the candidate for Bukit Selambau.

But Malaysiakini did report that this fleet-footed gentleman contested in the Gurun state seat in the last general election and lost, and that he was charged in court last year for two counts of cheating.

In my hazy estimation, among the three major partners of Pakatan Rakyat, the most disciplined and the best organised party is PAS. DAP should come in second. PKR has to be last.

This is only to be expected. PAS and DAP are very old parties that have survived many internal crisis and external persecutions. Their top and grassroots leaders are proven materials for long-haul political struggle.

They also have many decades to build up their party organisation on the ground nationwide. They have die-hard support base that believe in their respective ideology.

Over-dependent on Anwar

PKR is a new kid on the block. They have taken off in a big way only after the release of Anwar Ibrahim from jail in 2004.

In order to expand quickly, they have to take on a rag-tag ensemble of characters with different ethnic and social persuasions. The quality of their party organisation is suspect. They do not seem very capable of handling internal differences.

It seems that the whole party depends too much on the charisma and populist crowd appeal of Anwar Ibrahim, and naturally they also rely on his decision on important issues like candidature from the top down.

PKR should have all the favourable conditions for party building after their grand success at the March 8 poll last year.

By merely taxing a small percentage of the allowance of all their state executive councillors, they would have enough funds for administrative and organisational overhaul to make their party into a formidable political machine.

Unfortunately, the announcement of the 916 revolution and the series of by-elections have distracted them from the real long-term task of building their party from the ground up. This may yet be their Achilles' heel in the long run.

In their desire to be inclusive, the PKR have also absorbed some toxic assets. The consequence is the defections in Perak and the collapse of the Perak state government.

But the resignation of the PKR Jerai division chief does raise an interesting sociological question. Why do people get involved in active politics, and become office bearers at various levels of their party?

In my Utopian imagination of Malaysia, there will be many citizens of all races, men and women, young and old, educated or semi-illiterate, who are concerned about the state of their nation.

They see the problems and refuse to be mere spectators on the sideline of power. They want to be part of the solution. They want to do something about the corruption, the authoritarian rule, the imprisonment of the people by various unjust laws.

They are like the people living in the semi-darkness of Plato's Cave, with memories of the bright sunlight outside the Cave mouth.

Hardest to work in a group

Some of them will choose to join a political party, because most of the major problems can only be solved politically. There is no running away from politics!

These engaged Malaysians know that politics is dirty, and they will do their uppermost not to be polluted by the cesspool of a political life. They may hold office at various levels of the party.

A political party is a political organisation, and you do need a functioning structure with a hierarchy of command to make it work.

So these budding politicians will learn to work in a group, and this sometimes is the hardest thing to do in Malaysia. There will always be differences of opinions, and the clash of egos is still the biggest problem infesting all political parties in Malaysia. Factions appear from all corners throughout the party's structure.

But our idealistic new politicians still persist for the big picture. They may even be selected to be candidates, and become YBs (Yang Berhormat). If they join an opposition party, then their life would be turned upside down.

There may be those who think that being an YB is a big deal. It has a certain degree of glamour and power over other human beings, even for opposition YBs. Being an YB makes the family and the relatives very proud. Some women would offer their friendship, because power is a sort of aphrodisiac.

Offers of business opportunities will slip under the door at night. The YBs will be the favourite for an assorted array of middle-men looking for a hefty commission.

The pay is not bad either. I read Teresa Kok's declaration of asset and found that she makes RM27,000 a month. That is attractive motivation for some aspiring politicians. Then there would be the retirement benefits for life after retirement.

But the life of a dedicated YB is also full of sacrifices. He will have no normal family life. Old friends disappear, and new friends cannot be entirely trusted for loyalty. A good one will work full-time, 24/7. Numerous organisations will ask for donations.

He has to travel all over the country to help in party work. His business will suffer. He will have to open an office in his constituency to service his voters with personal assistants and administrative staff. There will be bills to pay. His big pay evaporates in no time at the end of the month. He has to raise funds.

The opposition activist and YB will also have to face the possibility of persecution such as ISA arrest and all kinds of court cases, the kind that are now troubling Karpal Singh and RPK (Raja Petra Kamarudin) now. It will take real courage to confront one's own fear in the face these very real threat.

To be a loyal dedicated party member is really hard. Sometimes the top party leaders do say the most stupid things on earth, and your just have to defend them to the rakyat. Sometimes, they make the silliest decision, and you just have to swallow your curses of contempt. This is the price of being a member of a large political organisation.

Problem with own ego

Then there are the rakyat on the ground who come to our political activist or YB in all shapes and sizes. The rakyat is an abstraction, because in life, there are individuals, most of whom are selfish, self-centred, or plain ignorant. They are very frustrating to the enlightened dedicated and idealistic activist or YB.

The activist or the YB has to swallow his resentment before he drifts off into the cynicism that the people on the ground are all useless and stupid. He has to talk to them as equals, politely and respectfully, in the hope of his continued political support, while trying to educate him on the larger picture.

Then, there is the big problem with his own ego. An activist or a YB is a leader of the people. For that he must have a larger-than-life ego and a larger-than-life public image. That image is a mask he must wear in public.

Many politicians I know personally begin to believe in the myth they have created for their work, confusing their masks for their real face, and enlarging their egos. The corruption of power begins, even among opposition politicians.

In short, the life of a dedicated idealistic and hard-working activist or YB is very hard. He has to give up many things that ordinary people enjoy in living an ordinary life. The rewards are not many, and the perils are great. More defeats than victories await him.

These are sacrifices he has to make. But he must not use these personal sacrifices to demand rewards from the party or from the Rakyat. Why, he must not see them as sacrifices even, because they are just his duties, his right of passage through life. At least, his life on earth has been put to good use. He has not lived his life in vain. He rejoices in being given this opportunity to serve.

This is my Utopian party members and YBs. Many individuals whom I have known in my active political involvement are like that.

When political activists and party members begin to demand that they be made candidates just because they have worked hard for the party, just because they have made great sacrifice for their cause, then the purity of their selfless political dedication has been tainted by selfishness, personal ambition, and even corruption of the soul.

It is worse when they resigns from the party, flings stinging criticism against his former friends, and try to harm his former party as much as he can. I call that political opportunism.

Then, the sooner they leave the party, the better. Otherwise, they will just become toxic asset, festering inside the organisation.

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SIM KWANG YANG was MP for Bandar Kuching in Sarawak from 1982 to 1995. He can be reached at kenyalang578hotmail.com.