We want to see a diverse and multiracial government to ensure no particular race is marginalized.
The Chinese and the Indian community deserves a voice in the Cabinet. Sabah and Sarawak each deserves a voice.
The statements above are generally heard every time when comes to the general election at the state by various political parties or actors.
When the election comes along, each of the so called `champion’ for each of those communities will try to solicit support for themselves by reminding the voters and supporters that they are there to represent their community and by voting them in, these politicians will make sure that their voices are heard and needs addressed by the government.
All share a desire to benefit themselves only.
Their goal could be a policy that benefits only a small group within their political party.
They often claim to pursue an agenda that is “in the public interest and also to the racial composition they claimed to represent’ but in practice they often serve their own narrow interests.
Possibly they could also be potentially undermining the national interest or major government plans and commitments expressed in the country’s official ideology.
Yes, it is necessary in any country unless it is an authoritarian regime or dictatorship to have political parties.
They are institutions that seek to control the government through the winning of offices.
The political parties formed are race based in this country. For example, their membership are open for people with the same race or religion and they recruit candidates of their own race at the national and state elections.
For a very long time since 1970, the formation of the government was based upon the cooperation and collaboration of the 3 major races in this country promoting and inculcating in the politicians and the political parties that claimed to represent their respective segment of society this political culture.
The message each of these political parties send out to their supporters to comprise the voters. They represent their supporters in the government of the day for their voices to be heard and needs to be taken care of in government policies. Thus, it is important for them to vote these political parties that represents their interests into the legislature.
In this country’s political system where power is concentrated in the executive who are chosen from the legislature, also determines the access points and methods of influence used by these political parties.
Thus, each of the political parties competes to have their views heard and their favored policies enacted.
The political parties will increase their influences to the maximum and hope that the country needs that political party in governing the country.
Thus, the more elected representatives they have inside the executive, the greater its leverage will be over the government.
With greater clout, its financial resources will also grow and this will attract more supporters to join the party.
Some may argue that these political parties play a vital and necessary role in political and economic for the society or groups they represent in this country.
However, most of them promoting their own special interests over that of the races or society they claimed to represent.
The decree from the King for all the political parties, regardless of racial identity or ideologies to come together and form the government potentially could be the turning point for the political system in this country whereby race based parties would soon become irrelevant.
Because of the political culture practiced, Malaysians were long segregated in terms of race and ethnicity, religious groups in the political structure and system.
With the present government, which is made up of several political coalitions which have supporters from the lower to mid to higher income, there is hope that politics and representations in the political structure and system will be more even and fairly represented not just in race but also in the different strata of societies.
There is great hope that how this new government was formed will lay down the foundation for a new governance framework where hopefully, political parties that used to play their mediating role between the races they claimed to represent and the government, will become extinct or marginalized to the fringes in the future.
Without diminishing the significant role they have played previously in shaping Malaysian politics since independence, their brand of politics appears to be of no relevance to the country and its electorates in the future.
Hopefully, the political dysfunction happening now will result in the political parties formed to represent their respective races in the early days of the country, quickly undertaking political and structural reforms within their party in favor of a party for all races.
Difficult as it will be in our polarized and closely competitive political environment, reforming their political parties oriented toward practical, as opposed to ideological, governance is perhaps the best way to govern.
Moving forward where there would not be a political party or coalition that will have sufficient size, strength, or both, it appears a multiparty government will be the order of the day.
Could it be a multiparty government that serves the interests of various stakeholders across the board and provide the stability that the people want?
Not having a dominant party or coalition but with a government represented by various coalitions could be more responsive, represent diverse interests better and narrow the economic inequality.
Ultimately this is about giving more power back to the people of this multi-cultural and diverse country than to continue to allow the politicians to weaken and separate the people in this country for their selfish needs.
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