sideviews

The inevitable fall of the ruling party – Puthan Perumal

March 02, 2016

They say all good things must come to an end.

I wonder why not enough emphasis is  given to the other end of the spectrum, where  all bad things, too, come to an end.

Throughout  history, we have seen how evil regimes, however mighty and strong they may be for a period of time, eventually come crumbling down.

And interestingly enough, it is almost always the case where the crumble is due to internal squabbles within that particular regime, incompetence, irrational behaviour and of course, greed.

As night follows day, governments of the day will eventually change. It is only natural. The reason for this is very clear.

It is simply because the people, over time, come to realize that a particular government, and its manner of administration, is no more suitable with the current times.

Sometimes, a particular government of the day refuses to let go of power and will do all that is necessary (and unnecessary) to be in power and remain relevant.

This may lead to irrational approach to things thus making it difficult for a smooth transition of power to take place.

It is in these circumstances where we shall see a ‘fall’ of a particular government.

Fall is an effect of a ‘push’. When we do not want something and yet it is shoved to our faces, the only natural reaction would be to push that thing away resulting in its fall.

Similarly, a government of the day which is irrational and greedy would eventually face the same fate.

However much they try to stay in power, if they continue to administer a state under policies which are contrary to the wishes of the people, they will be pushed away by the people when the people have had enough.

In Malaysia, are we going to see a smooth transition of a government or a fall of a government?

In other words, will the ruling party hand over its power when the time comes in a peaceful and gentleman-like manner, or will the ruling party create a fuss like a 6 year-old refusing to give back the neighbour’s bicycle which was borrowed for the evening?

It  is  clear  that in the next couple of years, we are almost definitely going to see a very tight race in the forming of government at the federal level.

People have come to realize that the current policies practiced by the ruling party are no longer relevant, and dare I say, beneficial to the country as a whole.

Over the years, we have seen how the empty promises of the ruling party has led to the decay in all aspects of life for the ordinary folks.

On the same breath, we have seen how a handful of ‘superstars’ have gotten obscenely rich, as a result of the ruling  party’s policies.

The concept of distribution of wealth in Malaysia is virtually non-existent.

People have now come to realize that as a result of the ruling party’s policies, certain people are getting richer, while the ordinary folks are not seeing any improvement in their quality of life.

The NEP which was introduced in 1971 was for the eradication of poverty and yet, after some forty years down the road, we still see Malays being the poorest of the lot.

This despite the ruling party’s yearly promises of advancing Bumiputra? 

Something is clearly amiss here.

It is against this backdrop that we see today a significant change in people’s  attitudes towards the ruling  party’s policies.

These realization and frustration of the people resulted in the fall of the ruling party in certain states, something which has never before been seen in the history of Malaysia.

It is also against this backdrop that we see the people’s acceptance of a multi-racial and peaceful approach to things, as opposed to the ‘divide and conquer’ approach of the ruling party.

Having seen this uprising of the people, the ruling party seem to have now resorted to irrational tactics in their attempt to remain relevant and in power.

And what more better way to do that than to remove all the catalysts behind this  ‘uprising’ so to speak.

These include silencing opposition party leaders and blocking alternative media websites.

However, there is a cost to be paid. 

As a result of the ruling party’s actions to destroy any form of opposition, the  rule of law and the perception of the judiciary become victims in the cross-fire.

Any country without the rule of law cannot possibly thrive in any way.

Any country in which the judiciary is perceived to be biased cannot possibly have any confidence of investors and of the people in general.

A country without the rule of law and an impartial and unbiased judiciary can  never, under any circumstances, be considered a developed nation.

The ruling  party, over the years, have somehow successfully managed to do just that.

Strangely enough, as stated earlier, the  inevitable fall of the ruling party in  the upcoming years will ultimately be due to its own internal squabbles, incompetence, irrational behaviour and greed.

This picture seems to be growing more and more real as the days go by. – March 2, 2016.

* Puthan Perumal is an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.

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