It's not just about clean electoral rolls, says don
Joseph SipalanPublished: Jul 31, 2011 6:29 PM | Updated: Jul 31, 2011 10:33 PM
A senior academician today cautioned against taking comfort in "micro-level" reforms in the way the country is run, stressing that positive changes such as a clean electoral process would be pointless if they do not come with a supportive system of governance.
UPDATED 7.01PM
UKM's Shamsul Amri Baharuddin says Malaysians need to look at the bigger picture.
A senior academician today cautioned against taking comfort in "micro-level" reforms in the way the country is run, stressing that positive changes such as a clean electoral process would be pointless if they do not come with a supportive system of governance.
Prof Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, the director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), implied that the issue is not so much about just fixing a present problem, but also thinking about future problems that could and would inevitably arise from the solutions implemented.
"As far as I know, we are still practising a representative democracy. We have wakil rakyat (elected representatives) and we vote them in. We may have a clean election, but can we guarantee that the wakil rakyat will wakil (represent) us, or his or her party?" he posed to some 500 students at the 5th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
"This is just to help us to think. We can also talk about changing the present election system where professional thinking is preferred. We should start thinking of not just cleaning the electoral rolls, (because) that's like tweaking an old car... I want a new car," he quipped, to cheers from the audience.
Shamsul, who was one of four panellists in a discussion on the impending 13th general elections, pointed out that Malaysia is also stuck with the long-standing problem of separating the government from politics.
He acknowledged that it is difficult to change that mindset - which he pinned down as the reason why the BN wants the people to be "grateful" to them for "bringing development" on taxpayers' coin - but stressed that change is necessary.
Malaysia suffers an ‘emergency culture'
Taking the example of the "Cold War" mentality in the way the authorities implement laws, Shamsul said it is an issue that has had far-reaching implications on Malaysian society today.
"This is a very serious issue. Because (of) the Cold War, a lot of the laws we have today were instituted during the emergency period. We have passed the Cold War. What we have to do is redefine who is our enemy, or what is our target. We never did this," he said.
Shamsul pointed out that because Malaysia's authorities still suffer from an "emergency culture", enforcement agencies such as the police, Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and the military are incapable of adapting to the new challenges they are now expected to deal with.
"Now, we are talking about non-traditional security issues, such as food security, water, health... can you imagine (a) police (officer) teaching mathematics? (The expectation) now (is) we do things for people, rather than chase them and shoot them.
"The ISA is a continuation of that kind of (emergency) framework, and unless that framework is changed, it would be very difficult.
Prof Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, the director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), implied that the issue is not so much about just fixing a present problem, but also thinking about future problems that could and would inevitably arise from the solutions implemented."As far as I know, we are still practising a representative democracy. We have wakil rakyat (elected representatives) and we vote them in. We may have a clean election, but can we guarantee that the wakil rakyat will wakil (represent) us, or his or her party?" he posed to some 500 students at the 5th Annual Malaysian Student Leaders Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
"This is just to help us to think. We can also talk about changing the present election system where professional thinking is preferred. We should start thinking of not just cleaning the electoral rolls, (because) that's like tweaking an old car... I want a new car," he quipped, to cheers from the audience.
Shamsul, who was one of four panellists in a discussion on the impending 13th general elections, pointed out that Malaysia is also stuck with the long-standing problem of separating the government from politics.He acknowledged that it is difficult to change that mindset - which he pinned down as the reason why the BN wants the people to be "grateful" to them for "bringing development" on taxpayers' coin - but stressed that change is necessary.
Malaysia suffers an ‘emergency culture'
Taking the example of the "Cold War" mentality in the way the authorities implement laws, Shamsul said it is an issue that has had far-reaching implications on Malaysian society today.
"This is a very serious issue. Because (of) the Cold War, a lot of the laws we have today were instituted during the emergency period. We have passed the Cold War. What we have to do is redefine who is our enemy, or what is our target. We never did this," he said.
Shamsul pointed out that because Malaysia's authorities still suffer from an "emergency culture", enforcement agencies such as the police, Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) and the military are incapable of adapting to the new challenges they are now expected to deal with."Now, we are talking about non-traditional security issues, such as food security, water, health... can you imagine (a) police (officer) teaching mathematics? (The expectation) now (is) we do things for people, rather than chase them and shoot them.
"The ISA is a continuation of that kind of (emergency) framework, and unless that framework is changed, it would be very difficult.
"There is no point to tinker with small things without looking at the bigger picture. We have to look at the bigger picture, that is equally important as the little things that need changing," he said.
Sophisticated electorate
On the subject of the impending 13th general election, Shamsul said voters are more and more disenchanted with the long-used method of top-down governance, which he said has been in effect since the time of the Emergency in the 1960s.
He said this will figure prominently among voters, who are experiencing a rapidly growing need to state their views.
"In a way, what is created is a gap between what they think we want and what we want. This is the general situation all over the country, where what the government, ruling party or authorities think we want is not what we want. That gap is not filled," he said.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin acknowledged the dangers of disregarding public opinion - particularly the growing awareness of civil liberties - stressing that any political party would be ignoring these "intangible issues" at their own peril.
He said while two-thirds of the 222 Parliamentary seats are found in rural constituencies, more than 50 percent of the country's registered voters live in cities, and is expected to go up to 75 percent by the year 2020.
"If my party were to completely ignore these issues and focus on development issues and a populist campaign, we would be sorely mistaken," he said.
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar stressed however that political leaders need to be cognizant of the fact that bread and butter issues will still figure prominently, despite the optimism of greater public participation and engagement as seen during the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally.
"Global issues such as the worsening economic situation will impact Malaysia, which will affect living conditions. That brings a host of other issues, despite the pronouncements of mega super projects by the government.
"At the end of day, the electorate will see whether it will affect them, will it be enough for the next few months," she said.
Bridget Welsh, an associate professor in political science at the Singapore Management University, meanwhile believes that the eventual outcome of the coming polls will be decided by the fence sitters, who she estimates account for 40 percent of registered voters.
She said it will also hinge on voting trends among Malay and Indian voters and also trends in Sabah and Sarawak - commonly referred to as BN ‘fixed deposit' states.
Welsh also stressed that it is necessary to reform the electoral system, stating that it does not give equal opportunity for registered voters to exercise their rights.
"There are clear problems with the election process. It is free in how you can vote for who you want, but it's not fair... many in this room cannot vote because you're overseas, and this is wrong," she said to the summit participants.
On the subject of the impending 13th general election, Shamsul said voters are more and more disenchanted with the long-used method of top-down governance, which he said has been in effect since the time of the Emergency in the 1960s.
He said this will figure prominently among voters, who are experiencing a rapidly growing need to state their views.
"In a way, what is created is a gap between what they think we want and what we want. This is the general situation all over the country, where what the government, ruling party or authorities think we want is not what we want. That gap is not filled," he said.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin acknowledged the dangers of disregarding public opinion - particularly the growing awareness of civil liberties - stressing that any political party would be ignoring these "intangible issues" at their own peril.He said while two-thirds of the 222 Parliamentary seats are found in rural constituencies, more than 50 percent of the country's registered voters live in cities, and is expected to go up to 75 percent by the year 2020.
"If my party were to completely ignore these issues and focus on development issues and a populist campaign, we would be sorely mistaken," he said.
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar stressed however that political leaders need to be cognizant of the fact that bread and butter issues will still figure prominently, despite the optimism of greater public participation and engagement as seen during the July 9 Bersih 2.0 rally.
"Global issues such as the worsening economic situation will impact Malaysia, which will affect living conditions. That brings a host of other issues, despite the pronouncements of mega super projects by the government.
"At the end of day, the electorate will see whether it will affect them, will it be enough for the next few months," she said.
Bridget Welsh, an associate professor in political science at the Singapore Management University, meanwhile believes that the eventual outcome of the coming polls will be decided by the fence sitters, who she estimates account for 40 percent of registered voters.She said it will also hinge on voting trends among Malay and Indian voters and also trends in Sabah and Sarawak - commonly referred to as BN ‘fixed deposit' states.
Welsh also stressed that it is necessary to reform the electoral system, stating that it does not give equal opportunity for registered voters to exercise their rights.
"There are clear problems with the election process. It is free in how you can vote for who you want, but it's not fair... many in this room cannot vote because you're overseas, and this is wrong," she said to the summit participants.
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