THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
by: Raja Petra Kamarudin
Zimbabwe bans newspapers and periodicals. To publish anything in Zimbabwe one needs a publishing licence. And if you violate the ‘terms’ of your publishing licence your licence will be cancelled and your publication will be banned.
It is the same in Malaysia. In fact, in Malaysia, even the printing company is required to apply for a licence. So the Malaysian government can take action against both the publisher as well as the printer. This is ‘one up’ on Zimbabwe.
In 2004, Zimbabwe introduced a detention without trial law. Malaysia did the same 44 years earlier -- in 1960. But in Zimbabwe you can be detained up to 30 days. In Malaysia, you are first detained up to 60 days and thereafter for an indefinite period of time. So Malaysia is, yet again, ‘one up’ on Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe does not allow students to get involved in politics. If they do then action is taken against them. Their scholarships will be withdrawn. The same goes in Malaysia. But in Malaysia they will get sacked from the university as well. So, yet again, Malaysia is ‘one up’ on Zimbabwe.
When we talk about Zimbabwe we always refer to that country as a failed state. We do not, however, consider Malaysia a failed state. This is because we only consider countries whose economies are in a shambles as failed states and Malaysia’s economy is not seen as in a shambles, just yet.
Do we need to wait until Malaysia’s economy is akin to Zimbabwe’s before we declare our country a failed state? There is many a criteria to a failed state, or a state heading in that direction. The state of the economy is just one of the criteria.
When racism and discrimination is not only rampant but state sanctioned as well, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
When abuse of power and corruption are the order of the day, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
When the police force is violent and plays the role of judge, jury and executioner, and when extrajudicial killings are almost a daily occurrence, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
When free speech is stifled and the right of association and peaceful assembly are curtailed, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
When the judiciary is not independent and judges do the bidding of the powers-that-be and are themselves violators of the law, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
When elections are rigged and one-sided and when there are no real free and fair elections, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
When there is no separation of powers and power is concentrated in the hands of one man, the Executive, that is a mark of a failed state. And this is happening in Malaysia.
And the list goes on. What you see in Zimbabwe you see in Malaysia, save maybe for the tribal killings. But where tribalism does not exist in Malaysia, racism does. So whether it is tribalism or racism, it is the same difference.
Ex-Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi used to lament that Malaysia is a country with a first-world infrastructure but a third-world mentality. Never has a truer word been said. And when the one-time Information Minister, Zainuddin Maideen, argued that Malaysia is a democracy because it has elections every five years (if you watch the Aljazeera video you can see he actually said ‘erection’) you know that even Malaysia’s ministers have a third-world mentality if, to him, democracy translates merely to holding an election every five years and nothing more than that.
Well, as I said yesterday, even Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lamented that Malaysia is a police state and undemocratic in not allowing free speech and the right to assembly (when they blocked him for talking and from attending functions). So how can we disagree with Dr Mahathir who was Malaysia’s Prime Minister for 22 years? If Dr Mahathir says so then it must be so.
No, holding elections every five years does not make Malaysia a democracy. It takes more than just holding elections every five years to make a democracy. To start off, how are these elections held? Are they rigged and rife with fraud? In Malaysia’s case they certainly are.
Even countries like Indonesia allow the opposition equal airtime in the mainstream media and on TV. In Malaysia, they blackout the opposition unless it is negative news aimed at hurting the opposition.
We still have a long way to go to achieve the status of what Anwar Ibrahim calls masyarakat madani (civilised society). And until we stop shouting at Malaysians of Chinese and Indian ethnicity to go back to China and India every time they express their opinions, then Malaysia is no better than Zimbabwe.
By the way, in case many of you are not aware of this yet, the gaming licence just awarded to Vincent Tan is to raise money for the coming general election, which is expected to cost Barisan Nasional about RM1.5 billion. It is also to pay for the cost of the recent Hulu Selangor and Sibu by-elections and the Sarawak state election due soon.
So, if you are a true Malaysian, then it is your patriotic duty to boycott all gambling outlets owned by Vincent Tan. Patronising these outlets means you are assisting Barisan Nasional in cheating the Malaysian voters and in denying them their right to a free and fair election and their right to a government of their choice.
Furthermore, Vincent Tan financed the crossovers that resulted in the collapse of the Pakatan Rakyat Perak state government and he is still financing other crossovers from Pakatan Rakyat aimed at bringing down the Kedah and Selangor state governments. Why do you think Ibrahim Ali and Dr Mahathir have not spoken out on the issue of Vincent Tan's gaming licence?
Via: http://malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32106:the-making-of-a-failed-state&catid=22:the-corridors-of-power&Itemid=100085
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