PKR's painful path to direct elections
2010/10/01
By Zubaidah Abu Bakar
VERBAL assaults, physical brawls, vandalism and allegations of phantom members, various abuses and procedural defects at Parti Keadilan Rakyat's divisional meetings have caught the attention of many. These are no teething problems in the party's untested direct elections. The nominations and balloting for positions at division level over the past two weeks could well hamper efforts to portray the party as the vanguard of democracy.
Contrary to the aim of PKR leaders to introduce direct elections as a showcase of its liberal politics, the divisional elections have turned out badly as an example of its much-hyped "fairer election system".
The election process has not painted a good picture for neutral voters.
In a nutshell, PKR's direct elections, even at the starting point, have raised key questions about the state of readiness on the part of the party and its members for such a system.
Have members of a political party as young as PKR reached a level of maturity to participate directly in choosing their leaders? Is PKR ready or does it have the expertise to conduct direct elections?
Political watchers have differing views on what the incidents reflect. Some said PKR, an adolescent among the country's much-older parties, was not prepared in terms of administration and members' understanding of their roles and rights in internal elections. Others brushed aside the difficulties as hiccups in the opening of a new dimension to opposition politics.
"It's interesting to see many people now wanting to be leaders at divisional level in an opposition party. We did not see this trend in the past, when nobody wanted to become a leader even without having to contest for it," said Associate Prof Mohammad Agus Yusof of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
"Perhaps they are of the opinion that the opposition is the government-in-waiting, so they consider it a good investment to be part of PKR."
In contrast, Universiti Teknologi Mara's Associate Prof Shaharuddin Baharuddin said although the idea of holding direct elections was laudable, certain issues had to be addressed before they could be conducted smoothly.
"A lot of things need to be looked into in the first place, like whether members fully understand the philosophy of democracy and their rights in electing leaders," he said on the disturbances at several divisions.
Ibrahim Suffian, director of independent pollster Merdeka Centre, thought of the disorder as part of a learning process, from which Umno could learn a lesson or two.
2010/10/01
By Zubaidah Abu Bakar
VERBAL assaults, physical brawls, vandalism and allegations of phantom members, various abuses and procedural defects at Parti Keadilan Rakyat's divisional meetings have caught the attention of many. These are no teething problems in the party's untested direct elections. The nominations and balloting for positions at division level over the past two weeks could well hamper efforts to portray the party as the vanguard of democracy.
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| Abdullah Sani- Is this what is happening in Sarawak right now just like what you've claimed before? 'Sarawak will become like Selangor and the Peninsular!' |
The election process has not painted a good picture for neutral voters.
In a nutshell, PKR's direct elections, even at the starting point, have raised key questions about the state of readiness on the part of the party and its members for such a system.
Have members of a political party as young as PKR reached a level of maturity to participate directly in choosing their leaders? Is PKR ready or does it have the expertise to conduct direct elections?
Political watchers have differing views on what the incidents reflect. Some said PKR, an adolescent among the country's much-older parties, was not prepared in terms of administration and members' understanding of their roles and rights in internal elections. Others brushed aside the difficulties as hiccups in the opening of a new dimension to opposition politics.
"It's interesting to see many people now wanting to be leaders at divisional level in an opposition party. We did not see this trend in the past, when nobody wanted to become a leader even without having to contest for it," said Associate Prof Mohammad Agus Yusof of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
"Perhaps they are of the opinion that the opposition is the government-in-waiting, so they consider it a good investment to be part of PKR."
In contrast, Universiti Teknologi Mara's Associate Prof Shaharuddin Baharuddin said although the idea of holding direct elections was laudable, certain issues had to be addressed before they could be conducted smoothly.
"A lot of things need to be looked into in the first place, like whether members fully understand the philosophy of democracy and their rights in electing leaders," he said on the disturbances at several divisions.
Ibrahim Suffian, director of independent pollster Merdeka Centre, thought of the disorder as part of a learning process, from which Umno could learn a lesson or two.
Umno, which amended its party constitution to broaden the base of party voters, is scheduled to conduct direct elections in 2012.
It looks messy and unsystematic, said Ibrahim, but a direct vote would keep party leaders on their toes with regard to the thinking and sentiments of ordinary party members.
"There is no tradition here. Members who think they are eligible can offer themselves, unlike in older political parties where senior party leaders would not be challenged at divisional level."
Ibrahim said it was obvious there was a lack of preparation as those handling the elections had anticipated lower turn-outs. The large number of voters had overwhelmed the PKR election machinery and caused disarray.
PKR is the first political party in Malaysia to implement direct elections, in which its 400,000 members vote for leaders at all levels.
It looks messy and unsystematic, said Ibrahim, but a direct vote would keep party leaders on their toes with regard to the thinking and sentiments of ordinary party members.
"There is no tradition here. Members who think they are eligible can offer themselves, unlike in older political parties where senior party leaders would not be challenged at divisional level."
Ibrahim said it was obvious there was a lack of preparation as those handling the elections had anticipated lower turn-outs. The large number of voters had overwhelmed the PKR election machinery and caused disarray.
PKR is the first political party in Malaysia to implement direct elections, in which its 400,000 members vote for leaders at all levels.
The new system, following amendments to PKR's constitution last year, is supposed to demonstrate the party's seriousness in curbing corruption, nepotism and other abuses.
Yet, this was not reflected in many divisions during the past two weeks. The party's 218 divisions are scheduled to complete elections this weekend.
Elections for the top PKR leadership will take place from Oct 31 to Nov 21, ahead of the party's national congress from Nov 26 to 28.
The irony is PKR leaders rushing to blame outsiders when it was the party itself that failed to live up to expectations. PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and its secretary-general, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, claimed Trojan horses and saboteurs were disrupting the elections.
It is obvious that such accusations are off tangent, especially in the case of insufficient ballot papers and the appearance of phantom members.
The real answers are the party headquarters' failure to come out with a full membership list and the lack of manpower to monitor and manage the voting and counting in a transparent manner.
Complaints from Kapar member of parliament S. Manikavasagam on weaknesses in the election process, which resulted in the postponement of elections in a few divisions, particularly on the presence of only three election officials from party headquarters to oversee the voting of thousands of members, should be looked into.
Elections for the top PKR leadership will take place from Oct 31 to Nov 21, ahead of the party's national congress from Nov 26 to 28.
The irony is PKR leaders rushing to blame outsiders when it was the party itself that failed to live up to expectations. PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and its secretary-general, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, claimed Trojan horses and saboteurs were disrupting the elections.
It is obvious that such accusations are off tangent, especially in the case of insufficient ballot papers and the appearance of phantom members.
The real answers are the party headquarters' failure to come out with a full membership list and the lack of manpower to monitor and manage the voting and counting in a transparent manner.
Complaints from Kapar member of parliament S. Manikavasagam on weaknesses in the election process, which resulted in the postponement of elections in a few divisions, particularly on the presence of only three election officials from party headquarters to oversee the voting of thousands of members, should be looked into.
So should the allegations by former deputy secretary-general S. Jenapala Perumal of power abuse and misuse of government machinery by aspirants of national party posts.
His disclosure that there were state executive councillors, especially from Selangor, who were found to be using their positions to travel throughout the country to campaign for selected candidates calls for an internal investigation.
Issues ranging from personal attacks to nepotism and dynastic politics, raised during the party elections, are being closely scrutinised by national voters with an eye on the next general election.
Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia said fence-sitters would gauge the level of maturity of the party's leaders, from whom they could take their cue in deciding at the next general election.
He said voters would ask whether these people were fighting for themselves, the rakyat or for certain personalities, especially when signs are detected that party leaders are engaging in deeply-personal polemics.
Problems at the divisional level go much deeper. What will happen when the elections enter the second phase of electing national leaders? Will PKR resort to blaming Umno again?
As Shaharuddin said, PKR has to address its weaknesses or its image will suffer should it fail to reunite after elections are over.
mukapetang: Looking at this article brought back the song into my head. With arms wide open to embrace the PKR? No way!! Sarawakians do not want this party leaderships to expand their wings here. This is not our Sarawakians' culture. We respect our leaders and our party members. We do not set a 'good' example to our youngster by throwing tantrums and calling names. We hope PKR will be fined to sweep the entire polling areas for 5 months for unable to maintain cleanliness. We must respect the owner that rented the place to us by keeping the place clean and not by turning it into a mess!!! Oh wait look at Perak , Selangor and Sibu now...it is a mess. PKR is indeed messy.
His disclosure that there were state executive councillors, especially from Selangor, who were found to be using their positions to travel throughout the country to campaign for selected candidates calls for an internal investigation.
Issues ranging from personal attacks to nepotism and dynastic politics, raised during the party elections, are being closely scrutinised by national voters with an eye on the next general election.
Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia said fence-sitters would gauge the level of maturity of the party's leaders, from whom they could take their cue in deciding at the next general election.
He said voters would ask whether these people were fighting for themselves, the rakyat or for certain personalities, especially when signs are detected that party leaders are engaging in deeply-personal polemics.
Problems at the divisional level go much deeper. What will happen when the elections enter the second phase of electing national leaders? Will PKR resort to blaming Umno again?
As Shaharuddin said, PKR has to address its weaknesses or its image will suffer should it fail to reunite after elections are over.
mukapetang: Looking at this article brought back the song into my head. With arms wide open to embrace the PKR? No way!! Sarawakians do not want this party leaderships to expand their wings here. This is not our Sarawakians' culture. We respect our leaders and our party members. We do not set a 'good' example to our youngster by throwing tantrums and calling names. We hope PKR will be fined to sweep the entire polling areas for 5 months for unable to maintain cleanliness. We must respect the owner that rented the place to us by keeping the place clean and not by turning it into a mess!!! Oh wait look at Perak , Selangor and Sibu now...it is a mess. PKR is indeed messy.
