Democracy? Don’t we already have that in Malaysia?
No, unfortunately we don’t. Only in name but not in substance. Yes, every 4 or 5 years we are allowed our rights to vote but in reality what choices are available to us?
We can only choose from the BN or from a hodge-podge of parties that oppose the BN, each with their own ideology and agenda, until now that it is.
For the 1st time in Malaysian politics, these parties that oppose the BN have come together as a coalition called the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and are ruling 5 states. Even though the PR is in its infancy, and there are many ideological issues yet to be worked out, nevertheless they offer the rakyat an alternative to the BN.
Look what the BN has morphed itself into when the rakyat did not have a viable alternative to cast a dissenting vote. The very essence of democracy has been destroyed by the BN in that there is no longer the separation of powers of the executive, legislative and the judiciary.
Today, after years of uninterrupted BN rule, the borders between these 3 pillars of democracy is indeed very blur!
Luckily for Malaysia, there is still hope yet.
On 8 March, many disgruntled and angry Malaysians from all ethnicity had the courage to say “Enough is Enough” to the BN. They took away the BN’s ability to amend the Federal Constitution at will by denying the BN its 2/3 majority in parliament and put others, not of the BN in power in 5 states.
How the PR will manage is yet to be seen given the short time they’ve had so far and also to contend with sabotage and lack of cooperation from the BN federal government.
But what must surely be good for the country and rakyat is we are finally seeing the emergence of a 2-party system. A 2-party system which will empower the rakyat’s democratic rights of “Power of the people, by the people, for the people”
A 2-party system that will make voting no longer an exercise in faith. Faith in the ‘opposition’ to provide a credible alternative government. Faith in the incumbent BN to hopefully remember the rakyat and give us our just dues.
A 2-party system will allow the rakyat to vote in the future with ‘intelligence’ and 1st-hand experience of who is serving us better. Thats right, a government’s job is to serve the people and not the other way round, as some of the elitist BN leaders would have you believe.
At the moment, the PR is fragile to say the least but they must be allowed the opportunity to stay together long enough for a 2-party system to take root and flourish in Malaysia.
Anwar Ibrahim represents the ‘glue’ that is holding the PR together, that is why the BN’s unrelenting ‘assaults’ on him to finish him off politically. For they realize that without Anwar Ibrahim, the PR will most likely fall apart and the BN will go back to its merry old ways of unchallenged power to do as it likes.
Whether you love Anwar Ibrahim or loath him is not important. But if you love democracy, then a vote for Anwar Ibrahim is a vote for democracy.
The 57,969 registered voters of Permatang Pauh are given this opportunity to decide the future course of democracy in Malaysia. For the sake of the country and the future of all Malaysians, I hope they will choose wisely.
-romerz-
