Voting might of the people
MALAYSIA practises its own brand of democracy based on the reality of its political situation and historical past. It is encapsulated into the mould of constitutional monarchy within the context of parliamentary democracy; that is, the Constitution is supreme and governs the structure of governance and the role of the monarchy.
For all intents and purposes, the governance of the country is by the people, of the people and for the people.
The monarchy is above politics and does not descend into the volatile arena of political quagmire in order to preserve the dignity of the royal institution.
Constitutional monarchs are not supposed to be embroiled in the political affairs and dealings of the common man. The people themselves will deal with their political initiatives and preferences.
As stipulated in the Constitution, the business of governance is the exclusive prerogative of the people. Malaysia adheres to such a structure of governance.
An integral part of our democracy is the peoples’ right to choose their government every five years – or less if the sitting government decides to seek a fresh mandate earlier. The current government has just announced the dissolution of Parliament, thus returning the power to the people to elect a new one.
Since independence, Malaysia has not encountered any untoward problem in electing the government. Thus far, it has been peaceful and the sitting government has willingly relinquished its power at the end of its mandate, thus returning the power to the people.
Granted that there has been some gerrymandering and tinkering of the election procedure but for the most part, the elections have been free of trouble and the victors and vanquished have accepted the verdict of the people.
In a democracy, the people will evaluate the track record of the incumbent government as well as the manifestos of political parties before indicating their preference. As is normal, partisan interests will prevail on the people through various bureaucratic mechanisms, emotional appeal or even veiled coercion to favour them.
Free and unbridled elections are a figment of the imagination. Even in the highly-touted Western democracies, the election process has been tainted with various manipulative manoeuvres.
Malaysia is currently in the throes of a traumatic election, which poses a conundrum on the legitimacy of the contending parties. Such conundrums and even confusion arise because of the factors that impinge on the sanctity of the democratic principles and the dictates of the Constitution.
The cause of the confusion is the extent and nature of determinants in the political process. One major element is the involvement of people that are not sanctioned by the Constitution to enter into the fray and frenzy of partisan politics. Another is the role of the caretaker government, which is reduced to a supervisory role without executive privileges.
Nevertheless, it is imperative that we respect the peoples’ rights to select the government of their choice without any encumbrances.
In fact, the various electioneering commission and security agencies should facilitate this exercise by ensuring a seamless voting process as well as respecting the democratic rights of the people without any impediments.