In a true democratic country, the people hold the ultimate political power. Hence any display or exercise of such power in the open is only to reaffirm such rights. The Bersih rally on Nov 10, 2007 and of Bersih 2.0 on July 9, 2011 successfully broke the barrier of fear and doubts among Malaysians – people’s power vis-a-vis the power of the Malaysian undemocratic government.
Led by S Ambiga, the lady champion of people’s power, Bersih proved to all Malaysians that the myth of the ‘Barisan Nasional power’ was false.
The coalition of NGOs moved Malaysians forward in terms of greater acceptance of open, liberal, freer politics though the fight for a fair and just electoral system in the country remains to be accomplished.
Though there may be little change to the present electoral system, however what is important is that the people are now able to accept such democratic changes as evidenced by the massive swing of votes to the opposition in the 2008 general election.
Even though the path taken by the movement is in direct collision with the repressive government, Bersih managed to successfully push the regime against the wall.
Bersih 2.0 must widen scope
The eight-point declaration by Bersih 2.0 to seek reforms on the electoral system is gaining support and momentum by the day.
However the electoral system forms only a small part of the whole political landscape in the country, and to take advantage of the growing momentum, it is pertinent that the movement’s agenda be widened to cover the following:
1) Election reforms
The number one rootcause of election malpractices is the role of politicians and political parties in hijacking the democratic rules and the breaking of the law during an election by way of money politics.
Hundreds of millions of ringgit have been thrown by the Barisan Nasional during election time to buy votes which is against the democratic rule of free, fair and clean voting without harassment, coercion or other influences against the free will of the people to choose and in law such acts constitute as election offences.
Hence the need to expose and call for the resignation of those politicians and their accomplices who are identified or known to be involved with vote-buying and other acts of corruption during an election.
Even if these culprits refuse to resign, the act of exposure can help to change the voting trend in favour of the opposition.
2) Budget expenditure management
Bersih should demand for better management and accountability of public revenue and public accounts.
The national debt now reaching more than RM437 billion is a mammoth national problem that can lead to a financial turmoil soon similar to the economic crisis in 1997-1999 but for different reasons.
The ever increasing debt by the end of the day if unchecked may trigger a financial crisis where all hell will break loose. A huge national debt implies that the government has no money and hence keeps on borrowing and that the past years’ public investments do not give good returns.
For the big players in the financial industry in the country, they believe Malaysia is heading towards bankruptcy!
This will trigger panic in the foreign exchange market, Bursa Saham Malaysia, banking industry, investors’ confidence, the flight of capital (foreign currencies) out of the country and the free fall of the ringgit leading to inflation and expensive imports .
Could our fate be similar to Indonesia, Mexico, Greece and other European countries hit by the uncontrollable ever increasing public debts?
3) Formation of new government
According to Article 43 of the Federal Constitution, the King shall appoint a member among the parliamentarians who in his judgement commands the confidence of the majority of the MPs as the prime minister.
The same law applies to the state constitutions of the various states in Malaysia. Bersih should urge all parties to adhere to such procedure in the appointment of the Prime Minister, Menteris Besar and Chief Ministers .
There should not be any automatic appointment to such posts .The PM, CM or MB must be chosen by the Parliament or state assembly. This procedure is to ensure the most accepted and capable member wil be chosen as the chief executive of the country or state.
It will in turn act as a form of check-and-balance to prevent a majority party from abusing its power.
Let all Malaysians and the whole democratic world know Bersih can prove that the people’s power do not end after an election, but to continue to have a say in the federal or state legislature affairs of the country. This is a big victory to people’s power!
4) Illicit funds outflows
According to the US-based watchdog Global Financial Integrity report, illicit funds (foreign currencies) flowing out of Malaysia totalled US$338 billion, the equivalent of RM 1,077 trillion for the period 2000 to 2009!
These unauthorised outflow of funds have a bearing on the value of the ringgit. It also explains why our ringgit could never rise in value albeit all the economic indicators are favouring our currency.
Had these foreign currencies especially the US dollar remained in the country, such a huge volume of foreign money vis-a-vis the ringgit will prop up the value of our currency.
Since 1980, Malaysia has enjoyed yearly surpluses in the balance of trade (goods only) leaving a big accumulative foreign reserves in the country, not including the foreign currency earnings from the balance of payments such as tourism, and billions of foreign capital inflow into the country.
Hence in reality there are billions of foreign currencies available in our country that will definitely strengthened our ringgit.
For the year 2010, Malaysia’s exports is valued at RM639.4 billion and imports at RM529.2 billion.
Given all these positive indications the value of the ringgit should have been higher.
Lets say the ringgit floats at around US$1=RM2 and SD$1=RM1.30. A stronger ringgit can save as much as 1/4 to 1/3 cost of imports! That means we can save at least RM100 billion annually!
Of course the higher value of ringgit will make our exports less competitive.
Still the net gain from cheaper imports will outweigh the loss from lesser exports due to the higher value of the ringgit and furthermore the lower volume of exports can be compensated by the higher value of our exports .
Bersih should call for tougher laws to curb these outflows out of the country and punish the culprits.They can be charged for sabotaging our economy.
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