Malaysia

Fifty years after independence, is our nation moving in the right direction? Are we becoming truly ‘one nation’, or are we living increasingly separate lives, oblivious of the existence of ‘the other? I think the answer is obvious.

Before the Sultan Azlan Shah Law Lecture on Friday, the last time I had seen Tony Blair was in Portcullis House in London two years ago. He was being skewered by a committee of MPs over the catastrophe in Iraq, his disrespect for centuries-old civil liberties and his plans after resignation as Prime Minister. These sessions are tougher than the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions, in which the Head of Government and Leader of HM Opposition perform more for the camera. But here in Malaysia was the man I opposed when I joined London’s biggest ever street protest prior to the Iraq War, pontificating about the Rule of Law no less. You’ve got to give it to Tony though: he is a masterful speaker – and the contents of the speech itself were sensible.

22 – 24 AUGUST 2008.
HOTEL RESIDENCE, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA.

Do you value the rule of law? Do you wonder if the free market is socially just? Have you ever wondered what freedom and liberty really means? Do you want strong liberal democratic institutions in your country? If so, come to the Freedom Academy series to explore some of these issues.

Democracy, like your auntie’s kuih lapis, is something you have to agree is a good thing. But there’s lots of variety in democracy. Political theorists draw upon history, etymology, religion and cultural tradition in attempt to create different models of democracy. Traditionally, Western scholars considered the experience of the Greeks, Romans, English and Americans but in recent years there’s been an uptake in arguments via other cultural or religious sources. Here, politicians have spoken of imbuing democracy with Asian values, and there are those who seek to inject Islamic values – as well as those who reject the notion that democracy and Islam are compatible at all.

Now that exhortations of change are the norm rather than the exception – indeed emanating from the cabinet itself – perhaps it is time for us to look at another ingredient of democracy which should be redefined in our mission to advance to the next stage of political sophistication: ideology.

Like most people, I have many competing and overlapping loyalties. I am loyal to my family. I try to be loyal to my faith. And to my country: I recite the Rukunegara as enthusiastically as I belt out Negaraku (the original majestic version), and I wish the dotted quavered Berkatlah Yang di-Pertuan Besar and harmonically simple Allah Daulatkan Tuanku Sultan were more often sung. I have pledged some loyalty to various organisations by virtue of being employed by them, and I’m loyal to my friends with whom I have grown up.

Uncertainty and frustration aren’t the ingredients of a stable and prosperous democracy, but every cloud has a silver lining, and it’s encouraging at least to witness the chorus of disapproval of the recent goings-on, for it may reflect a growing desire that policy issues and ideas should be at the forefront of politics, instead of the personalities and egos of individual men.

For a maturing democracy like ourselves, it’s vital that we raise awareness of how important parliament actually is, and if a little bit of drama means that it gets splashed on more pages than usual, or placed in the middle of the hip hop segment, then I think that’s a good thing. Parliament is sovereign; meaning that it passes the laws that enable or disable dissent, it approves or censures where the government wants to take us, and to an extent can set the tone and influence the culture of our nation. The powers exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet derive from Parliament, not the other way round.

It seems every time a backbencher in this country shows any sign of bravery or overt independence, they are either slapped down by party supremos or otherwise dissuaded. It would be wrong to encourage opposition for its own sake, but its occasional occurrence is a nonetheless a reassuring sign that our legislature has truly risen above playground antics.

Earlier this month I was in Hong Kong to attend a conference between think tanks from the Pacific Rim. Most of the delegates were from the US, a few were from China and there were smatterings from Peru, Nepal and Australia. I was the only participant from Malaysia, representing the Malaysia Think Tank London. What brought us together was our underlying objective: we’re all trying to inculcate ideas of liberty and free markets in our own countries.