The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.
– Thomas Jefferson, US President 1801-1809
Of late, Malaysians are made aware of one important pointer in the nation’s political system.
In fact, it is a long-standing narrative often lost in the maze of disputes and issues plaguing us that we do not talk about it until someone brings it up again.
We follow the Westminster style of parliamentary democracy but unlike the British, we decided to abandon the traditional shadow cabinet system which has served United Kingdom politics well.
For one, the opposition leader is the prime ministerial candidate going into a general election in Britain. It’s clear to Britons who their prime minister will be after the election, even if it’s the usual toss-up between the Labour Party and the Conservatives.
I’m not sure why Malaysian politicians are reluctant to adopt a shadow cabinet system. Leaders of the various coalitions must have their reasons which I believe they would even have difficulty in explaining why.
We never had an official shadow cabinet, possibly because we are afraid of being chased by our own shadows should we fail to perform as shadow ministers.
That’s just my guess though but it could also be real and true.
Well, we almost had a shadow cabinet early this month or as many thought it was really one, at long last.
On Feb 2, Perikatan Nasional (PN) announced its line-up of parliamentarians tasked to lead “portfolio committees” who will function as a shadow cabinet, including responding to various policies introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration.
Aside from Opposition Leader Datuk Hamzah Zainudin, PN chairperson Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was named as “chief of PN MPs” with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang as his deputy.
Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP, said the MPs were assigned portfolios based on individual interests and expertise, and their inputs will be released as statements to be issued by PN’s secretariat.
“We will table our policies so that the people will know we are ready to take on the major responsibility if given the mandate to rule the country,” the former prime minister told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Muhyiddin said the policies will be a continuation of his own past administration’s Shared Prosperity Vision, which was cut short after 17 months.
Following Muhyiddin’s announcement, many thought that PN was really forming a shadow cabinet.
But they were soon disappointed; it was not a shadow cabinet.
Hamzah who is also PN secretary-general clarified on Feb 12 that the recent appointment of portfolio committees in PN is not the coalition’s shadow cabinet.
He said the heads of the respective committees were appointed to monitor and voice out concerns over issues related to the specific ministry they are assigned to.
“Many out there misinterpreted that the heads of the portfolio are PN’s shadow cabinet.
“This assigning of MPs to various portfolios was done to make sure PN can move forward as a team in doing our checks and balances against the government,” he said on Facebook.
So, it is now clear. A shadow cabinet it is not!
Well, we can’t really blame those who felt very disappointed that there isn’t going to be an official shadow cabinet after all.
They were probably taken in by the announcement of PAS information chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin last Dec 1. Now, we are aware that the PAS man had jumped the gun with his statement.
So, what did Khairil actually say that day? He announced that PN was in the process of forming a shadow cabinet to function as a check and balance mechanism for the unity government led by Pakatan Harapan.
He said PN was optimistic that cooperation between the federal government and the opposition can be forged to jointly resolve the country’s problems.
“We are in the process of putting together a shadow cabinet and will play an important role in moving Parliament’s transformation agenda”, Khairil had said.
Convincing words indeed, noble even, but it was not to be what it was supposed to be – a shadow cabinet.
I’m in favour of a shadow cabinet because I believe that it will add mature and professional competition among the MPs from both sides. Ministers will also be kept on their toes as they are now aware that they are being shadowed by their counterparts from the opposition.
That will, in turn, bring about the principles of trust, respect and courtesy among our lawmakers. Hopefully, we will see less short fuses, shouting and ugly tirades in Parliament
Unfortunately, after all the hype, we are only going to see opposition MPs in monitoring committees, probably doing their best to find fault with the weaker and less experienced ministers.
Are we not back to where we were before? Will we ever see any reforms in our Parliament?
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
