Introduction to Political Science - PAD 120/ Semester 2

2.1 INTRODUCTION

Malaysia is a country that practices democracy in which elections play an important role to constitute a

social contract between the people and the party. Election is very important to our country because it

allow us putting into practice the principle of freedom of a citizen, that is, the freedom of people to

choose the government. In Malaysia, general election will be held every 5 years or not later than 5

years. The first general election after the independence of Malaysia is held on August, 1959.

There are three types of general election in Malaysia. The first type general election is only

held after the Parliament or the State Legislative Assembly is dissolved for the whole country. The

second type is by-election. It only held at the death of a representative or member of the State

Legislative Assemblyman or member of Parliamentary and the vacancy of the seat because of

absenteeism from meetings for a fixed period of time. The last one is the local council election, but it

abolished in 1990s.

The twelfth Malaysian General Election held on March 8, 2008. After the general election in

2008, it brings many effects to our country such as, changes in Perak, Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and

Selangor.

As we know, Malaysia has held the general election for twelve terms. But Malaysia has never

failed to hold general elections at regular intervals as stated in the constitution. Basically there are two

levels are being elected by people which are the lower house of Parliamentary (House of

Representatives) and State Legislative Assembly. Our government does not hold the elections to the

Senate. The member of the Senate is appointed by the government and the others elected by the

State Legislative Assemblies. General Election is held when the Yang di-Pertuan Agong dissolves the

parliament on the advice or request from Prime Minister. The same thing at the state level which is the

State Legislative Assembly is dissolved by the Yang Dipetua Negeri by taking advice from Chief

Minister. General Election also will be held when the term of five years for the legislative ends.

The most important thing for election is the parties and candidates. The Barisan Nasional(BN)

can be said that is the dominant coalition because it includes all of the parties which represent ethnic

interests in Malaysia. BN tied Malays, Chinese, Indians and even the Bumiputras in Sabah and

Sarawak, it can be said that it represents all ethnic group in Malaysia. Before 1974, BN's predecessor

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is the Alliance. This party won the two-third majority seat in every general election after independence

of Malaysia. The opposition parties can be said that are mainly communal-based. This is because their

membership is largely from a particular race although they want to be multi-races. For instances, the

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is a Malays majority party. And the Democratic Action Party (DAP) is a

Chinese majority party.

The next general election after the 11th general election in 2004 was held on 8, March 2008.

Before the general election, dissolution of the parliament occurred on the 13th February 2008 by Yang

di-Pertuan Agong by taking advice from our Prime Minister, Dato Sri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. State

Legislative Assemblies of all state will be dissolved and hold the election at the same time as election

for Parliamentary except for Sarawak state assmbly as its five years for legislative expires at 2011

.And the following day, Election Commision (EC) announced the nomination day will be held on 24

February and polling day is on 8 March. Basically the Election Commision has three main functions

which are review the borders of parliamantary and state constituencies, update and check the voter's

list for the elections and in charge of election process at polling centres nationwide. On the nomination

day, EC will set the polling centres to allow the candidates register themselves. The candidates can be

register as a party's candidate and also register as individual candidates. They have to pay

RM10,000.00 as a deposit for contesting for the parliamentary seat and RM5,000.00 for the State

Assembly seat while they are filling the nomination form. A lawyer is allowed to accompany the

candidates to help the candidates fill in the nomination papers correctly.The EC announced the

campaigning is only taking place for 13 days which started right after the nomination and ends at 7

March midnight 12.00am. There are three new seats in the Parliamentary from Sarawak which are

Igan, Sibuti and Limbang, so total of Parliamentary for general election 2008 is 222.Campaigning is

the reprentatives candidates of the parties will give their manifesto during the political talk or speech to

the public. They also will their banners and posters of their particular parties at the roadside and

building. This is to convince the people to vote for them.

On the voting day, every citizen who are qualified have the right to vote the candidate that they

think he or she can represent them in parliament or state at the specialized polling centres set by

Election Commission. As a qualified voter, he or she must be on reaching the age of 21 on the

qualifying date and resides in an election division on the qualifying date or if not residing is considered

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as absentee voter. Besides this, the voter's name must appear on the electoral list. The voting day

normally set in three week time after the nomination of candidates. Public centre, schools and

government building can be a polling centres and the voting process is carried out at tht place. Each

qualified voter are given two ballot paper on the elections day which are for the House of

Representatives and State Legislative Assembly respectively. The voter can actually choose the

candidates who can represent them and mark a X against the name of any other candidates on the

ballot paper. After that, both of the paper will put in the different ballot boxes separetely. For non-

residing voter like oversea student, they can vote by post. After the voting process is finished, the

counting process will be done right after. The ballot papers are put back into the ballot boxes and

sealed after counting. The boxes are sent to main polling centres after this. If the votes are gained by

the two different candidates is very near, the re-count will do again at the main polling centre. The

result of the elections will be announced at night on the same day as long as everything is done.

2.2 BENEFITS OF DEMOCRACY IN MALAYSIA

Democracies rest upon the principle that government exists to serve the people. In other words, the

people are citizens of the democratic state, not its subjects. Because the state protects the rights of its

citizens, they, in turn, give the state their loyalty. Under an authoritarian system, by contrast, the state

demands loyalty and service from its people without any reciprocal obligation to secure their consent

for its actions.

2.2.1 RULES, RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This relationship of citizen and state is fundamental to democracy. More specifically, in

democracies, these fundamental or inalienable rights include freedom of speech and

expression, freedom of religion and conscience, freedom of assembly, and the right to equal

protection before the law. This is by no means an exhaustive list of the rights that citizens

enjoy in a democracy, but it does constitute a set of the irreducible core rights that any

democratic government worthy of the name must uphold. Since they exist independently of

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government, in Jefferson s view, these rights cannot be legislated away, nor should they be

subject to the whim of an electoral majority.

Freedom of speech and expression, especially about political and social issues, is the

lifeblood of any democracy. Democratic governments do not control the content of most written

and verbal speech. Thus democracies are usually filled with many voices expressing different

or even contrary ideas and opinions. Democracies tend to be noisy. Democracy depends upon

a literate, knowledgeable citizenry whose access to information enables it to participate as

fully as possible in the public life of society and to criticize unwise or oppressive government

officials or policies. Citizens and their elected representatives recognize that democracy

depends upon the widest possible access to uncensored ideas, data, and opinions. For a free

people to govern themselves, they must be free to express themselves - openly, publicly, and

repeatedly - in speech and in writing. The protection of free speech is a so-called negative

right, simply requiring that the government refrain from limiting speech. For the most part, the

authorities in a democracy are uninvolved in the content of written and verbal speech. Protests

serve as a testing ground for any democracy - thus the right to peaceful assembly is essential

and plays an integral part in facilitating the use of free speech. A civil society allows for spirited

debate among those in disagreement over the issues. In the modern United States, even

fundamental issues of national security, war, and peace are discussed freely in newspapers

and in broadcast media, with those opposed to the administration s foreign policy easily

publicizing their views. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but it is not absolute, and

cannot be used to incite to violence. Slander and libel, if proven, are usually defined and

controlled through the courts. Democracies generally require a high degree of threat to justify

banning speech or gatherings that may incite violence, untruthfully harm the reputation of

others, or overthrow a constitutional government. Many democracies ban speech that pro

motes racism or ethnic hatred. The challenge for all democracies, however, is one of balance:

to defend freedom of speech and assembly while countering speech that truly encourages

violence, intimidation, or subversion of democratic institutions. One can disagree forcefully and

publicly with the actions of a public official; calling for his (or her) assassination, however, is a

crime.

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All citizens should be free to follow their conscience in matters of religious faith.

Freedom of religion includes the right to worship alone or with others, in public or private, or

not to worship at all, and to participate in religious observance, practice, and teaching without

fear of persecution from government or other groups in society. All people have the right to

worship or assemble in connection with a religion or belief, and to establish and maintain

places for these purposes. Like other fundamental human rights, religious freedom is not

created or granted by the state, but all democratic states should protect it. Although many

democracies may choose to recognize an official separation of church and state, the values of

government and religion are not in fundamental conflict. Governments that protect religious

freedom for all their citizens are more likely to protect other rights necessary for religious free

dom, such as free speech and assembly. The American colonies, virtually theocratic states in

the 17th and 18th centuries, developed theories of religious tolerance and secular democracy

almost simultaneously. By contrast, some of the totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th century

attempted to wipe out religion, seeing it (rightly) as a form of self-expression by the individual

conscience, akin to political speech. Genuine democracies recognize that individual religious

differences must be respected and that a key role of government is to protect religious choice,

even in cases where the state sanctions a particular religious faith. However, this does not

mean that religion itself can become an excuse for violence against other religions or against

society as a whole. Religion is exercised within the context of a democratic society but does

not take it over.

Citizenship in a democracy requires participation, civility, patience - rights as well as

responsibilities. Political scientist Benjamin Barber has noted, Democracy is often understood

as the rule of the majority, and rights are understood more and more as the private

possessions of individuals. ...But this is to misunderstand both rights and democracy. For

democracy to succeed, citizens must be active, not passive, because they know that the

success or failure of the government is their responsibility, and no one elses. It is certainly true

that individuals exercise basic rights - such as freedom of speech, assembly, religion but in

another sense, rights, like individuals, do not function in isolation. Rights are exercised within

the framework of a society, which is why rights and responsibilities are so closely connected.

Democratic government, which is elected by and accountable to its citizens, protects individual

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rights so that citizens in a democracy can undertake their civic obligations and responsibilities,

thereby strengthening the society as a whole. At a minimum, citizens should educate

themselves about the critical issues confronting their society, if only so that they can vote

intelligently. Some obligations, such as serving on juries in civil or criminal trials or in the

military, may be required by law, but most are voluntary. The essence of democratic action is

the peaceful, active, freely chosen participation of its citizens in the public life of their

community and nation. According to scholar Diane Ravitch, Democracy is a process, a way of

living and working together. It is evolutionary, not static. It requires cooperation, compromise,

and tolerance among all citizens. Making it work is hard, not easy. Freedom means

responsibility, not freedom from responsibility. Fulfilling this responsibility can involve active

engagement in organizations or the pursuit of specific community goals; above all, fulfillment

in a democracy involves a certain attitude, a willingness to believe that people who are

different from you have similar rights. Free and fair elections are essential in assuring the

consent of the governed, which is the bedrock of democratic politics. Elections serve as the

principal mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority.

2.2.1 PARTICIPATION AND FREEDOM: THE ROLE OF THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY

Unlike a dictatorship, a democratic government exists to serve the people, but citizens in

democracies must also agree to abide by the rules and obligations by which they are

governed. Democracies grant many freedoms to their citizens including the freedom to dissent

and criticize the government.

Democratic citizens recognize that they not only have rights, they have

responsibilities. They recognize that democracy requires an investment of time and hard work

which is a government of the people demands constant vigilance and support by the people.

Under some democratic governments, civic participation means that citizens are required to

serve on juries, or give mandatory military or civilian national service for a period of time.

Other obligations apply to all democracies and are the sole responsibility of the citizen -- chief

among these is respect for law. Paying one's fair share of taxes, accepting the authority of the

elected government, and respecting the rights of those with differing points of view are also
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examples of citizen responsibility. Democratic citizens know that they must bear the burden of

responsibility for their society if they are to benefit from its protection of their rights. There is a

saying in free societies: you get the government you deserve. For democracy to succeed,

citizens must be active, not passive, because they know that the success or failure of the

government is their responsibility, and no one else's. In turn, government officials understand

that all citizens should be treated equally and that bribery has no place in a democratic

government. In a democratic system, people unhappy with their leaders are free to organize

and peacefully make the case for change or try to vote those leaders out of office at

established times for elections. Democracies need more than an occasional vote from their

citizens to remain healthy. They need the steady attention, time, and commitment of large

numbers of their citizens who, in turn, look to the government to protect their rights and

freedoms. Citizens in a democracy join political parties and campaign for the candidates of

their choice. They accept the fact that their party may not always be in power. In democracy,

they are free to run for office or serve as appointed public officials for a time, utilize a free

press to speak out on local and national issues, free to join labor unions, community groups,

and business associations and allowed to join private voluntary organizations that share their

interests whether devoted to religion, ethnic culture, academic study, sports, the arts,

literature, neighborhood improvement, international student exchanges, or a hundred other

different activities.

2.2.3 EQUAL RIGHT TO THE POWER/POLITICAL OF COMPETITION FOR POWER

Malaysia is a multi-racial society and it requires strong tolerance among races to achieve a

delicate balance. Heterogeneity is difficult to achieve when each race has competing interests

with which to deal. The power sharing model that applies in Malaysia particularly looking at the

political parties is the grand coalition where several political parties representing each major

ethnic group will form a pact or alliance. For instance, Barisan Nasional (Note 4) (BN) is

composed of UMNO (United Malays National Organization), MCA (Malay Chinese

Association), MIC (Malay Indian Congress), Gerakan, and other local parties in Sabah dan

Sarawak including Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), Sarawak

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United Peoples Party (SUPP), Parti Rakyat Sarawak(PRS), etc. While, Pakatan Rakyat (Note

5) is composed of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People Justice Party), PAS (Pan Malaysian Islamic

Party) and DAP (Democratic Action Party). The same power sharing formula is adopted by

both political parties although the Barisan Nasional has applied this method since 1973 and

successfully able to maintain its domination as the ruling party since independent of 1957 until

present. Although the general election in 2008 and 2013 marked a significant shift of urban

voters and the loss of 2/3 majority in the parliamentary seats to the opposition parties, BN

rules still. Even with inter and intra-race relationships, competing interests could disintegrate

into factions that disrupt this delicate balance. The intra-racial factions within an ethnic group

could spark conflict that turns into a complex condition where a portion of the ethnic group

abandons its progeny and becomes aligned with another ethnic group. The Malays still

maintain their beliefs and values despite differing political ideology between UMNO and PAS.

Similar conditions exist with the Chinese between MCA and DAP. Although there is no

moderation within these factions, the alliance among multi-ethnic political parties each

representing an ethnic population is still relevant to understanding the quest for power sharing

in Malaysia. Having competing interests with resource scarcity in a small country like Malaysia

could be a blessing in disguise. Races need to depend on each another for resources, skills

and capital.

2..2.4 PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS AND RIGHT TO WORSHIP RELIGION IN

A FREE SETTING.

The constitution protects religious freedom with some exceptions. Portions of the constitution,

as well as other laws and policies, place restrictions on religious freedom and, in practice, the

government generally enforced those restrictions. The constitution gives federal and state

governments the power to control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief

among persons professing the religion of Islam. The government maintains a dual legal

system, under which sharia courts rule on religious, family, and some criminal issues involving

Muslims and secular courts rule on other issues pertaining to both Muslims and the broader

population. Government policies promote Sunni Islam above other religions. Other teachings

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and forms of Islam are illegal, and the government maintains an official but secret list of

banned sects of Islam. There have been reports of detentions of nonSunni Muslims. The

constitution defines ethnic Malays as Muslim from birth. Muslims may not legally convert to

another religion except in extremely rare circumstances, although members of other religions

may convert to Islam. Non-Islamic minority religious groups remained generally free to

practice their beliefs, subject to certain limitations.

There were reports of societal abuse and discrimination based on religious affiliation,

belief, or practice, including reports of child marriages as an approved practice of Islam. Civil

society organizations continued to criticize this practice.

U.S. embassy representatives maintained an active dialogue on religious freedom with

the government and with leaders and representatives of various religious groups, including

those not officially recognized by the government. The Ambassador visited and met with

religious leaders across the country to emphasize the importance of religious freedom and

tolerance among religions.

2.3 CONCLUSION

Malaysia is a middle-income country now so the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Variously labeled

as a semi- or quasi- or half-breed democracy, it has had its hiccups but nowhere near the same level

of internal conflict as India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. And, it has delivered much more to those at the

bottom of its social hierarchy. This does suggest that building democracy is more than borrowing a

formula or a model; it is an art that often involves fairly messy bargaining and adaptations that account

for the realities that exist on the ground. And, of course, it needs a fair bit of luck. But luck alone is not

enough where the participants are rigidly sold on a first-best solution that may be impossible to obtain

and may actually undermine society itself.

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REFERENCES

1. Baharudin, S. A. (2011). Culture and Governance in Malaysia Survival as a Nation. Ethnic

Studies Paper Series, No. 2. KITA, UKM: Malaysia.

2. Othman, Norani, Clive Kessler, and Mavis C. Puthucheary. 2008. Sharing

the Nation: Faith, Difference, Power and the State 50 Years After Merdeka.

Selangor Strategic Information and Research Development Centre.

3. Toft, Monica Duffy, Daniel Philpott, and Timothy Samuel Shah. 2011. God's

Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics. New York: WW Norton &

Company.

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