The non-partisan government proposed by interim Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday may just be the antidote to the current political turmoil.
It is appealing in that it does not favour any party, and therefore the individuals, or rather intellectuals, appointed as cabinet ministers would be able to focus on managing the country instead of politicking.
It would make sense, at least for now, to step back from politics; the global economic uncertainty, Covid-19 and other issues are more pertinent.
The question is, will the nation allow him to do so? Azmi Anshar’s piece on the “This is possibly Dr M’s Endgame” (NST, Feb 27) speculated that the government would be a “cabinet of peers and experts instead of rent-seeking party interests”.
I would definitely choose a cabinet of peers and experts, but I’m not too sure if the 221 MPs would unequivocally give their support.
We have already seen examples of turncoats — cases of people who earlier swore their undivided support to Dr Mahathir to lead this country, but later threw in their lot with another camp.
Unless a political miracle happens, Dr Mahathir’s tenure as ‘interim prime minister’ could be a short one.
If Pakatan Harapan (now standing at 92 MPs) cannot gain support from any other party, likewise if the opposition parties (either on their own or in a coalition with other parties) cannot get a clear majority of the 222 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may have no choice but to dissolve Parliament.
But this may not be a wise choice — a new general election would be costly (according to reports, some RM500 million) and may not produce a clear winner. Another stalemate and we would be back to square one.
So, why not try Dr Mahathir’s experiment? It may just work. The Pakatan Harapan government had not exactly performed as expected.
Furthermore, it was pointed out by USM Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian that it is “not new” in this country. He cited the post-May 13 era where the nation was governed by Mageran (Majlis Gerakan Negara), the brainchild of second prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein.
He said Dr Mahathir’s proposed government is similar to Mageran — surely this would be a better alternative to snap polls?
There are many others who agree, such as UTM Sabah academic Tony Paridi Bagang, who said it is doable but not sustainable unless the various parties are able to reach a consensus and work together as a team.
Actually, non-partisan democracy is not something new. Non-partisan systems may be de jure (where political parties are either outlawed or legally prevented from participating in elections), or de facto (where no such laws exist but there are no political parties).
The United Arab Emirates is a de jure non-partisan state since all political parties are outlawed. Oman and Kuwait are also de jure non-partisan. The legislative bodies in these states have only an advisory capacity.
In a non-partisan legislature, there are no formal party alignments within the legislature, although there may be different caucuses aligned with specific issues.
Non-partisan governments are much more likely to exist and thrive in countries with small populations like Nauru and Niue. Several island nations like Tuvalu, Pitcairn, Micronesia and Palau have non-partisan governments.
Other examples of non-partisan governments are American Samoa, the Falkland Islands, Gurnsey, Isle of Man (until
2006), Canada’s Northwest Territories, the municipal governments of the City of Toronto, and many municipalities in Switzerland.
Now may be the time for Malaysia to move towards non-partisan democracy — considering the political imbroglio we are in. Enough politicking, and get to work with actually managing the country.
The writer is a former federal counsel at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, and is deputy chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalise War
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
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