theSun | FRIDAY AUGUST 14 2009
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speak up!
Separation of powers
I OWE this column
an article about Abiding
Selangor.
newspaper
ThisTimes
is
distributed mainly by ‘Tunku
in the Klang Valley, Abidin Muhriz
after all, yet I
always find some
way to mention
Negri Sembilan or Terengganu
instead (there, that’s it for
this piece). But the fact is that pass the buck to the federal
I was born Selangor, I lived in
a brilliant Selangor postcode
area for the first half of my
life, and continue to drive all
the way to Ampang for the
delectable Ramly burger.
A lot has been happening
in Selangor lately: events
which present neat micro-
cosms of Malaysian political
life. First, there’s the kerfuffle personal gain or simply out of
over the open sale of beer,
which strikes simultaneously
at the issues of (a) authoritari- by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, as
anism justified on religious
grounds, (b) the general con-
tempt that many Malaysian
politicians seem to have for
their constituents’ sense of
personal responsibility and
(c) the conflict between the
country’s foremost self-pro-
claimed Malay and Islamic
parties.
The primary
response of the
Selangor mentri
besar was to sup-
port self-regula-
tion, which seems
to have made
the concoction of
emotions less bubbly, but a
secondary response was to
government. “If you want to
ban open sale of alcohol”,
he seemed to say rather
gleefully, “then you have to
legislate”. I’ve complained
here before that actors
at the state level have in
the past abdicated their
responsibilities to federal
counterparts for the sake of
laziness or ignorance. This is
therefore an intriguing retort
the objective of admitting
powerlessness was instead
to taunt the federal govern-
ment. As some in Barisan
Nasional are using the issue
to drive a wedge between
the Pakatan Rakyat parties,
so the mentri besar is driving
a wedge between the state
TELLING IT AS IT IS
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and federal components of
Umno: what exciting times
we live in!
At a conference last
month I presented a paper
considering the ways in
which the arguments for
greater federalism have
made a comeback. In the
same way that the Rulers of
the Federated Malay States
complained to the British of
over-centralisation at the Dur-
bar of 1903; in the same way
that the disgraceful Malayan
Union – established through
deceit and coercion by a
desperate post-War British
government – was defeated
by an alliance of Malayan
federalists; there have been
since March 8 rumblings in
the direction of greater devo-
lution of powers. This began
with several Heads of State
exercising unusual discretion
over the appointments of
their Heads of Governments,
and continued with the de-
velopment of several other
issues.
There is, however, a
particular feature of the “op-
position governments” (an
oxymoron referring to states
where parties in opposition
at the federal level are in
government at the state
level) which has strength-
ened federalism in a more
subtle way. The reason for
this is that each of the three
component parties form the
majority within the coalition
in different states, which
leads to significant policy dif-
ferences between them. It is
inevitable that come the next
election, they will be judged
on these policies, thus rein-
forcing (or weakening) policy
changes in some states and
not others. So, for example,
in Penang we have DAP-led
government championing
local council elections, in
Kedah we have the PAS-led
government focusing on the
issue of land titles, and in
Selangor we now have the
PKR-led government with its
proposed Selangor Legisla-
tive Assembly Service Com-
mission Enactment (Selesa).
The latter’s objectives,
ostensibly, are to strengthen
the division of powers among
the institutions of state, and
endowing the legislature with
much wider powers over its
own internal administration
and in the hiring of staff. This
is not alien to Malaysia, since
we used to have a piece of
federal legislation called the
Parliamentary Services Act
1963 which similarly em-
13
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powered Parliament. Having
met some of the people
who have worked on and
support this proposed law, Show of
I’m not surprised that this is
what they plan to do, and if
it receives popular support
patriotism
it may just find its way onto IN LAUNCHING the “Fly the Jalur
their, or maybe both, coali- Gemilang” campaign, the prime
tions’ manifestoes.
It should be noted at the
minister said he wished to see
every house, shop, commercial and
outset that the Westminster government building and vehicle fly
system doesn’t separate the national flag during the 52nd
powers as ostentatiously as Merdeka Day celebrations.
the US or France systems I have been flying the national
do; the biggest difference flag in my garden for the past four
being that Heads of Govern- years. My five-year-old boy gets
ments are also members of excited each time he sees the flag
the legislature. Thus, Gordon flutter in the breeze. I am trying to
Brown and Datuk Seri Najib get him to salute it as well. I do hope
Razak are Members of my action will instil a similar sense
Parliament in addition to of patriotism in my neighbours. Like
their roles of prime minister. me, a few had flown the flag in their
This arrangement exists compound previously but I hope
in order to enable greater more residents will do so this year.
parliamentary accountability All Malaysians should be loyal
– Gordon Brown appears at to the country though they do not
Prime Minister’s Questions agree with the government of the
every week when Parlia- day. A government can be removed
ment is in session, whereas through the ballot box but as
Barack Obama does not citizens our rights are enshrined in
similarly present himself to the Constitution.
Congress on a regular basis. In school, I had friends from all
Perhaps a weekly televised races and that has stood me in good
Mentri Besar’s Questions is stead. Now, I don’t feel out of place
something else the chaps in even if I am at a place where the
the MB’s office would like to majority is from one racial group.
propose? Malaysia is my home and I will
live and die here as a Malaysian.
Tunku ’Abidin Muhriz is
Founder President of the Michael Ng
Malaysia Think Tank. Seremban