A Union Government for Malaysia

who is the Hun?

My earlier articles on the idea of unity government were admittedly, cynical takes. They were meant to provoke and debunk the ideas by political mountebanks and charlatans.

Ini perkara jual minyak, kita sudah lali. Bila hendak mampus, baru cakap mengenai kerajaan perpaduan. Bila bontot sudah panas, kedudukan sudah terancam, kuasa mahu hilang, kita mahu bersatu. Besatulah semua perompak! Kita tidak ada apa apa yang akan hilang, kecuali kepuraan kita.

The basic objective of a union government aka unity government is to form a government consisting of all political parties so that everyone is on the same page. That will ensure everything meant for the wellbeing of the people are carried out quickly. Probably not all, as any party which does not have any presence in parliament does not have grounds to be included.

A union government is usually formed out of a need to act as a united entity to overcome an extreme crisis. A splendid historical example is the case of Canada of the First World War.

During the First World War the conservative government of Canada faced a serious problem in recruiting men to join the army. French Canadians refused to join in the war fearing discriminations and oppression by English speaking Canadians. The French speaking Canadians were led by a man known as Henri Bourassa. They were mostly centred at Quebec. The opposition party in Canada at that time was the Liberal party. The leader of the Conservative party invited Liberal party to form a union government so that they could overcome the conscription problem.

The liberal party refused. The liberals did not want to join the Union Government fearing such communion would only trigger off a wave of extreme nationalism in Quebec under the leadership of Bourassa. Such an outcome would inevitably result in a demand for referendum to determine whether Quebec should still remain a Canadian entity.

The leader of the Conservatives managed to persuade and entice a number of Liberals to join. They were able to defeat the Liberal party and the French Canadians and enforced the conscription act.

During the Second World War, the conservatives (those consisting of original conservatives plus renegade liberals) wanted to form another Union Government like that of WW1. They failed, and the Liberals won.

The main points:-

• There was a war- a crisis of the highest order
  
• The were problems encountered by the ruling national government to overcome a certain problem associated with the war efforts- namely conscripting people into the army.
  
• Invite the biggest opponent which stands in the way of solving the effort.
  
• The union had the collateral benefit of extinguishing a minor rival- in Canada in the form of Henri Bourassa.
  

Union Government in Malaysia?

In Malaysia, its own First World War was the racial clashes of 1969. That provided the platform and the window of opportunity to include PAS into our own Union government. The original PERIKATAN Party was expanded to include PAS and many other smaller political parties. Dato Asri the leader of PAS then was given a cabinet post as were some other PAS leaders. Nik Aziz himself served as Parliamentary Secretary if I am not mistaken. Hassan Adli was another. It was on that rare occasion that Nik Aziz wore a suit .

Many PAS leaders felt the BN of 1974 was the gift that the UMNO Greeks brought along. PAS was essentially reduced to a baggage carrying porter. The brief intermission allowed UMNO later to disembowel PAS from within. They lost Kelantan and the Party was thrown into disarray for many years.

Nik Aziz has never forgotten that nightmarish episode that PAS went through. He is adamant this political trickery shall never be repeated. He has not forgotten the fact that PAS has been able to retain Kelantan precisely because it chose to remain itself.

The leadership of PAS under Haji Hadi and Nasharudin Mat Isa has turned the party into an almost perfect substitute for UMNO. That being so, it does not matter where Malay votes go to. They still go to a party with similar objectives, albeit anchored on different principles and rationale.

The biggest hurdle to the formation of one Malaysia is UMNO's inability to secure the trust of non Malays. The results of the 12^th GE have shown, UMNO's current ride-along partners have no more credibility. Most of them have become spent forces. The ones retaining their vitality are the traditional opposition parties- DAP and the opposition parties in East Malaysia.

If the lesson from the Union Government model of WW1 Canada is heeded, then the proposed Union Government that this present government wants, should try to include DAP not PAS. That would certainly gain the trust of those non Malays who stood by DAP. DAP will refuse, because they will not want to compromise their political objectives and water down its drive.

Many in PAS object to this Union Government idea proposed by UMNO for the same reasons DAP will steadfastly refuse. They do not want to compromise their political principles nor water down their drive.

It is a matter of strategic interest for Malays to allow PAS to remain as it is- unadulterated in its fundamentals. It fights on the basis of religious principles. As long as PAS remains as an alternative Malay based party, it provides the emotional and security insurance for Malays. PAS must recognise this- if anything were to happen to UMNO, it stands to derive the most profit in terms of shifting alliance to the party. It retains its credibility precisely by being its own self and not a junior partner to UMNO.

It is also a strategic interest for all those who love UMNO to discourage PAS to form a union with UMNO. That possibility will raise UMNO's own belligerence and fortify its refusal to undertake radical internal changes. A union will only delay the inevitable spread of decaying cancer from within. But if UMNO were to face its own continued crises, it will be forced to carry out changes. Undertaking serious, fundamental changes on its own political ethos will save itself from increasing credibility deficit.

UNION GOVERNMENT FOR WRONG REASONS NOT GOOD.

But if the unity government being bandied around is for the benefit of (a) prolonging the hold by the dominant party, delaying its demise and (b) a means for a backdoor entry to get political power, then the whole idea of a unity government is a political farce.

This idea about unity government was mooted by Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah in 2008. TRH had not an insignificant part in building up Malaysia and he is indeed qualified to speak about a unity government. His legacy in terms of economic institutions to help out Malays is varied and many.

As a significant stakeholder of this country, he is justifiably concerned about the future of this country. He cringes at the incompetence of the leadership. He is horrified at the shameless submission to providence where reasonable people hope problems will solve themselves.

But that, YM Tengku, is expected- after years of being conditioned by UMNO culture of patronage, rent seeking, subsidies, we know best kind of attitude, a shallow talent pool of leadership confined within the vicious circle of blood ties and bequeathed status- a different outcome would have been extraordinarily strange.

One means to guarantee a future at all is the formation of a unity government. The premises by which he based his ideas of a unity government couldn't be more different than that expounded by political careerists.