Electoral reform crucial for Malaysian reform

There is no doubt that the May 9, 2018 electoral revolution that ended six decades of rule of Malaysia by the Barisan Nasional is now in danger. The winning Pakatan Harapan coalition has stumbled from issue to issue, in the process losing three key by-elections and facing increased voter antipathy.

What the reform coalition must realize is that the key to its transformation agenda is electoral reform. It is the prerequisite for political, economic, market, civil service, and social reforms.

The current electoral system has locked in the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was introduced in 1971 after the disastrous race riots of May 13, 1969 that took hundreds of lives, but which has hamstrung the country economically in the succeeding 48 years.

The original intention was to help Malays participate in the economy along with other races and to develop a Malay professional class through education. However, this positive discrimination policy also facilitated the growth of Malay nationalist narratives into society to the point where the ethnic Malay agenda has dominates political rhetoric, and not just within the political environment. It is one of the major drivers of Malaysian cultural dynamics. To many, this agenda has become hegemonic.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, during his first administration, with his then-deputy Anwar Ibrahim, went on a massive campaign to produce Malay entrepreneurs, providing them with 'institutionally created opportunities" to get rich. We saw the privatisation of the state-owned airline MAS, the development of the Genting gaming complex, the creation of private tollways, public transport and telecommunications, in what has become known as crony capitalism. This cronyism became part-and-parcel of the pathway to becoming a politician in an endeavour to make money, particularly within the ranks of the governing United Malays National Organization, which led the Barisan.

Because Islam is a major part of the Malay identity, a form of political Islam also developed. Political Islam's rhetoric has increased the divide between Muslims and non-Muslims over the last generation. Islam in Malaysia has moved away from the more inclusive forms that were once found in Egypt and Turkey towards a firebrand exclusive Islam more along the lines of teachings preached by fugitive preacher Zakir Naik.

The current Dewan Rakyat (lower house) electoral system, heavy weighted towards the rural Malay regions over more ethnically diverse urban areas, perpetuates Malay nationalist narratives. It is in these heartlands that elections are won or lost, even though 76 percent of the population live in urban areas.

In an extreme example of the electoral weighting of rural areas, one vote in the federal constituency of Igan in Sarawak is worth nine votes in the Bangi constituency in Selangor. In addition, the first-past-the-post voting system which elects the candidate with just a simple majority of votes is inadequate. 'First past the post' voting doesn't gives minority parties with general support across the country any voice in parliament, unless they can win a majority in a constituency. This inadequate system also promotes the primacy of Malay nationalist narratives within today's political system.

In the 2013 election the Barisan Nasional won 59.91 percent of constituencies with only 47.38 percent of the popular vote. The principle of "one vote one value" would more fairly allow the aggregate voting intention of the country to be reflected in the party or coalition winning government of the country.

A fairer voting system would help free the country of unhealthy exclusionist narratives which pit one race against another. With luck, this would encourage inclusive politics rather than the current racial based political rhetoric that's costing the country socially, culturally, and economically.

This is a prerequisite to any development agenda.

Electoral reform cannot stop there. The Dewan Negara, the parliament, has been degraded into a house of convenience for the federal government of the day. It is comprised of 26 members appointed by state legislatures, four representing the federal territories and 40 appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the king. There are no democratically elected members.

The Dewan Negara is a left-over artefact from the 19^th century, and symbolises feudalism. It doesn't functionally review government and maintain states' rights – as it is nominally supposed to do. Its functions have been thrashed by past and current governments and converted to a appointed body with members who often use this pathway to become unelected ministers of government.

The disrespect is which this house is held by the government today is indicated by the fact that 17 seats remain unappointed and therefore unoccupied. This makes it a mockery. The Dewan Negara should not be a convenience for the government of the day, but a working piece of the Malaysian democratic system.

A special committee to look into electoral reform chaired by former Election Commission Chairman Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman was set up last August, not under the parliament but under the Prime Minister's Department. The Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) has held a number of roundtable discussions with stakeholders and international experts and recently signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for assistance with electoral reform.

However with no specific timeframe and an ad hoc style investigation taking place, it remains to be seen whether this committee will just be a talkfest and junket, or will make serious recommendations in regards to the overhaul of the electoral system.

Under Article 46 of the Malaysian constitution, parliamentary constituencies can only be reviewed in 2023 and 2026. This means there can be no reforms implemented until after the next federal and state elections. To hasten the process would require an amendment to the constitution, which requires a two-thirds majority in the parliament. Pakatan alone doesn't command a two-thirds majority and judging by its defeat over the Sabah and Sarawak constitutional amendments, it's highly unlikely there will be any bipartisan approach to electoral reform.

Any change to the Dewan Negara will also require constitutional amendments. Any attempt to make amendments would most probably lead to charges by the opposition that the government is trying to undermine royalty, as under the current constitution the Agong, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoints the majority of members sitting in the house.

There are a few additional electoral reform matters which can be changed without committees and constitutional changes. De-synchronising the federal and state elections would bring state issues into elections. This could easily be achieved through dissolving the respective houses at different times. Local elections are important for participatory democracy. However proposals for these reforms, put forward by the Pakatan coalition since 2008, have only led to lengthy procrastination.

Gender bias in each political party could be tackled at the party level, although there appears little determination to solve this problem. The balance of power between the federal and state governments needs to be re-balanced towards the states. This could be partly achieved by the political parties allowing their local memberships to select their own state candidates.

However the bottom line on electoral reform is that it is not in the real interests of Mahahir's Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia. The current skew in constituencies toward the Malay heartlands favors Bersatu. Any reforms toward 'one vote one value' would greatly strengthen the urban parties, the Malay moderate Parti Keadilan Rakyat, and the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party at the expense of Bersatu.

So expect the current government to sit on electoral reform – until a leader comes from another party.

A system that reflects 'one vote one value' is badly needed if the country is to continue to develop economically. Landslide election victories under the 'first past the post' system have resulted in arrogant, kleptocratic governments in the past. The current system is keeping the NEP in place using Malay nationalist and exclusion dialogues propagated by ideologues. This is coming to a tipping point. It is starting to terrorize non-Muslims.

The government needs to send a strong statement opposing the institutionalised state feudalism by democratizing the upper house and bringing a stronger state's voice into the democratic federal system. The current electoral system shackles Malaysia in more ways than one.