Why should we bother with elections or continue with our democratic system of governance, if selfish politicians are allowed to dictate who becomes leader simply with the use of statutory declarations (SDs)?

Is voting no longer relevant in Malaysia?

All actions have consequences, and the end-result is more pronounced when irresponsible politicians who only think of their own selfish agenda ignore the effects on themselves and on others.

Malaysia is a democracy. Its citizens elect their MPs through elections using the ballot box. But recently, it has become increasingly common for politicians to abuse SDs to prolong their political life.

In their attempt to topple the government, greedy and power-hungry politicians have abused SDs to wrestle political power from the ruling party, or simply to gain political advantage.

Whether through ignorance or by choice, they have simply ignored the constitutional role of both federal and state constitutions to gain political mileage.

Malaysian must not keep quiet about the frequent abuse of SDs which affirm political allegiance.

Why should we agree with SDs being abused to change governments or to alter the direction of the nation?

Is this the new way forward for Malaysia, whereby MPs and state assemblymen representing us in parliament or the state assembly, and who carry our voices, can be easily replaced by a slew of politicians who gather in secret, sign their SDs, then loudly boast to the nation that they have the numbers to effectively change the future of our country?

If few people object, then why not abolish the usual system of democratic governance?

Some Malaysians may say that SDs have been “misused” rather than “abused.”

However, when something is “misused,” it is possibly a mistake and could have been unintentional. “Abuse” carries with it a more serious connotation than “misuse.”

If these people are successful, the rakyat will lose heart in democracy, and vow never to go out and vote again.

Our politicians have definitely “abused” the SDs as they have done something intentionally with no regard for the serious consequences that may ensue.

Politicians from both sides of the divide and those who abused SDs, have ignored the damage that will be done to the nation, the harm done to our democracy, and to the loss of trust and confidence in our politicians.

Will they only come to their senses when they observe how chaotic the country will become and how investor confidence will plummet, if we were to allow SDs to be the norm in how the country is run?

Instead of working together to rebuild Malaysia, opposition politicians refuse to work together with ruling politicians to solve the issues which affect the rakyat.

However, it is not just politicians from opposing sides who refuse to cooperate, because we find that within political parties, infighting is another reason for discontent, with disgruntled politicians teaming up with others claiming that their SDs will topple the government.

If they are successful, this is how the rakyat will lose heart in democracy, and vow never to go out and vote again.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reassured the rakyat that the Agong has said the palace would not be involved in any political maneuvers.

This is the political maturity and reassurance the country badly needs.

Some people may think that SDs will cause no harm, but this is precisely how public order can be disrupted with the rakyat becoming increasingly anxious and a state of political instability may be created which could also threaten national security.

Talks about opposition politicians securing sufficient MPs to topple the Unity Government have been dominating the headlines.

The Community Communications Department (J-Kom) deputy director-general Ismail Yusop made reference to a plot which has been dubbed the Dubai Move.

This was later confirmed by Deputy PM and Umno-Baru President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who later flew to Sabah to defuse the political tensions ahead of the 17th Sabah state election.

This did not exactly leave us feeling confident about our political situation.

Meanwhile, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said last Sunday that the Opposition had sufficient SDs to topple the Madani administration and that they were only awaiting the right moment.

The rakyat are sick and tired of the changes and talks about SDs toppling the government of the day.

We want a smoothly running administration for the good of the nation.

The abuse of SDs started off with the Perak coup, then the Sheraton Move, and now the Dubai Move.

Malaysians have had to endure right wing nationalists, religious bigots and now political plotters armed with SDs.

The police should take appropriate action against these people, especially as they have threatened to topple the government, and harm national security. If the law has been broken, they should be punished.

Malaysia has endured several PMs in the last five years. We tend to change PMs more than we change our undergarments, and this does not bode well for the nation.

Source:

1. Malaysiakini: I did not sign any declaration, says GRS lawmaker

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)