Different actors, same script
Sim Kwang YangPublished: Aug 1, 2005 12:29 PM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
It is that time of the year again. Regular like clockwork, the season for political parties has begun in earnest.
The most recent Umno general assembly has ended with the usual whimper about the Malay Agenda. By now, Malaysians would be surprised if delegates at such an Umno pow-wow do not indulge in another orgy of histrionics about continuing the NEP till thy-kingdom-come. Periodic outbursts of ethnocentric fervour are a fact of life here, like the sun and the rain, and the traffic jam in Kuala Lumpur.
But somehow, you get the feeling that the old tune has been perverted. These days, there is hardly any wailing about eradicating rural poverty. Instead, the AP mania that has taken centre stage merely points to the new Umno dilemma: the fight for the spoil of war has replaced the fight for Malay interests. To be more exact, the fight for individuals' spoil of war does not even require the pretence of fighting for the interests of the race.
Of course, the media has to cook up an apparent tiff between a former top dog and his former self-proclaimed daughter. As always, personal conflicts are the stuff of which saleable news is made...
It is indicative of the lack of meritocracy in Malaysia generally, that in any political election, the best man seldom wins.
It is that time of the year again. Regular like clockwork, the season for political parties has begun in earnest.
The most recent Umno general assembly has ended with the usual whimper about the Malay Agenda. By now, Malaysians would be surprised if delegates at such an Umno pow-wow do not indulge in another orgy of histrionics about continuing the NEP till thy-kingdom-come. Periodic outbursts of ethnocentric fervour are a fact of life here, like the sun and the rain, and the traffic jam in Kuala Lumpur.
But somehow, you get the feeling that the old tune has been perverted. These days, there is hardly any wailing about eradicating rural poverty. Instead, the AP mania that has taken centre stage merely points to the new Umno dilemma: the fight for the spoil of war has replaced the fight for Malay interests. To be more exact, the fight for individuals' spoil of war does not even require the pretence of fighting for the interests of the race.
Of course, the media has to cook up an apparent tiff between a former top dog and his former self-proclaimed daughter. As always, personal conflicts are the stuff of which saleable news is made...
Our press people do tend to be over-generous in bestowing all kinds of fancy nick-names on our leading political personalities. As for me, I will always reserve the title of "Iron Lady" to that formidable old dame in the UK. At least she never shed tears in public, perhaps knowing that such ostentatious display of a politician's innermost emotions was unlikely to go down well with a very cynical British press.
Nasi priok speaks!
Long shall we wait for the day when our Malaysian press too will be immunised against politicians' theatrics with a dose of healthy cynicism. Our home-grown press corps is more likely to develop a posture of ingratiating subservience. After all, most of the media world is owned by the ruling political parties and their ardent supporters. The priok nasi speaks!
That is why the issue has been made out to be: who gets what, and why? If everybody is talking about it, that is because the political climate in Malaysia prevailing for the last half century has tended to make a prisoner of envy out of every Malaysian. Personal wants have taken precedence over others' needs.
Meanwhile, the roads in Kuala Lumpur continue to be terminally congested, with the faceless masses of drivers paying through their nose for their cars, petrol, toll, insurance, spare parts and parking fees. I would think that ought to be the real political issue of the day. But the Malaysian press thinks otherwise.
Obviously, concern for the lot of the suffering masses of working people is not the business of delegates going on their political Mecca to attend their party general assemblies. Theirs is a family affair. To put it more precisely, the core of their being would be more likely be devoted to settling score that has accumulated through long standing family quarrels.
Umno is lucky this year - no party election has been scheduled.
Across the Barisan table, Gerakan is all poised for dangerous undercurrents of discontent. Dr Lim Keng Yaik has announced that he will serve another term, allegedly his last. That pronouncement of intent, in a Chinese sort of way, usually means that he is not to be challenged for the presidency. Meanwhile, the old patriarch has also anointed Dr Koh Tsu Koon, the Penang chief minister, as his successor. Kerk Choo Ting, his incumbent deputy, must be feeling pissed off like hell. The plot is thickening.
The tragic hero
In contrast, the incumbent MCA president has neither such luck nor such prestige as to stave off a direct challenge to his leadership. Ong Ka Ting suffers the fatal disadvantage of never having been elected to the top post in his party. Two years ago, in a compromise reached between the warring A and B teams, the then party president Dr Ling Liong Sik anointed Ong as his successor without taking the trouble of seeking a mandate from the general party membership for that purpose. Hence, Ong's obvious problem of moral legitimacy as the patriarch of this the second largest party in the Barisan stable.
Like a tragic hero in a Greek epic play, Chua Jui Meng has announced his candidacy for the MCA top post in the coming polls.
One recalls the Tan Koon Swan challenge to Dr Neo Yee Pan for the party presidency in the early 80's. Then Lee San Choon suddenly retired, without ever stating the real reasons for his doing so, and Neo succeeded him with a lack of moral legitimacy similar to that confronting Ong Ka Ting to-day.
Tan Koon Swan (photo) was able to mount a serious challenge to Neo, because of his personal financial clout and his team of organisers who could engineer successive emergency general meetings to legitimate his election as party president. Unfortunately for Tan, he had to spend quite a few years languishing in a Singapore prison, and that paved the way for Ling Liong Sik to assume party control, over dramatic protests by Lee Kim Sai.
So this is the first direct challenge for the MCA top job in decades! No wonder so much media interest has been generated. As I observed, personality conflicts are the stuff of which saleable news is made.
An observer on malaysiakini declared forthwith that democracy has returned to MCA, because Chua Jui Meng has published his election manifesto, and party delegates can now have a choice based on the different political programmes offered by the contestants.
Who needs a manifesto?
Well, in theory, Chua has made an attempt to return the semblance of democracy to MCA election. His meet-the-Chinese-community gathering at the Federal hotel on July 28 attracted some 1000 curious people. Again, in theory at least, the MCA which claims to represents the interests of the Chinese, ought to be sensitive to the feelings of the Chinese constituents at large.
But democracy works in strange ways in Malaysia. Election manifestoes do not function as they ought to. How many voters actually read and study the manifestoes of the various contending parties during a general election anyway? Do not voters base their political choice more on personalities and their crispy slogans rather than the principles and policies of nation building as outlined in their manifestoes?
The case of a party election in a political organisation riddled with perennial internal factional strife like the MCA is even worse
The point about a party election is very much about fighting for the control for the near absolute power of appropriating party resources. In the case of the MCA, the extent and the magnitude of the party's resources are quite considerable, and hence the keener the fight for party control.
The declared ideology of the MCA in representing the rights and interests of the Chinese has long been tacitly assumed to be gospel truth; what is now left is the scramble for vested interests by the legion of factions too busy with forming fluid strategic alliances to pay heed to Chua's plan to restore relevance to the party.
The alliance between Ong Ka Ting and his unelected deputy Chan Kong Choi is such a marriage of convenience.
Best man seldom wins
They were previously stalwarts from the rival A and B teams respectively. Call them strange bed-fellows caught in an unholy alliance if you like. In truth, they have nothing to show for their last two years of party leadership, except for that lacklustre Life-long Campaign which hardly inspires political fervour. On paper, they look shaky.
But these two gentlemen do sit squarely in the party headquarters, like spiders at the centre of their far flung web. They control the administrative and communication machinery of the party, right down to the divisional and branch levels.
They alone enjoy quick direct access to all the voting delegates, as well as the nationwide network of aides and hangers-on who could bring their influence to bear upon the outcome of the final voting. They need no election manifesto.
In contrast, Chua Jui Meng has found himself in the unenviable position of an outsider. His attempt to meet delegates in various states throughout the country has been a dismal disappointment. Many would simply not turn up as promised. Either they have been told not to entertain a challenger publicly, or else, they truly believe Chua to be no more than an ambitious leader who puts his personal interest above the unity of the party. Such is the typical mentality of the Chinese in Malaysia.
It does not really matter whether Chua will make a better MCA president than Ong Ka Ting or not. It is indicative of the lack of meritocracy in Malaysia generally, that in any political election, the best man seldom wins. If Confucius were alive and well to-day, and if he were to run against Ong Ka Ting, he would probably lose miserably.
At the end of the day, whoever leads the various party can hardly be expected to bring radical change to the political landscape of Malaysia. The actors may or may not have been replaced, but the script will remain the same.
The most recent Umno general assembly has ended with the usual whimper about the Malay Agenda. By now, Malaysians would be surprised if delegates at such an Umno pow-wow do not indulge in another orgy of histrionics about continuing the NEP till thy-kingdom-come. Periodic outbursts of ethnocentric fervour are a fact of life here, like the sun and the rain, and the traffic jam in Kuala Lumpur.
But somehow, you get the feeling that the old tune has been perverted. These days, there is hardly any wailing about eradicating rural poverty. Instead, the AP mania that has taken centre stage merely points to the new Umno dilemma: the fight for the spoil of war has replaced the fight for Malay interests. To be more exact, the fight for individuals' spoil of war does not even require the pretence of fighting for the interests of the race.
Of course, the media has to cook up an apparent tiff between a former top dog and his former self-proclaimed daughter. As always, personal conflicts are the stuff of which saleable news is made...
Our press people do tend to be over-generous in bestowing all kinds of fancy nick-names on our leading political personalities. As for me, I will always reserve the title of "Iron Lady" to that formidable old dame in the UK. At least she never shed tears in public, perhaps knowing that such ostentatious display of a politician's innermost emotions was unlikely to go down well with a very cynical British press.
Nasi priok speaks!
Long shall we wait for the day when our Malaysian press too will be immunised against politicians' theatrics with a dose of healthy cynicism. Our home-grown press corps is more likely to develop a posture of ingratiating subservience. After all, most of the media world is owned by the ruling political parties and their ardent supporters. The priok nasi speaks!
That is why the issue has been made out to be: who gets what, and why? If everybody is talking about it, that is because the political climate in Malaysia prevailing for the last half century has tended to make a prisoner of envy out of every Malaysian. Personal wants have taken precedence over others' needs. Meanwhile, the roads in Kuala Lumpur continue to be terminally congested, with the faceless masses of drivers paying through their nose for their cars, petrol, toll, insurance, spare parts and parking fees. I would think that ought to be the real political issue of the day. But the Malaysian press thinks otherwise.
Obviously, concern for the lot of the suffering masses of working people is not the business of delegates going on their political Mecca to attend their party general assemblies. Theirs is a family affair. To put it more precisely, the core of their being would be more likely be devoted to settling score that has accumulated through long standing family quarrels.
Umno is lucky this year - no party election has been scheduled.
Across the Barisan table, Gerakan is all poised for dangerous undercurrents of discontent. Dr Lim Keng Yaik has announced that he will serve another term, allegedly his last. That pronouncement of intent, in a Chinese sort of way, usually means that he is not to be challenged for the presidency. Meanwhile, the old patriarch has also anointed Dr Koh Tsu Koon, the Penang chief minister, as his successor. Kerk Choo Ting, his incumbent deputy, must be feeling pissed off like hell. The plot is thickening.
The tragic hero
In contrast, the incumbent MCA president has neither such luck nor such prestige as to stave off a direct challenge to his leadership. Ong Ka Ting suffers the fatal disadvantage of never having been elected to the top post in his party. Two years ago, in a compromise reached between the warring A and B teams, the then party president Dr Ling Liong Sik anointed Ong as his successor without taking the trouble of seeking a mandate from the general party membership for that purpose. Hence, Ong's obvious problem of moral legitimacy as the patriarch of this the second largest party in the Barisan stable.
Like a tragic hero in a Greek epic play, Chua Jui Meng has announced his candidacy for the MCA top post in the coming polls.
One recalls the Tan Koon Swan challenge to Dr Neo Yee Pan for the party presidency in the early 80's. Then Lee San Choon suddenly retired, without ever stating the real reasons for his doing so, and Neo succeeded him with a lack of moral legitimacy similar to that confronting Ong Ka Ting to-day.
Tan Koon Swan (photo) was able to mount a serious challenge to Neo, because of his personal financial clout and his team of organisers who could engineer successive emergency general meetings to legitimate his election as party president. Unfortunately for Tan, he had to spend quite a few years languishing in a Singapore prison, and that paved the way for Ling Liong Sik to assume party control, over dramatic protests by Lee Kim Sai. So this is the first direct challenge for the MCA top job in decades! No wonder so much media interest has been generated. As I observed, personality conflicts are the stuff of which saleable news is made.
An observer on malaysiakini declared forthwith that democracy has returned to MCA, because Chua Jui Meng has published his election manifesto, and party delegates can now have a choice based on the different political programmes offered by the contestants.
Who needs a manifesto?
Well, in theory, Chua has made an attempt to return the semblance of democracy to MCA election. His meet-the-Chinese-community gathering at the Federal hotel on July 28 attracted some 1000 curious people. Again, in theory at least, the MCA which claims to represents the interests of the Chinese, ought to be sensitive to the feelings of the Chinese constituents at large. But democracy works in strange ways in Malaysia. Election manifestoes do not function as they ought to. How many voters actually read and study the manifestoes of the various contending parties during a general election anyway? Do not voters base their political choice more on personalities and their crispy slogans rather than the principles and policies of nation building as outlined in their manifestoes?
The case of a party election in a political organisation riddled with perennial internal factional strife like the MCA is even worse
The point about a party election is very much about fighting for the control for the near absolute power of appropriating party resources. In the case of the MCA, the extent and the magnitude of the party's resources are quite considerable, and hence the keener the fight for party control.
The declared ideology of the MCA in representing the rights and interests of the Chinese has long been tacitly assumed to be gospel truth; what is now left is the scramble for vested interests by the legion of factions too busy with forming fluid strategic alliances to pay heed to Chua's plan to restore relevance to the party.
The alliance between Ong Ka Ting and his unelected deputy Chan Kong Choi is such a marriage of convenience.
Best man seldom wins
They were previously stalwarts from the rival A and B teams respectively. Call them strange bed-fellows caught in an unholy alliance if you like. In truth, they have nothing to show for their last two years of party leadership, except for that lacklustre Life-long Campaign which hardly inspires political fervour. On paper, they look shaky.
But these two gentlemen do sit squarely in the party headquarters, like spiders at the centre of their far flung web. They control the administrative and communication machinery of the party, right down to the divisional and branch levels. They alone enjoy quick direct access to all the voting delegates, as well as the nationwide network of aides and hangers-on who could bring their influence to bear upon the outcome of the final voting. They need no election manifesto.
In contrast, Chua Jui Meng has found himself in the unenviable position of an outsider. His attempt to meet delegates in various states throughout the country has been a dismal disappointment. Many would simply not turn up as promised. Either they have been told not to entertain a challenger publicly, or else, they truly believe Chua to be no more than an ambitious leader who puts his personal interest above the unity of the party. Such is the typical mentality of the Chinese in Malaysia.
It does not really matter whether Chua will make a better MCA president than Ong Ka Ting or not. It is indicative of the lack of meritocracy in Malaysia generally, that in any political election, the best man seldom wins. If Confucius were alive and well to-day, and if he were to run against Ong Ka Ting, he would probably lose miserably.
At the end of the day, whoever leads the various party can hardly be expected to bring radical change to the political landscape of Malaysia. The actors may or may not have been replaced, but the script will remain the same.
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