By Datuk Dr Denison
Jayasooria
At a recent book launch
Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, the Deputy Minister for Higher Education said that
the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) new book entitled ‘Malaysian Issues
& Concerns, Some Policy Responses’ is “a people’s manifesto or a third GE
13 manifesto but this time from the ground and the views of civil society”
He went on to acknowledge “the
recording of the voices of the people” is an important dimension of policy
formulation especially in a political climate post 2008 where there is a new
governance framework and expansion of the public space. Datuk Saifuddin
Abdullah had participated in a number of the twelve roundtable discussions
hosted by CPPS-ASLI in 2012 under the leadership of Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam
and Tan Sri Michael Yeoh of ASLI.
Datuk Saifuddin is the rare one
among Barisan National Members of Parliament who is willing to engage in open
dialogue sessions organised by think tanks and civil society. This aspect of a
lack of engagement is one of the major weaknesses of the Barisan National
politicians who seem very dynamic in their own sponsored meetings but unwilling
to enter the public space to articulate and win the public debate through
public reasoning. This dimension of ideological based discussions will increase
in the post GE 13 political arena, where there will be a need for greater
by-partisan engagement and cooperation among political parties to advance the
interest of the grassroots and the general public.
This will be the new
political reality where no one party or grouping of political parties control
two- thirds majority in parliament and therefore need to seek support of the
other for the common good. The politics of “all is bad in government” and “all
is good in the opposition” or the reverse will be the politics of the past.
Members of Parliament elected by the people must be respect by all and they
must play their rightful and constructive role in nation building. A more
matured politics must emerge where the will of the people through the ballot
box is supreme. It must move away from the majority-minority syndrome or
“winner takes it all notions” but it must recognise the diverse voices and seek
to accommodate them in the bigger picture of democracy, human rights and good
governance.
The methodology adopted in
hosting twelve roundtable discussions centred on the idea of hearing diverse
voice and then drawing some consensus positions. While the discussions started
from an interest group positions whether ethnic, religious, regional or class,
ultimately fifteen cross cutting national concerns were identified which is
inclusive of all the community concerns.
The fifteen common concerns
can be divided into three main parts. These are comprehensive and inclusive of
all the ethnic and religious communities in Malaysia. It is building on
national concerns and strengthening the socio-economic development but at the
same time ensures good governance sets the firm foundation for its realisation
through effective delivery and implementation.
The first part is Nation Building Concerns.
• Ensuring equality of citizenship (holding
article 8 and 153 in balance)
• Enhancing democracy and human rights
• Instilling a deeper sense of
patriotism and respect for King & nation, thereby enhancing the role
of Monarchy in public life
• Increasing inter- religious
understanding and ensuring a shift from tolerance to appreciation
• Strengthening national unity and
integration agenda with a deeper sense of celebrating diversity
of cultures
& languages of all Malaysian groups without diluting the importance of the
national language
The
second part is Socio-Economic
Development Concerns
• Addressing poverty and inequality with
a focus on the bottom 40% and intra ethnic concerns
• Empowering through education and
skills training
• Enlarging employment opportunities
• Enlarging business and economic
opportunities
• Addressing crime and ensuring public
safety and security
The
third part is on Governance Related
Concerns
•
Recognizing youth potential and creating new measures for engagement
• Tapping the full potential of civil
society and grassroots organisations as partners in
Development
•
Ensuring effective decentralization of local government
• Fostering greater autonomy for States
especially in Sabah and Sarawak
• Ensuring effective governance and
implementation
Every
Malaysian is important to national development
Prof Norma Mansor, the
former secretary to the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC) which
produced the New Economic Model (NEM) and who spoke at the discussion after the
launch recognised that many of the fifteen community concerns have been
identified in the NEM and will be the focus of attention of both the Tenth
& Eleventh Malaysia Plans.
She affirmed that the way
forward was moving away from the ethnic labels towards enabling Malaysia to
rise above the current income levels. In order to do this every Malaysian is
important and must be utilised. Our current Malaysian dilemma is that about 70%
of our workforce is at the SPM level and if we want to move the nation upwards
towards a high income status, then human capital development of every Malaysian
is most critical. In so doing we will be able to compete in the global markets.
Recognising
historical and political realities
Tan Sri Kamal Salih who also
made comments at the book launch indicated that while these fifteen are good
and comprehensive, one must understand the historical and political realities- that
the ethnic articulation especially on specific areas such as equity ownership
will continue to dominate political discussions. He went on to say that public
policy formulation has been about communities and political leaders making
compromises in the best interest of nation building and the Tun Abdul Razak’s
model of inclusivism is most significant.
In what could be called as
policy maker’s confession time, Tan Sri Kamal recognised four negative outcomes
of the post NEP period which requires intellectual honesty in analysis but the
political will to move ahead as a nation to ensure that we truly realise vision
2020. The first is the emergence of a culture of dependency, the second the
culture of corruption, third, the culture of racial envy and fourth the
politics of polarization. These have impacted all sections of society including
the private sector dependence on public sector licenses and contracts.
Nation
Building through Inclusive Agenda
In order to ensure effective
follow up and implementation, it is proposed that the Prime Minister
establishes a special National Social Inclusion
Advisory Panel with representatives from a cross section of Malaysian
society and a Social Inclusion
Secretariat with professional, academic and technical personal to monitor
effective implementation.
The role of this secretariat
is only to undertake policy analysis, monitor implementation, and undertake
impact assessment studies. It does not get involved with the role of respective
agencies and departments in the delivery of services. The National Key Result
Areas (NKRA) and the coordinating agencies with Pemandu will continue to ensure
this.
The Social Inclusion Advisory Panel and Social
Inclusion Secretariat will play the role as an independent watchdog within the
Federal government mechanism but will work in close partnership, communication
and collaboration with the grassroots through a social dialogue process, a
range of town hall dialogues and Roundtable discussions.
The common Malaysian
struggle for nation building must take these historical and political realities
seriously but must be able through political foresight and leadership through a
process of compromises ensure that justice and fairness is possible for all the
peoples of Malaysia.
As we cast our vote at GE 13
we need to review these developments and usher in Members of Parliament who
will move beyond the ethnic or religious group and see Malaysia as First for
the common good of all the people of Malaysia. Every vote is important and this
is both our constitutional right and responsibility.
(Source:
Published in Malay Mail, April 1, 2013 page 13)
