I am delighted every time I bump
into Malaysian in Brisbane Australia. I guess due to our small population, we
are more bonded and united than we might be back in home country. We love a
chat about life and somehow our conversation will always drift to discussion
about current situation in Malaysia and how we miss the great Malaysian food
that we used to take for granted.
I can
reassure the government officials that are so paranoid about the situation of
brain drain that Malaysian in Australia still loves our country of origin. I can also say with deep conviction that, no
matter how hard we try to act like Aussie or mask our identity by changing our
accent, deep inside our heart we are still a Malaysian. Put it this way, we are
proud to be a Malaysian, but many would hesitate to say that they are proud of
the situation in Malaysia and the direction the country is heading.
The
conversation always circulating around a few issues:
aa)
The corruption in our
country
Even though we are far away, we
can still glean from the news that corruption is still somehow rampant in
Malaysia. This ranges from the ‘cows issues’ which saw billion being embezzled
from the original purpose for which it is allocated; the submarine case where again
billions of dollars are ‘lost’ in the process of acquiring the submarine which
turn out to be malfunction; the 40 million that was paid to SABAH political
party with no legitimate purpose other than so called political donation;
millions spent for so called ‘ lawatan sambil belajar’ to overseas, and the
lists go on…
bb)
The increased tension and
confrontation between BN and Pakatan Rakyat
Many will tell me that they are
sick of the way both side across the political divide try to polarise every
issues. BN will always try to paint a rosy picture by saying how successful is
the government
transformation program and the Opposition will always find fault
with whatever the government is doing. Many I spoke to will asked , ‘ why must
they argue over every issues and why can’t they all sit down and discuss ,
after all, whatever they do is supposed to be in the best interest of the
rakyat .’
There are also many who voice
their frustration over how some quarters use violent tactics to assert their
political dominance. There have been numerous interests of violence used by
certain political party’s supporters against the people who turn up for ceramah
or political gathering of opposition.
There are also distrust against
Pakatan Rakyat government and many would view them in cynical. Many will also
say that Pakatan will tend to be corrupt just like BN one day and what is a
point of change ?
cc)
The economic problem
One of the perennial problem that
are haunting all Malaysian are the increasing cost of living. Many will feel the
heat of price hikes even though the government try to deny that inflation is a
problem facing the country. This happens against the backdrop of reduced rate
of subsidies by the government. This problem is intensified by low wages. Malaysian
in Australia will always cite the minimum wages system.
Even though things are
expensive in Australia and inflation is also a problem, at least the wages
could cope with the rising living cost. For example, a blue collar worker will
earn like AUD 20 -25 per hour. This is in stark contrast with minimum wage
system in Malaysia where ordinary Malaysian blue collar worker who are mandated
to be paid RM 900 minimum each months.
Many are also disenchanted by the
BR1M which are perceived as short term ‘sweat’ given out by the government. I
cannot deny that RM 500 might be helpful for many families but the lingering
question is whether this is sustainable. Malaysian overseas is more concern about the
large national debt approaching 54 % of the GDP. Our budget has been in deficit
for over a decade and we are spending more that we can afford.
dd)
The standard of living in
Malaysia
We are all grateful for the
effective transport system in Australia. Public transport and regular and
reliable. This seems to be in stark
contrast to Malaysia public transport where punctuality and reliability is a
big problem. This results in Malaysian
having to buy cars and this cause constant traffic jam and air pollution.
In addition, many will tell me
how safe they will in Australia compared to Malaysia. At least we can walk
safely in night and along the road in Australia without being worry of the
snatch thief. However, this is only true to a certain extent as there are
certain areas in Australia that have higher crime rate but at least we know that
we are generally safe.
We can lament over and over again
about the problem plaguing our country. However, very often we are only
interested in complaining without thinking of how to solve the problem. Often I
have to endured long-winded complain from fellow Malaysian and when I asked
them for solution to the problem, they either look at me with a blank face or reply with a sigh , ‘ its
always like that lah, there is no hope la.’
Being me, I start to think why
are we at the situation where we are now? We used to be more advance than
countries like korea and Japan. We even beat them in Football. I always ask
myself how we could have been different. After some serious contemplation and
research, I have identified the cause of the problem and how they can make a
different:
a1)
Institution
In Australia, the judiciary
system has to be independent from other arm of government. This is necessary to
provide check and balances against arbitrary use of power by the government. In
Mabo v Queensland , the High Court
invalidated the legislation enacted by the Queensland government that
invalidated all land claim by the aboriginal people. The court held in Mabo (NO
2) that aboriginal people hold a native title and the extinguishment of their
land rights are subject to the racial discrimination act 1975.
In Malaysia, the judiciary system
has been undermined by the sacking of 5 judges in 1988 including the Chief
justice. Constitutional amendment was
also pass to amend article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution that undermine the
independence of the judiciary system.
Moreover, there are many
independent bodies and agencies that check on the exercise of power by the
government officials. For example, the police commission will be checking on
the conduct of the police and complaints can be made by the public against
misconduct by police officials. In addition, independent body are often
instituted to look into certain matter. For example, the Fitzgerald inquiry
reveals much misconduct by Queensland police officials and many recommendations
were adopted by the government at that time.
In addition, Attorney general Chamber ( AG) and Anti –corruption
agency are independent from the executive power. We have seen prosecution of
many government officials. The most recent prosecution of Craig Thompson who
are in charge of union and fair work Australia was charged with Fair Work
Australia alleges the federal NSW MP misused union funds when he was the Health
Services Union national secretary between 2002 and 2007, by using credit cards
to spend thousands of dollars on personal expenses, including prostitutes.
So far we have not seen
Government minister being charged for ‘cow’s scandal’ nor have we see
prosecution of top government officials involving in the purchase of the faulty
submarine.
This is the main cause of the
corruption problem that we have in Malaysia. Moreover, the lack of
institutional check and balances also cause misuse of power by law enforcer
particularly the police forces. When we look at the problem further,
ineffective fight against crime has its root in the lack of checks on police
power. Very often we are informed that many police officers are stuck with
administrative work and only very few detective and police that go around
enforcing the law. If a police commission was instituted, at least the
commission can look into ways of improving the efficiency of the police
officers and prevent them from misusing the power
If the MACC is more effective and
independent in fighting corruption, more money will be spent on improving the
life of the people and we will not be stuck with poor economy.
Hence, the first way to make
Malaysia a better country is to ensure that we have independent agency that
check on executive power.
bb)
Cultural Norm
In Malaysia, we are so used to
bribery that we seem to tolerate it and accept it as part of the ways ‘things
are done’. We even think that it is legitimate for government officials to take
in bribe as long as it is not too obvious or too much.
Our ‘ taka apa’ attitude has
caused us a great deal in legitimizing the taking of bribery. There is once a
New Zealand Minister that is forced to resign for using the tax payer money to
pay for the expenses of her husband when they travel overseas for work. This
might see preposterous for Malaysian who may say , ‘alah, tak apa la, sikit
je.’
We need to change the way we
think by saying NO for any form of bribery and corruption. We must insist that
no mean no and there are no leeway for getting around it.
cd)
Accountability
and Transparency
Very often, government officials
are not accountable to the people for their actions. As any government’s action
and policies will have potential big impact on rakyat, the government must take
responsibility for its mistakes. For example, we have stadium and bridges that
collapse and no government officials are penalized for their mistake.
In addition, the government are
not transparent in its operation. In this regard, the government often
formulated and implemented policies without consultation with the people. For
example, development and acquisition of land in PENGERANG was carried out
without consulting the locals.
As a result of lack of
accountability and transparency, many of the policies were against the interest
of the people and this result in economic inefficiency in the form of
wastage.
Government must start to
recognise the need to be accountable to the people and take responsibility for
any poor policies
de)
Deliberative Democracy
Winston Churchil once said that
‘democracy is the worst form of government except all those other system of
governance that had been tried.’
It is true that democracy can
lead to confrontation and polarise the society. However mature democracy with
two party system provides the necessary checks and balances against
government’s action.
Believe me or not, human nature
tends to be greedy and our desire and thirst for power are never quenched. The
failure of other system such as monarchy and communism is rooted in the
weakness of human nature. This happens when a man has the supreme power and there
are no one to check his exercise of power. As a result, we have Stalin, Mao Tze
Dong, Hitler who are seen as great leader with supreme power but tend to misuse
their power for self-glory, greed and desire.
They either become too overzealous in their pursuit of glory at the
expense of the people or blinded by power and lost sight of their original aim
to the betterment of the people.
To prevent overzealous exercise
of power and to curb weakness of human nature, democracy provide two party
systems where the government will be checked by the opposition to ensure the
government does not neglect the interest of the people.
Democracy also provide a platform
for the people to voice their opinion . Even though we might see confrontation
among political party across the divide, we can view it positively as a way to
ensure that the problem are not swept under the carpet and that the government
cannot do whatever it wishes.
However, focusing on the part of
confrontation and clashes of ideas in democracy totally miss the greater
benefit that democracy can bring. At the core of the idea of democracy is that
people must come first and the interest of the people must always be
prioritized. Hence, in mature democracy, deliberation become a norm where
political across the political divide and put aside all their differences in
the interest of the rakyat and try to seek consensus. The opposition will not
oppose for the sake of opposing and will support the great idea proposed by the
government. The government , on the other hand, will not dismiss whatever
proposed or opposed by the government with contempt and will tend to listen to
the voice of the dissent.
However, looking at how things
are in Malaysia, I believe we still have a long way to go to achieve mature
democracy and discard confrontation in favour of deliberation and
collaboration. Hence, we must not lose hope when we see the tension between BN
and Pakatan Rakyat. Instead, we must hold true to the belief that this is a
transition process and hopefully one day we can have both sides working
together for the betterment of the rakyat. However, what Malaysia now need is a
two party system which provides an alternative for the people.
I cannot deny the fact that
Pakatan Rakyat might be corrupted and incompetent one day. After all, power
tend to corrupt. However, we must also bear in mind that absolute power corrupt
absolutely . The beauty of democracy with two party system is that beside
providing check and balances, it provide an alternative to the rakyat to choose
who to govern them. For example, if one day Pakatan Rakyat is really corrupted,
at least the people has an option to choose BN to govern them back.
In conclusion, I still love
Malaysia and I believe we are going to be a better country in the future. But
until then, let us not lost faith. No matter how bad things are back in
Malaysia, we must be proud that we are Malaysian we bear the hope for a better
future for our children. The wost thing that can happen to anyone is to be
apathetic and lost hope. Remember always to look at the sun and you will never
see the shadow.
