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Given a choice, Abdullah would prefer to have his First Hundred Days to build up the promise and new image of his premiership before going to the polls although the possibility of December election this year because of the pressures of economic exigency cannot be ruled outMedia Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya, Sunday): The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad said after the opening of the 57th MIC general assembly that he would stand by his earlier statement that he would not lead the Barisan Nasional in the next general election, as it would be led by the new Barisan Nasional chairman. He was pulling the leg of the reporters when in the next breath he said that he had yet to decide on the election date, as the new election date would not be for him to decide as it would be the decision of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after he takes over as the fifth Prime Minister latest by end of October. Given a choice, Abdullah would prefer to have his First Hundred Days to build up the promise and new image of his premiership before going to the polls although the possibility of December election this year because of the pressures of economic exigency cannot be ruled out When Mahathir first became Prime Minister 22 years ago, he fully exploited the hopes and promise of a new leadership for an open and accountable government, using the ABC slogan of “clean, efficient and trustworthy” (“amanah, bersih dan cekap”) administration to great effect in the 1982 general election, resulting in a greater Barisan Nasional two-thirds majority from 77.9 per cent to 84.4 per cent control of Parliamentary seats, with DAP’s 16 MPs slashed to nine. The First Hundred Days is the best trump card of a new Prime Minister seeking a national mandate in his first general election. In fact, if Abdullah simply revives the ABC slogan of “clean, efficient and trustworthy” administration, it would have a powerful electoral impact although it had been totally ignored after its first use more than two decades ago. We will be looking at next March as the likely date for the next polls if Abdullah is to have his First Hundred Days to be his greatest draw for his first general election, although the global and national economic scenario may not allow Abdullah to have his full First Hundred Days. Mahathir’s call yesterday for a stronger mandate for the Barisan Nasional in the next general election cannot go challenged, as it is based on three fallacies. Firstly, the fallacy that the Barisan Nasional needs a bigger win in the next general election to foil any attempt by foreign powers to re-colonise the country. It is a travesty of the truth to equate support for Barisan Nasional to loyalty to Malaysia or voting for the Opposition as an act of unpatriotism. It also gives an ominous glimpse of the type of dirty electoral campaign that would be conducted by the Barisan Nasional in the next general election. Secondly, it is a fallacy to equate a stronger Barisan Nasional win in the next general election with good government. Malaysia’s biggest problem is not the lack of a strong government, but with too strong a government with unbroken two-thirds parliamentary majority resulting in arrogant, arbitrary and high-handed political hegemony with contempt for the elementary principles of accountability, transparency, good governance, the rule of law and human rights. Malaysia had made great strides in the 22 years of Mahathir’s premiership but the country could have achieved more in these two decades if there had been greater respect and grounding for accountability, transparency, good governance the rule of law, human rights and democracy. This is one major reason why Malaysia has lagged behind South Korea in the past two decades. When Mahathir became Prime Minister of Malaysia in July 1981, Malaysia had a higher per capita income of US$1,840 than South Korea which lagged behind with US$1,700. Two decades later, South Korea's per capita income had increased by leaps and bounds at the annual rate of 9.36 per cent, while Malaysia lagged behind with a slower growth at 3.96 per cent per annum. As a result, South Korea's per capita income in 2001 had not only overtaken that of Malaysia, but was 2.5 times higher. South Korean's per capita income for 2001 was US$9,400 as compared to Malaysia's per capita income of US$3,640. From 1981 when Mahathir became Prime Minister, South Korea took 15 years to become a fully developed nation in 1996 when it joined the OECD although it had started with a lower per capita income than Malaysia. Under Vision 2020, Malaysia needs 40 years from 1981 until 2020 to reach developed nation status – and it is still an open question whether this objective could be achieved. Thirdly, the great fallacy and peril of the far-reaching consequences of a landslide victory for the Barisan Nasional in the next general election – as it would be turned into a mandate for Malaysia to jettison the 46-year constitutional compact and social contract that Malaysia is a democratic, secular and multi-religious nation with Islam as the official religion and set Malaysia on the road of an Islamic state by giving legitimacy to Mahathir’s “929 Declaration” at the Gerakan national delegates conference that Malaysia is an Islamic state. (11/5/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman |