Zaid gives voice to people’s hope

Half-way across the globe, the United States — once the beacon of freedom and hope for the rest of the world — decides tomorrow who will be its 44th president.

Will America’s choice of Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain to be its commander-in-chief matter to the rest of the world, including Malaysia?

Will Obama with his message of hope and change inspire other nations to build a better tomorrow for people of all races or will McCain continue with the same George W Bush’s foreign policies that have created a lot of mistrust of the US, its capitalist system and even its democratic model?

Towards keeping hope alive, if nothing else, the temptation is to say yes — Obama will inspire emerging nations to adopt the democratic ideals that most Americans hold dear in freedom, daring to dream and succeed.

In all likelihood, the outcome would probably not make any difference to Malaysia — categorised as a flawed democracy by the Economist Intelligence Unit, or what former minister in the prime minister’s department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim pondered over — a lost democracy?

At the heart of Malaysia’s flaws is the diminished judiciary — once the pride of the country but now a crushed bedrock of our political system.

Last week, former UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Datuk Param Cumaraswamy rightly urged the new Chief Justice Tan Sri Zaki Azmi to procure the restoration of judicial power to the courts if the latter seriously wanted to improve the image of the institution.

In an amendment to Article 121 of the Federal Constitution in 1998 by the overwhelming majority of the Barisan Nasional coalition, the judiciary’s power in providing a check on the powers of the executive and legislative arms of government was effectively taken away.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s promise to restore the doctrine of separation of powers is in tatters in the face of unwavering inertia within the governing coalition against change. This eventually led to Zaid’s resignation.

Sounding half-resigned to the country’s state of affairs, but speaking with passion and hope for a truly democratic nation, the former de facto law minister last Friday extolled the “people of goodwill” to continue to strive to bring about change and regain trust.

“From that trust, we can rebuild the country where we do not live in fear, but in freedom; that the rights of all Malaysians are acknowledged, respected and protected by the system of law that is just and fair.

“There is no quest more honourable and a struggle more worthy of sacrifice,” the maverick lawyer said in his speech titled Malaysia — A Lost Democracy at the 21st LawAsia Conference in Kuala Lumpur that brought together the legal fraternity in the Asia Pacific.

Zaid lamented not only on the political inertia against democratic reforms, but also expressed fear of “more inefficiency, more corruption and a more authoritarian style of government, perhaps” and that some quarters may even suggest “doing away with general elections”.

“We are a deeply divided nation, adrift for our having abandoned democratic traditions and the Rule of Law in favour of a political ideology that serves no one save those who rule.”

Notably, Zaid argued that but for the “mystifying” and “worrying” reluctance of the courts to intervene in matters involving the executive, the separation of powers was intact.

He argued that the constitutionally guaranteed judicial authority being vested in the High Courts meant the judiciary’s review power had been preserved from encroachment by the executive and legislature.

He challenged the judges to courageously challenge the constitutionality of the actions of the executive branch even if it were to invoke its wrath.

Zaid even argued that a competitive and progressive bumiputera community as well as the evolution of Bangsa Malaysia would be made possible if the country subscribed to the Rule of Law and democracy, encompassing openness, freedom and social justice.

To achieve the aspirations of the New Economic Policy (NEP), he said bumiputeras needed to be given thinking tools to participate in the global economy.

“We need to meaningfully acknowledge that wealth is based on insight, sophisticated human capital and attitude change. A new dynamics focused on cooperation and competition will spur innovation and creativity.

“How do we go about transforming the culture and values of the bumiputeras so that their ability to create new economic wealth can be sustained? By changing our political and legal landscapes with freedom and democracy.

“There is a huge economic dimension to the Rule of Law and democracy that this government must learn to appreciate,” Zaid opined.

“A compelling argument for a constitutional democracy in Malaysia is that only through such a system will we be able to preserve and protect the traditions and values of Islam and the position of the Malay Rulers.”

He said the rectification of historical societal imbalances and inequities as a temporary measure under the original NEP concept was “easily reconciled with democracy and the Rule of Law”, that was, before a unilateral restructuring of the so-called social contract in the 1980s by a certain segment of the Barisan Nasional leadership.

Eventually, with a subordinated judiciary and even tighter laws to enforce compliance, he said, “it got to a stage where when more than five friends got together, one wondered whether it was wiser to obtain a police permit. Such was the state of the law, such was the state of democracy”.

He called on the BN government to abandon its reworked concept of the social contract and embrace a fresh perspective borne out of discussions and agreements made in good faith with all the communities in this country.

Whether our politicians would ever fathom Zaid’s rational plea or continue to turn a deaf ear to all and sundry, or whether the judiciary will one fine day wake up to courageously challenge the executive’s might remains to be seen.

In the absence of any political will to do the right thing, Malaysians would not be misplacing their hopes on a certain charismatic Democrat to emerge victorious on Election Day, so that the world’s largest economy can be that beacon of freedom and hope for the rest of the world once again.

Otherwise, Malaysians would have to rely solely on the rare likes of Zaid to carry that torch and the glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow.

The Edge
03/10/08