Lessons from Malaysian elections

By Karim Raslan

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): I am quietly pleased by the National Front's (Barisan Nasional) recent defeat in the by-election in Lunas town, Kedah. For a start, the circus in Kedah state has shown me that our political brothers (and sisters) will stop at nothing, reminding all of us that the caliber of the Malaysians in public life is abysmally low.

However, given the scabrous and vile nature of our political discourse is it any wonder that those of real ability have forsaken politics entirely?

Nonetheless, as the country pauses for reflection what is lesson to be learned from the result?

The hard-liners on both sides will be strengthened by the narrow margin of the Justice Party's (Keadilan) victory. Each side will argue that they are within inches of grasping overall victory and that the language of compromise and moderation is self-defeating.

Government hard-liners will dismiss the by-election as a temporary aberration while the opposition will declare it as a sign of Barisan Nasional's imminent collapse -- and they will both be wrong.

Sadly, the moderates on both sides will be relegated to the coffee shops where they will complain of their respective leaderships' enduring stubbornness. However in this case, another conclusion is more sobering -- Keadilan's victory was delivered by the Barisan Nasional's incompetence and intransigence.

Moreover, if this attitude continues to prevail within the government the prospects for 2004 are worrying. It is in this respect that the by-election result should be viewed -- as a timely report card for both sides.

Coming just over 12 months after the last general election, it should force both the government and the opposition to reassess their respective records.

It is highly probable that had Barisan Nasional's hapless candidate S. Anthonysamy won the by-election, the present drift in government policies and implementation would have gone unchecked.

Coupled with the reemergence of factionalism within the dominant United Malays National Organization (UMNO) the government is left looking increasingly divisive, tattered and unimpressive.

However, that doesn't mean that I would want to see Barisan Alternatif led by Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) assuming office in 2004.

One by-election victory does not qualify them for the highest office. In short they have yet to earn my confidence.

My central concern remains the question mark hovering over the issue of PAS' intentions for the nation.

Moreover as long as they continue to accuse their adversaries of blasphemy and apostasy I will continue to doubt their commitment to a tolerant, plural Malaysia as well as the supposedly mitigating influence of their coalition partners.

Nonetheless the Barisan Alternatif has managed to achieve a working relationship (despite its fractiousness) that takes cognizance of our country's multiracial complexities with PAS stepping forward or retreating depending on the constituency.

However the Barisan Alternatif must prove -- if it is to win over the Malaysian people -- that its joint platform extends beyond a visceral hatred of the prime minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

To cement the gains made with the non-Malay community, PAS, as the leader of the alliance, is going to have to reconsider the political wisdom of many of its policies.

And as PAS seeks to couch its message afresh, tempering the religious rhetoric with expedience, will the resulting transition lead to a battle between the professional politicians and the Council of Ulema?

By way of comparison, the best case scenario for the Barisan Nasional is a period of reflection, followed by constructive self-criticism. This does not mean simplistic finger-pointing since the identifying of scapegoats merely serves to avoid self inquiry.

However, in this instance the failures within UMNO are systemic and deeply-rooted. Corruption and indolence have eaten away at the party's sense of mission, leaving the pursuit of material interests (personal, and not community interests) as the sole motivating factor.

In order to engage the young, the party must be seen to stand for something noble. The espousal of Malay rights has lost credibility. As young Malays observe the naked self-interest and greed of our so-called corporate warriors, the good that the New Economic Policy has achieved in terms of education, health care and basic services is entirely forgotten.

If the party does not return to its "service orientated" roots it will never rekindle the passion and immediacy of the Malayan Union era. The future demands that UMNO should renegotiate its relationship with the people.

As long as UMNO continues to flounder, without a sense of purpose or a set of over-arching values and principles, the Malay community will continue to desert the party in droves.

They will find solace and more importantly guidance and direction from elsewhere. And while Keadilan's victory was creditable, PAS and its Ulema will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this dramatic shift of loyalty.

As a consequence, the Barisan Nasional cannot afford to squander this opportunity because if changes are not forthcoming in the ruling alliance (both in terms of manpower, policies and style) PAS president Fadzil Noor may well end up being Malaysia's next prime minister.

So let us hope that this defeat will force Dr. Mahathir Mohamad's administration to address the glaring failures of the past 12 months and, more importantly, realize that the Malaysian politics after Anwar Ibrahim has altered forever.

The era of command politics has come to an end. The aristocratic milieu in which UMNO once operated has disappeared: an educated and increasingly skeptical electorate demands the exercise of their rights and freedoms.

Politicians -- and especially members of the Barisan Nasional -- are going to have to woo public opinion and win over the people before the implementation of policy initiatives.

The by-election result is an unequivocal statement of that the people want reform and they are tired of waiting for those changes. There has to be a greater recognition of the importance of civil liberties, a judiciary of unquestionable integrity, a professional police force as well as greater accountability and transparency in the administration.

If the message is ignored the Malaysians of all races will reject the government in 2004 and take the leap into uncharted political territory.

The writer is a lawyer who writes in the Business Times in Singapore and The Sun in Malaysia.