Since the ISA, parts of the PPPA and other legislative reforms have taken place, do Malaysians really have cause to celebrate? My piece here argues otherwise, published first in theSun on 23rd September 2011.
Key liberties not yet settled
It was an interesting time to be in Europe (I attended an international market research network meeting last week), with the ever-present talk of the Eurozone in crisis, Greek’s potential default, the rest having to pick up its pieces especially Germany, and the general financial uncertainty in the region. Politically, most countries in Europe have voted in right-leaning parties into government. An interactive political map on The Guardian’s website (a British newspaper) shows the shift of Europe from the left to the right over the past 30 years, ending with today’s situation in which only Spain, Austria and Greece remain with left-leaning governments.
There is a whole debate one can embark upon when describing political ideology, especially so when labels such as “liberal” and “social democracy” take on varying meanings when applied to different areas. In Europe at least, right-leaning parties have taken a more hardline approach to immigration. Is it possible to draw a correlation between economic decline and the consequent dissatisfaction with foreign migrant workers, since the latter occupy valuable space and jobs?
Malaysia, on the other hand, does not entertain political ideology, where its parties on either side of the divide have rarely clearly identified themselves either on the left or right. When it does talk about ideology, it demonises socialism and communism without fully comprehending its bases of argument. One reason for the lack of ideological debate is perhaps because it has taken so long to even get the fundamentals right, like a free and fair media, or the right to freely assemble.
And so, we rejoiced over Malaysia Day when the announcement to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) and amend the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) was made (amongst others). It came as a breath of fresh air, and accolades were given to the Prime Minister for delivering on his promise made in 2009.
But hold your horses for a minute. Subsequent statements have not been as promising, where for example the law minister has said detention without trial would still continue in the enactment of two new laws to counter terrorism. It will be interesting to observe what the consequence of, say, another peaceful rally taking place in town; would people still be detained to preserve the “peace and harmony” of the country?
As we watch this particular drama unfolding, Malaysians will have to be vigilant and continue expressing their views, concerns and hopes. These opinions will surely count as Parliamentarians debate the issues, and as public consultation sessions are organised. Already we see the tension mounting, with Perkasa’s leader calling on the prime minister to preserve the spirit of the ISA in the two new laws. Would there be any point in abolishing the much-feared ISA only to find it in the more obscure form under another name?
The PPPA’s amendments will now no longer require licences to be renewed annually, but licences can still come under the threat of being suspended or withdrawn. Perhaps the more important question is whether or not anything would really change in practice. Would, for example, newspaper editors stop receiving calls when they report on something particularly sensitive?
When news of this broke out, the BBC and other international media reported on this brave move in all of ten words (or so). Of course, the media has a tendency to report news in bite-sized form, which serves the demands of people who have little time to digest anything further. Hence even more crucial the scrutiny of the contents of the new laws which may not necessarily be labelled as “internal security”.
As long as the Malaysian government continues to make use of the term “democracy” to describe its aspirations, Malaysians must strive to keep it accountable to the practice of this. This marks only the beginning of the discussion, and all conscientious citizens ought to express their views and demands, as the nation continues to determine for itself what laws will eventually govern this democratic space we call Malaysia.
In the meantime, although it looks like we will be preoccupied with these fundamental civil liberties, it is hoped that there will be greater opportunities to engage in discussion of the left vs. right political ideology, as the application of this will have tremendous impact on how we steer our economy in the right direction.
