Yesterday’s Pakatan Rakyat meeting and the collective decision to reject calls for a unity government with the Barisan Nasional (BN) sends a clear signal that the opposition coalition will probably stay the course till the next general election.
This is not completely surprising as the lack of public support for a unity government has been strongly felt. There was also little support for the idea either from within the BN or within Pakatan. In fact, even within Umno and PAS, support was hardly unanimous.
With a comfortable majority in Parliament, there is really very little reason for the BN to even consider a unity government. Although the BN itself has its roots from attempts by Abdul Razak Hussein to heal the wounds of the May 13 race riots, such a platform is not required today in a Malaysia that is politically mature enough to withstand a change in the political equation.
Unity governments are often formed when there is an obvious external threat. In 1963, when the country faced a confrontation with Indonesia over the formation of Malaysia, the Alliance did not see it necessary to form a unity government with the opposition. In fact, riding a tide of anti-Indonesian sentiment and through an efficient campaign whereby the socialist front was painted as ‘red’ communists, the Alliance won a comfortable majority.
Some politicians are trying to paint a picture that the current global economic crisis is a threat. But in the same breath, the BN government is assuring Malaysians that it has the capability to handle the crisis and see us through it.
The BN also said that it pulled out of the Penanti by-election to cool down the political temperature and so that it can concentrate on managing the economy. All these mixed signals came to a head when the prime minister decided to ‘accept’ the olive branch from PAS leaders.
Now that the branch has been withdrawn, we can come to the conclusion that the BN has decided to face the economic crisis without a unity government. Both sides have also expressed their willingness to talk to each other when faced with difficult problems. This is a good sign of a developing political maturity.
Devil’s advocate
Nonetheless, Pakatan must now do its duty in Parliament by being His Majesty’s loyal opposition. It must ready itself to shadow the cabinet as ministers carry out their duties. The PM has set out some very impressive goals for his cabinet and for the nation.
It will not be easy for Malaysia to achieve these goals - of being a more united nation and also of being a high-income economy.
The job of a loyal opposition is to play devil’s advocate. Why, for example, is it desirable for the government to make Malaysia a high-income nation? If it is a service-oriented industry that we want to develop as a new growth engine, what plans have the government made to face the yawning income gap that is the outcome of such an economy? Thus far, no service-oriented high- income nation has been able to develop an equitable society.
More importantly, both sides should pay special attention to our education system. To my mind, all plans designed to make Malaysia into a more knowledge-intensive economy will come to nought if our schools and universities do not become centres for excellence.
How, the opposition must ask, is the government going to improve our schools and universities whilst maintaining the ethnic-based quota system? If that system has weaknesses, the opposition must come up with alternative models.
Some politicians have suggested a single-school system to encourage national unity. The problem is that education has been politicised for so long that anything suggested is immediately viewed with suspicion. This means that we are trapped in a 1960s time-warp, with a 1970s system that is increasingly unable to produce students for the global workplace.
Perhaps, both the BN and Pakatan can jointly tackle the issue of education. A royal commission with wide ranging powers should be appointed to see how the education system can be renovated to meet with national and international challenges.
Knee-jerk reactions to the teaching of English and adhoc projects driven by greed need to stop. Like the schools we build, the future we plan needs a strong foundation if it is not to collapse and bury us.
We do not need unity among political parties but politicians need to be united in thinking about the common good of Malaysia. The crisis is a window of opportunity to put some things right.
If we do not grab the opportunities it presents, we may wake up one day blaming ourselves for our constant and unproductive bickering.
(First Published in Malaysiakini on 23 June 2009)
This is not completely surprising as the lack of public support for a unity government has been strongly felt. There was also little support for the idea either from within the BN or within Pakatan. In fact, even within Umno and PAS, support was hardly unanimous.
With a comfortable majority in Parliament, there is really very little reason for the BN to even consider a unity government. Although the BN itself has its roots from attempts by Abdul Razak Hussein to heal the wounds of the May 13 race riots, such a platform is not required today in a Malaysia that is politically mature enough to withstand a change in the political equation.Unity governments are often formed when there is an obvious external threat. In 1963, when the country faced a confrontation with Indonesia over the formation of Malaysia, the Alliance did not see it necessary to form a unity government with the opposition. In fact, riding a tide of anti-Indonesian sentiment and through an efficient campaign whereby the socialist front was painted as ‘red’ communists, the Alliance won a comfortable majority.
Some politicians are trying to paint a picture that the current global economic crisis is a threat. But in the same breath, the BN government is assuring Malaysians that it has the capability to handle the crisis and see us through it.
The BN also said that it pulled out of the Penanti by-election to cool down the political temperature and so that it can concentrate on managing the economy. All these mixed signals came to a head when the prime minister decided to ‘accept’ the olive branch from PAS leaders.Now that the branch has been withdrawn, we can come to the conclusion that the BN has decided to face the economic crisis without a unity government. Both sides have also expressed their willingness to talk to each other when faced with difficult problems. This is a good sign of a developing political maturity.
Devil’s advocate
Nonetheless, Pakatan must now do its duty in Parliament by being His Majesty’s loyal opposition. It must ready itself to shadow the cabinet as ministers carry out their duties. The PM has set out some very impressive goals for his cabinet and for the nation.
It will not be easy for Malaysia to achieve these goals - of being a more united nation and also of being a high-income economy.
The job of a loyal opposition is to play devil’s advocate. Why, for example, is it desirable for the government to make Malaysia a high-income nation? If it is a service-oriented industry that we want to develop as a new growth engine, what plans have the government made to face the yawning income gap that is the outcome of such an economy? Thus far, no service-oriented high- income nation has been able to develop an equitable society.
More importantly, both sides should pay special attention to our education system. To my mind, all plans designed to make Malaysia into a more knowledge-intensive economy will come to nought if our schools and universities do not become centres for excellence.
How, the opposition must ask, is the government going to improve our schools and universities whilst maintaining the ethnic-based quota system? If that system has weaknesses, the opposition must come up with alternative models.Some politicians have suggested a single-school system to encourage national unity. The problem is that education has been politicised for so long that anything suggested is immediately viewed with suspicion. This means that we are trapped in a 1960s time-warp, with a 1970s system that is increasingly unable to produce students for the global workplace.
Perhaps, both the BN and Pakatan can jointly tackle the issue of education. A royal commission with wide ranging powers should be appointed to see how the education system can be renovated to meet with national and international challenges.
Knee-jerk reactions to the teaching of English and adhoc projects driven by greed need to stop. Like the schools we build, the future we plan needs a strong foundation if it is not to collapse and bury us.
We do not need unity among political parties but politicians need to be united in thinking about the common good of Malaysia. The crisis is a window of opportunity to put some things right.
If we do not grab the opportunities it presents, we may wake up one day blaming ourselves for our constant and unproductive bickering.
(First Published in Malaysiakini on 23 June 2009)
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