Tag Archives: Muda

MP allocations, MPs and Muda

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Muar MP and Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman has made an impact on Parliament after moving from the government side to the Opposition bench. His queries on allocations for MPs have exposed the unity government’s lack of commitment to reforms.

He raised the issue that his allocation was stopped after he moved to the Opposition bench and said that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) promises of reforms were “lies”.

MP allocations have been a persistent issue raised by Opposition MPs in Parliament and despite a supposedly more liberal and previously reform-minded now status quo maintaining unity government, it remains an unresolved issue.

There really is no good reason why Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should not give equal allocations to all MPs because it is not his money; it is taxpayers’ money and if a certain amount is allocated to MPs for constituency work, it is democratic to distribute it to all MPs. Failing to do so is simply being autocratic.

Anwar wants the Opposition to follow his example of asking his predecessor Ismail Sabri Yaakob for allocations for PH and PH-allied MPs. That was possible because he had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sabri to support the government. The Opposition — no longer a threat to the government — gave Sabri no reason not to comply. Although it was a successful bid, however, it wasn’t democratic because some MPs did not get the allocations.

MP allocations should not be used as leverage to get MPs to conform. It is taxpayers’ money that is the MPs’ right to have to serve their constituents and prime ministers have no right to withhold it and give it to whoever and whenever they wish.

Anwar could have broken away from the practice of the past and easily introduced a law or amendments to ensure that all allocations are equally given to all MPs. There is no justifiable reason why Anwar has failed to introduce such a law when it is in his power to do so.

The prime minister has not understood that his lack of action on this issue will backfire on him and the party that will suffer most from it will be his own, PKR. If an equal MP allocation law is not initiated now, when PH is no longer in government — that might happen sooner than expected — it is Anwar’s own party, PKR, which, as the Opposition, will suffer most without allocations.

PH partner DAP can raise private funds and could survive without MP allocations. Amanah, its other partner, if it can not survive has the option to join another coalition. But, what will become of PKR? Anwar has to think of his own party as well.

Syed Saddiq alluded to this when he raised the issue of MP allocations but all the queries are falling on deaf ears because MPs are not holding the prime minister to democratic principles and the federal constitution.

It is time that MPs started doing their homework on what the federal constitution states regarding the issues brought up in the Dewan Rakyat and argue and seek clarifications based on it.

Even with regard to Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s dismissal not amounting to a dismissal (DNAA), the questions regarding the PM’s role was restricted to the conversation he had with former Attorney-General Idrus Harun who had sought for Zahid’s DNAA.

Questions should have been asked about the reasons for extending the tenure of the AG and the constitutional basis for the decision. MPs should have a sense of what issues would be raised and seek clarification based on the constitution and principles of parliamentary democracy.

Even with regard to the sensitive issues of race, religion and royalty, the prime minister can be queried for the constitutional basis of his decisions. Constitutionally, MPs can not question the royals of their decisions and conduct. There is no need to. But MPs owe it to the people to question the prime minister of any decision or issue pertaining to royalty with regard to the running of the government.

If MPs know what the constitution says on the issues of race, religion and royalty, it would give them the confidence to query the PM with regard to these issues and hold him to abide by the rules of parliamentary democracy and the federal constitution.

The people are not interested in whatever personal explanations or bureaspeak the government spews. The people want to know if the government is operating within the confines of the law, the federal constitution and the principles of parliamentary democracy that we practise. Only MPs who know and understand democratic principles will have the courage to raise such issues and ground the debate according to the constitution. It will expose the abuse of power and poor governance.

Syed Saddiq, the lone people’s representative from Muda in the Dewan Rakyat, is doing his job but he needs more to join him. There should be more Muda representatives in Parliament and the state governments to fight on behalf of the people.

That can happen only if Muda proves to be a well-set-up grassroots-based organization. That’s the first thing Muda should do: Go town to town, city to city, and sign up members. When they have enough, hold party elections so that every person holding office in Muda is elected. It can then participate in a state or federal election knowing that it has a grassroots base that can be mobilised to get more voters.

If Muda gets itself more organised from the grassroots upwards, it can enter elections confidently and expect better results.

MPs who speak up and Muda’s now moment

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For the first time since PKR president and PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim became prime minister, PH and PH-allied MPs are speaking up. Up to now, former vocal PH MPs have kept their thoughts to themselves, but now they have begun asking the Anwar government questions.

Just recently, PKR’s Subang MP Wong Chen, Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung and Selayang MP William Leong Jee Keen urged the government to consider declassifying PJD Link’s concession agreement from the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972.

They — rightly — could not see the reason for secrecy, as a toll highway agreement does not involve trade secrets or intellectual property or in some way exposes a national threat. These are the three considerations to place an issue under the OSA.

An answer is still forthcoming and until the people get an answer, one can only conclude that whatever the government considers a “secret” has little or no benefit to the people. If it did, the government would have loudly proclaimed it!

Nevertheless, these MPs must be credited for doing their job and querying their PM even if they belong to the latter’s party and may have to face the consequences!

They understand the principle that an MP’s loyalty is first to his/her constituents. This must come first even if it goes against their PM. In fact, especially if their leaders’ actions need to be questioned!

Likewise, with Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who is the president of Muda, which is a party in the incumbent unity government. He broke the silence on his side by raising the littoral combat ship (LCS) scandal in the ongoing session of Parliament.

Syed Saddiq told Parliament that he had submitted a motion to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul to discuss the LCS scandal in detail but that it was rejected because the issue was “not a matter of public interest” and “not urgent”. He has asked the Speaker to reconsider the decision.

The Speaker explained that his reasons for rejecting the MP’s request were that they did not fulfill standing orders.

The point, however, is that no other MP raised the issue especially when the Anwar government had increased the cost while the number of ships to deliver was reduced. This is an issue of national importance as it involves taxpayers’ money and was vehemently criticised by PH MPs, including Anwar, and yet, it is not allowed for debate?

Strange! But kudos to Syed Saddiq for raising the issue. Hopefully, more MPs will follow suit and more such issues will be heard in Parliament.

The objective is not to criticise Anwar for the sake of criticising but to raise issues of concern for the people and one or two do it occasionally, but more MPs should be doing it.

Raising the LCS scandal in Parliament may work well in Muda’s favour. It is an issue that would resonate with urban voters, especially the youth, and win support for Muda aspirants who want a shot at becoming assemblypersons and take part in the coming state elections.

Urban voters, Malays and non-Malays, especially in Selangor and Negri Sembilan, disappointed by PH, may want an alternative voice to represent them. Muda may be that choice. Muda’s appeal to urban youths should be galvanized with public issues such as the LCS scandal.

If it intends to get support from disgruntled PH supporters and those who didn’t vote in the previous election, Muda needs to rethink its alliance with PH. Muda needs to know if it is willing to continue backing Anwar knowing fully well that means backing the powerful forces behind him. If by backing Anwar, it would be difficult for Muda to move forward in Anwar’s unity government, then, it may be better for Muda to go independent.

If Muda wins enough seats it might end up as the kingmaker! It should deploy a strategy of alienating neither PH nor the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) and contest seats where neither is likely to win.

PN parties Bersatu and PAS may not be able to relate with the urban Malays or non-Malay voters as well as they can in the conservative north. The only party allied with PN that might be able to resonate with urban voters is Pejuang — if it drops race-bashing and if it has been able to win some more grassroots support.

Urban voters need another platform to freely express their concerns. Muda may be poised to fill that vacuum now. It may lose all the seats it contests but, then, again it might win a few!

Minnows may dominate — if voter turnout is high

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Former Johor Umno chief Mohamad Khaled Nordin claimed today that a dominant Umno in a BN coalition would offer political stability as there would be less bickering among coalition partners.

There may be less bickering simply because Umno would be calling the shots! Coalition partners would have no choice but to go along with Umno unless Umno chooses to accommodate them when it suits their purposes.

Non-Malays would have to be wary of a dominant Umno especially if Umno wins a majority of seats in its traditional strongholds which represent only a minority of the Malays because the majority of Malays are no longer there as they have migrated to the urban areas.

According to the 2020 national census, 75.1% of Malaysia’s population is urban and the remaining 24.9% is rural, which would suggest that the majority of the Malay population has now become urban.

When the reverse was true — when the majority of the Malay population was rural — the state and parliamentary constituencies were delineated in such a way as to give them majority representation. The Malay population distribution has changed due to urban migration but the constituencies have not been redelineated to cater to the change in the Malay population distribution.

As a result, the Malay rural areas are over-represented while the majority of Malays in the urban areas are under-represented. This is the reason why Malay parties can still form a majority on their number of rural seats.

This is also the reason why the Johor state elections are very important in showing if the under-represented Malay majority in the urban areas will come out to vote and choose the party that can best increase their representation and serves their interests.

If Umno returns as the dominant party in the Johor state elections on winning the majority of rural seats, it will be a return to the old Umno dictating politics to appease its over-represented conservative rural minority and it will be old politics all over again.

If however, Umno makes inroads in the urban Malay-majority seats and forms a majority government, there will be tension between rural and urban Malay interests and that would make it as politically unstable as the governments of the last two years unless Umno wins a majority of the urban Malay-majority seats, which is unlikely as many Malay parties are vying for the same seats.

The battle will be in the urban Malay-majority seats — if the urban Malay majority goes out to vote. It will be interesting to see if voter turnout will be high in these seats.

The first hurdle of parties whose candidates are standing for election in these seats is to draw the voters out. The next hurdle is to clearly outline what each party can offer.

After the Sheraton Move and the failures of the past two years, voters may be disenchanted and prefer not to vote. Johor voters need to be told that for the first time in Malaysian history they have a choice to change their destiny.

Pejuang, Muda and Warisan are the new parties they can choose from. They don’t have the baggage that Umno/BN, PKR/Pakatan Harapan and Bersatu/Perikatan Nasional parties come with. If the voters want to start on a clean slate, these are the parties to consider. These parties need to position themselves as such and work hard to engage the voters and present themselves as the best alternative to serve their interests.

The non-Malays, too, have a key role to play in the current political scenario — if they come out to vote. They too must be wooed to vote and not stay at home. Political parties need to clearly present to them what benefits they will gain from voting for them for a new better tomorrow. The parties representing them will have the chance to form a coalition with the Malay-based parties to form a government that truly represents all the people groups in the state.

Khaled who had spoken of a “dominant” Umno in the BN coalition as reported in the media also said that the BN’s approach to Malaysia’s multi-cultural background is “integration, not assimilation”. That may appeal to non-Malays. In practice, however, it may not be encouraged if it upsets Umno’s traditional voters.

The alternative is the new parties. Individually, they may not be dominant but together in a new coalition, the minnows may actually be able to deny Umno the dominant majority.

Towards that end, the new political parties need to work extra hard to convince the voters that they can deliver. Contrary to the pre-election consensus that Johor will follow Malacca in voting for Umno, all the focussed hard work of the new parties may actually pay off!

Capitol riot, PN leaders and the rule of law

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The riot at the US Capitol when President Donald Trump’s supporters breached security and entered the building has besmirched the reputation of western democracies which have always prided themselves on their non-violent adherence to the rule of law — no doubt. Yet, despite the initial chaos and melee, eventually, the rule of law was restored.

The supporters were egged on by Trump to gather at the rally as he made unsubstantiated claims that the election was stolen from him although he had lost both the popular and electoral votes. The rally was meant to be a last-ditch effort to prevent Democratic candidate Joe Biden from being confirmed as the presidential election winner by the US Congress.

At some time during the rally, the crowd surged and pushed past the security officers who retreated, followed by the crowd who entered the building. One person was shot and killed and three others died of medical emergencies during the seige.

It was mayhem but the leaders didn’t fail the nation nor the democratic processed. The election was held, the votes were counted and recounted and congressmen met at the Capitol to confirm President-elect Biden as the winner. And when the siege happened, the National Guard was called, the Capitol building was secured, and a number of Democrats started calling for Trump to resign. A day later several Republicans in Trump’s own staff handed in their resignation. And Trump finally announced he would ensure a smooth and orderly transition of power to Biden. The rule of law upheld.

A democratic tradition does not mean that everything will go by the book. People being human will do all sorts of things but good leaders — not necessarily great leaders — are those who will adhere to the rule of law. In the Capitol siege, in the end, there was resolution because the leaders, including Trump, followed the rule of law. And political stability was restored.

Here in Malaysia, we have Sheraton Moves, Sabah moves, dismissal of all 46 corruption charges against a former chief minister, failure to face a no-confidence vote in Parliament, sacking of an elected Speaker, the appointment of an unelected Speaker, vote-buying, MP-buying …  Where on earth is the rule of law?

The Prihatin Nasional (PN) claims to be a caring coalition but it does what it likes and calls it the new normal. What we are seeing in the PN is simply a law unto themselves.

Look at its coalition partner Umno who has been threatening to leave the PN since the Sabah elections when they didn’t get the Sabah chief minister’s post. It had on two occasions in the past, working with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Anwar Ibrahim, threatened to pull out of PN but it never materialised. Now it plans to discuss the cutting of ties with Bersatu, the small party which insists on leading the PN government, at its general assembly on Jan 31.

Will it materialise or, like always, at crunch time, they quietly back out after kicking up a fuss and creating a storm of hot air? Bersatu president and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin will maintain a strategic silence and wait to see if it actually happens. If it doesn’t happen, he escapes by the skin of his teeth!

Maybe, he knows what I suspect, that Umno will not carry through its intention. He is willing to risk instability in order to remain in power. That’s all PN leaders want — power. But how they wield is beside the point.

Take Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan who has publicly declared that the reason for his party’s gripe with Bersatu is due to the latter’s “cruelty” in continuing with the corruption cases involving Umno members. Maslan and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Umno adviser and former prime minister Najib Razak are among a number of Umno members facing criminal charges in court.

“Cruelty?” Don’t only little boys cry “cruelty”, “unkind”, “you’re hurting us” when disciplined and try to weasel their way out of facing the consequences of their actions? Maslan is so wounded that he doesn’t realise he is suggesting executive interference? Bersatu is to be blamed because it invited this party lead by people facing court cases to join the PN. Where on earth is the rule of law? That was sacrificed for the sake of political expediency.

The actions of Bersatu ministers are also suspect. The appointed Speaker refuses to exercise the independence afforded to him under the law to decide on a no-confidence vote unless he gets a directive from the minister. Just recently, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s party, Pejuang’s, and former minister Syed Saddiq’s Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) applications to be registered as political parties were rejected.

Tun said at a press conference that the Registrar of Societies said that Pejuang’s application was in order but it had to be referred to the minister, the Home Minister in this case.

Is this the rule of law? Any Malaysian’s application for registration of a society or party must be approved if it’s in order. A minister can’t reject it for whatever reasons especially when the reasons are not given. That’s denying citizens our right of association.

We want the rule of law, not leaders who are a law to themselves. Such leaders should never be allowed to govern.

The Opposition needs to take up the cry for the rule of law. They are being too quiet. There should be loud demands for the PN government’s resignation. And, responsible ministers in PN’s government must resign on their own volition. They need to put the nation first.

Learn from the US experience.