opinion Individuals embrace principles for a variety of reasons. Often basic principles are seated in a deep love of truth and justice, not just for themselves and family, but for everyone.

Perhaps there is a wish to meet high standards of conduct set by religious conviction. Sometimes, however, a person's principles are based on purely personal concerns, such as perpetuity in political office.

Political parties are composed of people who believe in common principles espoused by the party platform. Democratic political parties are based on idealistic principles which promote the greatest happiness and freedom for the citizens.

On other occasions it is seen that the principles are but prelude to policy that concentrates freedom and happiness for the political office holders.

A democracy, in theory, allows the citizens, by the use of a vote freely cast, to make choices as to the principles they prefer. The political party which announces the more popular principles is given the opportunity to preserve those principles, establishing governmental policies designed to place the avowed principles into practice.

One popular democratic principle says that a citizen is innocent until proven guilty. Another is the idea that citizens may gather peacefully for whatever purpose to socialise, hear popular speakers, or just to exchange ideas and news of the day. In a democracy these principles are set forth in the Constitution, which guarantees these principles as a basic right of the people.

Social contract

The political parties of the nation, as a tacit social contract, are expected to respect the supremacy of the Constitution as the highest law in the land. On election to office they give an oath to this effect. Sometimes they are insincere.

When a national constitution has enshrined a set of principles, each party in temporary power is expected to protect the basic rights of the citizens, and not to abrade them in any manner. To do so denies the citizens the fruits of their treasured democracy. When the politicians in power, for whatever reason they may offer, fail to uphold the principles on which the nation is founded, they have betrayed the trust of the people.

History offers many examples of such betrayals. In Germany the National Socialist Party, or Nazi, under the leadership of an Austrian who assumed the name Hitler, the rights of the people were taken away in the name of racial superiority and ethnic purity. The production of babies with blonde hair and blue eyes became a national priority. The leader had dark eyes and dark hair. This incongruity was politely ignored at the time.

All news was filtered for effect. He appeared daily before the people, haranguing and rousing them to support his dreams, blinding them to his abominable set of concealed principles which, when translated into policy, led the country into WWII, resulting in the death of over 50 million people throughout the world. He committed suicide among the ruins.

Numerous other examples from history demonstrate the fragility of democracy. It is readily destroyed when ambitious and greedy men put themselves forward by wile and deceit. Vigilance of the citizens must protect human rights. Once lost, only a determined struggle can restore the guarantees of the Constitution.

Serious failure

Recent US press reports quote the US ambassador-designate to Malaysia as making an offhand remark to Senator John Kerry during her confirmation hearings. "After all, Senator, Malaysia is a democracy."

The US has had a representative in Malaysia for decades, onsite to keep the State Department briefed on local affairs. Her unchallenged remark suggests a serious failure of the US to truly appreciate the depths to which the Constitution of Malaysia has sunk. Malaysia is not a democracy.

All the principles of democracy have been lost. Not one of the parties making up the Barisan Nasional coalition will openly state, as a matter of principle, that a citizen is innocent until proven guilty.

None will object when the police power is misused to stage show trials. None object when ministers justify police cruelty by offering specious allegations of ridiculous association. The BN coalition has lost all democratic principles, and that is why its policies are in such contravention of citizen's rights.

There is no freedom of the press. The press is owned and controlled by the BN parties and no dissent is allowed, especially as it may touch on rigged elections. The media has lost such public respect that few newspapers or TV stations can operate at a profit.

The public, seeking truth, has moved to high technology for its news and communication. Computers and the Internet are favoured. Recognising this trend, the official policy is to interfere wherever possible, sending viruses to opposition writers and opposition discussion groups. Many in the secret police are employed to act as propaganda agents, fomenting dissent and disseminating fabrications.

Political VCDs

A favoured means of the opposition to present news and talks by popular personalities is through VCDs distributed rapidly throughout the country. Now the party in power, under the pretext of 'fighting piracy', is propagating a policy of prohibiting sale of VCDs by the many street vendors.

The principle of a free press is again violated, as the policy betrays. Not one of the BN coalition parties has pointed out that the policy violates the principle.

In a democracy there are always principles which guide the day-to-day policy. In the absence of such principles, policies have no guide but to promote political power in perpetuity.

In Malaysia the political parties in power have no principles, and this lack is exposed in every policy that is made. It becomes the more obvious and embarrassing when each and every opposition party puts forward a popular set of principles.

The BN can only respond by temporarily bending their policies to match, or appear so. The facility with which this is done, such as in the switch to a policy of merit to meet university entrance requirements, is confirmation that Malaysia is led by a coalition without principles. Such a sharp change of tack catches the ministers off balance, and they juggle clumsily to regain footing.

When challenged to state their principles, as many writers have done, the BN coalition ministers respond with silence. They have no principles they care to state. Yet they dare to claim popular support. They put candidates forward for public inspection, but these candidates are without personal principle.

Their policies are subject to amendment on a whim from above. Party functionaries cannot claim to represent either the people or themselves, only the narrow and selfish interests of the prime minister, whose personalised policies are held in a death grip.

Devoid of principles

Each BN candidate takes an oath of office to protect the Constitution. He is then issued an official rubber stamp with which to activate the party policies in Parliament. The principles enshrined in the Constitution are lost in the rough on the golf course.

Though things today may have a sombre hue, there is determination that present conditions are not permanent. The airborne chairs of MCA are but spray of the first wave. The young come as by a tidal wave, sweeping clean all before them. The scarecrows of the fields have lost their force. It is the new millennium. They speak their unprincipled policy but to the birds.

Though the baju and songkok be silken and new, the head is old, the face full of concern. When the police arrive in the middle of the night to make their arrest, none come to applaud. It is something of the old world, devoid of principle, lacking interest.

Voltaire said history is but the sound of the hobnailed boot going up the stair, and the velvet slipper coming down the stair. Updated, it is the jogging shoe ascending, the wing-tip brogue descending.

Because he cannot defend the corrupt policies, the lack of principle, the prime minister cannot face the other Commonwealth heads of government at their meeting in Brisbane. The deputy prime minister and foreign minister are to go instead, but hanging their heads in shame.

HARUN RASHID is a scientist avidly interested in the application of Islamic principles in international affairs. The promotion of goodwill through civilisational dialogue motivates his writing. His Worldview column is a personal analysis of Malaysian affairs from a global perspective. Not all Worldview articles are published by malaysiakini. For the full list of articles, see the Worldview archives webpage.