Democracy…….or…….DemoCrazy ??? by DyDx, 18-10-2009
My cursory observation of recent political events makes me wonder whether “democracy” is a one-word terminology for the political system we are practising now, or is it “demo..crazy” a two-word expression which aptly describes the state of “ craziness” that pervades the whole political environment.
I casually shared this observation with a friend who responded satirically, “We do not suffer from ‘political craziness’, we enjoy every minute of it. We are beginning to take circus clowns more seriously than politicians.”
Recent events seem to reinforce not only this perception but actually breathing life into this state of ‘political craziness’:
1. If an election were to be held to elect an “Icon of Money Politics”, Isa Samad would win hands down. BN/UMNO in nominating him as candidate in the recently-held by-election in Bagan Pinang, a move strongly criticized and condemned by UMNO veterans no other than Tun Mahathir and Tengku Razaleigh, must have acted ‘super-shrewdly’ or just plain ‘crazy’.
The fact that the ‘Icon’ won with a landslide proved that
(a) BN/UMNO under Najib’s leadership is very focused in winning election battles and is prepared to do whatever it takes to achieve them and rebuild the political fortunes of BN/UMNO
(b) the feelings of endearment of the constituents for the candidate completely overwhelmed universal values like, clean & honest, morally upright, ethical and civic-conscious, and placing Rakyat’s interests above self.
A political scientist analyzing the Bagan Pinang election results applying the usual political principles and tenets would ask: are the voters crazy? Of course they are not. They are at liberty to vote for anyone whom they think would contribute most to the development of the constituency.
Now we can see clearly the late Zakaria of Klang’s source of political power: endearment from UMNO grassroots in Klang. He was so powerful that Khir Toyo had to appease him by giving in to his numerous demands for favours.
Even the ex-PM Pak Lah had to honour him by attending his Hari Raya Open House. This endearment did not come from personal charisma or other personal attributes, but from long years of patronage and lording over the grassroots, cronyism and other loyalty-enhancement activities.
I am sure UMNO, through its ‘crazy’ move of putting up Isa for the by-election and being proven right by the Bagan Pinang constituents, must have gained new political insights to better counter PR in future by-elections, as well as preparing for the next General Election.
2. The recently concluded EGM of the MCA resulted in throwing out both its President and Deputy President.
The precedent of dismissing simultaneously both the President and Deputy President of a political party, to my knowledge, has never happened anywhere in the world, not even in the economically backward and politically primitive African continent.
It seems that the warring tribes, in the various African countries, are more adept than the MCA in selecting their leaders and making peace with their adversaries.
The tragic comedy of MCA is self-inflicted as shown by the series of misjudgments by the members, the elected leaders and their respective grass-root supporters and its Central Committee.
The first misjudgment was by the delegates about a year ago when they elected Ong Tee Keat and Chua Soi Lek as number 1 and 2, knowing fully well that they hate each other’s guts and impossible to have a ‘workable’ relationship between them. Ong Tee Keat, probably harbouring misgivings on CSL’s personal life and also seeing him as a threat, side-lined him to such an extent that CSL appears to be a political eunuch with zero responsibilities (in olden China the eunuchs have the honour of serving the Emperor and the privilege of sharing gossips with him).
In short, OTK is forcing the CSL ‘tiger to jump over the wall’. By instructing the Disciplinary Board to investigate CSL, which in my opinion is an unnecessary and demented decision, OTK is rubbing an explosive and excruciating mixture of chili powder, pepper and salt into CSL’s wound….his personal pride and the dignity of his family.
The end result, which is now history, led to the ‘explosive and excruciating’ EGM which resulted in the comical but tragic situation wherein MCA is practically leaderless while still embroiled in unfinished internal battles.
What was unsettling was the absence of “words of wisdom and advice” from community leaders in diffusing the OTK-CSL do-or-die showdown. Where were the ex-leaders of MCA, leaders of the various guilds and associations, chambers of commerce and industry?
To my knowledge only 5 relatively high-ranking ex-MCA leaders spoke up and offered advice, but sad to say, these advice were nothing more than showing support for OTK or CSL. It was obvious that Michael Chen, Ting Chew Peh and Fong Chan Onn were on the side of CSL, while Lee Kim Sai and Tan Tiong Hong were pro-OTK.
One would have expected these seasoned leaders to provide more objective and sound advice to the delegates in helping them to decide on the future of MCA ( and not that of OTK or CSL’s political career). They should have spelt out a list of criteria, which are relevant though not exhaustive or complete, in attempting to gauge the leadership qualities of the contenders:
(i) the guiding principles of MCA’s political mission,
(ii) the need to have a cordial and mutually trusting relationship with UMNO,
(iii) the strong cultural bonds with the guilds and associations, economic links with the chambers of commerce and industry which mutually reinforces each other’s interests,
(iv) track record and performance in their ministerial portfolio,
(v) level of acceptance by the Chinese community,….. and then be bold enough to give their well-considered opinion to the delegates.
It is obvious that MCA is totally detached from its ex-leaders, and does not have sufficiently strong bonds with the rest of the community, and if a leaderless MCA can still claim to represent the Chinese community, isn’t this crazy?
In today’s Star Newspaper, it was reported that OTK felt hurt “by the change in the people he considers his friends because of the ‘influence of political power’”. OTK has to be very naïve politically to think that his once-closed comrades would value the friendship between them more than their political ambition and power.
In any political organization the hierarchy of imperatives, although never written as a political ‘gospel’, is well understood and practiced by shrewd politicians:
(1) political power, focusing single-mindedly in achieving the coveted political position,
(2) competence, once you achieved the coveted position you form alliances with competent comrades who have strong grass-root support, are professionally competent and good at politicking,
(3) loyalty, those whose loyalty could be bought through some form of horse trading,
(4) friendship, those who can add value to your social life but may not stand by you in times of crisis, unless they see you as the undisputed winner.
OTK’s lamentations came about because his priorities were upside down. I pray that OTK, being surrounded by insurmountable problems, and for the sake of his family, could maintain his sanity and don’t go ‘crazy’.
3. Joining UMNO and MCA in their jog down the ‘crazy’ lane, is PKR, Parti Keadilan Rakyat, helmed by Anwar Ibrahim who is frequently touted as the future PM should PR be elected to power in the next GE.
Today’s Star reported on ‘cracks in PKR Sabah’ caused by the appointment of Azmin Ali, PKR Vice President, to the position of state liaison chief of Sabah. This event casts a long shadow over AI’s ability to lead the yet-to-be-registered PR coalition, and his political ambition as future PM.
I am surprised to see how politically myopic and strategically naïve AI was in his hurried march to Sabah. Having been a Cabinet Minister for so many years, he must be aware of the resentment of East Malaysians towards Federal Officers posted to be “taikos” in Sabah and Sarawak.
The decision to appoint Azmin to head Sabah is sad to say, laden with disrespect for the level of political maturity of the Sabahans and laced with the explicit arrogance of the Federal one-upmanship- over- East Malaysia mentality. Despite his competence, Azmin has become a ‘victim’ of this fiasco and probably landed up as a persona non grata in the Sabah political scene.
I am surprised that PKR and for that matter AI’s political IQ failed to pick up the cue from the recent Bagan Pinang by-election result which demonstrated unequivocally that “local sentiments overwhelms political logic and moral values”. PKR had foreseen the potential factional fight among the Sabahans for the coveted position of state liaison chief, and mistakenly thought that Azmin’s appointment would extinguish the factional battle.
Raja Petra’s mantra that politics is all about perception rings very true in this case. Azmin’s entry into Sabah before the factions could have the opportunity to throw mud at each other, is perceived to be an intrusion into Sabah as a ‘political colonial master’ from Peninsula to lord over them.
PKR should have waited and allow the factions to start the mud-slinging and then get invited by one of factions to intervene to resolve the dispute. Azmin would now be perceived as a ‘mediator’ and ‘saviour’ to bring some semblance of political order in the state.
With due respect to PKR, the consistent fumbles it made in addressing its internal party problems have cast doubts in the public’s mind as to its level of political maturity and strategic competence in resolving the myriad of problems facing the Rakyat.
From the perspective of the Rakyat, the political outlook is not bright: PR may be less of a evil compared to BN, its capability to deliver is in doubt.
Hopefully a higher level of political consciousness among the Rakyat, more intensive efforts by civil societies, and a more cohesive and effective Opposition that can exert pressure on BN to adopt more progressive programs, would move our society over to the ‘politically sane’ zone.