GEORGE TOWN – Malaysia has suffered from political unrest once in a cycle of every decade – starting from 1959 until 2018, says a Universiti Sains Malaysia political scientist.
Speaking in his maiden public lecture after he was conferred with a full professorship here, Prof Sivamurugan Pandian said that it began in 1959 when Umno’s ulama wing broke away from the party to form PAS.
Ten years later, in 1969, racial riots broke out when political deadlock emerged after a general election, which led to some parties displaying over-exuberance in public to an extent it provoked other communities.
This caused a clash to ensue. Officially the death toll was around 30, but a book on the bloodletting had later alleged that the casualties reached thousands, Sivamurugan said.
“It resulted in the disbandment of Parliament and the invoking of the National Security Council and the first form of a national unity government,” the academic noted.
Ten years later, in 1978, PAS withdrew from the national unity government under Barisan Nasional (BN) following a constitutional crisis in Kelantan, which resulted in Umno seizing control of the state before losing it back to PAS in 1990.
In 1988, Umno was declared illegal by the high court, resulting in the birth of Umno Baru and Semangat 46.
In 1998, then-deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was sacked from the government by then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
In 2008, BN lost its two-thirds majority for the first time and by 2018 it was ousted from the government completely.
However, Sivamurugan said that the period of 2018 until 2022 was a historic prolonged period of political instability.
It resulted in the short-lived administrations of three prime ministers and the fourth is now Anwar, the 10th prime minister or “PMX” as he is now known, of the country.
The unrest also came in the midst of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.
If the cycle is to repeat or sustain, Sivamurugan predicted that the next uncertainty would now likely come in 2028.
Another peculiarity was that there is no permanent or durable political coalition in the country with each bloc having its own limitations, although BN was an exception, he said.
“However, BN is now a pale shadow of its former self when it had over 10 parties,” he said.
He said that Malaysia’s politics is imperfect, but the country remains home to diversified multi-ethnic groups, safeguarded by the federal constitution which not only recognises the differences but seeks to protect them.
The saying that “there are no permanent enemies but just permanent needs,” holds true to the Malaysian political scene where no coalition is permanent.
Sivamurugan estimates that by 2028, there might be new political blocs and alliances seeking to win the right to govern the country.
The way forward for politics to be an integral part of nation-building is to “humanise” it where debates and squabbles are centred on making the lives of fellow Malaysians better, Sivamurugan said.
“We need practical knowledge and rationality to prevail over raw emotions and divisions as the country is based on strengths, rather than to exploit weaknesses.”
He spoke on the need for the legacies of independence such as negotiation skills and finding ways for compromises, as this led to a peaceful transition of power.
“Let us be reminded that as a nation, we have never failed to hold an election when the stipulated time is up,” said Sivamurugan.
The lessons of old are the country’s ability and desire to be adaptive to external geopolitical challenges while respecting the internal need for changes, he added. – The Vibes, July 6, 2023
