UMNO As Our Representatives.

There has been a lot of talk recently about having a mature democracy. Najib Tun Razak when he was here in London talked about this, and its refreshing to know that our politicians realise the need to change things (ironic coming from him, since he’s the Chief Whip in BN – refer post below). The obvious thing to do to have a more mature system are things like having more open debate in parliament, not exercising the whip too strictly and allowing MP’s to vote according to conscience (all of which BN is trying so desperately to keep)… stuff like that.

In a democracy, you have an ideology, and you fight for it…

Copy and pasted from wikipedia:
An ideology is an organized collection of ideas. The main purpose behind an ideology is to offer change in society through a normative thought process (what the world ought to be). Ideologies tend to be abstract thoughts applied to reality and, thus, make this concept unique to politics. Typically, each ideology contains certain ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government.

What is UMNO’s ideology? To fight for Malay interest? Is this really a form of ideology? What does UMNO consider to be the best form of government? For there to be more Malays running the country?

Anyone find it weird to have a racial based government? I’m not sure where in the world this still exist, but in the west, in these so called ‘mature’ democracies, having a racially based government is considered blatant institutionalized racism.

I met this UMNO guy back home, and he was proud of being a member. He said UMNO itu Melayu, Melayu itu UMNO. I am Malay, so if his reasoning is right, I am a part of UMNO. So I guess I am not only born into a culture, not only into a religion, but also born into a party…

Maybe this is why UMNO has an overwhelming majority. Because those who don’t support them do not support the Malays. They are basically traitors of their race. And so since I want to be a good Malay, I need to fight for the Malays, and so I guess I need to support UMNO.

Blogs under attack!!!

Just as I was trying to start this one, two Malaysian bloggers were filed lawsuits by NSTP seeking injunctions against their blogs. I wonder if we will get into trouble? I guess not. After all, we’re just sweet innocent children far far away from home… We don’t know much about what’s going on in Malaysia… and how are we supposed to know? The media (note mostly owned by the government) decides what we need to know, and they have obviously decided we don’t need to know much.

That aside, the day has come when a member of the media is fighting against the freedom of expression, the very right they should be fighting to preserve. To be fair, the suit was for defamation, where the basis was the commercial integrity of a profit-making company. But should these mainstream newspapers be regarded as just money making firms, or should they have a moral, ethical or even legal duty to disseminate neutral information about the state of governance in a country? Should the mainstream media be allowed to be the representative and spokesperson of political parties, and more specifically the government rather than being a watchdog? As it is now, we only have these blogs doing it…and they are being torn down.

Like I said, it is true that the legal grounds of this suit has nothing to do with the state of the freedom of media in this country… legally it sounds fine, but practically, it threatens the very right to our freedom of expression, freedom of information, and the freedom to believe what we want. And even if it is not against law and constitution to control the media, even if the government should be allowed to use money to buy these newspapers and tv stations, should they still be allowed, when these information providers are not sale, to use the court to shut them up?

The Whip System at a Glance

by Rashid Karim

Sorry if i am over-simplifying matters, but this is to my mind, what the whip system is about. The whip is a person in a particular party appointed to ensure backbencher MP’s vote inline with the views of the party leaders. The MP’s of a party basically cannot simply vote according to what he feels best serves his constituency, but rather what is best for the party as a whole. This system is practiced by most parties in most democracies, although strictness of application varies. It does seem to undermines, to an extent, the principles of democracy, but it is found to be necessary to ensure the smooth running of Parliamentary business.

If party members can vote in any way they choose, legislative progress might be delayed, the party’s image of unity will be undermined, and the whole party would seize to operate effectively. BN is one of the parties which practice this, and understandably so. However, considering the number of seats they controlled, one may argue this effectively renders parliament useless.

In countries like the US and the UK, where the number of seats controlled by the government is not much more than the opposition, a few MP’s voting independently may result in a bill to fail. Whips can and should be used there. If it was not, nothing would get done. But for a country like Malaysia, applying the whip system too strictly defeats the whole purpose of a democracy. Recently, the leader of the backbenchers club resigned because he was apprehended by party leaders for supporting a motion by the opposition when he was supposed to vote against any opposition motion, regardless of merit.

A minister was questioned here in London some time last year about the implications of the whip being used in this way, and said, I quote “Yes, the Parliament is useless. The only reason we have it is because people will get upset if we don’t”. He also said, I quote “Who cares who the MP’s are, people vote for BN, not the person”. In a weird, politically incorrect way, he made sense. The question is should this be case?

We consider ourselves a democratic country, and this is reflected through our parliament. It is the basis on which our constitution operates. Doesn’t it worry anyone when our leaders declare our parliament useless? Doesn’t it bother anyone that when you vote, you are basically just giving power to the few Executive Council members?

Should this whip system still be practiced here in Malaysia, given the political situation, and if so should there be a limit to the power of a party to practice it? How do we limit it?

Discuss in not more than 1500 words :)

BN As Our Representatives

by Rashid Karim

Bush won his first election by winning in the state of Florida by less than 0.01% of the vote. The Blair govenment had only 55% of the seats in Parliament in 2005. But in Malaysia, BN had 10 times more seats in parliament compared to the collective opposition in the last election, a win unthinkable in US, UK or any other (properly democratic) country . As much as the government is criticized for being inefficient or unfair, the fact that they have a 92% majority should not be ignored. The question is are we being unreasonable by criticizing the government? Aren’t we just the small minority who should know our place, and shut up? Is being critical towards this greatly supported government effectively undermining the wants of the masses? Are we indirectly declaring democracy ineffective?

This argument can certainly be made, and quite strongly at that. But does this mean that all these criticisms are unjustified? The international community has said nothing but praise about Malaysia’s economic strength, national unity and rich cultural heritage. Well, in the Malaysian media at least. Not everything is reported back home. Malaysia is said to be practicing a warped form of apartheid. We are considered to have lost our economic competitive edge to countries like Thailand and Vietnam due to inefficiency and corruption. Our constitution has been under attack for being contradictory with regards to freedom of religion. This and much more. The international community did not vote our government in, but does this make these points untrue? The answers to this lies in many debates ahead. The point I am trying to make here (and it’s a very obvious point) is that democratic legitimacy does not confer moral or legal legitimacy to actions of the government. It does not matter if they had the votes of the Malaysian public, they are still bound by principles of human rights and morality and must serve in the best interest of the public.

Comments? You think this is right, or should we really shut up?

Another question worth looking at is why BN got such a big mandate from the Malaysian people. Is it because Malaysians generally share the same values and expectations and BN happened to match this? This could arguably be the case. Or could it be because they have proven to be effective leaders in previous years? This could also be the case. However lets consider this question from a broader point of view. After all, there has been a lot of criticism towards the government, as although as highlighted above, a lot of it comes from the international community, the bulk of it I would assume is from the very voters who gave them power in the first place. Why would they vote for BN if they don’t always agree with BN’s approach to governance?

The answer is never black and white. Maybe the first two points above are correct, but to an extent. BN does, to an extent, reflect the values of the majority. They are a multi-racial body, moderately religious and largely capitalist. To an extent, this does reflect Malaysian society, and so BN may be considered an appropriate representative. They have been running the country since our independence, and we have grown economically since then and so to an extent, they have proven themselves capable. But is this all we really wanted? It is true they have done a lot, but is it enough? Given all the opportunities they had, given all the resources they had, could they have done more? I think most will answer in the affirative for this.

Could it be then the majority did not want BN per se, but rather was forced to settle for BN for lack of a better opposition? This question cannot, and should not be answered, because answering it would be to assume to an unreasonable degree the preferences of the Malaysians public. It would, however, be an interesting question to reflect on personally.

Comments? Or is this post just pointless? I know there is no resolution to be made here, but I feel keeping these issues in mind may help with further discussion on other topics. Also, I got bored and so decided to ramble, and since I’m moderator, I get to put up anything I want…

Have fun everyone. And take care.

The Moderators Declaration.

I would like to declare that what I write here in my articles or comments does not necessarily reflect my political, economic or religious views, or that of KPUM’s. Rather, my aim here is to encourage debate about various issues and ideas. I consider my role here as purely facilitative.

This means let me know what you think, but please don't scold me too much. Thank you.

How It Works

Typical blog style. Articles of various issues, legal and non-legal, will be posted from time to time. These articles may be contributed by any interested person by emailing it to the moderator of this forum i.e. me (Rashid Karim) at a.karim@lse.ac.uk. Once approved, the article will be posted on the blog, and open to comments. The comments will not be screened, but the moderator reserves the right to remove any comments which is deemed inappropriate. However, the moderator is obliged pay special emphasis to right of contributors to express themselves freely, and will only remove comments in exceptional cases.

Once a sufficient amount of comments and proposals has been accumulated, the moderator or the author of the article will conclude with a resolution of the issue. This resolution will be voted on by all members of the forum, and if passed will be published on KPUM’s monthly newsletter. Where possible and appropriate, a formal resolution will be drafted and sent to the authority concerned highlighting our collective concerns, and proposals to remedy the situation.

This blog is the blog of all Malaysian law students in UK, but shall be open to everyone to read and contribute. Comments can be made in either English or Malay (You may also leave comments in Mandarin or Tamil, but this makes it slightly difficult for me). We aim to practice full freedom of expression. Any suggestion, comment or opinion is encouraged. However, it should be kept in mind that KPUM is an official student representative body. This means that it would be in the interest of all members to keep language clean, discuss matters maturely and sensibly, treat other members with respect and to phrase sentences carefully where the issue is sensitive, without offending other members, but as to still allow your point to be expressed clearly. What you say reflects on us all. Having said this, contributors are encouraged to sign their names, but we will respect your choice to remain anonymous if you prefer.

The moderator of this blog will not declare any official religion or language or grant any special status to anyone :)

Note, even this is open to comments and suggestions. Please let me know if you feel the process should be conducted in a certain way. Also let me know if there are any grammatical or speeling mistakes, as this would be embarrass for me. Again, I can be reached at a.karim@lse.ac.uk It would be helpful if all emails concerning this blog be titled Blog : (title) at the subject bar.

Have fun.

Welcome

Hi.

This is KPUM’s new blog/forum thing.

We started this to provide a platform for frank and open discussion about various issues, legal and non-legal, plaguing Malaysians newspapers and coffee shops. There are apparently loads of forums here in UK which you can attend and give your two-cents, but as it turns out, these forums are not heavily publicised or supported, and so there are a few more cents out there not shared with everyone. We are here to encourage free expression, allowing all of you to say what you want here, online. We know you can express yourself on other blogs with cooler names, but we feel you should do it here for of several reasons.

Firstly, we feel that opinions and criticism alone is not enough. We have been talking for ages about the problems, but nothing has been done. Thus, we aim to not only discuss these issues fully, but also to come up with resolutions stating our stand on the issue and propose recommendations for change. We will then published these resolutions and recommendation, and forward it to the authorities concerned. They will most probably ignore us, or send a mean letter to the committee, but we will stand by it. KPUM has claimed since it was founded to be the representative body of all Malaysian law students in UK, even when some of them don’t even know it exist. We promise to do this from now on. We will represent you, rather than just claiming to, and you will be heard. But you first need to say something, even if its worth two cents.

Secondly, having an active body of members gives us more leverage to ask for sponsorship. The more you talk, the more money we can get, the more events we can organise, and the more free food you get when you come. Simple economics.

Thirdly, for your own self satisfaction. We know this does not mean much to some of you (or maybe that’s just me?), but you will be surprised at how good you feel once you have said what you want to. It gives you a sense of purpose. And even if KPUM can’t give you free food, we have given more if we were able to help you realise you are more than just a future degree holder, but also the saviour of our country (as lame as it may sound). We should not merely aim to be successful subjects of the system, but rather to be a part of a successful system. We may criticise the authorities for ineffective governance, but a bigger crime is to be indifferent. To be indifferent about a problem is not being neutral about it, but rather being supportive of it.

(but in any case, we will try to give you free food)

For all these reasons, we hope you support this forum. And on our part, we will try our best to give the representation you deserve. Looking forward to hearing from you.


Rashid Karim
Blog moderator