MALAYSIANS hope there will be a smooth transition of power now that the United States election is over.
Experienced commentators are saying that whoever is president, Americans are confident that their fundamental liberties and rights will not be affected because their constitution has the mechanism of checks and balances to ensure even a maverick president can be brought under the control of Congress and the Supreme Court, and also by their free media.
While Washington may continue with the usual bickering between the White House and Congress on the big decisions, the democracy at state and county levels will remain strong to serve the people as there is a lot of financial autonomy at the lower levels of government to ensure that public services can go on as usual at the grassroots.
I am confident that the New York stock exchange, which is the nerve centre of the American economy and a barometer for the world economy, will remain calm after the election, just as it was not rattled by the 9/11 terror attacks that brought down the World Trade Center buildings.
In the context of Malaysia, it must work on improving its system of governance so that it will be strong and credible in upholding the Constitution and safeguarding the rights of citizens for justice. Whatever changes on the political front, whatever terrorist attacks or natural disasters that may happen, the country will remain as stable as a rock.
As has been frequently mentioned, there are a number of reforms that are essential for strengthening the institutions of governments so that they can provide stability and continuity in the life of the nation. Most important are reforms to uphold the rule of law and provide the checks and balances to curb the abuse of power by those in authority.
To achieve this, we need institutional changes to empower Parliament, the judiciary, the law enforcement agencies, the civil service and the religious authorities to be professional, independent, free of ministerial control and not politicised.
At the people level, they, too, need to be empowered by granting them their human rights, including freedom of speech, so that civil society can play its role as the public conscience for a clean and responsible government.
Granting financial and administrative autonomy to the state governments will strengthen the democratic system at the primary levels and enable public administration to function smoothly.
Malaysians can learn from the experiences of developed countries that good democracies are resilient to the surprises and tragedies that can happen and strike at any time, and deal with them in an orderly manner.
This is because of the inclusiveness of their governance system, the professional integrity of their institutions, the partnership with their civil society and the free media, and the tolerance for diversity in opinions — all of which create the enabling environment for finding solutions to problems in a peaceful and civilised manner.
TAN SRI MOHD SHERIFF MOHD KASSIM,
Kuala Lumpur