The first Bersih 1.0 rally in KL, 2007
Elections in authoritarian or semi-authoritarian countries are different from those in established democracies. Some, including Stanford University’s Lisa Blaydes, see these elections as a tool for elite management, where elites are often competing for the distribution of rents and resources. Others, including Andreas Schelder, argue that such elections are permitted in order to present a “democratic” face, but also manipulated to reap the fruits of legitimacy without the democratic uncertainty. This could include the curtailment of media coverage during an election, a corrupted electoral roll, gerrymandering and even money politics. Whatever the arguments may be, many dictators around the world continue to manipulate the menu of democratic rights, hijack state institutions and get away with hollow victories at the detriment of those whom they are supposed to serve.
The same can be said with the electoral system in Malaysia. Some fundamentals of the voting system is similar with that of the UK, with 222 single member constituencies using the First-Past-The-Post system to elect one member each to the Parliament in Kuala Lumpur. Yet, the similarities end there. The institution of elections in Malaysia has been severely eroded over the last few decades – these include the use of patronage and elite management through the New Economic Plan, the curtailment of civil liberties through the use of the Internal Security act, the control of the press by party and government linked businessmen and cronies, the reduction of the campaign period to 9 days, the oft repeated “racial and religious violence” and the lack of institutional competency over the electoral roll. As such, the Barisan Nasional has skillfully manipulated these elections to ensure that they remain in power with the minimal loss of seats.
We only need to look at the recent Sarawak state elections of April 2011 to understand the implications of non-democratic elections, and it is no surprise that after 2008 and 2011, electoral reform is in the minds of many Malaysians. The chain of democratic choice has been broken with plenty of obstacles in the way of free and fair elections, leaving the country with a system that heavily relies on patronage, corruption and unjust laws to survive. Some well-informed Malaysians, including those from the opposition bloc, have decided to band together in recent years to confront the Barisan Nasional government over electoral reform. As you may have read over the past few days, things has recently gotten uglier, with the extremely fearful elites scheming to thwart the newly reformed Bersih 2.0 (or Coalition for clean and Fair Elections – a coalition of 62 NGOs) from holding a street rally in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow through various means – including the arrest of Parti Sosialis Malaysia activists in Penang, “outlawing” Bersih detaining anyone wearing a yellow shirt, and having “Malay rights” NGOs viciously smear Bersih and it’s chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan. In short, the state and the Malaysian people are now being held hostage by a nefarious bunch of elites hell-bent on retaining their self-declared right to rule. Bersih, a movement without the might of an army behind it, is anything but a threat to the safety and security of Malaysians. It is, however, a threat to the BN with its 8-point electoral reform program and its growing mass support.
* These 8 points are:
(1) that the Electoral Commission clean up the electoral roll
(2) reform postal voting
(3) use indelible ink,
(4) introduce a minimum 21-day campaign period,
(5) allow all parties free and fair access to the media,
(6) strengthen public institutions,
(7) stop corruption,
(8) put an end to dirty politics.
The 8 point program, when properly implemented, would bring about a proper change to the electoral system. Firstly, BN-UMNO would have to release its grip on the system by reforming the problematic postal voting system, ensuring that the registration of electors is cleaned up, putting an end to patronage, reforming the institutions of state to ensure that UMNO is seperate from the state, eventually paving the way for a free and fair fight for all those contesting seats in General and state elections. And that would mean almost certainly the erosion of the Barisan Nasional (and UMNO) advantage in any election. Yet, it seems that a free and fair fight is the last thing Najib Razak wants in the coming months, with Malaysians reputedly awaiting snap polls for Najib to wrest back some seats from the opposition coalition and to test his popularity.
Nevertheless, the actors hijacking the state (namely Prime Minister Najib Razak, his Home Minister Hishammudin Hussien and the Malaysian police) have already stumbled very badly. Firstly, the inexplicable arrests of activists and an MP over T-Shirts and leaflets “waging war against the Sultan” has brought upon the sort of unwanted international attention on the regime. Secondly, the outlawing of Bersih 2.0 and arresting anyone remotely connected to it (and i mean as remotely as wearing a yellow shirt out in public) has exposed the idiocy and fear-mongering of the Barisan elites. Thirdly, the regime had actually promised to let Bersih hold their rally in a stadium instead, but renegaded after Bersih’s conceded to hold their rally at the stadium after the audience with the Sultan. Najib even quietly washed his hands off the whole affair by pushing the issue back to the Home Ministry and the Police. This shows the grand hypocrisy of the Barisan Nasional regime, and perhaps the organisers of Bersih had expected this too.
Unfortunately for Najib, he and his elites have turned in such an inept performance to a point where he may have harmed his (cliqe’s) own chances of staying in power. Bersih has certainly won a strange victory of sorts before the rally, as the surge in support for reform minded and progressive organisations continues.. Hishamuddin Hussien waits quietly and confidently in the wings for the Prime Minister’s job, w While Bersih’s program may not be as powerful enough to bring down Najib over the weekend, it is almost certainly clear that the coalition has already scored a serious dent in the BN arsenal – whichever way Najib chooses to move now, the trust in Barisan and the current electoral system may be severely damaged beyond repair. The electoral institutions, once notorious for serving the elites of the Malaysian State, will only see to their downfall in a matter of time. That’s just a few more mis-steps for the hostage takers left.
