Bersih 4 screams we’re not chicken!

When the idea of Bersih 4 was floated, I tried to get some friends to answer the question “why Bersih 4?”

They gave many different answers. Finally, an answer acceptable to all emerged: Bersih 4 would be a way for people to scream and release their pent-up frustrations.

What would people scream about? Uppermost in their minds was the allegation that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak used funds from 1Malaysia Development Bhd to fix the 13th general election.

That was in the context of the revelation that RM2.6 billion went into his personal account and the government’s insistence that there was nothing improper about that; followed by the squashing, transfer or promotion of any who dared suggest otherwise.

Bersih says the behaviour of Najib and the government springs from the failed institutions in our nation. These include the bloated Prime Minister’s Office, the Election Commission, Parliament, the judiciary, police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara and more.

Bersih says the problems were created by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and that the solution isn’t just to replace Najib but also to implement a set of reforms to restore parliamentary democracy.

Bersih offered an 18-month transition plan to be implemented by an interim government called upon politicians to work out a formula for power-sharing.

The reality is that what we now have masquerading as parliamentary democracy is a presidential pseudo democracy. We have an entrenched Umno president and prime minister who can act just like President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.

Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof, chairman of the Election Commission, gets it. In April, he went to observe the presidential elections in Kazakhstan.

He came back full of praise for Khazakhstan’s elections. Utusan Online wrote a glowing article based on his comments.

Published on April 29, 2015, the title was “Follow the example of polling in Kazakhstan” (Contohi pilihan raya Kazakhstan).

Aziz said it was wonderful that at polling centres there were no police, no canvassing of voters by party workers, no loudspeakers, posters or party flags, that everyone looks so festive and happy, that voters can switch constituencies on polling day, that they have proportional representation, that they choose parties, not candidates.

Best of all, Aziz noted, Nuzarbayev got an overwhelming mandate of 97.7% of the votes!

The Election Commission under Aziz circumvents our constitution which calls for a parliamentary democracy and instead entrenches a presidential pseudo democracy.

The grand irony of Bersih 4 was the visit on Days 1 and 2 of Dr Mahathir, architect and builder of the system which has entrenched Najib.

Dr Mahathir came and said he supported the call for Najib to quit on account of impossible-to-deny corruption. He added that he doesn’t support calls for institutional reforms.

Many Bersih 4 supporters cheered when Dr Mahathir arrived. They cheered again when he left. Many hoped Bersih would offer Dr Mahathir an opportunity to speak from a stage.

My response to them is: “we see people, but politicians see chicken.”

That thought crossed my mind because when I see politicians – and I don’t mean just Dr Mahathir, Najib, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Khairy Jamaluddin, etc but also those who are not members of the government – I remember a story about Stalin, the Russian who epitomised brutal presidential power. The story may not be true, but it is instructive.

Stalin was on his deathbed. He wished to choose between two contenders for his job.

He asked an aide to give a chicken to each one. The contenders were perplexed.

The first decided the best course of action was to crush and kill the chicken. He did just that. The dictator glowered.

The second contender saw his chance. He let the chicken go free. The dictator glowered. The dictator called for a chicken.

As it flailed and squawked pitifully, he plucked every feather from it. He dropped it on the floor. Then he picked it up. It looked into his eyes, thankful for the warmth in his palm. He glowed.

Dr Mahathir’s tenure was marked by many scandals running into billions of ringgit – with hardly any prosecutions.

The scandals were so numerous and so extensive because institutions chose to be blind to infractions. They knew there would be no prosecutions, and petroleum funds would be used to cover losses. Institutions morphed from the rakyat’s watchdogs into the prime minister’s pet kittens.

We reject Prime Minister Najib who acts like the president of Kazakhstan, who treats people like Stalin treated the chicken, using the system Dr Mahathir created.

Bersih 4 screams “we’re not chicken”. – September 3, 2015.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.