The Thai and Perak Constitutional crises: the problem does not lie in democracy, but in politicians who do not believe in democracy

By Fang Zhi Yuan and Lim Siow Kuan

The recent constitutional crises in Thailand and the Malaysian state of Perak have been given extensive coverage by the state media in a lame attempt to highlight the pitfalls of democracy.

The papers were splashed with photos of the Thai “red shirts” confronting the police and of the scuffle between the party supporters of the Barisan Nasional and PAS in Perak.

One reader posted a comment criticizing us for our frequent attacks on the PAP. “Would you rather have a situation similar to what is happening in Thailand now?” he asked.

It is precisely because we do not want to see a similiar crisis being repeated here that we have been actively educating our readers on their rights as citizens and to expose the glaring deficiencies in our political system.

Both the Thai and Perak constitutional crises are triggered by self-serving politicians who chose to cling on to power in spite of the desire of the people to have them removed.

It has nothing to do with democracy. Only when politicians do not adhere to the basic principles of democracy and play according to the rules will the nation be plunged into political chaos.

Democracy works on two basic tenets: one, the party which wins the majority vote in an election gets to form the government and two, the loser accepts the result and wait for the next election. The democratic process will be abused and rendered ineffective if either condition is not met.

In the Thai example, ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won two successful general elections before he was ousted in a coup engineered by the old Bangkok elite in 2006. The subsequent election was also won by an reincarnation of his Thai Rak Thai Party – the People’s Power Party led by his trusted loyalist Samak Sundaravej who was forced to step down by the Supreme Court.

Samak’s successor Somchai Wongsawat had to relinquish his position after 5 months by massive street protests led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy which had paralyzed Bangkok. The current Democrat government was formed only by defections from a Thaksin bloc led by Newin Chidchob with tacit support from the military.

Had the Bangkok elite played by the rules and sought to remove Thaksin from power via the electoral routes instead of launching a military coup, the ensuing fracas and chaos would not have occurred.

The current Thai Prime Minister Abhisit can defuse the situation by dissolving Parliament and call for a general election, but he will not dare to do so as he will probably lose the popular vote.

The Thai crisis is the result of the popular will of the people being subjugated by power-hungry politicians who chose to defy public opinion to cling on to power.

The Perak constitutional crisis is also triggered by politicians with scant regard for democratic principles. The Pakatan Rakyat coalition won control of the state during last year’s general elections by winning 31 out of the 59 seats contested.

In February 2009, three state assembly men and women resigned from the Pakatan component parties – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and Democratic Action Party (DAP) to become “independents” aligned to the state opposition Barisan Nasional.

In a stunning move which shocked the nation, then Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak called a press conference to announce that Barisan Nasional had the “numbers” to form the Perak state government. Its previous Menteri Besar Datuk Nizar Jamaluddin was forced unceremoniously out of power. He rightly refused to accept the result of the coup and had since launched a lawsuit against the Barisan Nasional MB Datuk Zambry Abdul Kadir.

Dissolving the state government and return to seek a renewed mandate from the people will be a simple and straighforward solution to resolve the political impasse. Again, Barisan Nasional dare not do so because it has no confidence of winning the election.

As we can see for ourselves, both the Thai and Perak governments are mired in crisis now because their respective legitimate governments which are voted into power by the people are being ousted by political opportunists who abused the rule of law.

Will the constitutional crisis which besieged Thailand and Perak for months happen in Singapore? It can as long Singaporeans remain contented to give the PAP limitless power to do as it pleases.

In 2006,  MM Lee Kuan Yew sent an ominous warning as to what would happen if the opposition were to come to power one day: “Without the elected president and if there is a freak result, within two or three years, the army would have to come in and stop it”.

His words speak for himself. Here is a man who does not believe in democracy and will cling on to power at all cost even by mobilizing the army to keep the PAP in government.

Neither MM Lee or the PAP has the right to call on the Singapore army to force an elected government out of power. The army owes its allegiance to the state of Singapore which overrides all petty partisan interests.

The PAP is only a political party. If it loses in an election, then it must be prepared to hand over the reins of power to another party chosen by the people and be contented with a period of time in the opposition till the next election.

In mature stable democracies like Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and many others in the West, governments come and go every few years. They do not experience any constitutional crises or chaos because all the parties and politicians obey the rules of democracy. The losers accept defeat gracefully and allow transfer of power to take place peacefully without any disturbances or upheavals.

The present PAP is led by politicians in the mold of Thailand’s Abhisit and Malaysia’s Najib Razak – they will not accept defeat and will try ways and means to remain in power.

In fact, a minor constitutional crisis has already happened in Singapore last year. When Bukit Batok MP Ong Chit Chung passed away and left his seat vacant, a by-election was not held because it was deemed “unnecessary” by the Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The undeniable right of Bukit Batok residents as Singapore citizens to vote for their elected representative in Parliament has been robbed from them right under their very eyes.

Though Singapore is spared the street protests and rallies in Thailand which has brought the country to a virtual standstill, the use of undemocratic measures such as the GRC system by the PAP to entrench themselves in power has led to a pervasive political apathy in the populace such that even the PAP itself has problems recruiting talented Singaporeans to join its ranks.

The government should be afraid of the people and not the other way round. Politicians who believe in democracy are never afraid of losing power because they respect the will of the people. Only dictators will try ways and means to keep themselves in power in defiance of public opinion and expectations.

To quote from U.S. President Thomas Jefferson – “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”. Singaporeans must step up their vigilance now before it is too late. Will there come a time when even elections are abolished by Prime Minister Lee because they are “unnecessary” to him?