Malaysia: Elections without
representation
By Baradan Kuppusamy
KUALA LUMPUR - Political tension is rising in the run-up to
Malaysia's next general election as demands for free and fair polls
made by a coalition of opposition political parties and
civil-society groups are increasingly being met with violence by
the ruling 13-party Barisan Nasional (BN, or National Front)
coalition.
This month, police fired tear gas and shot at protesters, injuring
two opposition supporters in the chest, while breaking up a massive
opposition rally in Terengganu state, one of the few areas of
Malaysia where the opposition and government are matched roughly
equally in electoral strength.
The rally, organized on September 8 by BERSIH, an acronym for a
coalition of five opposition political parties and 26 civil-society
groups that means "clean" in the Malay language, was the biggest
gathering held so far to demand reforms to the electoral system.
The United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysia's largest
political party and the leader of the BN coalition, has won all 11
general elections held since the country achieved independence in
1957.
BERSIH has been touring the country mobilizing public support for
its reform cause ahead of next polls, which are widely expected to
be called in November. Police responded with what demonstrators
contend is excessive use of force, adding a new and violent
dimension to Malaysia's electoral politics.
"The use of such hard force and firing weapons, injuring opposition
supporters, is unprecedented in recent history," said parliamentary
opposition leader Lim Kit Siang.
Police said the assembly did not have a proper permit and was
therefore illegal, but opposition leaders have insisted on their
right to peaceful assembly.
During the melee, the national flag was burned, an act the
government-controlled mainstream electronic media have taken
advantage of by showing the scene over and over again, in effect
accusing opposition members of being unpatriotic - a serious
accusation in a year when Malaysia is celebrating 50 years as an
independent nation.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi himself accused the opposition
parties of starting a riot to blame the government and discredit
his National Front coalition. For their part, opposition leaders
have charged that cleverly disguised "agents provocateurs" had
burned the flag and put the blame on them.
"The incident strongly suggests that police harassment has reached
new heights against gatherings deemed unfavorable to the
government," said de facto opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in an
interview this week with Malaysiakini, an independent online news
agency. "This is cause for grave concern."
The campaign for electoral reforms is a major effort by the
long-suffering opposition political parties and civil-society
leaders aimed at leveling the electoral playing field.
Among the changes they want is abolition of the so-called "first
past the post" polling system, which was inherited from the
departing British colonial authorities and allows the election
winner with a simple majority to dominate Parliament.
Opposition political parties have historically garnered anywhere
between 40% and 50% of the national vote, but always end up with a
paltry number of seats in Parliament - as is currently the case.
The combined opposition controls only 18 of the 219 seats, although
their parties polled more than 40% of the national vote at the 2004
general elections.
"This is an outdated system that shuts out minorities, women and
indigenous people ... their voice is drowned out by majority rule,"
said opposition politician Lim. "It does not reflect the national
vote that [the] opposition won in the elections.
"With the outdated system, the government virtually gives itself a
huge majority every election," he said. "We have elections but not
representative rule nor democratic practices - it is a camouflage.
It is time major changes are made to the election system to make it
truly representative."
Other BERSIH demands include an end to gerrymandering of electoral
constituencies that takes place once every 10 years and to make the
Election Commission an independent authority, ending its alleged
subservience to the ruling coalition.
Critics also want the government to allow in domestic and
international election observers and to remove the discretionary
powers given to the Registrar of Societies to deny the registration
of new political parties for arbitrary reasons. An example of this
perceived abuse of power pertains to the Socialist Party of
Malaysia, which has been denied registration for more than a decade
on grounds that it poses a threat to national security.
"We also want the high cash deposits for candidates to be reduced,"
said Lim Guan Eng, secretary general of the Democratic Action Party
(DAP), the largest opposition party in Parliament. "It is
ridiculous to impose high cash barriers for contesting and still
claim we are a democracy. Such methods prevent poor people from
seeking elected office, leaving the rich to dominate Parliament."
(The filing fee just to contest a parliamentary constituency in
Malaysia is 8,000 ringgit, nearly US$2,300).
Another BERSIH demand is to increase the extremely short eight-day
campaign period - arguably the shortest of any democracy in the
world.
"Such a short campaign period is ridiculously inadequate to
[persuade] voters to back the opposition," said Sivarasah Rasiah, a
human-rights lawyer and vice president of Anwar's National People's
Party.
"On the other hand, the ruling coalition has all the advantages. It
keeps the polls date secret but prepares heavily in the meantime
and then springs a surprise by suddenly dissolving Parliament,"
Rasiah said. "During the short, eight-day campaign period [the
ruling coalition] unleashes the government machinery and mainstream
media on us. This is unethical and a serious violation of
democratic principles.
"Worse, the blitz is paid for by public resources that should
rightly be also made available to us in equal measures," Rasiah
said. "While we are hounded, refused permits and shot at, they are
free to assemble and preach directly and over the
government-controlled mainstream media. It all makes for a sham
election and democracy."
Some election experts say the electoral roll itself is faulty, with
the commission failing to remove dead voters and clean up what
opposition party leaders claim are thousands of "phantom
voters".
"There is a need to completely revise and overhaul the electoral
roll because it is heavily compromised," said Yap Swee Seng,
executive director of Suaram (Suara Rakyat Malaysia, or Voice of
the Malaysian People), a leading human-rights organization and
BERSIH member. "We need a roll that is clean [and] transparent and
one that inspires confidence."
So far the commission has conceded to one of BERSIH's many demands
- use of indelible ink to prevent multiple voting. But opposition
political parties and other groups under the BERSIH umbrella are
planning to up the ante of their campaign and set the stage for a
major tussle with the ruling BN coalition by organizing a mammoth
rally next month to press their case for reforms.
(Inter Press Service)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/II20Ae02.html