The good: Five million people in Myanmar signed a petition asking Parliament to remove the undemocratic provisions in the 2008 Constitution. The bad: Thai military authorities enacted an interim constitution that gives sweeping powers to the army. The half-serious: Philippine President Benigno Aquino III hinted that he is open to the idea of amending the Constitution amid declining popularity ratings.
Myanmar’s opposition party the National League for Democracy and activist network 88 Generation Peace and Open Society were able to gather 4,953,093 signatures in more than 300 townships across the country in support of the petition to amend certain provisions of the Constitution that perpetuate the military dictatorship.
They focused on Article 436 of the Constitution, which stipulates that any constitutional amendment requires the approval of 75 percent of Parliament. This means that any amendment would need the army’s concurrence, since 25 percent of parliamentary seats are reserved for the military. Perhaps the opposition is particularly interested in deleting Article 436 because the provision makes it difficult to scrap Article 59(F), which bars Myanmar citizens with foreign spouses and foreign-born children from running for president or vice president. It is Article 59(F) that is stopping opposition leader and global democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from running for president in 2015, since she was married to a British national.
Constitutional reform is seen by the opposition as essential to Myanmar’s transition to democracy. Even the Parliament has formed a Joint Committee to Review the Constitution, and this body recently recommended the amendment of more than 450 of the 457 articles in the Constitution, including article 436. For Khin Zaw Win, director of the policy advocacy group Tampadipa Institute, the charter needs to be revised to allow for more decentralization and a devolution of power.
Myanmar’s government is lukewarm about the proposal to amend the Constitution, but it cannot simply ignore the voice of five million voters. Indeed, the proposed constitutional reform could reduce the ability of the military to influence Parliament, but it would certainly encourage the greater participation of opposition forces in the governance of the country.
Alongside five million people in Myanmar signing a petition to draft a new constitution, the Thai military government (known as the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)) has enacted an interim constitution without popular approval.
The drafting of a new constitution was supposed to signal the country’s transition to civilian rule after the army launched a coup last May. But based on the 48 articles of the Constitution issued by the NCPO, it seems the military will retain considerable power in the new government.
The constitution mandates the creation of several bodies that would govern the country, namely the National Legislative Assembly, the National Reform Council, the Constitutional Drafting Committee, and the NCPO. It is the NCPO, or military leadership, which will choose the members of these bodies.
Moreover, the constitution has placed several restrictions on selecting members of the legislative assembly. For example, a person who was a member of a political party in the last three years cannot join the body. Since politicians belonging to the major political parties are barred by the Constitution from serving in the government, military officials and their allies will dominate the interim government.
The Thai Citizens Against Dictatorship described the Constitution as Thailand’s “most anti-democratic constitution in half a century.” They zeroed in on Article 44, which empowers the NCPO to intervene in almost all aspects of governance. Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva also questioned this provision. “Article 44 clearly states that the power has binding effect in legislative and judiciary aspects, without a process to challenge or scrutinize them. That means it’s the ability to issue a law or reverse a court verdict.”
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Promoting Thinking Minds Via Rational Rationale
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Democracy. Show all posts
Wednesday, 10 September 2014
Wednesday, 4 June 2014
Surendran: Parliament is a waste of public money
Outspoken PKR parliamentarian N Surendran, who is making a comeback to Parliament on June 9 after a six-month suspension, has wasted no time in taking the effectiveness of the August House to task.
Surendran said the Dewan Rakyat is a waste of public money if it continues to act merely as a rubber stamp, to pass only the federal government’s proposed bills and motions.
“Proposals put forward by Pakatan Rakyat MPs do not see the light of day. We are only allowed to ask questions and we have to wait for our chance to ask as there are many MPs around,” the human rights lawyer lamented.
Parliament is in dire need of reforms, Surendran said, to allow the opposition to raise more issues and more time to be allocated for debate.
“The perception that the Dewan Rakyat is a mere rubber stamp has been perpetrated by the government,” Surendran said during his speech at the mock parliament session held at the Penang legislative assembly on Saturday.
“But it is not true that the House is a mere rubber stamp as it is a place to debate important laws. It is a great forensic chamber of the people’s conscience,” he told the young participants who mostly comprised law students and young budding politicians.
Surendran (left) said the situation was different from that of the British Parliament where the House of Commons allocates 20 days for the opposition to table its motions for debate.
These are called “opposition days”, Surendran added, saying that reforms in Parliament were necessary for it to achieve its full and real potential.
Surendran spoke at the event organised by Penang speaker Law Choo Kiang, human rights NGO Suaram and the Penang chapter of Amnesty International, where a two-hour session was held to debate the issue of police reforms and setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to address cases of custodial deaths.
Since the beginning of the year, the country has seen nine custodial deaths in four months, but the federal government is not interested in forming the IPCMC, recommended in 2005 by former chief justice and chairman of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police, Mohammed Dzaiddin Abdullah.
‘SB personnel should be absorbed into the CID’
DAP’s Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim, who was also invited to speak at the event, said the police have lost their focus, as their jobs these days are more towards arresting opposition politicians.
He expressed shock to learn that Special Branch (SB) officers sent about 1,000 reports a day to their bosses or 300,000 over reports a year, compared to the 10,000 crime reports sent by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
“SB personnel should be absorbed into the Criminal Investigation Department to focus more on probing crime instead of monitoring and arresting opposition politicians,” Sim (right) said during his speech at the same venue.
“Currently, for every CID officer, there are five administration staff. There is no balance and focus in the police force which is why less time is spent on solving crime,” he added.
Sim said the IPCMC is not proposed to punish the entire police force, a notion wrongly perceived by the latter, but to act only on errant ones.
“The IPCMC is set up also to deliberate on the welfare of police personnel, to propose rewards for members who perform well and to prevent politicians from interfering in police work, including the appointment of the inspector-general of police,” he added.
Malaysiakini
Surendran said the Dewan Rakyat is a waste of public money if it continues to act merely as a rubber stamp, to pass only the federal government’s proposed bills and motions.
“Proposals put forward by Pakatan Rakyat MPs do not see the light of day. We are only allowed to ask questions and we have to wait for our chance to ask as there are many MPs around,” the human rights lawyer lamented.
Parliament is in dire need of reforms, Surendran said, to allow the opposition to raise more issues and more time to be allocated for debate.
“The perception that the Dewan Rakyat is a mere rubber stamp has been perpetrated by the government,” Surendran said during his speech at the mock parliament session held at the Penang legislative assembly on Saturday.
“But it is not true that the House is a mere rubber stamp as it is a place to debate important laws. It is a great forensic chamber of the people’s conscience,” he told the young participants who mostly comprised law students and young budding politicians.
Surendran (left) said the situation was different from that of the British Parliament where the House of Commons allocates 20 days for the opposition to table its motions for debate.
These are called “opposition days”, Surendran added, saying that reforms in Parliament were necessary for it to achieve its full and real potential.
Surendran spoke at the event organised by Penang speaker Law Choo Kiang, human rights NGO Suaram and the Penang chapter of Amnesty International, where a two-hour session was held to debate the issue of police reforms and setting up of the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) to address cases of custodial deaths.
Since the beginning of the year, the country has seen nine custodial deaths in four months, but the federal government is not interested in forming the IPCMC, recommended in 2005 by former chief justice and chairman of the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police, Mohammed Dzaiddin Abdullah.
‘SB personnel should be absorbed into the CID’
DAP’s Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim, who was also invited to speak at the event, said the police have lost their focus, as their jobs these days are more towards arresting opposition politicians.
He expressed shock to learn that Special Branch (SB) officers sent about 1,000 reports a day to their bosses or 300,000 over reports a year, compared to the 10,000 crime reports sent by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
“SB personnel should be absorbed into the Criminal Investigation Department to focus more on probing crime instead of monitoring and arresting opposition politicians,” Sim (right) said during his speech at the same venue.
“Currently, for every CID officer, there are five administration staff. There is no balance and focus in the police force which is why less time is spent on solving crime,” he added.
Sim said the IPCMC is not proposed to punish the entire police force, a notion wrongly perceived by the latter, but to act only on errant ones.
“The IPCMC is set up also to deliberate on the welfare of police personnel, to propose rewards for members who perform well and to prevent politicians from interfering in police work, including the appointment of the inspector-general of police,” he added.
Malaysiakini
Sunday, 4 May 2014
What's wrong with the two-party system?
After the 2008 general elections, Malaysians still had something to expect from the emerging two--party system, but with the 2013 general elections now almost a year behind us, many are instead filled with fears for the country's future.
Although Pakatan Rakyat was still yet to be established during the 2008 elections, voters frustrated with the BN government voted in large numbers for the opposition. Najib took over as the country's prime minister a year after that, trying to lead Umno towards moderation. In the meantime, PAS formed an official alliance with DAP and PKR, and started to see hopes of taking over the federal administration as it attempted to cover its real intentions under the veil of a welfare state.
The 2008 general elections gave rise to the prototype of two-party system in the country. Although this has failed to bring about actual changes to the political mentality and culture of people on either side of the great political divide, it was fundamentally a move in the right direction. For instance, the prime minister mooted the concept of "1Malaysia" and proposed the political and economic transformation programs, and legal reforms while Pakatan state governments strived to improve transparency in their administrations and implement open tenders for public projects.
although Umno secured more parliamentary seats after the 2013 general elections, BN's performance was generally poorer than in 2008, with parliamentary seats reduced from 140 to 133. Right wingers in the party began to get vocal, as they tried to force Najib to sway from his middle approach. As a result, we saw the bumiputra economic empowerment plan while conservative religious atmosphere gained momentum in politics.
The race to win Malay votes has always been a zero sum game. Any gain on Umno's side should be seen as a defeat on PAS'. In order to gain back the depleted Malay votes, PAS has proposed to implement the hudud law in Kelantan.
Umno, meanwhile, is making its own political calculations in hope of getting the best of both sides and crush the opposition pact. Even if in the end the bill is not adopted by the Parliament, the religious card played by both parties will only intensify religious tension and spawning more religious fanatics.
I believe some people might want to put the blame on the two-party system. Nevertheless, if we go into the root of the problem, we will realize that the actual causes are our power-hungry politicians, flawed system, entrenched racist politics and impressionable populace.
Even if the two-party system began to take shape after the 2008 general elections, our politicians have failed to move in tandem with the changing times and have failed to put the rakyat first. For example, Anwar came out with the September 16 government change plan, while a change of administration took place in Perak in February 2009 following the crossover of three Pakatan assemblymen.
As a matter of fact, our political leaders have never been sincere in introducing the so-called reforms. From 2009 to early 2013, both BN and Pakatan introduced some populist policies trying to woo the voters.
But after the 13th general elections, these patricians began to show their true colors. The BN started to abandon their pledge of abolishing the legal provision on detention without trial as well as the "1Malaysia" concept it used to uphold while Perlis and other BN-controlled states introduced higher bumi housing quotas. Pakatan state governments, meanwhile, have increased their reps' salaries and replaced their luxurious official sedans.
The last two general elections have failed to enhance the management capabilities of our government. Corruption and misappropriation of public funds remain rampant.These political leaders have been able to lead an easy life because under the existing electoral system, so long as they are able to hold on to their support bases, they will not have problem securing the federal administration.
Pakatan Rakyat, on the other hand, lacks the competency to further consolidate the existing two-party system, especially PAS, which has opted the easy way out by introducing the hudud law.
To make things worse, irregularities began to surface in Pakatan-controlled states. If they fail to make definite inroads into Umno's rural and East Malaysian fortresses, there will be no chances for them to displace BN, and Umno therefore sees no need of changing its path.
The general public, in the meantime, lack the ability to think rationally. They fail to see the real qualities of their leaders, and that makes another reason for the failure of our two-party system.
If we lack the ability to make sound judgments, we will be easily influenced by the politicians. Since everyone knew PAS' ulterior motive is to establish an Islamic state, why were we still swindled by its disguise?
This country is destined to fail if we continue to allow ourselves to be manipulated by the politicians. Controversies over Anwar's sodomy trials will get intensified, the government will fail again to cut down expenses and the GST will not make up for the void in the national coffers.
Our political parties have led the country towards deepened ethnic and religious confrontation. As such, civil organizations should make a move now to become a major driving force in reforming the nation.
They should amass the support from non-racial and non-religious bodies to check and balance the impact from politics in order to put the two-party system back on the right track.
By LIM SUE GOAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily
Although Pakatan Rakyat was still yet to be established during the 2008 elections, voters frustrated with the BN government voted in large numbers for the opposition. Najib took over as the country's prime minister a year after that, trying to lead Umno towards moderation. In the meantime, PAS formed an official alliance with DAP and PKR, and started to see hopes of taking over the federal administration as it attempted to cover its real intentions under the veil of a welfare state.
The 2008 general elections gave rise to the prototype of two-party system in the country. Although this has failed to bring about actual changes to the political mentality and culture of people on either side of the great political divide, it was fundamentally a move in the right direction. For instance, the prime minister mooted the concept of "1Malaysia" and proposed the political and economic transformation programs, and legal reforms while Pakatan state governments strived to improve transparency in their administrations and implement open tenders for public projects.
although Umno secured more parliamentary seats after the 2013 general elections, BN's performance was generally poorer than in 2008, with parliamentary seats reduced from 140 to 133. Right wingers in the party began to get vocal, as they tried to force Najib to sway from his middle approach. As a result, we saw the bumiputra economic empowerment plan while conservative religious atmosphere gained momentum in politics.
The race to win Malay votes has always been a zero sum game. Any gain on Umno's side should be seen as a defeat on PAS'. In order to gain back the depleted Malay votes, PAS has proposed to implement the hudud law in Kelantan.
Umno, meanwhile, is making its own political calculations in hope of getting the best of both sides and crush the opposition pact. Even if in the end the bill is not adopted by the Parliament, the religious card played by both parties will only intensify religious tension and spawning more religious fanatics.
I believe some people might want to put the blame on the two-party system. Nevertheless, if we go into the root of the problem, we will realize that the actual causes are our power-hungry politicians, flawed system, entrenched racist politics and impressionable populace.
Even if the two-party system began to take shape after the 2008 general elections, our politicians have failed to move in tandem with the changing times and have failed to put the rakyat first. For example, Anwar came out with the September 16 government change plan, while a change of administration took place in Perak in February 2009 following the crossover of three Pakatan assemblymen.
As a matter of fact, our political leaders have never been sincere in introducing the so-called reforms. From 2009 to early 2013, both BN and Pakatan introduced some populist policies trying to woo the voters.
But after the 13th general elections, these patricians began to show their true colors. The BN started to abandon their pledge of abolishing the legal provision on detention without trial as well as the "1Malaysia" concept it used to uphold while Perlis and other BN-controlled states introduced higher bumi housing quotas. Pakatan state governments, meanwhile, have increased their reps' salaries and replaced their luxurious official sedans.
The last two general elections have failed to enhance the management capabilities of our government. Corruption and misappropriation of public funds remain rampant.These political leaders have been able to lead an easy life because under the existing electoral system, so long as they are able to hold on to their support bases, they will not have problem securing the federal administration.
Pakatan Rakyat, on the other hand, lacks the competency to further consolidate the existing two-party system, especially PAS, which has opted the easy way out by introducing the hudud law.
To make things worse, irregularities began to surface in Pakatan-controlled states. If they fail to make definite inroads into Umno's rural and East Malaysian fortresses, there will be no chances for them to displace BN, and Umno therefore sees no need of changing its path.
The general public, in the meantime, lack the ability to think rationally. They fail to see the real qualities of their leaders, and that makes another reason for the failure of our two-party system.
If we lack the ability to make sound judgments, we will be easily influenced by the politicians. Since everyone knew PAS' ulterior motive is to establish an Islamic state, why were we still swindled by its disguise?
This country is destined to fail if we continue to allow ourselves to be manipulated by the politicians. Controversies over Anwar's sodomy trials will get intensified, the government will fail again to cut down expenses and the GST will not make up for the void in the national coffers.
Our political parties have led the country towards deepened ethnic and religious confrontation. As such, civil organizations should make a move now to become a major driving force in reforming the nation.
They should amass the support from non-racial and non-religious bodies to check and balance the impact from politics in order to put the two-party system back on the right track.
By LIM SUE GOAN
Translated by DOMINIC LOH
Sin Chew Daily
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